Lots of short runs lately, so I decided to see if I was up for a bit more mileage. A fellow professor joined me to run the Timp Trail Half Marathon course. We’ve had so little snow, I suspected most of the route was dry. I was mostly right – a couple patches of wet dirt, some mud, but not bad.
What was bad was my body. Not only did I get killer cramps in both calves and one quad, but one of my IT bands flared up. WHAT?! What is this? 2015? IT bands? Sheesh. In any case, it was a beautiful, but frustrating outting.
Above the Orem Gun Range there is a great set of squiggle trails that lead up to Trail Nr. 051. Between there and Little Baldy I have noticed a series of green meadows that lead up in between the trees and have long wanted to explore them. So, I did. I did the climb out of the gun range a couple times, and messed around in those little meadows a bit. So quiet – I didn’t once see a single person up in them.
I found a Horned Lizard (2, actually)I shwhacked over to the Little Baldy Ridgeline to look down into Dry Canyon – found some cool cliffsNice little glen
I have been doing my best to seduce a new neighbor (kind of old family friend) to the trails. So far, pretty good. I have taken him up the Lindon Squiggles, around the BST, the Dry Canyon – Altar/Rock Pile loop, the Johnsons Hole / Taj Mahal / GW loop, etc. Good times. I still struggle to believe all of these great trails are just a 5 minute drive away.
Above Timpanogos Park there is a great set of squiggly trails (obviously built by mountain bikers) that some call the racetrack. If you loop a specific route, it is exactly 2 miles around. Super fun. I have done it a few times now in the snow, mud, and dirt.
For some reason my last few local runs have all been around the Johnson’s Hole area. There are a lot of dirt access roads for the aqueducts and water infrastructure up there – which makes for some nice easy miles, when I’m too lazy or beat up to bang out the singletrack. Here’s some recent routes.
I took the kids up to some boulders above Johnson’s Hole that have petroglyphs on them. Very cool. They are quite weathered due to their being out in the elements. My archaeologist friends date these to the pre-Fremont era, pre-1,000 AD.
Also, my daughter spotted TWO enormous wolf spiders. It was about 3-4 inches across. If you spread it out flat, probably 5 inches or so. Nuts.
Enthused by the area I went back to explore more. I did a double loop of the Johnson’s Hole / Great Western, one in each direction, then explored up-canyon on one of the lower aqueduct (Union?) roads, climbed back up to the Alta Aqueduct road. There I found the old 1857 Provo Canyon Guard Quarters, built during the Utah War and then manned for a while to monitor Native activities in the region. I also got in a good schwack and sliced my leg up on the scrub oak. It had been a while, I figured.
This run was particularly soul-invigorated. I was up in a region with TONS of access, trails, dirt roads, etc., but I didn’t see a single person. I felt so good to have the place to myself.
I can’t get over how awesome the north end of the Cascade Massif is. That fold!I saw what looked like a trail-marker in the brush, and it was this historical marker.The structure’s walls are only a couple feet high now – all fallen overgrown now
Today it was 75 and it is supposed to snow in a couple days, so I figured I should get one last sweaty run in.
I have been out of commission for about 3 weeks with a cold turned sinus infection turned lingering cold. Yikes. I haven’t been this sick for this long in a while. Being sick in the summer is just cruel. Beautiful weather, but stuck inside.
I finally had to get out. I hit up Johnson’s Hole from Canyon Glen Park. I can’t believe I’d never been up there before. It’ll be gorgeous in the spring when the grass is green. I looped it up to the aqueduct roads for about 6.5 miles. It wasn’t that hot, but I felt pretty slow and low. Very quickly it became apparent that I am not as recovered from this illness as I thought I was.
Johnson’s Hole, looking north. Little Baldy up ahead?Looking south down into Johnson’s Hole. Cascade Massif with the AWESOME fold in the rock layer you see while driving up Provo Canyon.
I’ve said it before, but I really am pleased as punch with the easy access and quality of some of my backyard local trails. 3-5 minute drive to a trailhead and I can put in as few or as many easy miles as I want around the foothills. Add a canyon in for some elevation, or just putter around the Bonneville Shoreline Trail and countless offshoots. Here’s 3 recent ones.
I took another friend out for his first trailrun with me. Good times. I think he’ll get hooked.
