View Benchmark peak solo:
I had an awesome experience running/slogging/breaking trail to the summit of VB on a stormy day along the Wasatch Front. I got to the trailhead at 3:00 pm and it had been snowing pretty hard for most of the day. I knew there would be snow on the trail and I also figured I would be breaking it, but I wasn't expecting as much as there was. It was shin to knee deep and at the start I was breaking trail in the fresh powder. At first I wasn't sure if I had time to make it to the top, but I was going to try. I put the iPod on an 80's new wave playlist and quickly got into a nice groove. I ran from the start and it was slow and tough, but an incredible workout. Once I got onto Ann's trail there were some faint tracks that someone had put in a few hours pervious, so they did help some, but it was still a slog. I just tried to keep a running pace uphill in the deep snow. 14:50 AP first mile.
The tracks stopped just after a mile and from there I would be breaking the trail the rest of the way. It was slow, but incredibly fun. It was a surreal place to be with the deep fresh snow everywhere and total solitude that was only interrupted when I scared a large owl out of a tree. Awesome! When I hit the VB trail there was a truck parked there with some guys on snowmobiles and they had put in a track about half way up the mountain which I ran on. It helped some to be on the track, but I was still sinking with every step, so I wasn't fast. Once the track petered out it was time for more trail breaking in the deep powder. Normally this is an arduous process that sucks out your energy, but today it was fun and I enjoyed every step.
I hit the summit in 1:15, which is about 30 minutes slower than normal, but my effort was at least 2X what it normally takes for me. I took a gel and stretched out and after a few minutes I started to get cold. The normally stellar views were replaced by a big thick cloud that had parked itself right on the summit. It had been snowing the entire way up and I was getting wet, so I wanted to get moving and I quickly warmed up as I ran down the hill in the deep powder. Yeeeeah!!!
As I got down past the Maple Hollow connector trail the clouds really moved in and it provided an eerie backdrop for the rest of the run. It was getting colder, but I was still feeling really good, but my energy was definitely getting low and I probably should have taken another gel. With about a mile to go I came around a corner and was greeted with a huge rack! Right on the trail was several deer, including two huge bucks and a few smaller bucks with 4-5 dough's. They took off, but one of the big bucks stopped right off the trail and stared at me. I stopped to check him out and he bounded up the hill pretty quick. More awesome.
It was definitely harder than the miles would indicate, but I had a total blast and enjoyed every minute of solitude out there on the trails. I wore my new Altra Lone Peaks and they were simply awesome on the snowy trails.
On the summit:
| 