There will be a theme apparent by the end of your reading about our stay in Salt Lake City. I will spoil it now: that theme is good food and lots of it. After an amazing dinner last night, we woke up to having bagels, yogurt, or cereal available to us for breakfast along with orange juice and milk. We really have come far from eating oatmeal now! With our injured and sick crew, this was exactly the type of rest and recovery that will be useful as everyone attempts to get back on the road. The mornings are usually taken at everyone’s own pace, but we did have a couple people begin their adventures for the day.
Vedang, Nishk, and Cole decided to go try to find a hike that would get them outdoors and give a good view of the surrounding area. They stumbled upon a path called “The Living Room Trail” which was just about a mile and a half from the stayover and on the North side of the University of Utah’s campus. This hike ended up being a good mix of easier to follow trails to preserve already tired legs, yet enough elevation gain to be able to see the whole city. The way down, they took a different route and had fun sliding on running shoes down the inclines until they reached the original trail. By that time, the Sun was now well up and the temperature was rising, so hiking was called to a close.
Lauren decided to go on a solo adventure to some attractions of her own. First on the list was East High. To some, this might just look like any unremarkable high school, but to those who know, this is where High School Musical was filmed! Lauren took an iconic jumping shot at the front and got to see the place where a beloved childhood (and frankly adulthood too) film was created. After this, Lauren went to downtown to explore more of Salt Lake City before the van swung by to pick her up.
The majority of others went to various shops for bike parts and servicing. Maaike and Tada did get up to their own early morning adventure and breakfast, but then joined in on the cycling related missions when they returned. We found new tires for all of those that received punctures over the last few days, chains for those whose were getting stretched out, and other repairs that I can’t quite recall when writing this (oh! and a new helmet for Max).
Anytime any of these groups returned to the stayover, they were able to eat more and more. Fresh fruit, sandwiches, leftovers from the night before, baked goods, and much more that I am forgetting. There was one person though who did not return before dinner to the stayover, and that was Anthony.
Anthony, after having been absent from riding yesterday due to knee pain, decided he was going to attempt to climb the same Guardsman Pass we did, but instead of just going over once, climb it again and again until he reached an elevation gain equal to one-half the height of Mount Everest! Talk about someone who loves to bike. He left and started by heading up Big Cottonwood Canyon and made it to the top of the pass. Then, Anthony descended the other side to make it towards Heber City and turned right around to climb the same road we did. With the temperature being extremely hot and very little cloud or tree cover available today, by the time he reached the top the second time, it was getting late and the fatigue was setting in. How could it not? I don’t know. He decided to come back for dinner after doing around 9,600 ft. of elevation gain which is well over one-quarter and very near one-third of the elevation for Everest. This was by far the most extreme adventure of the rest day!
For dinner, we had pulled pork and chicken sandwiches, veggie burgers, salads, and fruits. Also, there was a special dirty soda bar where we added syrups and half-and-half to our fizzy drinks to give them new flavor profiles. We were again trying the Utah special. As the night winded down, we couldn’t help but feel already that we were going to miss this spot. The journey must continue, but we want to come back and have this life over and over again. The love of adventure and our cause will bring us back in the morning for sure, but for now, this is the sentiment.
P.S.
Parker walked 3 miles there and back while injured to a Panda Express which he had been craving the whole trip. He said “it was worth it.”
