Trail run up Big Cottonwood with Jun, MattVD and Lily
We met at the BCC park n ride at 5:45 am. We started at the Mill D trailhead and the clouds were a bit dark and it looked like we might get a sprinkle, but I wasn't too worried. The temps were perfect. The run up to Dog Lake was fun. Everything is so green right now and it was incredible. We all just chatted and the time flew by.
From the Lake we went around and picked up the trail that goes right under Gobblers Knob and that would drop us down into Butler fork. The trail was overgrown and not in the best shape, so it slowed us down some. I inhaled a bug. It sucked. Luckily I was able to cough it up, but I think I swallowed it. Haha. About 5 minutes later one nailed me right in the eye. The views were stunning. I enjoyed checking out the Cottonwood Ridge and can't believe how much snow is still up there.
Once we reached the turn off for Butler the trail really improved and we could go a lot faster. After about a mile Jun took my key and went ahead because he needed to get back. We ran into some old Wasatch vets Super Dave and Michael Hannan. These guys are pushing 70 and can kick just about everyone's butt in the hills. We chatted with them for a minute and then had a sweet run back to the canyon road where we ran about .4 before we ran into Jun coming down to pick us up.
**PM update**
I had some time tonight to get out for another run, so I went up Lake Mountain by myself. There wasn't a cloud anywhere near the mountain when I started and the temperature was really nice. I parked in the neighborhood below the trailhead and ran the .4 to the TH where I started my watch. I ran until I got to the steeper section and then I would hike anything steep and run where I could. It felt nice out and I was really enjoying the run. I was wearing my Hokas and they felt really good on my feet.
A few guys passed me on motorcycles, but other than that I didn't see another person up there. At about mile 3 I noticed some clouds rolling in and I got a little worried. I decided that if I heard or saw any lightning I would just head back. I saw the motorcycle guys coming down when I got to the steepest rocky section and one of them dumped his bike and fell off. He was going really slow so it wasn't serious. When I got up to them we chatted for a few minutes and one guy asked me if I was training for the Salt Lake 100. I asked them how the clouds looked on top and they said they were ok, so I kept going up.
When I got to the saddle I kept going where we normally turn left to the summit because Jun discovered that we haven't been climbing the true high point, but a separate summit where all of the towers are. I found a road after .3 that went right and I knew it was the right way and after a few minutes I was standing on the highest point. It was now dark and the clouds were looking unsettled, so I wanted to get down ASAP. I pulled out my headlamp and discovered that the batteries were almost dead and it was barely working. I had to hold it while I ran and I could only see a few feet in front of me and it really slowed me down.
Just below the saddle it started to rain really hard and I ducked under a tree for a few minutes to wait it out. After a few minutes it was just a sprinkle, so I took off, although I was still running slow because of my light. It seemed to take forever to get off of the mountain and I was really worried my lamp would die. Luckily it didn't. I also saw a few flashes of lighting, but not close enough to scare me too much. It was definitely my slowest time ever up and down the mountain, but I still had a great time
That gives me over 18 miles and almost 5K in elevation for the day. | 