Last minute decision to head up to Davis County and run the ridgeline portion of the Great Western Trail between Francis and Thurston Peaks – the highest 2 in Davis County. This is the trail where I first cut my teeth on higher altitudes and have some very fond memories of the place. MVH joined me and it was a great evening run. We went out to Thurston, then dropped down to Smith Creek Lakes on the return. There were even some snow fields to cross still hiding up there.
Heading north towards the top of Bair CanyonLooking south from Thurston PeakMomentarily the tallest thing in Davis CountyLooking down at the northernmost of the 3 Smith Creek Lakes
One last (blustery) Hurrah on the Great Western Trail (+ bonus Smith Creek Lakes)
Knowing that the high-altitude season is quickly coming to a close (winter is coming!) I decided to do one last run up at the top of the mountains here in Davis County. I did a similar route last year at this time, but by then it had already snowed (and melted some) up at the top. We are still getting up into the 50s-70s this year in late October! So, it has been a nice month and I’m glad that the cold has held off.
In any case, I drove up to the Francis Peak FAA towers parking lot, eyeing the hunters that were out and about like last year, and went on my way. Francis Peak, past Thurston Peak to Chinscraper and back (with a detour to Smith Creek Lakes on the way out)
I followed the dirt road north and then dropped down the east side of the mountains to hit the Smith Creek Lakes (and scope out a possible route down into Morgan County). There were a surprising number of ATVs and Jeeps on the path. It is rough going in a number of places and they were having to go so slow that I passed a number of them. From the northernmost of the Lakes, I took the trail I found earlier this year to traverse over the ridge west to the Great Western Trail. It is a great little traverse and a fun way to connect the 2 sides of the ridge. I followed that around Thurston Peak to the Top of Chinscraper and then took the Great Western all the way back.
In all, it was a great run. The wind almost blew me over a couple times – SO gusty up there on the ridges.
I was also surprised by how, seemingly overnight, the amazing fall colors turned to greys and browns. Still beautiful up there, but drained of color.
Southernmost Smith Creek Lake. Kind of Blah.Sitting at the start of the traverse trail at the NE tip of the northernmost Smith Creek Lake. The trail goes up and to the right and then weaves up through the rocks at the top right to connect with the Great Western Trail on the west side of the Mtns.Looking north on the Great Western. Bright colors all drained away.Landis Spring, located on the Great Western Trail just below Thurston Peak as you traverse around its western base. Cold. So cold. So delicious. I filled up on my way past going both directions.Goodbye Ridgelines. See you in the Spring.
Pioneer Day Fun with 20+ miles, almost 6k elevation, 2 peaks, 2 Rattlesnakes, and Blisters Blisters Blisters
Last year on Pioneer Day, a friend and I tackled Baer Canyon. It was only my 2nd trail run, and we were unprepared and it was rough. I thought I would continue that and make an annual tradition of pushing myself to do unwise things on Pioneer Day. On the top of my trailrun to-do list has been to bag Thurston and Francis Peaks. I have been to both, but only after driving up to Francis and then running the Great Western Trail. I wanted to do it proper, climbing up from the valley floor. I put out the word and was joined by a few nice gents – Bryan, Jeremy, and Steve. Bryan had to turn back (work, or something) after the first hour of climbing, but Jeremy and Steve stuck it out to the end.
We started at 5:00 AM with headlamps, and I immediately fell behind the group on the climb out of the Fernwood Recreation Site in Layton. I don’t know what it was, but I just felt horrible. My stomach felt uneasy, and the climb really beat me up. When Brian turned back, I caught up to the other two and we stayed together for most of the remainder of the climb. We made it up the primary ascent, hit the delicious springs to refill our water along the traverse over to Chinscraper and then tackle that final climb up to the ridgeline.
Top of the Fernwood climb, traversing towards the Chinscraper bowl.Ridge line above Chinscraper, looking SouthRidge line above Chinscraper, looking north
As we neared Thurston Peak, we cut up a stream drainage where there was exposed rock and dirt to make an easier bushwhack up to the the peak. Its a bummer that someone hasn’t blazed a proper trail up to the top. Someone get on that. We enjoyed taking a rest, chugged some soda, ate, and then continued on south, back to the Great Western Trail.
Taking a Break on Thurston Peak
Along here, I hit my stride on the GW, but after about an 1/2 mile got stopped in my tracks by simultaneous cramps in my right calf and thigh. Ouch. I had been careful to keep hydrated and intake calories, but I had completely forgotten to pop a salt capsule. I took two with water, rubbed them a bit, and then runned them out until they loosened while trying to catch up to Jeremy and Steve. They didn’t cause any more problems as I kept my electrolytes in balance.
