A Red Rock Smorgasbord

While patiently waiting for spring to come to the Wasatch, I had three great runs this week on a work trip to Southern Utah.

Wednesday night I ran in Red Canyon, a fabulous 13-mile loop up Lossee Canyon, connecting to Castro Canyon via the Cassidy trail, and down Castro Canyon. An excellent run with a variety of terrain including stunning red rock, stream crossings, ponderosa forests, and high desert. The trailhead is just a quick 5-minute drive off highway 89 near Panguitch making this a perfect run to break up a drive to/from the south.





Thursday night I finally connected the Tom’s Canyon and Squaw trails in Kanab. This could be one of THE VERY BEST short (6 miles) trail runs in the state. Start at the Squaw trailhead at the north end of town next to the recreation center. Run through the La Estancia sub division (about a mile of pavement) and up Tom’s Canyon. Watch for where the trail leaves the road on the left and follow the steep trail to the top of the mesa. The trail is challenging, the scenery stunning, and the views of Kanab and the surrounding valleys spectacular. Once on top follow the ATV trail towards the towers and connect with the Squaw trail.





Friday night on my way home to Salt Lake I stopped for a quickie to Kolob Arch in Zion National Park. This relatively flat and speedy 14-mile out and back offers a number of stream crossing, stunning scenary, and of course, an arch!. Easily accessed from I-15 between Cedar City and St. George, another great run for when you are traveling north or south.



And tonight I’m back in Sat Lake looking at snow, patiently waiting and longing for spring...

Red Canyon Trails

Recently I started a new job. As Chief Strategist (what does that title really mean??) for Social Capital, www.socialcapitalpartnerships.com, I advise a variety of top-tier nonprofit organizations on strategic issues such as resource generation, organizational structure and governance, and development of strategic partnerships. What this really means is that I’m one of those people who comes from afar, whose value is perceived as a function of how far I’ve come (the general notion being that the farther you travel the smarter you must be), and disrupts life as it is know in an organization.

I’m very fortunate in that one of the organizations I have the privilege of working with is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, UT. They are a remarkable organization that is working towards creating a world where no companion animals are needlessly euthanized. Each year, more than 5 million pets are killed in shelters across the country. Best Friends is working to make this number zero. If you are not familiar with them, check them out at www.bestfriends.org.

Stay with me – this post is NOT a shameless plug for my employer or Best Friends – it is actually about trail running. You see, I’m required to be on site at Best Friends once a month. What this means is that EVERY FOUR WEEKS (CAPS to express – lucky me!!), I get to spend time running trails in and around Kanab, and enroute to Kanab.

Today, I had a remarkable run in Red Canyon, just 4 miles off Highway 89 south of Panguitch. The trails in Red Canyon are in many ways are similar to Bryce Canyon – just without the crowds. Today’s route was a loop starting at the Losee Canyon Trailhead on Castro Canyon Road, proceeding up the Losee Canyon Trail to the Cassidy Trail, north to the Castro Canyon Trail and back down to the Castro Canyon Road. Best guess is that this stunning loop of a variety of FABULOUS rock formations is about 14 miles.

Some of the trails in this area are open to ATVs. So plan your route accordingly. ATV traffic was light for me, but I think that was a function of parts of the trail being inaccessible to ATV’s because of snow. The trail network is extensive and non-repetitive loops can be constructed from 10 – 25 miles

So here’s the shameless plug… Next time you are traveling Highway 89 in Southern Utah give these trails a run. You can find basic Red Canyon trail information and map at http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/maps/brochures/red_canyon_trail.pdf

Next run for me, West Rim of Zion National Park with Rich McDonald on Friday. Stay tuned for a report and pictures from Rich.