Saddleback Mountain in Logan solo:
I'm in Logan for work and I when we rolled into town I started checking the hills for something to climb/run later in the day. I saw a peak that looked a lot like Mt. Wire and it even had the two signature microwave towers on the top, so I checked Google maps and was able to determine that it had a name (Saddleback Mountain) and I got some beta on the trail. Steep!
After work my engineer dropped me off at the trailhead, called me crazy and told me to call if I needed to get picked up. It was pretty hot out and the trail went straight up the ridge. I settled into a nice power hike and it became obvious pretty quick that this was going to suck. Straight up the northwest ridge and no switch backs- Who needs 'em? I kept hoping that at some point there would be a switch back or two, but no they must not believe in them round here. After about 20 minutes my legs were feeling it and I was dripping with sweat.
About a mile up the ridge turns west and there is a really pretty meadow that has recently been burned. There was an eagle flying high and the views were impressive. Gods country. At this point the trail becomes less obvious and you go in and around some cliffy spots. There is a little class 3 scrambling, but it isn't bad, just really steep and loose. I really took my time since I was by myself I didn't want to fall and break something.
I completely lost the trail the last 1/4 of a mile and just bushwhacked up to the towers. What a view! After a minute I cruised up to the high point and then took off back down the mountain, but it was slow because this trail is pretty overgrown with loose rocks everywhere. It really wasn't conducive for fast running. On the way down in the steepest section I was blasting my ipod (Dead Mans Party by Boingo) when I got a glimpse of something moving just in front of me... put on the braaaaaaakes. Rattler! The snake was mad and started to strike, but it was about 4 feet away, so no worries. My adrenaline was pumping pretty good and my first thought was to grab my phone to get a few pics, which I did. It slowly slid off the trail and into some rocks, but it stayed in a striking position and let me know that it wasn't happy.
Ok now the rest of the way down I was jumpy and thinking there was going to be a snake next to every rock. Slow! I got off the trail again and had to bushwack back to where I thought it was and eventually found it and then had a nice run down, although it wasn't the best because it was so steep.
At the trailhead I decided to run down the road toward the hotel and made it 3 more miles before my engineer came to pick me up. It was definitely an adventure. | 