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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley news Volume XXV Issue XIII August 1, 2019 Cycling the Wasatch: The Morgan Valley Loop By John Burrows I’ve noticed a lot more bike and auto traffic out there, so a couple of reminders: Use a bright blinking taillight and always call out your intention to pass another cyclist. Say something like, “Two bikes passing on your left.” Also, don’t ride the Eden to the dam shoulder unless you are escaping from something... it’s just not a safe route. Todays Route: House, horse, house, horse... the wonderful, pastoral Morgan Valley Loop. From Exit 96, I-84, ride out to the end of the road at Round Valley Golf Course with some even more enthralling side trips. You can start this at the Mountain Green Sinclair lot and add three miles but it’s on a moderately travelled road with a very narrow shoulder. If you drive this to exit 96, respect the 40 mph speed limit. Distance: Approximately 25 miles. 28+ miles with the added Hardscrabble Road outand-back leg. Vertical Elevation Gain: 830 feet and adding several hundred on the Hardscrabble leg, which is easily added to by going further south on State Street (Rte 66) and taking the next right turn in Porterville, as if crossing over to S. Morgan Valley Dr. but then going left, up Hardscrabble Road. When coming out of Hardscrabble Road, go left, up an incline by the old, derelict, brick, church. Then head south on S. Morgan Valley Dr. and back to your car. This little leg will add about three miles and you will have the road virtually all to yourself to the end gate. Note the Bison Ranch on your left after beginning your climb on Hardscrabble. The Ride: There are two starting points; both have ample parking. One is from the Sinclair station in Mountain Green, the other at the big commuter lot in Peterson, at Exit 96, off of I-84. Starting at Sinclair adds six miles round-trip. But, it adds more dense traffic flow for the first three miles. (There is a short bike path on the left completed last year for about 8/10 of a mile.) Starting at the Exit 96 lot, head south up a small hill on W. Old Highway Road, immediately passing the “Enterprise 1860” sign. After 4.5 miles you’ll pass Kelly’s bar on the left, and at 7.5 miles, the Post. Note: At approximately 5.5 miles from the I-84 lot, there is a sharp left turn under some trees as the road narrows; don’t dawdle there! At The Post, take a right under the highway and then a left towards Round Valley. This canyon ride is one my favorite sections, even though the pavement is cracked, pocked and sketchy in places. Cross the bridge over the Weber River by Barefoot Tubing and continue to the turnaround just south of the golf course clubhouse. Note: After first paralleling the golf course, the road takes a sharp right, uphill turn on very bad pavement. I do not stay tight right here; I downshift and crossover in advance so I am facing the traffic going up the steep potholed grade. There’s a great view of the Taggart/Croydon Canyon in the distance and the road ends at a ranch gate at about ten miles. On the way back, don’t go back over the bridge; rather, take a left and climb a short grade to a magnificent view where the road narrows to one lane. Enjoy the one-mile downhill run to State Street at 12.6 miles in Morgan. Take a left on State and head south, turning west at about 14.5 miles on Richville Road. In 7/10 of a mile, take a right on S. Morgan Valley Dr. You are now heading north and back to your car. It is gradually downhill for the next 6+ miles, except after the sharp right turn at the gas station convenience store as you head back over the river and under I-84. Pavement: While on Old Highway and S. Morgan Valley Dr., a solid B+. There are a few very small, but deep potholes that are easily avoided, particularly on S. Morgan Valley Dr. But, from the Tubing bridge to the end of Round Valley, pay attention; it can be choppy. It’s about a C-. Best Time to Ride: I recently rode this route and encountered only four cars in the first six miles. Amazing! When you first leave the lot at Exit 96, you’ll see the Geneva cement mixing operation. These drivers are very familiar with cyclists. A good thing! Help the Drivers Out: Seriously consider getting a blinking, bright, taillight such as the Bontrager Flare R. I also highly recommend the Bontrager Ion headlamp, which is only a couple hundred lumens less bright than a car a headlamp! Both are easily recharged on USB. I spoke with my son Aaron, a sponsored cyclist, Iron Man, and Leadville 100 and Leadville 50 belt winner, about the “taillight effect” on drivers. He said, “It seems like they treat you more like a car... with more respect!” Any increase in the fine line of safety in cycling is a much welcomed improvement. Again, Diamond Peaks in Eden will give a 10 per cent discount on these head and tail lamps; just mention the article to Corbin or Dylan. Pitstops, Rest Rooms & Water: Depending upon the time of day, the Post, the golf course clubhouse, and any number of businesses on State Street in Morgan are open. Highlights: It doesn’t get much better than this in our neck of the woods. The towering ridgeline of peaks’ Thurston, Francis (with the