Hitting the Speedgoat Wall

Erik’s description “Speedgoat Death March” turned true for me. I had really been looking forward to this race. I like to climb and I am not a “true runner” more of a steady trail slogger. So this is my kind of race. In last years Speedgoat I went out slow and finished strong, passing a lot of people in the last third of the race. My plan this year was the same. I wanted to run somewhere back in the top 25 and then hopefully pass people on the climb up the Ridge trail and Little bowl in the last few big climbs of the race and try to get myself somewhere in the top 20. I figured a few people would hit the wall after the massive climb from Dutch flats back to the tunnel. What I hadn’t counted on was that one of those people would be me.

As I hit the Dutch Flat aid station I felt in pretty good shape but I just didn’t feel quite normal. I blew it off and headed out on the big climb back to Snowbird. I caught a few people but just couldn’t seem to pull away from them, and then I really had to battle to just stay in touch. As the climb progressed I just felt worse and worse. I started downing gu’s like crazy hoping that I might be just a little low on calories and could rally back. By the time I hit the aid station at Mineral Basin I was cooked. I believed I had officially hit the wall. After the guy running the aid station filled up my hydration pack I think I was just standing there in daze. He finally just kinda of yelled at me “get out of here, get moving” and I did, funny how sometimes all it takes is somebody to just tell you to get moving and you do. Sarah Evans caught me soon after and she made me take the lead, I like running with Sarah, we usually run about the same pace and she is a always a pleasure to be around but I soon had to let her go as I started to cramp a bit and just didn’t have and energy to push at all. I hit the tunnel aid station being run by Jim Skaggs. I asked him what place I was running in and said 18th. I ran through the tunnel hoping I would recover on the downhill before the killer climb up the Ridge trail. Usually I love this trail, it’s a rugged rocky ridge that over looks the cirque and you run on the same basic elevation as the tram cars, but I was doomed. Even on the lower tail leading up to the ridge I just couldn’t make any pace. I stopped at least 10 times up that ridge and got passed by at least 10 people. As I neared the top I could hear Scott Mason cheering people on. I thought to myself, man I must look pathetic, here is a guy that just pulled himself over the Hardrock 100 course and here I am just trying to finish this 50k. Scott gave my some kind words and then I was off for the last real climb of the day, Little Bowl which at the time looked to me like a 4,00 foot climb but in reality is probably more like 500 vertical. I actually sat down a few times climbing up Little Bowl, hoping nobody I knew would see me.. Rich passed me heading down the final descent to the finish looking great, then Christian came buy not to long after, looking not so great but still moving well. I moaned to him about my sorry state of affairs, he complained his legs were shot and don’t believe people when they say this is the last climb, there is one more little ****** climb after the tram on the backside. Then he basically said treat it as a training run and get moving, so I did. I slogged my way up to the top did the ***** little climb on the backside then actually rallied a bit once I hit the hot dusty road to finish. Its funny because all day long I wanted to quite or stop and all it would take is some one to say get going or some kind of words of encouragement and I would respond and keep moving. So about a mile from the finish I caught a runner that had passed me earlier in the race and he was walking on the road going down hill, so as I passed him I yelled at him “come on latch on to me and lets get this thing done” and dammed if he didn’t immediately start running, we both pushed a really strong pace all the way to the finish. A nice way to finish after a long hard run.

After the race I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Adam Casseday and his wife. My wife had met them when I ran the race at Massanutten100 in the spring. He had placed third at that hard 100 and he had come out from West Virginia on his honeymoon and thought he would try one of our local races. At one point he looked at me and said this race is like the Barkley Marathons of the west. I think he was very impressed with our mountains here in Utah! I want to thank Karl Meltzer for creating one of the harder if not hardest 50ks in the country. Also of course all the great volunteers that helped. To name just a few Scott Mason, Roch Horton, Jim Skaggs, Butch Adams, Dave Hunt and many more I wish I knew all there names,thanks again. Also congratulations to Erik, Rich and Christian who all finished strong and placed in the top 10. Believe it or not I love this race and will be back next year and will hopefully avoid the Speedgoat bonk. To see a few pictures my wife shot of the race click on my link. Also to see some great professional pictures go to Pure Light Images

