Dutchman Way Trail, Midway, UT

Although my left crank arm is about to fall off (the spindle hole has been rounded out a bit so it gets loose after about 5 minutes of riding) I took my first ride up into the Dutch Hollow trail system in the Wasatch Mountain State Park. The weather was fantastic and although the trees were all still bare, it was quite scenic looking back over the towns of Midway and Heber and over to Mt Timpanogas and the Uinta National forest. I started at the Dutchman Way trailhead and headed up into the canyon. The trail is not a lot of fun for the first mile or two since the horses have really "pocked" up the trail with footprints that make for a seriously bumpy ride. Eventually, trough, the trail changes from the pockmarked solidified mud to sandy washout to a nice winding single-track through the scrub brush. Right as it was starting to get good though, the trail dead-ended into a gravel road (Dutch Hollow Road). I figured the road would eventually intersect another trail, so I headed up the road. It never did hit another trail, but after a mile or so, the road was steep enough and rough enough that it was similar to a double-track trail anyway so it was OK. The whole ride was a slow grinding climb, but when I finally ran out of water (need to get myself a new hydration reservoir for my pack) and turned around, it was a great downhill run with jumps, ruts, and when I finally made it back to the Dutchman Way trail, the curves were great fun and the rough trail was no problem since I was hovering over my seat anyway.

Later in the day, the kids and I invited their cousins and my BIL Mark over for a hike and we hiked back up into the same Dutchman Hollow trail system. We walked down a few other trails that I am SUPER excited to ride. I have to say, these trails are world class and they are within riding distance of my house - how cool is that! Here's an image from the hike with the kids to give an idea of the views: