Wasatch Foothills

The foothills between City Creek Canyon and Immigration Canyon its were I spend most of my time running and when I do run it is usually later in the evening or early morning. The light at this time of day is almost always amazing and its rare that I don't come back from a run without images of golden colored hills and canyon filling shadows or a amazing sunset or sunrise playing back through my memory. The trails are generally smooth fast and flowing but with plenty of options for steep technical climbs and descents if chosen. Even with all this it is easy for me to take these trails for granted or think of them as ordinary and boring because I run them 8 months out of the year and I am surrounded by many other great trail running options. Some years in the spring I complain along with other local trails runners about how I can't wait to get off these trails and move up to the higher more challenging more dramatic trails of the Wasatch. But every year as the summer heat leaves the valley and the high mountain trails fill with snow and I return to these local understated trails I am reminded how they should never be taken for granted, they have their own simple beauty if you just take time to look.

I plan to shoot photos of this area for the next 6 months. The photos attached are from the first three outings. Most of the photos were taken from Dry Creek to Morris Meadows.

One Last Desolation Loop

The wild flowers of 2011 are gone. The air is cool enough that no one thinks whether the spring is running. It doesn't matter. There is no risk that you will overheat. The debate is whether to start with headlamp, even at 7 AM. The days are shorter, the leafless trees and frost on the ground are evidence of the inevitable coming of winter. The clock is ticking, but there is still time for a few runs up high. Fortunately, the falling of the leaves is followed by the falling of snow, which makes way for an entirely different sort of run.

Summertime Rolls

Initially I sat down to write up a Wasatch 100 report but then I remembered some video I forgot to process during the summer. Then I started waxing nostalgic about Hardrock training then I decided to ditch the Wasatch report...Summer is almost over.

The video was shot on July 25, 2011 and there was still a lot of snow. This winter is shaping up to be more of the same.