2012 Mileage

"I would [run] 500 miles 

And I would [run] 500 more 

Just to be that man who [ran] 1000 miles"

In early September Steve and I discussed the likelihood of crossing over 1000 miles for the year. For Steve, it was inevitable but I would have to follow a careful plan in order to achieve it. As I went back to work (I'm a school teacher), and also prepared for the birth of my second child (which came on October 1) my mileage decreased and I accepted that I probably would not reach the goal. Basically, I took a month and a half off. Near the end of October Steve and I signed up for the 50 mile Buffalo Run on Antelope Island in March. I quickly found a routine schedule for the 20 weeks leading up to the 50 miler and started running more seriously again. Including the last week of October, I ran about 280 miles finishing out the year with exactly 1000 miles. Steve crossed over 1000 miles about the time I started running seriously again. He finished up the year with 1,260 miles. Jake was too modest to tell us his mileage. He didn't want to make us feel bad so we had to guess for him. We'll say he did an even 500. So, our new year's resolution is to double the mileage. Here's to 2000 miles in 2013!

Beus Canyon's Revenge.



 After losing the trail up Beus Canyon last week after only 2 miles, we wanted to take another stab at it this weekend.  Revenge on Beus.  Beus II.  Beus the sequel... you get the point.  We expected that several people would have already plowed a path along the trail to the summit, and we would be able to practically skip up the trail while whistling our favorite show tunes.  Turns out one set of footprints plowed through the snow about a quarter mile further than we went last week, and then we were back on our own.  The trail was still pretty easy to follow, but not so easy to move along.  

Sam going around one of many bends up the canyon

Sam had more energy in the tank this week and did most of the plowing.  The snow was pretty shallow for the first 3 miles, but then at about 7200', we reached the unmelted snowpack from the last several storms.  It went from 6 inches of powder to 18 inches of crusted snow over the course of about a quarter mile.  We put on the snow shoes and kept plowing ahead, but at a much... much slower rate.

Me climbing out on the rock for a nice view, by which I mean photo-opp

 The snowshoes would have been great if not for all the shrub branches that kept tripping us.  We debated on taking off the snowshoes again, but after a few steps of sinking down to our knees without them, we kept trekking with them on.  The moving would have been about the same speed either way, but with the snowsnoes, we at least keep our hands and knees dry.  We realized that our hopes of summiting Mt. Ogden were fading quickly.

Me attempting to plow for a while.  In the snowshoes, I was sinking about 6-8 inches each step.

At about the three hour mark, and at about 8,000 feet, we reached a place where the trail disappeared, and decided to turn around about 1,000 feet elevation and 1.5 miles short of the summit.  Looks like this one is going to have to be a trilogy.  Maybe next time we'll just take the snow basin ski lift.  

Plowing ahead and upward.

Sam at the turnaround point

Sam turning back East along the trail

Fell down.  Thought I'd take a rest.

Certainly not the most beautiful trail.

Where'd the trail go?

Icy waterfall

Sam through the bushes

Beus Canyon Trail Map and Stats to 8,000 feet.  

Beus Canyon Take I

About a year and a half ago when we first started running trails we hit the Beus Canyon trail. It was summer and a rain storm had passed through the previous night. The first two miles of the trail were covered in large overgrown ferns. It wasn't long before we were soaked to the bone and turned back. We have called this trail Fern Valley ever since. However, we didn't encounter any ferns this time. But we did get to traverse about 8-10 inches of fresh power.

Stats.

Steve, running up the Winter Wonderland.

Beus Canyon Trail is one of the few ways to access Mt. Ogden from the west side. It's about 5.6 miles to the summit. We were prepared to get farther up the trail with snowshoes and since we didn't have any enormous wet ferns to block our path we were optimistic. About two miles up we decided to put on the snowshoes for more traction. The snow was not deep but it was climbing and the added traction would help. It did, for about 50 yards. Then we lost the trail. We bushwhacked (literally, a few times) for a small distance. I was determined to find a way through the trees and brush but luckily Steve was the voice of reason and he convinced me to turn back to look for a switchback we probably missed.

Steve, chomping on some Bloks.

