Summit junkie!

5 on the TM. Woop-tee-do.

I woke up early to lift at the gym because I probably won't get home until late tonight. It was crowded in there, but I had a pretty good session.

Check out this cool video that MattVS put together from our Superior climb last week. It is purdy nifty.

Superior South Ridge

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.

Green Canyon in Logan solo:

I'm still in Logan so I found another really cool trail to run after dinner. The first few miles there are a lot of fire pits and campgrounds and I saw a lot of people out enjoying the nountains. The trail is a nice single track that runs next to a dirt road as it goes up the canyon. There is a dry creek running next to the trail most of the way and the trail crosses the road several times in the first 3 miles. The canyon offered plenty of shade and the temps were much cooler than in the valley below.

The first few miles were tough. I had a HUGE gut bomb in my tummy from all of the crappy food I have been eating, but after that I started feeling really good. The canyon was beautiful and green and I was really enjoying the run. After a few miles I started seeing less people. At mile 3ish I saw a mountain biker going down and after that it was only me the rest of the way up. At about 3.7 I came to the Mt. Naomi trailhead and it was a nice single track in one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. As I ran up the trail it definitely felt a lot more remote and there were no campsites or signs of people anywhere. It was getting darker and it was a touch eerie, but it was really a perfect evening for a run.

At mile 5 I turned around and I had about 30 minutes before it would be getting dark so I opened up the pace and had a really fun cruise back to the car. I kept it under 8 most of the way and my legs felt really good for about 3 miles, but I could feel some fatigue toward the end. I finished just before dark and never had to pull out my headlamp. It was an incredible run on a new trail and I will hit it again next time I am up here.

View Benchmark solo:

I had a really nice easy run up to the summit via Ann's trail. I didn't see anyone on the lower trail and I just got into a good groove and enjoyed the run up. At the VB trail I saw a hiker up ahead and quickly passed him and then ran it up to the summit. I stretched my hammy and started feeling like my energy was lacking, but I didn't take a gel because I figured I would be down quick, but that was a mistake.

The run down was a mess. After only a half mile my energy was very low and I was feeling really depleted. It had been 5 hours since I had anything to eat and I should have just stopped to grab a gel out of my pack, but I didn't and I paid for it the last two miles. I felt pretty crappy running it in and it really slowed me down a lot.

Draper trails with Rob and friends:

My friend Rob invited me to run the Draper trails again with him, so we met at 6:30 am at the Orson Smith trailhead. We also ran with his wife and a couple of her friends. We ran the same route that we did two weeks ago (BST, Gasline, Ghost Falls, Canyon Hollow, Ann's, BST). The weather was perfect for running and the sun didn't hit us until the last few miles. 

The story of the day was Rob and I out front pushing the pace with the others a few minutes behind. We were running all of the uphills and the flats and downhills were between 7:20-7:45 most of the morning. We would run to a trail junction and then wait a few minutes for the crew to catch up to make sure they got on the right trail. My legs felt really good the entire run, but my hammy did start to get tight the last few miles, so I didn't push it quite as hard.

Once again there were tons of bikers out and we were constantly trying to avoid them and it was a pain, but the run was so good that I can't say it bothered me too much, although Saturday on this trail system is not the best day to run. The last mile is downhill and Rob and his wife pushed a sub 7 pace the whole way down. I followed them for about a half mile, but my hammy was tight so I cruised in at a 7:15 pace just behind them. It was a really fun run with good friends and the perfect start to my day.