Dude Peak attempt with Jun:
Jun and I wanted to run to Dude Peak, which is on the north ridge above City Creek Canyon. To get there we started on the BST at the base of City Creek and turned left toward ensign Peak. MattV and I ran this last week and I really love the trail. It is a steady climb up to the ridge where there are several bumps that have radio towers on them that you can see from Salt Lake and Davis County. We took a slightly different route than Matt and I and went straight up the hill instead of taking the longer more gradual approach. I'm not sure it saved any time, but it was fun going up a different way, plus we got to top out on a few minor hills (not quite summits).
When we passed the radio towers Dude peak looked really far away and after about 20 minutes of running it didn't seem to be getting any closer. We soon realized that we were not going to have time to make it all the way to the summit, but we didn't care. We were running in shorts, t-shirts and enjoyng the warm sun. We decided to take the more gradual route on the descent and we had a fun time chatting the whole way. I did start to feel slightly bonky, so I downed a gel and then 30 minutes later I took another one because I could tell my energy was low.
The run down was a lot of fun. Once we hit the single track Jun took off at a blistering pace and I couldn't keep him in my sights. This is a tough run and I can't wait to get back and hit Dude when we have more time. Check out Jun's blog for some sweet pics. | 