To celebrate independence day, I ran to the top of Mt Timpanogos with 60 of my closest friends. There are too many names to list them all here, but two of my fellow trail monkeys, DJ and Jeff, were there. Craig Lloyd created the event and invited several runners in the valley to join him for a night run up Mt Timp.
We started at 9 p.m. We headed out in small groups so that the forest service wouldn't be upset at us for having such a large group. For the first mile or so I didn't need my headlamp. I hadn't summited Timp before, nor had I ran on any of the trails near here. As night fell we turned on our headlamps. Because I normally run in the early AM hours, my mind kept playing tricks on me thinking that it should be getting lighter instead of darker.
Trail runners are great. I didn't know a lot of the runners that I was with, but we easily fell into conversation and had a great time. In fact, our conversations were going so well that we missed a turn and headed towards Scout Falls. We realized our mistake and headed back. It probably added about a 1/4 mile.
As we ascended higher in elevation, there were several snow fields we had to cross. There were some good tracks across from previous runners and hikers, but they were still a challenge to cross without slipping. Also, going up, we would occasionally pass a group of hikers. I can only imagine what they must have been thinking as they stepped aside 60 times to let us pass.
I reached the saddle in 1 hr 40 min. From there the peak is only .75 miles, but it would take another 20 minutes to get there. The scramble up was fun for me. My legs were dead, but I was still going faster than the hikers that were on that section. The views of the valley from there were awesome. I definitely need to get back up there during daylight hours.
The peak was an absolute party. There were runners spread out all over it. Ben Light had headed up early and cooked bacon for everyone on the summit. Bacon is delicious after climbing 5000 ft. I took a few pictures on the top, but they didn't turn out well. If you want to really know what it looks like from Timp around midnight, you will have to join us next year. It was cold on top, so I didn't stay long.
The downhill was very technical with several close calls. I managed to catch myself each time, and came out without a scratch. After a few miles down, my headlamp decided it was done and shut off. I didn't bring any extra batteries with me. Another three miles in the dark on a trail I am not familiar with didn't sound fun. Luckily, I wasn't alone. Scott Summers, one of the runners just behind me said he had some batteries. He happened to have 3 AAA's which was exactly what I needed.
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| Where's Waldo? |
Trail runners are great. I didn't know a lot of the runners that I was with, but we easily fell into conversation and had a great time. In fact, our conversations were going so well that we missed a turn and headed towards Scout Falls. We realized our mistake and headed back. It probably added about a 1/4 mile.
As we ascended higher in elevation, there were several snow fields we had to cross. There were some good tracks across from previous runners and hikers, but they were still a challenge to cross without slipping. Also, going up, we would occasionally pass a group of hikers. I can only imagine what they must have been thinking as they stepped aside 60 times to let us pass.
I reached the saddle in 1 hr 40 min. From there the peak is only .75 miles, but it would take another 20 minutes to get there. The scramble up was fun for me. My legs were dead, but I was still going faster than the hikers that were on that section. The views of the valley from there were awesome. I definitely need to get back up there during daylight hours.
The peak was an absolute party. There were runners spread out all over it. Ben Light had headed up early and cooked bacon for everyone on the summit. Bacon is delicious after climbing 5000 ft. I took a few pictures on the top, but they didn't turn out well. If you want to really know what it looks like from Timp around midnight, you will have to join us next year. It was cold on top, so I didn't stay long.
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| View from the top |
The final few miles were challenging because my legs were tired. Arriving at the parking lot, there was another party. This one had more than bacon. There were BBQ grills going and a whole spread of food to munch on. I relaxed and visited with my friends. A great way to end the evening.
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| DJ - enjoying a steak |
It was now 2 AM. I had an hour drive to get home and was supposed to help the scouts set up flags at 7 AM. I wanted to hang out longer, but decided to head home and get a little sleep before the 4th of July festivities got going.
If I wasn't entertaining my in-laws in my backyard, I'd have been there with you guys for sure. Between you and me, I'd much rather have been running Timp with bacon breath.
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