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Show Kc FZ)8) KB NO Because It’s There? Killing Yourself on Mount Nebo eed MOAB Nee Mountainbike flowers bloom and the views inspire - and they're a lot easier. Maybe people climb Mount Rentals, Sales, Service Nebo because they want a workout that would kill a horse. Or maybe they want to impress their friends at summer barbecues with tales of Promoting responsible mountainbiking and camping in the-Moabarea standing atop the highest peak in the Wasatch. Or maybe they climb because it’s there. Next time’ I hhead* to Mount“Nebo, I'll probablyjust be car hiking: Ii: other words, Pll drive the Mount Nebo scenic loop from ‘Nephi to Santaquin. But for anybody interested in a death Go left and east on Highway 132 for about Friendly Trail Advice showers six miles’ and follow the fork to the left. Another three miles on or so, you'll come to the Nebo Bench trailhead on the left-hand side of the road. Recycling Drop-off hike, you get to the trailhead by taking Interstate 15 south to the second Nephi exit. Trash Dumpster There is no water along the trail for at least the first three miles and 3,000 vertical feet. Some snow runoff may provide water a little further on. Several trails intersect the main Nebo summit trail, so don’t go withou SAIS OSMOTIC arenes e The highest peak in the Wasatch, Mt. Nebo looms like Everest. Jasper was ee Waka cee Ne eS TSS for him that I gave him some of my peanut butter sandwich. In fact, the trail was grueling, even at our moderate pace. White columbine bloomed in the shady spots and one rocky area supported dozens of sego lilies, but it was a vertical garden - every step was up. After three hours, we figured we had gone about three miles - not even half of the eight miles to the peak. We had climbed 3,000 vertical feet. To get to the top, we'd have to SS climb 2,000 more. A patch of snow lay turning slushy in the July sun. Jasper rolled in the cool stuff. My AUTUMN FESTIVAL & HARVEST SALE friend, Dave, and I looked at the map, at the trail that snaked upwards, and at our watches. If we turned back, we could probably make it SATURDAY, to that barbecue at Liz’ house. And clearly the dog was beat. We started back down. LIVE As any hiker knows, it’s easier to talk on the way downhill, but the thighs pay a price. Jasper, however, made a miraculous recovery the minute we turned back. He trotted ahead, spooking a flock of quail. Thumping along behind him, Dave and I wondered why anyone would want to hike for three hours, climb 3,000 vertical feet and get, basically, nowhere, Sure, the yiews were ‘fine. and.the flowers abloom, -but there, are plenty of hikes in the Wasatch where the SEPTEMBER Music Foop PLANT 20, 2:00 - 7:00 % CHILDREN’S % PLANT CRAFTERS & BULB ACTIVITIES SALE PM. % % % CONTRA-DANCING CALL 581-IRIS(4747) FoR DIRECTIONS OR More INFO ao Dn sai ere Gada ennem Adults/$3; f spcipsatinaaldSus SuSE Ae RBG members, kids under 4/Fi : aleaenenieatramelate Zar a Red Butte Garden & Arboretum at the University of Utah. . - - -300.Wakara-Way, Salt-Lake. City. 801/581-5322 > SAWIL NIVLNNOW $65,000 or more to be frozen, impaired by oxygen deprivation, and possibly killed for a chance to stand for a few brief minutes at the highest point on earth. Laboring up the Mount Nebo trail recently, I puzzled over some of the same questions. At 11,928 feet, Mount Nebo is the highest peak in the Wasatch. It sweeps up steeply from the little town of Nephi. Driving home from Moab time after time along Highway 6, I'd gazed up at the aspenshrouded canyons of the mountain's east-facing slopes. Distant forests made mysterious by twilight often enlivened my imagination. I don’t know what I thought was up there in those soft, green shadows, but I’m often compelled to go find out. Maybe people who climb mountains that poke into the stratosphere hear a similar call. The Mount Nebo trail is a climb that starts steeply right from the parking lot. A thousand vertical feet and one mile later, it mellows out for about 20 yards, then resumes its death-climb for. the sky. ; Knowing that the route was long, dry an steep, my friend and I set a prudent pace, but feet, exhausted. He'd lie down in the middle of the trail, his whole body saying, “Go on, leave me here. Save yourselves.” I felt so sorry Yi 4 diverse as thrill addiction, vertical & ARBORETUM ANNUAL SS a, pera though he considers causes as testosterone poisoning and he never comes up with a reason that adequately explains why people would spend 2,000 NINTH =~ cy that is so incredibly painful and dangerous. gained RED BUTTE GARDEN = book about the fatal expedition to Mt. Everest last year. As Krakauer describes the physical and psychological rigors involved, he constantly wonders why people do something the unsuspecting dog, Jasper, kept dashing into the brush after allusive shadows and strange smells. By the time we had gone two miles and I (800)635-1 792 =e ‘WwW: poisonspiderbicycles:com: aS By Cheryl Fox recently read Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer’s 497 N. Main, Moab, Utah |