Exactly 1 year ago today (coincidence, not planned) I explored the Box Elder Trail with a friend and have been dying to get back. I put the peak on my list of summit goals for the year, and this morning I finally bagged it. I posted on some FB groups and an impressive roster of local runners joined. 15 in total (which is the group size limit) + 2 others who came a bit later and did the loop in the opposite direction (and happened to hit the summit right when we did. It was gorgeous. It was steep. The bottom of my right foot and top of my left foot have still been a bit tender from the Bryce 50k and subsequent week of hiking around Zion National Park…so I’m going to be really sore. We did it in just under 5 hours. I was pulling up the rear with a couple other for the climb up and the main group could have gone much faster. On the descent, I kept up with the main group. We went up the Box Elder Trail Nr. 044, wrapped it around the west side of the saddle between Box Elder Peak and South Box Elder Peak, climbed up said saddle, and then summitted via the south ridge. Yowzers. Miles 1-2 climb about 2,000 ft, then miles 3-4 “only” climb another 1,000 ft. By mile 6, as you get on the south shoulder and stare up the climb to the peak (see pictures below) you have climbed about 3,300 ft. Then, the 1/2 mile climb to the summit pops on another ~1,000 ft. Yowzers, that was tough. That 1/2 mile segment of “trail” averages a 36% grade. The peak, is at about 11,100 ft. I really struggled on the last climb. My legs felt ok, but my lungs and heart were struggling with the altitude. This was the highest I have ever been. I was a bit dizzy, heart pounding out of my chest, gasping for air. But, I made it. We took the north saddle down to the Deer Creek-Dry Creek Trail and followed that back down to the Granite Flats campground. I had some blisters forming on the descent and by the end my legs felt like jello. Small little climbs on the north saddle killed me. By the last mile, I was running sloppy – catching my toe, rolling my ankles, etc… Its a miracle I didn’t fall.