Cursed Realm of the Faceless Ghost

December 22, 2024

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Location:

Provo,UT,

Member Since:

Apr 07, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K - 17:11 (Cougar Run)

10K - 34:35 (Deseret News)

15K - 57:33 (Utah Running Club)

1/2 - 1:22:26 (Mountain View Trail)

50K - 4:22:31 (Sapper Joe)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Sub-2:45 at Saint George Marathon

Win the Antelope Island half marathon

Long-Term Running Goals:

I'd like to run the Angeles Crest 100 at some point. And I'd still like to go sub-4 at a trail 50k. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/4808912

Personal:

I was a competitive cyclist for years. In 2009, after racing in the Tour of Utah, I decided I had plateaued as a cyclist--I could continue to improve, but I wouldn't break through to a new level. So, I started looking for a new challenge.

I thought that challenge would be mountain biking, but I'm a terrible bike handler. I married Catherine in January 2010 and a couple of weeks later I entered the SLTC Winter Training Series with her. A couple of weeks after that I decided I'd like to run ultras, so I signed up for a couple of 50Ks to get started.

Those first races came and went, with varying results. I was looking forward to running more and possibly pushing into the longer distances, but I injured my knee in June 2010 and I've never been consistently healthy since.

I started law school in August 2010, which meant less time for training. In June 2011, Baby Elliott was born, which meant even less time for training. But she's worth it.

Baby Nora joined us in October 2013, with the same effect on training as Elliott (who, incidentally, is no longer a baby).

I (finally) finished school in April 2014 and now I'm an evil corporate lawyer in Salt Lake. I have no illusions that I'll ever get back into the shape that I once was, but I'm perfectly at peace with that. I still have many goals to accomplish and many years in which to do it.

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00

Sat, Jun 25, 2011

Total Distance

0.00

A couple of years ago, I set out for a scheduled 6-hour ride on a Sunday afternoon in early February. At the time I was living near Liberty Park, and my plan was to ride a loop up through Tooele and back through Lehi. But as I came around the south end of the Oquirrh Mountains, the head wind was so strong that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make it all the way around the loop before dark, and winter is a bad time to be caught out in the cold.

I passed a turnoff to Ophir, and because my photographer friend had mentioned the place before I decided to check it out and then retrace my route home. What I found was a beautiful little canyon with a beautiful little ghost town at the top (acccording to Wikipedia, there are about 28 people living there). I haven't been back since. Every time I plan to, something comes up.

My most recent attempt was today. I asked a friend if he wanted to come along, but he ended up bringing a friend who was a bit slower. Slow enough that I didn't want to ride all the way to Ophir because that would mean getting back way later than I had told Catherine.

So instead we headed up a different canyon to Mercur, another ghost town. I was hoping to find another little gem like Ophir, but instead we found this:

Oh well--still a good ride. And as my friend said, we're probably three of about 100 people in Utah who have ever been to Mercur.

Road Chain Miles: 77.10

Weight: 166.20

Comments

From jun on Wed, Jun 29, 2011 at 10:15:22 from 205.158.160.209

I've been there. I've been to both of those ghost towns, although it was about 20+ years ago. I don't really remember any of it. Weird how there is a gate there now.

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