AM: 2.2 miles with my padawans. Including the Romney Stadium stairs. Good workout.
PM: Ran Willow Creek-Ephraim's Cutoff-Ephraim's Grave-Steel Hollow today. Beautiful day for a run. This run warrants more of a story, but I don't have much time. I will post more later. Be prepared for some comedy, drama, and tragedy. The time should give you a hint. Stay tuned. 2:07:20 (10:36/mi.) Later... Ok, here's the scoop. Got to the parking lot at RHF and there was a guy there loading up his dirt bike (the motorized kind). We exchanged pleasantries, and I asked him which trail he had come down. He said that he came out of Cottonwood Canyon and had gone up Maughan Hollow, but then mentioned that he had intended to go scout Steel Hollow, but that the trail was impassible due to water in the trail before the first bridge. He said I would probably be able to make it on foot though. That should have been warning sign No. 1, but at least I know from that conversation that Maughan and Cottonwood are open if a dirt bike can get through. Anyway, so I took off up the trail and he was not kidding about the water. The former riverbed and the trail have literally switched places...except both are running water. The trail is about 3 feet deep in rushing, ice cold water for about 100 yards. Like you can't even tell there was ever a trail. I was able to jump most of the way across, but nearly got swept off my feet by the water. Somehow managed to keep my phone and Garmin from getting wet. I took a couple of pictures, but can't figure out how to post them here. If I get time I may post them on my blogspot later. Once I got through that it was pretty easy to the Willow Creek trail. There were a few more wet spots and crossings, but nothing as severe as the first one. The rest of the first 6 miles to Old Ephraim's Grave was tough, but uneventful and very beautiful. I had been worried that I might not remember the way since it's been the better part of 3 years since the time I ran it with Jon and Cody back in the fall of '08, but I remembered everything fine. I got some more pictures looking back over the Naomi Wilderness. Gorgeous. Anyway, after Ephraim's Grave, things started to go downhill, and not just in elevation (actually I was climbing for another mile plus). At first, it was just a few drifts in the road, which I managed easily enough. But as soon as I turned off onto Steel Hollow I knew I was in for it. It was too late to turn back now though, so I forged ahead. Most of the upper part of the trail is still under 4 feet of snow. Enough melting has happened that the spots around the trees are melted to the dirt, but in between there is still a full complement of dirty, icy snow. So you're basically hopping from drift to drift, and occasionally breaking through and sinking to your thighs, hoping that you don't get impaled by a submerged branch or break your ankle. That's the part that's snowy. The rest of the trail, or what's left of it, is a river. On top of that, there are dozens, if not hundreds of downed trees across the trail/stream. Running is nearly impossible. Eventually though, the stream went underground and the lower half of the trail is pretty runnable, though still very washed out in places. Here's where I get to the tragic part. Once I joined up with the Rick's Canyon trail, I found that it has been all but washed out. There is still a trail there, but it is no longer the fairly smooth trail I remember. All rocks and crappy footing--a dry wash. Barely runnable at all. It will be a long time before that trail is runnable again without some serious reclamation. I hope it is more runnable farther up, or this will be a horrible loss. But the way Steel looks, I fear both trails may end up the same way, minus the lower half of Steel. This is a real bummer. Hopefully I'm wrong. Anyway, so that's my story...6 miles of bliss...6 miles of "what the heck was I thinking?" I returned home covered in mud, with bleeding hands and shins (from the ice crust), but feeling thoroughly hardcore. Chalk one up to training for the worst at Logan Peak. I'll be ready for whatever it can throw at me. Unfortunately, Scott, I did not meet up with Old Ephraim's ghost. That would have been the cherry on top of this running/hiking/skiing/slogging/swimming adventure.
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