I woke up at 3:30 AM this morning to do a trail run with Jun. We met at the Chevron in Draper (South Mountain) at 4:15 and then left my car about a half mile up the road, near where we would be coming down off of the mountain. After we dropped my car we drove to the BST off of Wasatch Blvd. It was cold, but not bad when we arrived and we quickly got our gear ready and headed out.
The first 5 miles were on the BST, and there was a lot less snow than the last time we were on it. There are a lot of ups and downs, and after about 3 miles I could feel my ITB in my right knee getting tight. It has been bothering me ever since our run out in Eagle Mountain. I had to mess with my brace several times, and I could tell when it had fallen down some because my knee would really start to hurt. The morning was incredible, and the views of the valley and the night sky were great.
Heading into Corner Canyon it gets steep, so we did hike a few smaller sections on the steeper snow, and we did sink a little bit in some places, but not bad. The road eventually heads toward Suncrest, and we made our way to some houses, and after a short scramble up a really steep hill we were on the road that would take us right to the railhead to the summit of View Benchmark.
The run on the road was fun, but we did climb a pretty steep hill and my ITB was really sore. We had a great time and the conversation was great. The views were incredible, and we were both giddy about being able to do this amazing run. It was FUN.
We stopped at the trailhead so that I could take a GU, and I nearly gagged. I hate the texture. We also ran into a runner who was going on a short hike with his dog. I doubt he would have even imagined how far we had come, and he took off ahead of us.
The hike to the summit was fun, but my ITB was hurting a lot. The wind had also picked up and it was cold, although it didn't bother me at all. Jun got a pretty good lead on me and made it to the summit about 5 minutes before I did. It was cold and windy on top, so we didn't stay long. Just long enough for me to drop my pants for better access to the knee brace. COLD! I'm glad Jun didn't have his camera.
We descended from the summit, and headed down a nice road/trail on our way to the highest point on the ridge directly behind Draper. I believe this is called South Mountain. The run was hard on me. My knee was hurting and there was some steep up and down. Just before the final climb to South Mountain a herd of deer ran right in front of me on the ridge. It actually startled me for a second. They were close. The last push to the top was steep, and when I reached the summit I could see Jun about a half mile away on the ridge. He had run an out and back to pick up some more miles while he waited for me.
The hike/run back down to my car was steep! It was really hard on my knee, and I was really happy to get back down to the road. From there it was just under a mile back to my car. We had some Gatorade and water and Jun continued on back to his car. I finished with 13 miles and had an amazing day. This was probably the most fun I have ever had on a run. It was challenging, but had a little bit of everything, and it is definitely one I will do again. | 