Greg

MRC Conquers the Speedgoat 50K

Ouch!! What a course. After looking over the map I knew the race would be brutal, but I had no idea.  When the race started the jack rabbits took off and I was not going to be one of them. Erik, Christian and I ran at a conservative pace letting a few runners burn out in the first 5 miles. Erik was about 3 minutes ahead of Christian and I approaching Hidden peak for the 1st time. When we finally crawled over the top Karl and Jared Campbell were there waiting. Christian and I left together and headed over Baldy. I passed Christian while he was picking up e-caps he dropped. After that I never really saw him. I knew he was breathing down my neck a couple minutes back the rest of the race. I ran with a nice guy originally from England named Dominick. To be honest the fact that he was wearing  a pink camelback lead Christian and myself to think he was in over his head. I was wrong he was a strong runner. I followed him all the way to the final decent from Hidden Peak. Mineral Basin was super rocky. I rolled my ankle twice but it never really got swollen or tight. What was really scary at that point was how far down we ran before there was any sign of returning up to Snowbird. The people at the Mary Ellen Gulch aid station were great. Rock Horton was there with a smile. At that point he told me Erik was 12 minutes ahead. The climb up  M.E.G went on forever. It was starting to warm up and the water station in Mineral Basin came at the perfect time. Up,up,up to the tunnel then down, down down to the switchbacks that took us up,up ,up,up to the cirque ridge then up ,up, up to the road just below the tram. We were finally to the Hidden Peak aid station again. NOT! OK, I do not know how the express in words how I felt or what I wanted to do to Scott Mason when he said "Just run down there across Little Cloud Bowl and up through that snow field." I was in shock at how far we ran down just to go up,up,up. On the way up Little Cloud Nate McDowell blew by me then the 2nd place runner. A few minutes later Anita Ortiz ran down past me on the snow. I saw Erik on the road almost to the top of Hidden Peak. My wife and kids were up tops. It was awesome to see them. It really gave me a second wind. Uncle Dave filled my bottle and sent me on my way. Erik had gone through just over half an hour before me so I knew I couldn't catch him. I was in 6th place at this point and I really wanted to finish in the top 5. Dominick was just in front of me and I had one other runner a couple minutes back. I felt great all the way down. I passed Dominick for 5th place and was able to run the decent in about 35 minutes. I had to tell a few runners they were of course. It was sad. They were below Mid Gad restaurant. The climb back up to get on course would have be a killer. I think they all dropped. After it was over I felt really good about the run. Christian finished a few minutes after me (With the Millcreek 50K win on his legs). Greg had a great run as well. I hope the MRC made Dr. Lindgren proud. Jason Berry finished strong and must have taken off to the symphony right after. Congrats to my friend Tom Nelson on finishing his 1st ultra. He was sick the day before and still managed to pull through and have a great race. Greg's friend from Virgina (I think) called the race the "Barkley of the West" That sums it up for me. See you all soon on the trails and Congratulations to all the finishers! -Rich

Unofficial Results (I Think?)

4th- Erik Storhiem 6:09

5th- Rich McDonald 6:33

Christian Johnson Sub 7 hrs

Greg Norrander Sub 8hrs

Jason Berry Sub 8hrs

Tom Nelson Sub 10hrs

 P.S. In light of my recent near fatality, I will be adding the helmet to my running attire!

Speedgoat Deathmarch

Has anyone else looked at the maps for the Speedgoat? Holy crap. I think I'm staying home. And I thought last year was bad.... This year when I take a wrong turn again, I think I'll just mosey on down to the bottom of the mountain. If I do decide to finish, I'm thinking about 8 hours. Have fun ya'll.

No Sleep till...Church Fork or the Millcreek 50k report

Friday night, under a full moon, Peter, Brian, Sam and myself joined about 30 others for the 6th annual Millcreek 50k. After everyone was shuttled up to Big Water we started at about 9:20pm. It was slightly cool at the start but once we got moving that changed and I quickly warmed up. I led much of the way up the great western trail and pulled off for a nature break once I was on the crest and I could see down into Park City. Phil Lowry and Matt Bero caught up to me and took the lead as we made our way down to Desolation Lake. I knew Shane Martin would be stalking us on the descent and sure enough he caught us shortly after passing deso in about 1:50 (elapsed time). I took the opportunity to jump in behind Shane as he upped it a notch on the downhill. I let him get slightly ahead of me on the steeper part because the dust was so thick, something I don't notice as much during the day, but at night the headlamp beam shows you just how much dust you're inhaling. I made the turn at blunder fork and there were some hikers or early starters that kind of startled me. Just then I noticed Shane had taken the Mill D turn but quickly got back on track just as we began the climb up to Dog Lake together.