I love this stretch of the Great Western – amazing views on both sides.
Great Western never gets old
We took the steep road/trail up to the FAA towers on Francis Peak and stopped to refuel, take pictures, and plan our descent. Originally, I had planned on coming down the Francis Peak Trail, but had been convinced to take the Farmington Canyon Road down. This would put the mileage higher than I had planned, but I was excited about the prospect of hitting 20 miles – which would make it my longest run ever.
Someone should really proofread things before you cast them in bronze. She was “affluent in four languages.” Ha!
We started to scramble down the rocks just south of the peak marker to get back on the road when both Jeremy and Steve let out a sudden scream and help. Apparently, I had stepped right over (almost on) a large rattlesnake. As they followed me, they saw it slithering away, whereas I hadn’t even noticed it at all. After we got our nerves back, we got on the road and started down.
At this point, my left IT Band was starting to hurt, so I told them to go ahead while I stretched. I had about 8-9 miles of gravel road downhill ahead of me and I figured that with stretching the IT band might hurt, but would be manageable.
I caught up to them a mile or so down the road and continued my faster pace, moving ahead of them for another couple miles. Then, the blisters started. On the heal and arch of my right foot, two large blisters developed. This slowed me down and as we approached Skyline Dr. / Farmington Canyon Rd., they caught up to me. I was quickly realizing that this was going to be a much slower descent than I had planned so I wished them good luck and sent them on their way. So much for 8 minute miles the whole way down. Instead, I hobbled / limped / kind-of-ran / sometimes walked down to Sunset Campground and then took the Farmington Creek Trail down to its trailhead where my wife picked me up. It was really painful. Excruciating.
Jeremy and Steve took the road the whole way down, and my shortcut actually put me at the bottom ahead of them, even though my pace was slow.
In the end, I was exhausted and in a lot of pain but happy to have down 20 miles and to have bagged both Thurston and Francis Peaks. Though on speed PRs, a PR for distance and that was fun.
Blood on the Snow and Running to the Sound of Rifle Shots
With the family still out of town, I took a longer excursion up to the top of Farmington Canyon to run the Great Western Trail from Francis Peak to Thurston and back. I had done this once before, and wanted to get it in again before the canyon road was shut down. As I drove up, however, I noticed an oddly large volume of 4×4 pickup trucks going up and down the canyon. Then, I noticed people in orange vests…and it hit me – ELK SEASON. I wonder how much like an Elk I look like while running….
At the FAA towers I asked a couple guys if they thought I’d be ok on the trail, and they assured me I’d be fine. Lots of hunters were traversing the ridge on the trail, and no one was shooting on the trail as there were lots of other hunters hiking it. Fair enough. I took off.
It was beautiful. A bit chilly, but not too bad. I chatted with a few hunters along the way – all nice folks. I made it up to the actual marker at the top of Thurston Peak, something I didn’t do the time before. The main trail doesn’t go to the peak, and it was a bit difficult to find the side “trail” that did, but I made it up and down.
The run back was eventful. As I came back down to the Great Western Trail and returned running south, I head a gunshot echo. It spooked me, I won’t lie. I kept running and a bit later came across a trail of blood going up a snow covered section of the trail. 1/2 way up, a dude and his wife were quartering the haunches off of a dead elk. Pretty gruesome scene.
Looking south from Thurston Peak
Right past where the Baer Canyon trail connects with the GWT, a side trail cut up to the East, and I thought (from a map I looked at before) that it might go over the ridge and drop down to some small lakes I saw on the map – Smith Creek Lakes. It didn’t. But, I made note to explore them from the main split in the road a little farther south next time I was up here.
In early September 2013, my next door neighbor and I went shoe shopping for me. I tried on a few different pairs of trail shoes, but couldn’t commit. A couple days later he came over with a pair of Brooks Cascadia 8s. He had only used them a few times and they were only a size bigger than what I usually wear, and it turns out that lots of trail runners and ultramarathoners buy a size or 1/2 bigger because your feet swell at long distances. Excited about the “new” shoes (they were in great condition) I set off for some runs.
First, I drove up Farmington Canyon to the FAA towers and ran the Great Western Trail to Thurston Peak and back. It is a beautiful ridge – Morgan County on the East and Davis County on the West. Really spectacular.
It was also my longest run at 9.1 miles. My pace was probably around 12:00-14:00 min/mile, although the messed up GPS said faster. This may be the run that sealed the deal for me. I was up in the mountains where I love to be – covering more miles than I could on a slow hike – and loving it.
Panorama from the parking lot at the Francis Peak
Looking SW as a shaft of light shone down on my new home