I like this little 4.5 mile-ish route. Super close trailhead. A slow steady climb, a little squiggly descent, then back. Super fast and easy. For some reason, on this day, I decided to knock it out in the 102 degree hit midday, just to see if I could. I felt pretty good for the first mile, then the heat really started to sink in.
I should have turned around at the trailhead. Everything was dry, crunchy, burnt-out.Dry dry grass
I went back and did the same route a week later, but at twilight. Faster, until it got dark and I had to pull out the flashlight.
For the past couple weeks I have been thinking a lot about putting in smart miles rather than just lots of miles. Lots of miles usually just get me injured, plus I don’t have lots of time, so I’m trying to be strategic (and have even added biking to work once a week or so into the mix as a way to work on muscle strengthening and endurance without stressing my joints). Here’s some recent doings.
Two of them were deliberate attempts to put in smart miles.
On May 16, some quick miles to loosen up sore muscles after that Big Baldy madness.
Then, on May 23, I went up the crop circles trails above Lindon with the specific plan to work on slow climbing. This is a trail that has a nice long, but gradual, climb, then a downhill to complete a loop. I wanted to work on transitioning from aggressively power hiking climbs to slowly running them. I did the loop, then did it backwards, then went up and down the BST a bit. It felt great. I will add this on occasions to get some climbing in, but without the punishment of long downhills that sometimes stress my joints.
Looking south towards Provo Peak. The grass up in the foothills is green-ing up and starting to grow!
On May 20 and May 27 I took my next-door neighbor on his first two trail runs. He has been a hardcore hiker in the past (600 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, the entire Great Western Trail from Idaho to Arizona – the full length of Utah – twice) and puts in a lot of road miles. I convinced him to join me in the hills and I think I’m going to get him hooked!
The Dry Canyon -Altar/Rock Pile loop was great in the morning and things were looking so green!
Then, of course, taking him on the Grove Creek Battle Creek loop. Wow. It is so green up top!
Just cresting up onto Chris Flat. This is a pretty sudden view. You are climbing steep through some aspens and then boom – you’re at the top. He said, “Wow – that was sudden!”
Barring catastrophic weather, bad falls, rolled ankles or other injuries, getting attacked by wild animals, etc., even the worst trail-run is still pretty great. The BST and squiggly wiggly trails above Orem/Lindon (especially between Dry Creek and Battle Creek) are kind of my treadmill. A little vert, a little technical single track, some flat sections to really open up and run. A bit of everything. The trails aren’t spectacular, although the sunsets, alpenglow, tall grass (in the Spring) are sometimes beautiful. Not too flashy, somewhat. Venturing up the canyons cranks up the beauty level, but when time is short I usually stick around the less-spectacular foothills.
They are especially plain this time of year, mostly dirty brown. The trails are in rough shape following the snow melts, lots of new rocks in the trail, rutted up from bikes and horses and runners going in the mud, etc.
Even so – it is still a balm for my soul. I can feel the itch if I don’t get out for a while. After 4-5 days with no dirt, I start to get really antsy. So, having these trail heads 5 minutes from my house is saving me.
Here’s to boring, but wonderful, local trails!
3 Cheers!
I saw at least 50-75 deer. Some could have been repeats as the trail doubled back on itself multiple times. I may have just been spooking the same group, then re-spooking them again later. In any case, more deer droppings that dirt almost. Also – DEER STINK! Some of the Lindoln Squiggles. I need to take my Mt. Bike down those trails.
In hopes of rehabbing my IT Bands and increasing my flat-terrain endurance and speed, I have stayed off the trails for a couple weeks. (I want to be injury-free and flat-fast for my fundraiser on January 1 – read about it here to help Syrian refugees). One treadmill run and 3 on paved trails around my house. The treadmill was horrible. The ones around my house were convenient and actually somewhat enjoyable…but I missed the mountains. It is entertaining to chase strava segment PRs when on the pavement. See the Strava links for all of them below.
Today, however, I just couldn’t resist. It had snowed an inch or two over night and then snowed another few during the morning and early-afternoon. I just had to get up in the snow. I started at the equestrian trailhead in Lindon, went up the squiggles to the swinging bench overlook, dropped down to Dry Canyon and across the BST, then looped the lower BST back to the car. For most of it I could tell that people had been up in the morning, a clear trail being broken already, but another 2-4 inches had fallen on top of their tracks. It was the best of both worlds. I had a trail broken and packed but a nice soft layer of fluff on top to play in. I overheated pretty quick, stripped off some layers, ate lots of snow, and bumbled about. It was glorious.