Shane refilled a bottle and I walked out of Dog Lake heading toward Big Cottonwood. As soon as Shane caught up I started running again and we were soon on my least favorite part of the course. From Dog Lake over to Baker Pass the trail rarely gets used so the vegetation is overgrown, which is a problem during the day, let alone trying to navigate it at midnight. After about 10 mins or so I was by myself in the lead with my little 20' window of light in front of me. I was now experiencing another first, running by myself at night. I didn't have my headphones and I'm not sure I would have put them on anyway. I didn't feel like as if I was moving that fast but pretty soon I had trouble seeing any lights behind me. That's when doubt would begin to set in, did I miss a trail junction in all this overgrown mess? Then a glowstick would appear just ahead on the trail restoring my confidence once again. I would occasionally look up to the northwest and see Mt. Raymond, Gobblers Knob and the low spot between them, Baker Pass, my next target. As I made my way up the last little section I turned off my headlamp and used the moonlight to get over the top. I paused for a moment on the pass and saw a few headlamps further back down the trail and flickering lights seven miles below in Millcreek.

This was my first time on the Bowman fork trail this year and the only time I did it last year I went up not down. What this means is that I forgot just how long this descent is. I felt like I was being fairly conservative and I didn't have any mishaps on the technical sections. My plan was to pick it up a notch when I hit the bottom of the canyon and it's a little less technical. I really like this section of trail that jumps back and forth over the creek and downed trees and pretty soon I fell in a groove, then fell flat on my face. It wasn't that big of a deal, my wet shoe slipped off a downed tree and I fell on the other side. I picked myself up, did a quick assessment making nothing was wrong and started running again. Not even five minutes later I rolled my ankle. I decided it was time to back off a bit, no sense in beating myself up if I don't have to, plus I had a nasty little climb coming up after passing through the Terraces picnic area.

The trail that connects the Terraces with Elbow fork is another section that receives little attention and usually resembles a game trail rather than a hiking trail. As I started the steep climb I was pleasantly surprised to see the trail was actually in pretty good shape. The trail was still very much on a side hill but the vegetation wasn't as bad as I've seen it in the past. When I began the climb I was sure that I could do the two miles of up and down quick enough that I would easily get to Elbow fork before the 4 hour mark. What I forgot was that the two mile section is about 1.5 miles up and .5 down. I eventually pulled into the last aid station at Elbow Fork in 4:03 with 21 miles behind me and only 10 more to go. RD Rich B. filled up my nathan hydration pack while I dealt with a pesky heel blister on my right foot. Next up was the dirt sidewalk, also known as the pipeline trail.

Funny enough this was definitely the least technical section out of any of the trails yet, but I tripped and stumbled more than anywhere else. I think it was because the headlamp could pick up rocks, roots and anything sticking up out of the trail, but it couldn't pick up the slight undulations. I still made pretty good time to Church Fork, getting to the trail junction in 4:50. Now just a quick jaunt up to Grandeur Peak, back down and I would be done. Once I started the climb I realized there would be nothing quick about it. I pretty much hiked the whole thing reaching the top in 5:45 or about 2:00am. Even though I was in a hurray I just stood there for a minute. I always feel as if I don't take in the view afforded by a summit that I am somehow disrespecting it and there will be dues to pay in the future (is that being superstitious?).

Now I just had to stumble off the mountain and I would be done. I still had no idea what kind of lead I had so I was anxious to see how close the next runner was to me. I was also slightly nervous that if Shane was relatively close he would close the gap on the long descent. Last year, Peter and I watched as Shane flew down the mountain and disappeared in front of us on the first descent of the race. Soon I saw a light in front of me and it was Matt Bero, just behind Matt was Shane. I estimated my lead to be about 20 minutes so I just kept up my cautious descent. I ran into Peter and Brian shortly thereafter and wished them well on their final climb of the night. Soon enough the trail ended and I hit the pavement at the top of church fork. Then something I wasn't prepared for, route finding. I'm not very familiar with road up there and it was a little hard to tell whether the road led to a parking area or if it was the main road. Not really a big deal, I just thought it was kind of funny on the easiest part of the course. At the finish I found Rich B., Shane's sister and some chairs. I stopped my watch at 6:23 and fell into a comfortable chair.
Thanks to RD Rich B., Ken J, Storheim, and all the other volunteers that made for an outstanding night.
In order after me was: Results posted soon here.
Matt Bero
Shane Martin
David Hayes
Phil Lowrey
Peter Lindgren
Brian Hamos
?Ken Jensen

MillCreek 50 km

I look forward to this race, like a boxer might look forward to a warm up bout with a tough opponent before the big event. It may be brutal, you are bound to take a few blows, just how many one cannot be certain, and learning never to under estimate an opponent is critical.