Sam, passing by the small waterfall and the small stream.

When we got back down to where the trail stopped we ditched the snow shoes and turned back up looking for possible switchbacks. We wasted a lot of time and had a lot of fun but didn't find the trail. When we once again hooked our snowshoes to our packs to prepare for the run down Steve spotted where the trail crosses the stream and switches up the other side. Beus had gotten the best of us again, even without the ferns. We vowed to return next weekend and finish the trail, now that we know where it goes.

I understand why people don't hike in the winter. It's relatively new for me as well. One might think, it's too cold or it's too dangerous or whatever else. However, once you've got the right gear it's extremely rewarding. The stillness and beauty is unmatched.

Christmas on Mount Olympus

To start wrapping up the year, we decided to take on Olympus again.  We've each done it solo a couple times this year, but this was the 5th time this year for each of us.  Maybe I'll go run up it once more without him just to stay ahead.  We actually weren't expecting to have a fast time due to the snow, but we started out at a pretty good pace, and kept it up for quite a while.

We run it with an app called Endomondo, which I have set up to chirp out alarms based on various points of my PR for the mountain.  The first chirp went off 30 seconds before we reached the first stream bed, meaning we were very close to my best time.

The second chirp went off about a minute before the second stream bed, which meant that if we could hustle up the endless staircase, we could potentially set a new PR.  However, it wasn't meant to be.  The staircase was covered with very icy snow, and moving as fast as we had hoped became unrealistic.  Going down that same area proved very painful to my backside.

We reached the saddle and came across a winter camper sitting by his fire.  We've never seen someone camped up there, but if I were to do it, I'd pick winter as well.

Summit Photo

Thumbs up by the mailbox



Time to First Stream Bed:  0:34:09
Time to Second Stream Bed:  0:52:08
Time to Saddle:  1:27:56
Time to Summit:  1:43:39

Orange Trail Monkeys were here.

 The final scramble wasn't covered in very much snow since it faces south without much tree cover.  The summit was beautiful as the snow started to fall.  As usual, we stayed only about 5 minutes, but this time it was probably more of necessity.  The temperature was starting to drop as the storm moved in, and I was wearing only shorts.

Steve Running down the trail.

Sessions Snow Adventure

Stats/Map

As the air turns cooler and winter settles in, most people hunker down in their cozy abodes to avoid the cold and snow. Most people may find themselves bundled up sipping hot cocoa by the fire in their spare time. And on a Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. most people  everyone wants to stay covered up in a nice warm bed. But not an OTM. We were out doing the same thing we do in the summer when the air is hot--running the trails and bagging peaks.

I know this photo isn't going to win any prizes, but it is a valid representation of the beginning of many of our outings. Dark. Usually darker without the snow to reflect some light. The Sessions trailhead starts just behind the Bountiful Temple in Utah. You can see the city of Bountiful behind Steve in this photo. The first part of the trail was steep, but we didn't notice too much because Jake wasn't there to point it out.

The first mile and a half of the trail was outlined with snow but still traversable without getting wet feet. This was about the spot Steve put his snowshoes on. About a year ago, Steve and I seriously considered buying snowshoes for Christmas. We didn't get around to it until the beginning of the year, but we're glad we did. Or at least I am glad we did because I forgot to bring mine on this trip. Not that I don't mind trudging through the snow, falling more than a foot with every step. However, I also forgot to wear long socks, so my ankles were exposed.

Needless to say, I did not think this hike through very well. Luckily, with Steve leading the way on the snowshoes I fell in about 3 inches less. It made for a cool photo. The snow was heavy and wet, so even with the snowshoes Steve fell more than desirable. After a while we traded off the snowshoes, thus alternating who trudges and who almost trudges.

Snow adds a lot of time to the assent of any trail. We hiked up about 2 1/2 hours and didn't reach the summit (If we didn't have time constraints maybe we would have gone for it, but when are we not on a time constraint these days?). Coming down is a different matter; it only took us about an hour. Either way, it doesn't really matter. We enjoy being on the trail, sun or snow. Truth be told, I'd say we enjoy the snow more. There's a peaceful serenity that always seems to accompany the snow (some day we'll get caught in a howling blizzard and I'll take those words back).

