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...