Driven

Hold on now, that's 32 miles riding a bike from West Farmington North to God knows where on the old RR line bike path. At mile ten I rode past a large industrial building with a sign in front that read KELLOG'S, and a very pleasant food odor, like that of seasoned pizza rolls, filled my nose. Immediately following I was hit with a foul odor that can only be described as dumpster breath.

Someone once said that injured runners make good bikers. My right foot still hurts from last week. The foot hurt enough to shut down the Gannett Peak run Scott & I had been planning since last year. 

Bonneville Shoreline, Kaysville to Layton out and back. I'm not cool enough to call it the BoSho.

Wasatch Crest with Craig & Scott.

King's Peak with Scott and Josh. About 20 miles was running, the other 6 or so was hiking. Started about a quarter to 11 PM Friday night and finished 10 hours later. We were in full blazing moonlight the entire night, which was very comforting. I never felt alone or lost out there. I got a headache while climbing the mountain, and I was alone at the top so I didn't relish much in the summit. Scott slowed down considerably past Anderson and then puked at the summit. Josh stayed with him until we all reunited down on the high plateau. At sunrise Scott took a nap just before we descended back to Gunsight Pass, and he was able to muster the strength to run out and finish relatively strong.

I've had a desire to do King's in a day during the summer so now that is done. Our intent was to do a double King's but to do that we would need to plan differently.

I am giving serious thought to going back in the next few weeks  to either attempt the double or to do a speed run of King's.

Sixteen+ miles of hiking some of the most beautiful little mountains in the world.

Late evening run on the old rail trail, Farmington to Kaysville.

 No big woop. 

One Little Victory

So I wanted to see how quickly I could run up to the Pfeifferhorn summit. My goal was to get under 2 hours. I left work at 5PM and drove straight to the White Pine trail head in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I suited up in the car and was ready to go at 5:58 PM. I ran most of the way but hiked quickly the steeper, more rocky sections of trail. I arrived at the White Pine/Red Pine junction at about 11 minutes. My first goal was to reach the lake under 50 minutes. Gosh darn it, I got to the lake at exactly 50 minutes. I reached the upper lakes 15 minutes after that. Next I set a goal to be up on the Alpine Ridge in 1:25, but I blazed up the steep rocky headwall and got there in 1:15. I then began running again toward the Pfeifferhorn, chasing after a goat and her kid. I crossed the East Ridge in three minutes, moving fast like my life depended on moving fast. I do not recall how long it took me to climb the summit, but it must have been around ten minutes. I moved as fast as I could and did not stop. I arrived at the summit of Pfeifferhorn summit in 1:35.

It was a very pleasant evening up on the Alpine Ridge. The blazing sun was low in the Western sky and I had the summit to myself. I stayed for about a minute then quickly moved down the mountain, reversing the route. I ran the entire way back and reached the car for a round trip time of 2:47. About half mile from the trailhead I caught up with a young moose, which was also out for an evening jog. I chased moose for about a quarter mile, shouting at it to move off the trail. I had to slow my pace several times so not to get too close to the large animal. At last the moose got the message and moved off into the bush and I resumed my quick pace. If not for the altercation with the moose, I believe I would have been to the car in 2:45. I did not use my headlamp.

I was in the zone the entire evening and feeling fantastic. 

I know the summit has been reached in faster times but I am very pleased with the success of my first speed climb of the Pfeiff. The next time I try to break 1:35 I know I will have to run more on the uphills. That is the key. 

Miles? Freak, I don't know. I just went up and hiked Devil's Castle and Sugarloaf peak, then ran down to Albion Basin. Six peaks in 5 days.

I think Timp is 14 miles?

 I've been on the Timp summit only twice before, so it was easy to turn in a nice fast time on my first running attempt. Virtually the entire trail is runnable and I kept moving quickly through 99% of it. 

I met Craig Lloyd at the Timpooneke TH and we were off in the dark shortly after. A group of hikers was about to head up at the same time so I decided to skip using the potty at the TH and just get going. About a mile up I stopped to have a quick wiz and later the mile-one poo struck so I did not get within shouting distance of Craig again until we both arrived at the summit at virtually the same time (he was a minute or two ahead of me). 

The most difficult 'crux' of running Timp on a Saturday is weaving around all the hikers on the trail. I am certain I can get to summit faster on a weekday.

When I got into the upper reaches of the basin I saw Craig ahead and above on a switchback. I waved but he was zoned and did not see me. When I ran into the saddle there were dozens of young people there and I happened to arrive right at sunrise. The golden light reflecting off the mountains, combined with how good I was feeling was enough for my brain to say "Hey, here are some endorphins for you." I was high and just shouted out WOOO! as I ran past 50 people watching the sunrise. I kept going, trying to catch Craig who may as well have been an elusive mountaingoat. Now I saw him, now he vanished into the folds of the mountain trail.

At the summit switchbacks I was determined to get to the top under 2 hours. Then I saw that I could get there in 1:55. I pushed hard, sometimes on all fours, ignoring all the people around me as I passed dozens. 

Car to summit time: 1:55.50. I'm happy with that. Now I would like to see if I can beat that in any significant way. 

I met Craig in the shed at the summit, we chatted for a minute while I caught some breath, then started down. Again, he vanished. Before I could really get going he was halfway down, and for me the ordeal of trying to pass hundreds of people on the narrow trail began. I didn't see Craig again until I reached the trailhead.

Next time I will be doing this on a weekday.

Round Trip time: 3:16. Could have been several minutes faster if I was on a less crowded day.