Mount Ogden summit success

So we finally made our 2012 attempt to summit Mount Ogden and all went well. Wes and I met at Kelly's place before we went and packed everything away and we were on the Beus Canyon trailhead by 9:30. The two of them brought their dogs Luigi and Leia. My initial goal was to be at the top within five hours. The last time Kelly and I attempted this in 2009 we only make it a bit past halfway in almost five hours. I was fatter then, so what can I say?

Shortly after making it through Beus Canyon. Note the colors everywhere. Beautiful.

We made our way through the 2.5 miles of Beus Canyon and it was pretty cold outside. There was still frost on the leaves, which provided a scenic climb through the fern fields. Autumn really is the perfect time to make this hike.

After that, we crossed the creek and went up the south side of the canyon before turning into the next canyon, which I don't know the name of on the other side. We worked through the mountainside 2.7 more miles before cutting back west to go up the traverse to the saddle to Mount Ogden, before finally hitting the saddle itself. Once the towers and helicopter pad at the peak were in sight it made things a little more frustrating because it was deceivingly far away.

Wes in the canyon south of Beus.

Eventually, we hit the road that comes up from the east side at Snowbasin. That road was a bitch. It was easily the hardest part of our ascent. We were all sucking wind the whole way. It was worth it though, because out of nowhere we saw a line of about five mountain goats a few dozen yards ahead of us, seemingly making the exact same climb we were. That was pretty cool.

Mountain goat sighting. Unfortunately, no Goat Man sightings.

Finally, after three hours and 45 minutes we made it to the top. We ate lunch and just relaxed for about 45 minutes before heading back down at 2 p.m sharp. It took us a little longer than I had hoped to get back down, trudging into the parking lot on 46th Street at 4:30 and we were dog tired. Even the actual dogs were dog tired.

I don't know if this road has a name, but it should be dubbed Hell's Climb.

All in all, it was a successful hike. Round trip, including the 45 minutes we took to stop, it took us seven hours from start to finish. Not bad. Novice climbers are expected to take eight to nine hours and we dicked around on the helipad for a while, too. We started at 5,000 feet and finished at the top at 9,500 feet making a total ascent of 4,500 feet. I'm sure I burned a crap-ton of calories.

We made it. Almost four hours later.

Total distance: 13 miles hiking (round trip)

Our route, excluding the crappy climb up the final road.

More photos from the hike ...

Cold weather in the morning. Mid 30s.

Traversing the saddle. Mount Ogden about two mile further on the left.

Texting Jen to tell her we made it up safely. Dunno what Kelly's doing.

The view of Weber and Davis counties from the top. We had a perfect 360 degree view as far as we could see.

The road to Snowbasin and the tram on the left.

Ben Lomond peak off to the north.

It's not what it looks like. Well, maybe it is.

Gangster poses with Morgan County behind us.

Market fresh every day: Runnin' to Smith's

I slept in today, but it didn't keep me from working out. The cool weather is making it possible to run outside even in the middle of the afternoon without getting too hot. I ran from my house all the way to Smith's in Sunset before turning back. I had to stop at a handful of stop lights, which slowed me down a bit, but I just ran in place while I waited.

Just finished my run and Jen captured the moment.

I made it back in 43 minutes and MapMyFitness says I ran almost exactly four miles. That Smith's all the way up there is a nice benchmark for a four-mile run, I guess. Anyway, right when I got back, Jen was waiting outside for me so we could run over to Costco to grab a few things. She snapped a quick picture of me in all my sweaty glory and we left. I enjoyed a tasty hot dog and washed it down with a Diet Coke as a reward.

My knee feels great and hasn't been bothering me, although my hamstring has been giving me a little bit of trouble. My confidence heading into the Turkey Tri is growing every workout. I just need to get some more bike, and hopefully pool time, too.

Total distance: 4 miles running

Hidden Valley hike with Wes

Wes and I finally tackled the Hidden Valley Trail this morning. He's already been up a few times this year, but we wanted to go up and see if it would be a good spot for an overnight camp. It's graded as a difficult 2.5-mile hike with an elevation change of 2,046 feet and "difficult" it certainly was.

Nice little map of the trail. It's a pretty dramatic elevation increase.

We made it up in fairly good time (about an hour and 20 minutes) and added stones to the rock cairn to mark our reaching of the end of the trail. It was a tough hike, but it was short enough that I think we can certainly haul 50-60 pound packs up there within a few hours to stay overnight. The scenery, as usual, was beautiful and we made it back down within 30 minutes or so. I'm excited to go back up to camp.

Wes and I about half way up the trail, before we reached the valley.

The rock cairn at the end of the trail.

Hiking, getting lost and more hiking

Trying to keep pace with the beautiful weather we've been having over the past few days, Wes, Kelly, Jessica, Jen and I all went for a hike this morning. Well, it started out this morning and ended up lasting longer than three hours. We took an 'alternate' route up Waterfall Canyon and ended up hiking for an hour before we even found the correct trail. By the time we reached the top, Jen and I snapped a few photos and went straight down.

Early in the hike, trying to find the right canyon

Thinking the other three would catch us fairly quickly, we went on without them. Big mistake. Jen and I ended up at the bottom of the 29th Street trail head when our car was parked at the 31st Street trail head. We humped through a golf course before finally running into Wes, Kelly and Jess. Apparently they took a much faster route down. By then, Jen and I were exhausted, so we all met up at Noodles & Company for some chow and went home. All-in-all, it was a nice hike right up until the end when I got lost. By then I was starving and pretty cranky. Hopefully the next hike will be a little less chaotic.

Not a bad little canyon hike, once you find it.