Driven

On the Big Bacon with Scott. No big woop.

Grandeur *ungh* DOUBLE UP *ungh* *ungh* + Pipeline Run loop to car

Well I finally did it, but when I got up early this morning I had no intention of doing it. I hiked the West ridge of Mt. Grandeur twice back-to-back.

Late in the week Scott Wesemann decided that another hike up Grandeur and run down the other side/loop to the car would make a good Saturday morning, so I agreed to join him and four other fellas, and that is what we did. Nearly half-way up the West ridge route I removed my fleece jacket and stuffed it into a tree. If I ever wanted to see the fleece again I would have to come back another day to retrieve it. We continued to the summit, then ran down the Church Fork trail to the Pipeline trail. Just like last month, we then ran the Pipeline to Rattlesnake Gulch, then down to the Millcreek canyon road, then out to Wasatch and back to the cars. And just like last time I was slower than the other fellas. And just like last time Seth and Scott stayed with me to the end - when they could have easily crossed the finish line 20 minutes ahead of me.

 The total milage of the route is about 10 to 11 miles. 

When I got back to the car, back at the trailhead beneath the West ridge route, I decided to just go back up and get my fleece. The thought of it sitting up there, exposed to weather and animals did not appeal to me. It's my favorite fleece jacket! I immediately began the hike back up the West ridge, where I hiked 3 hours earlier. Then I had an idea. After I get my fleece, should I just keep going to the top? Maybe. If the fleece was only a quarter of the way up, I would have probably come down. In fact, I had left it nearly halfway up the route, and since I was already halfway, I just kept going to the top. 

Yeah yeah, not as impressive as five on Olympus (or even two on Olympus), but after a hefty run on the same day after hiking the mountain once already, I felt satisfaction that I finally did a Grandeur Double. 

From home to Farmington Canyon and back

No big woop. Some nice juicy uphill for a mile.

Knee hurts running down. 

Horseshoe Canyon TH to camp near Granary Springs - Bluejohn Canyon

 With Joseph Bullough. We drove to the Canyonlands area on Friday, set up camp near Granary Spring, then drove to the Horseshoe Canyon trailhead. I left my vehicle at the trailhead, and we ran back fifteen miles through the desert to our camp. 

In the morning we set out about 7:30 AM and descended into the main fork of BlueJohn canyon. Shortly after we entered the canyon, the walls narrow considerably to within a few feet. We made 4 short rappels through tight, steep slots and enjoyed every minute of the morning. After the difficult slots the canyon widens a little, but the walls rise over a hundred feet, and we were rewarded with a sustained mile-lomg hike through a grand cathedral-like setting. The canyon is spectacular.

When we emerged from the narrows and began hiking in the wide, shallow wash between main fork and lower BlueJohn (where Ralston was stuck in 2003), a solo hiker limped over to us as we were having a break. He was moving very slowly, had only one shoe and was banged up. He told us he had descended into the East fork of BlueJohn four days earlier and had been stuck there, having to stay overnight twice in a deep, dark slot. Apparently he got stuck in a very tight slot, then lost his rope, fell deeper, and lost his headlamp. He said he had filled up on water from potholes he found in the canyon. He was very glad to see us and we decided to hike him up and out of the canyon and to the road. We got him above the canyon rim and were preparing to hike with him several miles to the road when two searchers found us and the lost hiker. They had picked up his trail back where the East fork converges with the main, and followed his one-shoe-one-sock tracks. Then they picked up our tracks coming out of the canyon. We passed off the lost hiker - a cop named Tony, from Colorado - to the searchers and said goodbye.

Joe and I returned to the main fork and continued down to lower BlueJohn, where it slots up again. At the beginning of the slot there is a 15 foot drop. Then, there are several large chockstone boulders, which we crawled under. Then we came to the exact place where Aron Ralston had is epic ordeal back in April 2003. The rock that pinned his right arm against the canyon wall is still there. We lingered at the accident site for 5 minutes, taking photos and standing in the place where Ralston was trapped for 5 days until he escaped the canyon by amputating his right arm with a dull knife. There is no evidence whatsoever of what happened there eight years ago.The blood stains on the canyon wall have long since been scoured away by wind, sand and water. 

Continuing downcanyon, the walls get closer and light more scarce. Then as I turned a corner I saw nothing but blackness. I switched on my headlamp and squeezed through the twisting slot. This area was the best part of the route, a fantastic tour through a natural wonder. Lower BlueJohn  is a short slot, and soon we emerged into the sunlight and onto a dryfall platform, and a sheer seventy foot drop above the floor of Horseshoe canyon. Joe and I rappelled off the Big Drop, then hiked 7 miles back to my Subaru, which I had parked the day before. On the hike back we stopped and admired the ancient pictographs of the Great Gallery on the canyon wall.

This trip was a big success, and one of my favorite adventures. 

Grandeur hike/run combo

I don't know if I belong on this blog because I am not a fast runner. I get knee pain, foot pain, and I poop a lot while I am out in the mountains.

This morning I met Scott at 5AM and we hiked up the West ridge of Grandeur. Conditions down low were good, but the wind blew cold on us for the first half of the hike. on the upper mountain we encountered crusty snow under lighter powder, which made for a slippedy-slidey hike, and it slowed us considerably. At the summit we decided to continue down and run the loop back to the cars.

The Grandeur West ridge loop run to the parking area is a good run. You get to hike a peak with over 3,000 of el., then you get several miles of trail running. You may see some elk, deer or even an eagle along the way.

I think our total time was about 3:30, and the poor snow conditions on the ridge will account for that.

Run around the neighborhood. No big woop.

King's Peak Ski

Up front: I did not reach the summit this year.

I've skied to King's Peak the past two years, and both times I reached the summit. This year was my first attempt of King's that did not result in getting to the summit.

So what was the deal? Yes, I am bummed that I failed to reach my goal, a goal that is well within my ability to reach. Several factors combined to cause my failure: I was still getting over a cold, I got little sleep the morning of the event, I had a late start, my ski boots irritated my feet and I got blisters, and I was moving too slowly.

Also, when I skied into Henry's Fork basin and had a view of King's Peak, I could see the mountain clearly. Later as I moved closer to Gunsight Pass, the mountain and the upper elevation plateau was obscured by nasty-looking weather. I could have pressed on, but I was about an hour behind the fastest members of the group, and I would have had  to navigate a route beyond the pass to the mountain and back in poor visibility, and I would have been alone. I did not want to risk getting lost up there, so I turned around about a mile or two from Gunsight Pass.

I skied out in full daylight, tired and sore. But I was so glad I didn't have to ski out in the dark, like I have the past two years.

So yes, I am bummed that I didn't go hardcore and push myself to the mountain, but I do know I can get to that peak and back because I have done it twice before in March conditions.