Adding pics: Check out all of that gross air you Salt Lakers are breathing in.
I was supposed to meet MatthewVH and Jun to climb Mt. Wire this morning. Jun is still having issues with his calves and he texted me this morning letting me know he couldn't make it. On my way to the trail I received a text from Matt letting me know he was bailing as well. I know Jun had a good excuse and he told me last night that he wasn't sure he could do it, but I think Matt was just being lazy and wanted to sleep in. Come on Matt!!
This wouldn't be my first solo climb of Wire and I was just glad I brought my ipod. I started at almost exactly 6:00 am and there were three ladies and a dog starting at the same time. I started first and the dog wanted to follow me. I figured that they were probably running on the BST and wouldn't be heading up Wire and sure enough they didn't turn off and head up to the ridge, although the dog followed me for a bit.
The fog was horrible this morning and I was so glad that just after I started heading up the steeper section on the ridge I came out of it. If I didn't know the trail so well it would have been very easy to get lost, as the visibility was terrible. Coming out of the fog was incredibly eerie. The whole city was enveloped by a thick dark cloud, and above the stars were really bright and one of the planets looked really impressive to the southeast. It didn't even look real and I wish I had a picture. The black cloud covered almost the entire valley, but right where I know downtown is there was a small glow of light. I love climbing in the mountains. The views!!
The trail was in great shape and it was obvious that the sun has been shining above the inversion. It was also a lot warmer up there. I just listened to my ipod and completely enjoyed the morning. I made it to the top in 57:00 and I stayed up there at least 10 minutes looking at the valley and taking a few pictures with my phone, which I will add here.
The run down was really fun, and I just took it easy on a few of the icy sections were there is some steep rock, but other than that I was able to run the whole way. Total time was 1:44 (including summit time). I had an excellent time, got to breath some fresh air, got a great workout and still made it on time to work. That is why I love Mt. Wire.
Total elevation gain: 2300 ft
Total for the week: 4900 ft
Total summits for 2011: 1 | 