The lower squigglesIn the first patch of trees you cross through at the top of the lower squigglesSouth of Dry Canyon on the BST
Really, I have it good. There is a trail head for the Bonneville Shoreline Trail about 2 miles from my house. The trail isn’t anything over-the-top spectacular, but its great. I am so lucky to have nice easy trails so close. Also, it is perfect running weather. 50s. No overheating.
Scrub Oak in TricolorI wonder how much longer these peaks will be snow free. Also, at the bottom right you can see some of the upper Lindon Squiggles snaking through the grass.
I made it about 30 minutes without the headlamp, but once I got up into some small stands of trees it got pitch dark. I forgot how creepy it can be up there.
Utah County falling asleep
Then, as I crossed the parking lot at Dry Canyon, a guy warned me about a rattler he heard near the trailhead. Sure enough, there it was in the middle of the trail. It was my first sighting this season.
Thankfully, the back pain from last month did not return and I was able to fit in a number of runs and hikes (not listed here, but on Strava) during the remainder of August.
I ran a bigger version of the squiggly wiggly. Lots of fun.
Some HOT BST action:
Ready to get the burn on!
An awesome morning run up Grove Creek to Chris Flats. Bagged my first Mountain Goat sighting.
He just sat on the ledge above the trail watching me, curious.North Timp ridge from Chris Flats
I even ran some pavement. Possibly the first time this year! Actually, it was kind of exhilarating to click off miles at a faster pace than I’m used to, but it was painful.
Pavement?! What is wrong with me?!
Plus, some nice blister pains during an attempted Big Baldy Summit. Woot woot.
With muscle relaxants doing their work, I was advised to try some easy slow runs. The Dr. didn’t have to ask me twice!
Thursday I hit the some Orem/Lindon BST. It was great to get out and move, but I did it in the heat of the day and the temps really got to me!
Feeling good, I tried a new place on Friday – up Provo Canyon and to Big Springs, on the backside of the Cascade Ridge. I went up the Big Springs / Shingle Mills Trail and down the Big Springs Hollow Trail.
I picked the east side of the mtns in hopes of finding some more afternoon shade. Oops. The first mile was out in the open sun! A nice breeze kept me a lot cooler than the day before.Looking up the canyon towards Big Spring
Monday night I tried out some twisty mtn. bike trails above Lindon. It was a BLAST! Between all the twists and turns, there was a lot of flattish runnable terrain. I will definitely add this loop to my regular rotation.
I came around a sharp corner and literally ran into a deer. I put my hand out as I skidded to a stop and my hand hit its back left flank. The deer just exploded off the ground and bounded a few paces away. Then, it just stared at me as I fumbled to get a picture. Here he is a ways off.Lot of the trail just zigzagged up a the foothills through this deep grass. Very cool to run through.
Twice now, I have run a 7 mile loop from the Orem Gun Range > Dry Canyon > The Altar/Rockpile > Orem Gun Range.
I think it will be my regular treadmill run. It has it all. Runnable flat-ish rolling trails, a good steep climb, and some fun technical descents. The mile drop from the altar down to the fire break road is such a fun single-track. The grass is about chest high or higher so your immediate peripheral vision is just a blur as you fly down the trail – it feels like a video game.
Plus, its pretty gorgeous. I would only change the amount of loose rock on the back side when dropping down to the Altar. I may modify it, park at Dry Canyon and do the loop from there. That would leave more of the nice rolling BST for the end.
Above Orem after climbing Dry Canyon and traversing south up the west-facing hillside.Much of the vegetation along the BST is blown out and yellow, but climb 1,000 feet and everything is bursting with color.The AltarLone Tree on the firebreak road.
2 easy run around the Orem foothills. The Orem Police gun range trailhead is just 2 miles from my new house, so this will likely be my primary set of trails. And, thankfully, there are a million of them. On top of the primary Bonneville Shorelines trail system, Mtn. Bikers have built a network of connecting trails. In any case, very close, very fun.
Looking up the trail from the BST to the rockpile altar, Little Baldy and Timp in the distanceLooking down from roughly the same spot.
Along the BST just north of the road up to Dry Canyon. Our wet spring is making everything so green.
