Outdoors

Tis the season. By now Salt Lakers know that the coming of January and deep cold means not a sparkling winter wonderland but a throat-clogging, asthma-inducing smog blanket that’s here to stay until spring. The city’s pollution problem is the main topic of coughing conversations among residents—some days our beautiful mountain town has the worst air quality index in the country. Here’s where they’re not talking about the smog: The Capitol. Maybe this will be the year our legislature will focus on this deadly issue instead of worrying about pornography, miniscule BAC levels and the Second Amendment. Maybe. But don’t hold your breath.

Jeff Morton, Inventor of Jamo Threads

Most of us have resigned ourselves to a winter wonderland in shades of gray and brown because of the inversion that settles over the city when it’s cold, its arrival heralded by (caused by? JK) the convening of the Utah Legislature. But summer skies used to seem clearer, except for that little brown smudge on the horizon. This year, wildfires added to our usual toxic cocktail so the formerly seasonal hacking and wheezing continued through the hot summer. What to do about it? You can escape it by driving up the canyon to clear air, but you’re just adding to the problem if you have a gas-fueled vehicle. You can cycle or scoot, both non-polluting modes of transportation.  But you’ll breathe even harder, taking in more PM2.5, the tiny particulate that makes up most of Utah’s pollution—giving a new shade of meaning to vicious cycle.

So, for personal health—not addressing the overall problem—we should all be wearing masks when we spend any significant amount of time outdoors.

Order a cool-looking mask from a local company: Nearly four years ago, Jeff Morton was inspired to make a hip but effective mask for his son, who has asthma. His Kickstarter campaign brought in $50,000; “That proved there was a market for this,” he says. Now the company can barely keep up with production. “We recently introduced a version with a replaceable filter,” he says. jamothreads.com

Skip: A surgical mask won’t work. The PM2 particles go right through.

Pick up: A respirator used for home demolition or paint projects is a good option.

• Check out rzmask.com
• Respro Sportsta Anti-Pollution Mask – they’re about $65 but they come in pink! respro.com
• Jamo’s Inversion 2.0 is a stylish PM 2.5 mask with an activated carbon filter meeting requirements of an N95 mask. If you don’t love it, send it back for free. jamothreads.com

Coco-sutra 

In Utah’s harsh desert climate, we all know that hand lotion and water are our best friends. But we don’t often talk about the other areas of our body that may need a little extra moisture. Locally-owned personal lubricant company Coconu is here to help. Organically-produced, Coconu offers both a water and oil-based product for your intimate needs—because even when it’s cold outside your bedroom doesn’t need to be a frozen tundra. coconu.com

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Private pilots, many in classic aircraft, will be flocking into Bryce Airport this weekend, Aug, 26-27, for the annual fly-in and car show.

The remote airstrip is tucked into the spectacular scenery of Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 20 miles west of Panguich in Garfield County.

Spectators can book scenic flights and tour the aircraft and car show, beginning at 10 a.m.

For more information: 435-834-5239 or online here.

On July 24, 1847, a determined company of Mormon pioneers realized their dreams upon entering the Great Salt Lake Valley. Pulling handcarts and driving wagons with oxen, they slowly trudged across the plains to a vast desert landscape. After exiting Emigration Canyon and cresting a small hill, the group’s leader, Brigham Young, looked out on the valley, took a deep breath, and told his followers:

“This is the pla—“

“YO! ON YOUR LEFT!”

The interruption took Young and the pioneers by surprise. Hundreds of people, clad in neon-colored spandex (and one in a Spiderman suit), trampled over the canyon in pursuit of a sub-three hour marathon.

“You guys better hurry,” one runner said to Young, gesturing in the direction of the finish line, “or they’ll be out of pie and beer by the time you get there.”

Wait, you say that’s not how it happened? Oh. Heh. Well, then.

Depending on who you ask, Pioneer Day is either a state holiday to celebrate the Mormon pioneers or a gentile’s day off work to eat pie and beer. But for a small subset of the population, it’s also a day to pursue land speed records at the Deseret News Classic.