A few days before the race when Sam asked what to wear I joked that I would wear my Yoda jammies for the nighttime race. I don't actually have Yoda jammies, though I do have a cotton Yoda shirt, a gift from my sister. Being a silly the Yoda shirt ended up getting worn. Jeff Lamora asked if this was a Coolmax Yoda shirt, and thought as a physician that I should know better than to wear cotton for a trail run with some cold sections. Looking at my shiny new shoes Phil Lowery asked if I liked my Vasque Velocity shoes. I told him that I didn't really have an opinion as I hadn't yet worn them yet. My most questionable move was not replacing the batteries in my headlamp. I had a long day at work starting around 6:30 AM, and getting home at 7:00 PM. As I raced around gathering gels, water bottles, and finding my Yoda shirt, I seriously thought about which headlamp to take. I decided on the Petzl Myo XP, really a great light. The batteries must have been changed since I used it at Wasatch last year. I hadn't changed the batteries.

Christian and I talked a little about staying together. This is after all is a "training run", not a race. I told Christian not to let me hold him back and to go ahead and take off and win the damn thing. We ran together for the first mile, before I dropped back. I don't think he knew that I wasn't with him as David Hayes was running right behind him. It was about this time that I knew I was in trouble with lighting. Sam and Brian were running behind me, and I was running in my own shadow from their lights with a dull small disc of light in front of me. The tell-tale flash indicator on my light indicating 90% of the battery life was used up flashed. The moonlight however was intense as we came up to the Wasatch Crest, I was able to turn off my light and climb by the moonlight several times. Sam seemed to get a surge of energy and took off ahead of us as we climbed towards the Crest. We wouldn't catch-up to Sam for another 10 miles. 3 or 4 other runners caught and passed Brian and me. We kept a conservative pace knowing that this is a long course.

At Dog Lake we stopped and filled up our water bottles. I was surprised to have only consumed half a bottle by this point. Starting the race tanked up on fluids was part of my good hydration status but running in the cool of night makes a huge difference. I thought several times that running this course during the day, fighting off mountain bikers, dogs, and the heat might actually yield slower times. This is more of an adventure to be running a secretive race under the cloak of darkness. My mind began to wander a little at this point and I started to hope that running with a Yoda shirt would give me some extra sense of what lay ahead on the trail, since my light wasn't much help. Of course, anyone who has done the section from Dog Lake to Baker Pass will tell you having a bright light might not be much of a help as the vegetation overgrows the trail so severely in spots that no light will help. This is where I started my long count of trail push-ups. As Brian can attest, I alerted him to many many hidden roots, stumps, and rocks. If I have ever made fun of anyone wearing bike gloves while trail running I got my due. I no longer can say that I don't fall, nor can I say I only fall seldomly. Time after time I tested the trail with my full body. Each time I picked myself up dusted Yoda off and tried to be more careful. Brain took the lead as we headed into the last couple of miles towards Baker Pass, mercifully the trail is better in this section, and I stopped falling. We caught Sam, and we figured that he would keep pace with us, but he had just eaten 1/2 of a peanut butter sandwich, and needed to let it digest. We caught another runner who I did not recognize and started to close in on Phil with his red light as we approached the pass.

After Baker Pass Brian let me lead again, supposedly because I am a faster downhill runner, but I really think that I was physically marking the trail of trouble spots. We caught Phil, but shortly after I ran off the trail and had a cramp in my right gastrocnemius as I tried to break yet another fall. Phil passed us again, but stopped at the spring to fill a bottle. Phil made some great whooping sounds as he filled his water bottle. On this long descent I started to loosen up and feel really pretty good running down hill. This was again a time that I was reminded that being able to see what was in front of me might have been helpful, as I ran my left leg into a fallen tree branch. I felt like I had been aggressively tackled by some big defensive player. I wanted a whistle to be blown and a red card given to that damn tree. My distal vastus medialis was hit pretty hard. This is a muscle that is necessary for downhill running. As I got going again I knew that I would be perfectly fine for the night, but this was going to take a few days to heal. I started to get my confidence back, and tried to hurdle a fallen tree before the Terraces. This time my right knee didn't quite make it clear of the fallen tree and I was thwarted in mid-air. This was push-up number twelve, and luckily only left a little scrape on my patella with no muscle injury. While trying to be careful after this fall I managed to turn my ankle enough for some extra internal embarrassment.

