Katie in the Kingdom - Mountain Biking Kingdom Trails 2019

I love a solo trip.

A solo trip is a chance to go at my pace, spend time just Olive and I, focus on myself and my wants and needs.  There is something to be said for doing things on your own for being independent and comfortable with your own company.  Solo trips are selfish in a way, and a perfect way to recharge.  Solo trips.... they let you think.  Those long hours in the car or miles on the trails let me get in my own head, hashing out where I am in life and what I am doing right and can improve upon. 

This wasn't my first time packing up the car for one girl and one dog, but this trip didn't start that way.  It was originally planned as a 3-day weekend away for Adam and I, leaving the dogs behind to bike Kingdom Trails for a day before heading to Stowe for two more days.  He had never been to Stowe and had never even heard of Kingdom Trails and I was excited to show him some of my favorite parts of Vermont. 

But sometimes plans don't always work out. Life had other plans and mother nature sent some nasty weather our way.  Adam (the lineman) had to work 16-hour shifts until everyone's power was back on.  Non-negotiable.

Kingdom Trails - Mountain Biking - East Burke, VT 2018

2018 has been all about learning to do things on my own.  Buy a home, navigate holidays, make the bed, move furniture, walk the dog, cut your own Christmas tree.... *insert menial task here* and the list goes on and on.   I am no stranger to a solo hike or adventure and I describe myself as a very independent person.  But let's face it, there are some things you have to sort of re-learn to do alone.  

Mountain biking is something I always did with someone else or with a group.  Honestly, it was a hobby of Thatchers that I absolutely hated at first and eventually learned to love.  It was never something I did on my own, or something I sought out as a solo activity.   Something I wanted to tackle this fall even if it meant solo, was mountain biking at my favorite New England spot -  Kingdom Trails.  

I posted all about it last year, but if you don't feel like backreading just know its an amazing trail system loaded with tons of flowing non-technical trails through picturesque Vermont.  It's the kind of mountain biking I love and the type I haven't been able to find outside of Utah.  Even outside the awesome trail network, the entire town just has that laid back Vermont and bike town vibe - the Moab of the Northeast if you will,.  A weekend in East Burke was the fall trip I always looked forward to.  

Riding the Good Water Rim Trail - Wedge Overlook & Little Grand Canyon of San Rafael, Utah

It's hard to describe the soothing sound of the gravel and sand crunching under your tires as you twist and turn through flowy remote singletrack.  It's a sound any mountain biker knows and loves (and craves), the quiet of the mountains in stark contrast with the sounds of the trail.  And then there is the insane view ahead of you as you are doing something you love - it creates that sort of mood that makes you stop and ask yourself "Is this really my life?".  Pedaling away and paying close attention to the trail as it rides the rim and snakes along the canyon wall.  These canyon walls drop over a thousand feet into the San Rafael river below just a yard or two to your right.  To your left, you have an endless expanse of small cacti and desert brush sprawling back towards the gravel roads.  You are also virtually alone since the trail is not a popular one which reminds you that you have just found a hidden gem.  It is a perfect fall day on my bike and I am reminded that life is well in the San Rafael Swell.  

I spent this Sunday following local bike shop owner Mark Jespersen on the trails, trying to copy his stamina and style as we rode along on our mountain bikes.  I am on a beautifully built (and borrowed) Specialized Enduro and it is shifting like butter unlike my cranky mountain bike back at home.  This full suspension Specialized is making me never want to ride my hard tail again.  We are biking along an area called "The Little Grand Canyon" and "The Wedge" and I am left a little speechless as I take in the wide open space out in what feels like the middle of nowhere.  Its that "so small" sort of feeling that is so easy to find in the desert.  

Barn Island - Stonington, Connecticut

Happy Tuesday!  Mondays 70+ degree weather has all of us New Englanders packing away the winter clothes and making summer plans.  With that nice weather comes all the planned hikes, bike rides and adventures.  Of course, all these adventures are much more fun with my not so trusty furry companion Olive.  This week, I am sharing some dog-friendly posts on some favorite places and spaces to spend time with your dog.  Today's post is a local favorite and at 2.5 miles down the road from where I live, it is an easy place to sneak away for an after work bike ride or trail run with Olive.