Radome), and Bountiful with their snow-filled ravines and couloirs, keep me rubbernecking whenever safe or possible. Cycling in Morgan Valley will make you feel like you’ve gone back to a more peaceful era. While not quite bucolic, it is certainly among the most pastoral valleys in Utah. Ride safely out there and avoid the “dam leg” from Eden to Trapper’s Loop particularly this time of year during prime tourist and construction season! BUTTERFLIES cont. from page 1 develop a chrysalis (cocoon) and hatch as a beautiful butterfly. These generations of monarchs only live an estimated three to four weeks, at which time they breed again before they die. The toxic chemicals present in the milkweed make the butterflies poisonous to birds and other predators. Other butterflies mimic the monarch’s orange color in the hope they also avoid being a bird’s meal! Monarch Populations Are Declining Monarch populations have been declining for several decades due to many factors, including a loss of their winter habitat, increased and widespread misuse of pesticides and reduced milkweed and flowering plants that sustain them. The population in Utah and the West has declined from over a million monarchs in the late 1990s to just 200,000 in recent years based on overwintering counts of adult monarch butterflies in California by the Xerces Society—a science based non-profit group that works to protect insects and their habitats. The count in 2018 was the lowest on record at around 30,000 monarchs. To better coordinate monarch conservation work in the West and improve their numbers, state wildlife agencies organized a monarch working group that developed a Western Monarch Conservation Plan to help the western Monarch population. You Can Help - If you would like to help monarchs in your own yard, you can very easily by making sure you have nectar-rich flowering plants from spring through the fall. Not only will this benefit monarchs, but you’ll be helping native bumblebees in Utah that also are declining! If you plant milkweed in your yard, you might be lucky enough to see monarchs stop and PATHWAY cont. from page 1 Weber Pathways managed the three-year construction project with board member Miranda Menzies of Eden as the project lead, and would like to thank project sponsors and breed. While there are several varieties of milkweed in Utah, the two most common are Showy and Swamp milkweeds. You may be able to find seed from these plants near your house along streams or in wet areas, or if you prefer, it’s possible to find the seeds for sale. You can also talk to your local native plant nursery about carrying milkweeds as part of their inventory. While some monarch butterflies disperse from California overwintering sites and migrate to and through Utah, it is not clear how important Utah is to the western monarch butterfly as a whole. To better understand this question, the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Xerces Society, Utah Hogle Zoo, Wild Utah Project and others are organizing monarch and milkweed surveys, and we need your help! This Survey 123 phone app allows anyone to record monarch and milkweed information. I encourage you to download this app and help gather critical data for the State of Utah. Once you have the app, you can record monarch data in two different ways: 1) simply document and report monarch and milkweed sightings anytime, anywhere in Utah and/or 2) take part in a larger effort to assist in validating and refining a western monarch habitat model. Find more information on the phone app and this critical data collection effort at the Monarch Butterfly Conservation in Utah website. I have the Survey 123 app loaded on my phone and I plan on searching out some milkweed stands this summer so I can document more than a few monarchs—hopefully you will too! If you have questions regarding the phone app or its use, please contact Mindy Wheeler (mindywheeler@utah.gov) who developed the app or me, Paul Thompson (paulthompson@ utah.gov). donors, especially Weber County, UDOT, the Outdoor Recreation Office of the Governor, and Wolf Creek Resort. A special thank you, too, to community donors the Blair Lierd and Judy Lewis families; this path is dedicated to their memory. Jeff Post, of Post Paving, and son Tyson make final grade corrections before the asphalt was laid on the Wolf Creek Pathway in Eden July 16, 2019. Post Paving team, led by Mario, pave past the Fuller family property on Wolf Creek Drive in Eden. Spartan Race held at Snowbasin July 20-21. Photos by Bruce Grandin of Eden. NOW HIRING! Full Time and Part Time Opportunities Apply Now Wolf Creek Resort 3618 North Wolf Creek Drive Eden, UT 84310 About Wyndham… Wyndham Worldwide is one of the world's largest hospitality companies with properties spanning six continents. Current Opening HOUSEKEEPERS GUEST SERVICES FULL & PART-TIME POSITIONS The Perks… Ongoing Career Development and Leadership Programs, plus Advancement Opportunities Recognition, Rewards, and Prizes Supportive, Empowering Team and Leaders Benefits… Medical, Dental, Vision & Domestic Partner Benefit Paid Training Paid Vacation and Sick Time Tuition Reimbursement Travel Discounts And so much more! 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