“Mount Olympus
a.k.a The Millcreek Tour
October 10th
2008
I was stoked to
be included in this semi-impromptu event that linked up some fine trails
between the Neff’s Canyon trailhead and Alexander’s Basin. I wasn’t really sure what to expect-
especially since I hadn’t done any real training/running since the Wasatch 100
(over a month past) - but I was giddy to get out and run in my backyard with
some random folk. I ended up only
knowing one person, Ryan, beyond Jared (the race organizer), but the rest of
the crew were very amiable and friendly (and strong!). The weather was threatening to foul, but was
staved off until the next morning. I’d
cranked Neff’s countless times, but I’d never caught the impressive Thaynes connector trail.
The views on the traverse were amazing with the fall colors the setting
sun.
Once into Thaynes the dwindling light made travel more difficult (and
I was surprised to find myself feeling heavy and sore). I lost the trail in upper right-hand Porter’s
Fork but was giddy to reach the west side of Raymond and more familiar
trails. Here I expected to find the
water drop (or an older one that I knew of) but missed it and trundled on sans
water. I knew about five people were
ahead of me and as I rounded
I caught the high
traverse trail across Mill A Basin and found myself at
About five
minutes off the summit I ran into Jared (the bouncing light) who was running
the course backwards on a tip that course was no longer marked and people were
getting off route. I passed along what I
knew and he continued upward to see where people were at and re-mark the
course. I was just giddy to get off the
mountain and started my slide down Alexanders in the
dark. Having again cranked this section
countless times I had to laugh when I got off route and spent some time bushwacking in the upper bowl. It’s crazy how different things are in the
dark. Another mile and a half put me at
the trailhead with the friendly Mindy and Brendan, and also Larry- who had also
missed the Baker Pass trail and run all the way to Dog Lake, down to Big Water,
and then down the road to Alexanders (at least five
miles further than my route). Ryan
arrived a little later and Mindy was kind enough to shuttle us down canyon
before terminal Hypothermia set in.
Overall it was a quality run. For
most of the run (actually I barely ran at all) I felt like I was cranking at
about 65%, but was happy to be back at it.
I was just happy to finish at ~4:30 which was how long it took me three
years ago to run the reverse route (via a slightly shorter but more technical route).
Many thanks to Jared for planning the
event.
Also many thanks to Mindy and Brendan for crewing
the finish line and for the ride down.
And of course thanks to the rest of the crew out trundling through the
night. I’m not sure where everyone else ended up,
but rumor is that everyone had a good time.
The event/Jared’s Blog
can be cound here.
Distance:
My GPS read 13.5 miles (notoriously short)… and the trail map calls it
13.2 miles… but…
A few random pics:
Crew prepping at the trailhead under the holy mountain.
The crew starting off up the lower Neff’s road.
Looking
down Neff’s from near the Thaynes ridgeline.
© All Content 2008 Arie
Leeflang Collection