Mountain Biking Kingdom Trails - East Burke, Vermont

It wasn't until I moved to Utah that I rode my first mountain bike.  I quickly adjusted to this new hobby and while the learning process can be rocky (pun intended), I finally started to get the hang of propelling my bike up mountains, enjoying time spent on trails on two wheels instead of two feet.  

I learned in Utah and I learned to love Utah's trail network.  A lot of Utah's trails are flowing groomers or steep climbs, giving you a chance to "gain some vert" over a well-groomed trail with some insane views. When I moved to New England and took my bike on the trails here, it was entirely different.  No real elevation and the trails are technical, with a lot of roots, rocks, and bridges over streams.  I hated it.  I hated how technical all the trails were, how disconnected the systems are, and pretty soon decided this new(ish) hobby wasn't worth breaking an arm or a skull over in the rooty rocky trails of New England. 

When I heard about a group trip to Kingdom Trails in Vermont, I was eager to take my bike on some different terrain.  I heard about flowy well-groomed trails stretching over an expanse trail network.  I was excited to experience some groomed trails, and even find some elevation in Vermont.  It all sounded like a fairy tale, a taste of my favorite riding back here in the northeast.  And so, off to the Northeast Kingdom we went.  

Biking Trails at KT

"Kingdom Trails is a charitable non-profit conservation organization, driven by a volunteer Board of Directors, working in partnership with private landowners, local businesses, government agencies and other non-profit organizations to create and manage out-door recreation opportunities and preserve and protect trails. During all seasons of the year we offer an extensive trail network for non-motorized, multi-use recreation activity. Currently, all mapped trails in our local area are on private land. Kingdom Trail Association was formed to create legal access to these trails and manage the system. In order to generate the funds needed to maintain the trail system and manage usage on private land the Association requires all users to purchase either a Day Member Pass or a Membership to access the trail system. We strive to keep our rates extremely low so that everyone will be able to enjoy the trails…"

Mueller Park Trail - Bountiful, Utah

Oh mountain biking.

How we have a love hate relationship. I love being outside, fresh air sunshine dirt trails, and a happy dog chasing my bike behind me. But those first few rides of the season can be tough.  Now that I graduated, I don't spend a whole lot of time on my bike (I used to ride it to school), and with winter just wrapping up, I hadn't spent too much time on my bike on the trails. Matter of fact the last time I sat in my bike seat, was Navajo Rocks in Moab.
 Yep, over a month ago. 

It is a great workout and something I enjoy more and more, with the exception of those first few rides that remind me how out of shape I am.  Not even so much on my legs but man does mountain biking set my lungs on fire. If your legs don't feel like blocks of lead, then your lungs will surely feel like they are burning out of your chest after a few hundred feet (especially here where the air is already thin - sea level fo life). 

Mountain Biking Navajo Rocks - Moab's newest trails!

After having fun on the M&M trail, and confident in our bikes and legs, we decided to spend another day on our bikes.  I did a little bit of research for another trail while sipping amazing coffee from Moab Coffee Roasters when I came across Navajo Rocks. 

Again, I needed beginner/intermediate levels and dog-friendly trails.  The easy part is virtually everything outside of the national parks is dog friendly.  The hard part can be finding the right trail for your skill and comfort level.  

Lower Monitor and Merrimac Mountain Biking Trail - Moab, Utah

I was looking for some beginner/intermediate trails for a weekend spent hiking and mountain biking in Moab.  I have seen friends come back bloodied and bruised after tackling some of Moab's famous and challenging trails like Whole Enchilada.  

I wanted the opposite of that.  

Dry Gulch -- Bonneville Shoreline Trail, Salt Lake City Utah

I am SO excited to share my Colorado trip with you all.  I mean, the trip was kind of a bust because of the weather, but we made the best of it and took a lot of pictures from my car. 

While I finish off Colorado posts, I wanted to talk about last weeks Trail Run/Hike/Mountain bike spot that was simply breathtaking.  Did I mention it was also 5 minutes from downtown, right above the University?

Dry Gulch is a section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST).  "The Bonneville Shoreline Trail is a series of trails along the slope of the Wasatch Mountains where the old shoreline of Lake Bonneville met the hills. Sections of trail are found from Ogden to Payson. The northern Salt Lake City section extends from City Creek Canyon to Emigration Canyon."-- UtahMountainBiking.com