Larry and I ran to the summit of Mt. Timpanogos and back this morning. It's been something I've been wanting to do for a long time, and I wasn't disappointed. We left Larry's house around 4:50am. Even that early the parking lot at the Timpanooke trail head was full. Apparently a lot of people hike up to watch the sunrise from the top. We had to park about a half mile away.
We started from the Timpanooke trail head at 5:45am. It was still dark so we used head lamps for the first couple of miles. This was only my second time up, and the first was 25 years ago, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. We chose (wisely, I think) to only run where the trail was not too steep and not too rocky. We ran most of the way back down, walking when it was prudent.
The weather was cool and comfortable clear up until we reached the saddle. The wind was really strong from there on up to the summit. We were just wearing our running shorts and a t-shirt, and got pretty cold. Our hands were so cold it was difficult to write our names in the register at the summit. We had both taken our cell phones and called our wives from the shack at the summit. After drinking a little and eating some of the homemade energy bar Larry's wife Jolene had sent along (it was awesome!) we started back down. Going up from the saddle to the summit was pretty challenging, but coming down that section was even tougher I think, especially being cold with numb hands. Once we got back down to the saddle and beyond the sun hit us and the wind died down and conditions became perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed the run back down.
Everyone we saw along the trail was very friendly. They stepped off the trail to let us pass, and said kind words about our efforts. Most of them were college-age kids. One girl said we were her heroes. Others told us we were crazy. A couple of girls in one group gave us high fives as we passed. As we approached one large group I was a little ahead of Larry, who they couldn't see yet. The conversation was something like this: Seeing me coming running, one of the boys said, "Something must be chasing him!" I said, "Yeah, that guy behind me won't stop chasing me. Tackle him!", as I ran past. Larry heard this as he approached them and said, "Stop that man! He stole my wallet!" The kids knew we were joking and got a pretty good laugh out of it.
The wildflowers were beautiful, in reds, yellows, and purples. The sky was clear and blue and the meadows, plants, and trees were green. It starting getting warm near the end, but there was a nice breeze. Even the brooks were babbling about how beautiful it was. We saw various chipmunks and other small animals, one that looked like a guinea pig. As we came running around one bend there was a deer standing near where the path curved in almost a full circle. We expected her to bolt, but she just stood there about 20 feet away looking at us as we ran around her. We slowed to a stop and I began to ask her if she was having a nice day. I think she got nervous about us stopping and she went off into the trees.
The Sojourners Running Club was running Timp today. We had a bit of a head start on them and only three of them passed us. The third guy that passed us said the two in front of him were both sub-2:30 marathon guys, so we didn't feel too bad about them passing us. On our way down from the summit, near the saddle, we came across a group of them. Larry knows Cheryl Harper and talked to her for a bit. She said she had snacks in her van at the bottom and told us where the keys were. When we got down we both enjoyed some Nutter Butter cookies from her van, and Larry had some grapefruit juice from the cooler. It took us 2:52:16 to reach the summit, and the return trip took
2:19:40, for a total of 5:11:56. My GPS was unreliable, but the
Sojourner's web site says "9 miles to the top (18 total but probably worth 20 or more!)" Larry stubbed his toes on some rocks and hurt his big toe on his left foot, but other than that we both thoroughly enjoyed the run. It was awesome! | 