The distance from the Terraces to Elbow Fork is 2 miles. Anyone who does this race should realize that it is virtually all up hill. Several times I said to Brian that we were near the end of the climb. I had no idea. This illustrates one of the lessons you get in trail running and for that matter life, expectation matters an awful lot. Something that is expected to be hard is never as bad as something that is hard but is expected to be easy. I was expecting one mile up and one mile down. Not so. The temperature was warmer as well, and damned if the cotton Yoda shirt might have actually been helpful in keeping me cool. We caught up to David Hayes, and stayed behind him until the aid station at Elbow Fork. He took off on the pipeline trail ahead of us.

Brian and I ran together down the pipeline trail. I asked Brian if he wanted me to pick up the pace. Usually at this point he is increasing pace and I am watching him pull away. Mercifully he said he was in no hurry. Besides I was in no shape to run any faster. The trail to the Grandeur peak climb seemed to take forever. The 3 mile climb up Grandeur took a little more than an hour. Christian was the first runner on the way back down and looked great. I passed the car key to him, and wished him well. It was about 14 minutes of climbing before we saw Matt Breo, followed by Shane Martin. Brian told me to feel free to go faster downhill when we hit the top. I was hoping to stay in one piece, but that I didn't want to get passed. We made careful process, then Phil passed us. Getting past down hill was a hard pill to swallow so I picked up the pace. I don't doubt Phil's downhill running, but I was sure that his superior light (one on his head and one in each hand) was allowing him to go down so damn fast. I was able to stay close, but not too close. I was worried about falling, and was full of memories of doing just that. I was feeling bad about leaving Brian, so I figured I had better catch Phil despite the danger of tripping on the rocks. I got pretty close, but when I got to the road leaving Church Fork, I ran into and out of several pull-up picnic sites. I totally lost Phil and wondered if I was going to find my way down at all. At the finish truck, chairs and camp stoves, I was greeted by amazingly awake folks for 4 am cooking hash browns, and telling stories from the night of running. Brian came in a few minutes later.

I made it through this time, but not without some tough knocks. Earlier I had dreamt of going out to an all-night place for an early breakfast, but when Christian and I got in the car to drive down I was longing mostly for a shower and bed. The new shoes were fine. The cotton Yoda shirt didn't give me any Jedi powers , but wasn't problematic either. The effects of the dim headlamp and my clumsiness I am still feeling. Thankfully Erik didn't have to sweep me off the course along with the glow sticks and ribbons. Many thanks to Rich and Ken for another great MC50.

Salt Lake City Man Attacked by Tree

On Wed July 16th 2008 while trail running Rich McDonald was viciously attack by a teenage quaking aspen. It began like any summer run up Millcreek Canyon. Starting at Upper Big Water, McDonald ran to Dog Lake, then up to Desolation Lake. From the crest he ran down the Great Western trail back to his car. The run seemed like just another spiritual experience on the trail. Then things took a dramatic turn for the worst. As McDonald ran down the Great Western he spotted his attacker laying across the trail. Moving at the speed of light McDonald attempted to duck underneath, but instead was struck. The blow to the head stunned the runner. He remained on his feet and was able to verbal assault the tree, until he saw the blood! McDonald stayed calm and applied pressure to the wound as he walk back to the car. Face and chest covered in blood he passed several hikers who wanted to help. He explained that he was "SUPER TOUGH" and continued to his car. On his return he was also responsible for traumatising 3 young children with the 3 gallons of blood on his head and body. On McDonald's return to the city he received 3 staples in the head. When asked if he was worried about future encounters with hostile trees, McDonald replied "It's the trees that should be worried!"

