Adventures in Millcreek

Yucky Inversion.

Grandeur west face ascent.

It was nice to get up to the mountain trails this week. Lately, I've spent most of my time on a dirt canal road near my house at 4:00 a.m. I'd post pictures but there's nothing to see in the dark, and the story I could tell you don't really want to hear, trust me. Anyway, I've wanted to do the Grandeur-Pipeline Loop for some time now. Yesterday I finally got around to it. I've done Grandeur a few times via Church Fork, but this was my first time ascending the west face. It was a brutal climb to say the least. The trail rivaled Mt. Olympus' steepness, but was thankfully about a mile less to the summit. I passed many hikers and their dogs. I even saw a guy with some 5-fingers on. Wha ha! On the way up I turned and viewed the valley a few times. I bet most people thought it was an unusually nice day for the second week of November. What I saw was a nasty looking inversion.

Summit Monkey.

I tried something new this run. I only ate solid food, no energy bloks or gels. I had some English muffins on the drive to the trailhead, a burrito about an hour into the climb, and some fig newtons and beef jerky during the remaining two hours. I didn't feel low on energy and was able to get it all down with ease. However, when I had finished and gotten home I still had to force myself to eat. I have trouble eating after my longer runs. I hope someday I can figure it out. 

After summitting Grandeur I headed down Churchfork slipping and sliding on the icy-muddy trail for the first mile or so. After that I flew down to the Pipeline pretty quickly. I could see that the sun was only touching the tops of the mountains, it was starting to set. That was not good. I was only 1/2 way done and still had about six miles to go. It would soon be dark and cold. I pushed my speed, wanting to reach the side trail that shoots up over one of the mountains then back down to 

Map & Stats of the Grandeur Loop.

eventually connect me to where I started.

 I reached the Rattlesnake Gulch trail and knew that the shoot off trail was close. The first trail I saw in the waning light looked small and more of a game trail. I said a little prayer and started the ascent. It wasn't very long until I lost any semblance of a trail and most of the light. Oh, did I mention that I forgot my headlamp? I was determined to do the loop but a little voice quietly tugged at me to turn around to safer routes. After 10 too many leg scratches of bushwhacking in the now imminent darkness I turned around and decided to take the road back. Better safe than sorry.

Sunset on the Pipeline.

Last week I ran the Desolation trail which is just opposite of Church Fork. I originally wanted to loop over to Porter Fork but was likewise foiled. The Desolation trail has a special place in my heart because as a youth I worked at Cub Country and hiked it often. Looking back, I stand in amazement that the trail to Lookout Point used to take me two hours or so (leading tiny scouts and their fat leaders) now only takes me 40 mins.

After about three miles there was a steady four inches of snow. It slowed me down but I continued to climb for another three miles when I was very close to where the trail sideswipes the mountain over to the base of Raymond and then down Porter. However, I lost the trail in the deepening snow (now about nine inches) and just ran back the way I had come up. On this run I followed people and dog prints until I hit Lookout Point. Then I followed deer and the occasional bobcat print until I ran into moose. Then, closer to the top I was the only one makin' tracks.

A look at Grandeur from the top of Desolation.

Map & Stats of the Desolation Trail.