Black Forest

     Wednesday morning started wet again. It wasn't raining once the sun came up, but it was still very wet all around. We decided to try making powdered eggs on the camp stove. I had never eaten powdered eggs before and was a bit skeptical. They turned out ok. I couldn't tell much difference in the taste, but the texture was a little strange. They still went well on tortillas for breakfast wraps on the way over to the trail.

    The plan today was for a double ride. We had lunch plans with Shannon's Aunt and Uncle, so I hit the trail early. Shannon took me over to Deer Valley. She was worn out from yesterday's Silver Creek adventure, so she shuttled me up the mountain where I caught the Corvair trail over to T&G, which is a long black-diamond trail behind the Empire Lodge.

Snow in the distance from the top of Corvair

Aspen chapel atop the mountain

    Shannon occupied herself reading and doing Sudoku in the car while I explored a new part of  the Deer Valley area. I went West today, staying higher up on the mountain to catch some of the black-diamond, backwoods trails that are further away from the main lodges. I found some steep climbs up the ski slope on dirt roads that connected me to the tougher trails of Fat Lip and Weber's Trail. Fat Lip was cool, twisting it's way through a dark area of thick evergreens. I felt like I was riding through a fairy tale forest. It was creepy and super exciting all at the same time. Some of the trail was very difficult and I had to walk a few of the climbs. Weber's was more downhill than Fat Lip. It wound its way through the forest and dropped me back at the bottom of the ski slope I climbed earlier.

Looking down on a fog-covered Park City

Initial part of Corvair

    I had to climb the slope again, going farther up the mountain this time to catch the Black Forest Trail. It was appropriately named. The forest was so thick that very little light came through. It was a rugged trail, full of steep, rooty descents with drops around every corner. The path was true singletrack, sometimes just wide enough for me to fit through. And the dirt was a rich black color that gave excellent grip while also providing a good spray of roost in fast corners. I enjoyed being so far out in the forest. I saw more wildlife there including some huge mule deer. I never saw another person during the ride. The terrain was difficult which is what I was looking for here in Utah.

Passing by Powder Monkey on my way up the ski slope

Taking the steep dirt road up to Black Forest

Entering Black Forest

    I got lost on the way back to meet Shannon at Empire. Somewhere along the long descent I took a wrong turn and wound up way down the mountain. Then I couldn't figure out how to get to a spot where Shannon could pick me up. I went down some gnarly, gnarly, gnarly trails before I found my way to Park City. There were many spots that were so steep and muddy that I couldn't even begin to think about attempting to ride them. We finally met up on Main Street in the middle of Park City. I cleaned up and got changed on the way over to Zupa's to meet Aunt Laura and Uncle Duane. We were a bit late, but still had plenty of time to eat and catch up. It was my first time meeting them so there were plenty of get-to-know-you questions.

Checking the map

Passed some abandoned buildings on my way down the mountain

Video: Chest cam highlights from my morning ride on Day 3

     In the afternoon, we returned to Deer Valley, this time back to Silver Lake and Bald Mountain where I had ridden on Monday. Shannon wanted to hike and I was wanting to do some filming, so she hiked along with me as I rode. We stopped often on the stunts to film and play.

Lila's Liar Trail

Climbing up Homeward Bound Trail

Log ride

Contemplating this stunt on Homeward Bound. In case you are wondering, I didn't do it. Landing was a bit too tricky for me.

Yellow aspens along Homeward Bound

Riding stumps on Homeward Bound

Another rider enjoying the nice day on the other side of Ontario Canyon

This pair of tabletops near the top of Homeward Bound were my favorite jumps of the while trip. So perfectly built.

     Shannon ended up walking all the way up to the Heber City overlook very near the top of Bald Mountain. We had heard some booming on our way up. The sky was clear so I thought it was machinery from nearby construction, but once we got to the top, we saw a huge thunderstorm rolling just to our east through the Heber Valley. We stood in the sun over 8,000 ft up and watched the thunderstorm pass through the valley below us. It was cool to watch the clouds move and see the lightning bolts shoot toward the ground. I climbed all the the way to the very top of Bald Mountain today, unlike on Monday. It was an awesome view from the summit of 9,323 ft. I could see Heber City and was looking down on the Jordanelle Reservoir. I could even see our campground getting rained on.

Criss-crossing trails on Bald Mountain

Watching the storm pass through the Heber Valley

     The temperature dropped on our way down the mountain, but the rain stayed away. The distant black clouds made the fall colors even brighter. It was a beautiful ride down.We explored some new trails including Super G, Bermy, G.S. Trees and Twist & Shout. We looked for, and found, some tame lines so Shannon would be able to ride down the next day.

Contemplating never going back down the mountain. It's just too nice up here...

Climbing the switchbacks up to the tip-top of Bald Mountain

Descending on Super G

Getting some air on Super G

Super G

Bermy

Rocks on Twist & Shout

Berm cut into the mountainside on Twist & Shout

Beautiful shot of the Deer Valley Resorts as the sun peaks out of the clouds at sunset

Dark clouds drawing near

     After the drive, we drove down into Heber City for dinner. Aunt Laura and Uncle Duane recommended we hit Granny's Drive-In because they have some famous thick milkshakes. "Thick" was an understatement. It was some of the richest and best tasting ice cream I have ever put in my mouth! I loved it! Their burgers and fries were beyond good as well. Granny's is now on my all-time favorites list.

     The night ended with more rain. We looked over pictures and videos from the day's rides, then went to bed early. I think we went to bed at 8 every night because we were so worn out and it was raining. We slept almost too good and woke up fully rested at 2am. I had to get up and watch a movie one night just to kill time until I got sleepy again. We still had one more day to go in Park City. I think part of my sleeping difficulty was that I couldn't wait to get some more forest miles in my legs! 

Video: Highlights of the afternoon ride at Deer Valley