Annual MRC 4th of July Run

This was the 2nd annual 4th of July MRC run on the Desolation loop. We strayed from tradition slightly by heading up the Great Western Trail to the Millcreek Divide before heading south along the ridge.
Once we hit Red Lover's ridge (or the Spine if you're a mountain biker) then Erik, Jason and Mark cut out slightly early headed back down to Big Water. Peter, Greg, Sam and myself continued south along the crest to the sheds. It was great to get out on a Friday with some friends in the mountains.
Maybe it's a bit late but I figured I'd at least post the photos.

On Saturday I met up with Storheim for a slog up to Bear Ass Pass. I had tired legs from the day before and he was just plain tired from the 4th of July festivities the night before. I didn't bring the camera on this one, but one thing to note, there has been some trail work done on the section between Mt Aire trail junction and the first stream crossing. The trail is a bit smoother in some of the rocky areas now.

On Sunday I met up with Peter to run from Big Water to Guardsman together. From there he ran to Deer Valley to meet up his family and have brunch, while I continued on to Albion Basin where I would meet up with my family. My plan was to take the Wasatch route to Catherine's Pass where I would drop down on the trail to Alta.

Peter and I made it to Scott's Pass and I paused to look over at Sunset Peak and Catherine's. We both concluded that I would definitely be running through some snow, how much was the real question. As the pictures show, it really wasn't that bad. One other thing to note, the mountain bikers were a lot more friendly on Sunday then they were on Friday, except for one that I managed to get a picture of...

Grandeur

This morning I ran my favorite route of all time. Up and down the west face of Grandeur Peak. I really do love it, but I hate it just as bad. It never feels good. I can go up in 1 1/2 hours and it hurts, or I can try for a PR and it hurts even more. This morning was a PR attempt, and it hurt. It was a perfect morning. There was a nice gale force wind coming out of Parley's as there always is in the early morning, but it was probably only of Tropical Storm intensity, rather than the usual Class III Hurricane. Once I got out of the wind after the first big climb, I was feeling pretty good. After the second big climb (right before the trail splits to the left to loop back down the northern ridge) I was a minute ahead of normal pace. Maybe today would be the day!

Side Note: From the first time I attempted the West face of Grandeur Peak, in August of 2004, my goal has been to beat my good friend Erik Badger's time. He and his dad, Bri Badger(who introduced me to the Wasatch 100 and all the addictive behavior associated with it), were making a weekly ascent and invited me along. Erik was trying to beat Bri's time of 49 minutes to the summit, and did so, then went a little further and made it in 46 1/2 minutes. I'm sure there are faster times. In fact, I think Ken Jensen did it in around 43 minutes, and I'm sure Jared Campbell, in his 1000+ summits has done it faster, but right now I'm shooting for Erik's time. I've only had 3 years to work at it, while Erik was away at school in Kentucky. You'd think I could pull it off in 3 years, but it has remained elusive. So.....Back to today.

The second half of the climb I was feeling pretty good. It was a beautiful sunrise, the flower's were in their prime towards the top, and I was lucky enough to flush a covey of Chukar and 5-6 Grouse. I purposefully didn't look at my watch, just kept it going as hard as I could. Even then, I'd find my mind wandering now and then and my pace would slack off a little, until I realized I wasn't going hypoxic anymore. Finally, almost to the top, where the trail bumps over to the north of the ridge. No matter what I feel like, I always try and run from here to the top. No walking! I was thinking that I really could be in the 46 minute range today. I crossed back over to the ridgeline, and really began to feel anaerobic. You know that nice metallic, almost bloodlike taste in your mouth? Only 100 yards to the top, and then I'm there, push stop and the watch says 47:20......
It's a PR. I beat it by 7 seconds! So that was great, but at the same time, I thought I'd be in the 46's somewhere. You'd think I could be satisfied, but the 46 1/2 lurks in the back of my mind. You're still safe Erik! That one really hurt, I may not try again for a while. Then again, maybe next Monday morning.

Desolation Trail

Erik and I (Rich) ran the Desolation trail that starts just past Millcreek Inn on Wed afternoon. What a beautiful trail. The wild flowers were in full force. We also encountered a rattlesnake on our way down. It was ready to strike Erik. He is lucky I was there to save his life. I spoke a little parcel tounge and he gladly moved away. The photo of the snake didn't turn out, but take a look at the others it is amazing up there. Sorry they are a bit blurry they were taken with my phone. Happy running! -Rich 

P.S. for a 8x10 glossy print of the adult picture of Erik that has now been removed send $14.95 to "Sexy Runner PO Box 69 SLC, UT 84124"