Established in 1970, the Deseret News Classic is the oldest road race in Utah and the 4th oldest marathon west of the continental divide. In addition to the 26.2 mile distance, the event also offers half marathon, 10K, and 5K races. In honor of Pioneer Day, the races follow the path the Utah pioneers traveled when they first entered the valley. The marathon, for example, starts above Emigration Canyon and traverses through the area now occupied by the University of Utah and downtown before coming to a finish at Liberty Park; shorter races begin along the same route, closer to the finish line.

A July marathon is a rare thing in the United States, as most runners prefer to race long distances in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall. But most runners also prefer to race fast courses, and the Deseret News Marathon is fast, thanks to a 3,200 drop in elevation from start to finish. To address concerns about high temperatures, the starting gun fires at 5:30 A.M., allowing runners to avoid the heat of the day.

The crowd support also provides a rocket boost to many runners. Finishing along the Days of 47 Parade route, where many have camped out overnight for a primo viewing spot, provides a built-in cheering section for the race. Most of them really wish the runners would hurry up and finish so the parade can get started, but they still clap and offer polite cheers.

Though many runners stuck around Liberty Park post-race to watch the parade, quite a few darted off in search of pie and beer (likely at KRCL’s annual party at Beer Bar). Runners do have to replace those carbs, after all.

RESULTS:

31 year-old Jonathan Kotter of Salt Lake City, a former BYU runner, broke the finish-line tape of the marathon with a time of 2:25:01. Julie Jorgenson, 29, ran a 3:23:43 to take the top podium step for the women.

In the half marathon, former Weber State runner Brett Hales won the men’s race for the fourth consecutive year, sprinting across the finish in 1:04:19.1, while women’s winner Jasmine Sessions clocked in at 1:16:33.

In the 10K, Sandy’s Jason Lynch, a former UVU runner, won the men’s race handily in 29:15; Rena Chesser’s 32:57cinched the women’s race.

Thomas Merrill (19:41.8) and former Weber State runner Janae Richardson (20:30.1) won the men’s and women’s 5K races.

A new book, Red Rock Testimony: Three Generations of Writers Speak on Behalf of Utah’s Public Lands, hopes to influence the Obama administration and Congress as they make decisions about southern Utah’s public lands. Copies of the book have been delivered to the Obama administration, every member of Congress, and public lands managers at the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and the United States Forest Service.

This issue was brought to the national spotlight in October 2015 when five southwestern Native nations proposed the creation of Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah. In May of this year, Native American tribes and their supporters rallied to oppose the Utah legislature’s move to denounce President Obama’s designation of the national monument. Public land arguments have been in the news since the Bundys’ takeover in Oregon and Representative Jason Chaffetz’s Public Land Initiative.

The book’s 34 contributors are writers from different backgrounds, races and generations who all agree on the spiritual, cultural and scientific importance of protecting the proposed Bears Ears National Monument. The book’s contributors include: Charles Wilkinson, the preeminent scholar of public lands and Indian law, Navajo Poet Laureate Luci Tapahonso, Utah’s first poet laureate David Lee, MacArthur Fellow Gary Paul Nabhan, writer-philosopher Kathleen Dean Moore, former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, former Utah state archaeologist Kevin Jones, millennial essayists Anne Terashima and Brooke Larsen, Ute Mountain Ute tribal councilwoman Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk, former members of Congress Mark Udall and Karen Shepherd, bestselling essayists David Gessner and Lauret Savoy and recent Utah Bureau of Land Management Director Juan Palma

A website called redrockstories.org was also created as part of this project. The site encourages interactive submissions celebrating redrock country and promoting protection of public lands.

This is not the first time a testimonial work of literature has attempted to influence government decisions. In 1995, a work titled Testimony: Writers of the West Speak on Behalf of Utah Wilderness influenced President Bill Clinton’s decision to proclaim Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument the following year.

A press release for the book stated, “These redrock writers have created a community chorus, a montage of hearfelt words that includes Native and Hispanic voices, warnings from elders and challenges from millenials, personal emotional journeys and lyrical nature writing. These pieces address historical context, natural history and archaeology, energy threats, faith, and politics. Together, they offer a remarkable case for restraint and respect in the incomparable redrock landscape of southern Utah.”