Steve & Sam, on the false summit, just before heading down. Too bad we didn't bring a sled. You can see the Great Salt Lake in the background.

We enjoyed the view on the way down. The reflection of Antelope Island was awesome. Speaking of Antelope Island, we're excited to do the Buffalo Run, our first 50 miler, in March.

The last remnants of fall.

"Slip sliding away, slip sliding away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away."

Deseret Peak Overnighter

Deseret Peak is the tallest peak in the Stansbury range west of Tooele and Grantsville.  It is in the Deseret Peak Wilderness and is 11,031’.  The mountain is the fourth most prominent peak in Utah and the 30^th most prominent in the lower 48 states at 5,812’ from the base of the mountain to the summit.  For this trip Sam and I brought along my nephew Dalyn and his friend Mike.  Both of them being backcountry novices, we decided to give them an experience they wouldn’t soon forget.

We decided to add an overnight trip to this summit journey, and decided to take a longer scenic route that started with camping at South Willow Lake.  We spent a night there in late spring this year (Winter Camping 2), and wanted to go back to see how scenic it still looked without the snow.  It didn’t disappoint.    

We started out by by seeing how far we could drive the Durango up the very narrow dirt road.  After letting the tree branches give my car a good scrubdown on both sides, we let some 4 wheelers pass us who gave us some pretty dirty looks.  They seemed pretty annoyed that someone would drive a car that far up that road.  While hiking out Saturday, we passed two trucks that drove another 1.5 miles further up than we had parked, so we weren’t the only ones driving that far up.  We found a place to turn the car around and parked there off the road.  We hitched up our packs and started hiking the 3.25 miles to South Willow Lake.  

Mike and Dalyn did really well, but seemed pretty exhausted when we finally arrived at the lake.  There was still a pretty good amount of water in the “lake” considering how late in the year it is and the dry summer.  Sam and I quickly got our tent up and started a fire.  An hour later Mike and Dalyn had their tent up in the dark.  We cooked dinner and then Mike and Dalyn went to sleep at about 9:30.  They said it was because they were bored and there wasn’t an xbox or tv to watch… I guess that makes sense.  Sam and I stayed up another hour or two by the fire and did our usual “lights-out” exploring, where we walked over to the lake and did a little star gazing.  It was such a warm night for October.  Especially at that elevation (9,046').

Me cooking breakfast.  "It's kind of my thing."

Leaving the campsite.  Just dropped the heavy packs.

South Willow Lake Cirque.  You wish you were there.

The next morning Sam and I woke up before dawn, and spent the next 3 hours trying to get the boys to move.  After breakfast and watching the colorful sunrise against the cirque walls, we packed up and began the hike to the summit.  The first 2.5 miles stayed relatively level in terms of elevation as we approached the basin below the summit.  At this point however, we ran into our first problem as Mike informed us that he had drunk all his water.  So… by the summit, he had the fullest bladder and the driest mouth of any of us.  Luckily we were able to find a natural spring with a relatively good flow. 

The boys didn't even complain about the running.  Summit in the background.

Until I bother to find out what it may actually be called, I'm calling it Stubby Pass.

The route we planned was to get over to the well travelled South willow creek trail, and the quickest way to do that was to go up over a small pass that separated the Deseret Peak coulours from the eastern saddle.  We ended up following a very faint trail, and passed a hunter or two who were out for opening weekend of the deer hunt.  We decided to call the pass “Stubby Pass.”  We found the main trail and pushed for the summit.  Once we reached the saddle, we were hit by about 30-40mph winds which had a wind chill of about 25 degrees.  Dalyn was the superstar and pushed to reach the summit first.  I do believe he will make a fine OTM some day.  Mike didn’t seem quite as thrilled as Dalyn.  I believe it’ll take him a few weeks to remember how much fun he had. 

Deseret King.  

Steve generously quenching Mike's thirst... in 35 mph winds.

After 7.5 miles descending over Stubby Pass, stopping at the spring again, picking up our heavy packs, and (some of us) throwing up a bit, we reached the car.  A very successful trip if you ask me. 

Trail Monkey on the summit.