After a night of sleeping in the dirt, we continued our camping adventure by eating cereal and doughnuts just like the pioneers. My wife broke camp and headed home via the car ride and I opted to take the shorter/more difficult route home. It is a run that I have been dreaming about for years now. The epic Tony Grove to Green Canyon run. I was so excited to finally do it. Things started out fine with the short climb out of TG. 500' climb in a mile. No big deal. The doughnuts were working wonders for me. I was fully fueled and ready. The route was well marked (plus my trusty maps helped) and I admired the sights. I took a few pictures and generally soaked in my surroundings as I went. I arrived at the junction to Cottonwood Canyon and it showed two ways to go. Cottonwood Canyon and Smithfield Canyon. My thought process was incorrect as I decided I wanted Cottonwood canyon. I got a quarter mile down the canyon and was admiring Mt Elmer when I realized I was supposed to run past Mt Elmer. This trail is not taking me there. A quick consult with the maps confirmed I am an idiot and I went back and took the other path. I would have ended up at Jardine Juniper tree many miles from home. The route to Mt. Elmer was rocky, steep, and not well traveled. I lost the trail many times while traversing the 6 false summits enroute. This was the most difficult portion of the journey. My small blister on my toe (I got that during yesterdays run - in fact, it is the first blister I have had in a year) was really unhappy with the camber of the trail. The trail was downright hard. The upside was the spectacular views of everything though. 3.5 miles of ridge running with cliffs on both sides. Awesome! After a short hike to the top of Elmer for a few pictures (and to say that I have been on top), I made haste to continue. It was now mid-day and getting hot. I had plenty of water, but I was really exposed up there. I was now about halfway there, but with the hard uphill part done. Now all that was left was a long straight shot down the entire length of Green Canyon. I have never run the upper section before so it was neat to explore and admire the view. I was also VERY glad to be going down the canyon and not up as it was super steep and rocky at the top. Things progressed nicely as I descended. The trail flattened out a bit and was less switchbacky. Yes, that is a word. Switchbacky. Eventually, I was again on familiar trails and enjoying the final push. The last 2 miles were 6:40 pace which felt blazing fast after those 15-20 min miles on the ridge earlier. I survived! I had thoughtfully left a car at the lower parking lot and quickly drove home to a nice cool shower (again, just like the pioneers did). T-3:02:40 (10:44) 3000' ascent 5900' descent Weekly summary: 81 Miles 10,650' Vert
Went left instead of right. Ooops My first good look at Mt. Elmer. It would take me an hour and a half to get there. Mt. Elmer from the top of the 4th or 5th (of "7 sisters") From on top of Elmer looking towards Mt. Jardine and logan in the distance. You can see the trail I will soon be running on (first ridge). More from on top. See Logan Peak in the distance? Quality signage. I will have to visit that peak another day. View from the Top of Green Canyon. Pretty steep up top, but super pretty.
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