Indecision.
Saturday was to be a bluebird day and I did not want to miss out of doing something big. I went to sleep Friday evening not settled on where I would go in the morning, but I had it narrowed to a few of the best peaks in the canyons. Lone Peak and the Pfeifferhorn were at the top of my list, but also the Cottonwood Ridge is one I want to do again this year.
I awoke at 5 AM, not feeling much inspiration to even get out of bed. I played with the cats, got a drink, got back into bed thinking I will go a little later. Two hours passed and finally I was backing the car out with the intent to go up either LCC to White Pine and the Pfeifferhorn for a fast ascent (going for a sub-1:20, which I will certainly do), or to Lone Peak. If LonePeak, then by which route? I hadn't decided until I was driving further South and heading East toward the mountains. Then I remembered Big Willow and how I've had the desire to run up that way to see if it would be a more quick ascent to the summit than Cherry Canyon/Bear Canyon. It seems logical that of course it would be faster than Cherry because it is 2 miles shorter. I parked at Hidden Valley park in Sandy, then ran up to the Sawmill trail head. My legs and energy were fantastic. I caught up to some hikers who are ultra runners (the Buffalo Run t-shirt was an indication) so I stopped and chatted with the guy for a full ten minutes. There went my fast ascent. Running again I continued to be pleased with how well I was feeling, and how fun the trail is up in the pine forest. Since I had only ever been up Big Willow in Spring snow for mountaineering trips to Lone Peak summit, I was not sure if there was a trail to the upper bowl. There is, and it is mostly very well defined. Even on the way up I had not decided what the end game would be after the summit. I gave myself the option of descending to the Outlaw Cabin and Bear Canyon, or through the cirque and Jacob's Ladder and the dirt road, to the the Shoreline trail back to the car. They both were good options; then I gave myself the grand prize option of just "going for it" and making the big traverse from Lone Peak to the Pfeifferhorn, then down Red Pine, then run down the LC Canyon road, then 3 miles back to my car, for a total of nearly 25 miles and lots of ridge scrambling and peak bagging.
At the top of Big Willow there is a boldly cut notch in the granite wall between Big Willow bowl and upper Bells canyon. I climbed up through the notch, then up to Lone Peak. It is a granite playground. I summited in 2:43, my time last year from the longer cherry Canyon route. Even with the shorter approach, if I didn't stop to chat with the runner down below, and then take a potty break, I would have only been up about 15 to 20 minutes faster than by the other way.
On the summit I was feeling so well that I said out loud "I'm gonna go for it", and began the traverse South and East toward the Pfeifferhorn. I ran down toward the saddle before Bighorn Peak, then scramled up the enormous granite boulders that are jumbled upon its North ridge. I got to the summit of Bighorn from Lone peak in about 45 minutes. Continuing, I traversed to South Thunder in another 45 minutes, then to Chipman peak in about 35 minutes. I was moving very well with lots of energy. From Chipman it was my goal to get on the summit of Pfeifferhorn in an hour or less. I got there in 55 minutes, then jumped my way down its Southern face. I crossed the "knife edge" in 3 minutes, and had an uneventful run down to the road, aside from seeing the shivering oriental man laying on the side of the trail, with three women attending. He had an allergic reaction, they said. About half mile later the paramedics passed me as they hurried up to his aid.
At the White Pine trailhead I considered holding out my thumb for a ride as I ran down the canyon road because 1. I was late for a family wedding and 2. my feet were hurting and pavement is not kind to sore feet. But then I stubbornly decided to complete this loop...because I can. Lower down the canyon I found the Little Cottonwood trail and so moved off the road, thank goodness. I filled my vest bladder with cool creek water and ran the last several miles on Wasatch Blvd back to my car at the park. After a dirtbag shower of pouring a lot of water over myself, and using wet wipes to clean up, I drove down to Lehi in time to miss the wedding but to eat the food. Big day complete.
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