A week bouncing between Colorado's San Juan Mountains and the canyon country of southern Utah with Todd: mining-town backroads through Silverton and Ophir, a genuine rock tunnel blasted through the mountainside outside Telluride, and alpine lakes so still they mirrored the peaks around them. Fall had just started turning the aspens gold, which made every overlook worth the stop.

From there we dropped down into the desert: Moab's red rock canyons, the hairpin switchbacks of the Moki Dugway outside Mexican Hat, and a quiet, dusty camp above Lake Powell to close it out. Two states, a week on the road, and more good trail than we could fit into the days we had.