I predict that there will never be another Squaw Peak 50 like 2008. Zhow, it prepared me for the Grand Slam with multiple weather patterns including rain, slippery mud, falling snow, packed snow, sun, and a tiche of humidity. I am sorry that I didn't bring my camera during the run, didn't think it would really happen with the conditions, but Peter and my trail work friend Greg Norrander captured some memories.
The race is held ~ 1 hour south of my house....south to Provo and then east up Provo canyon to Vivian Park. Peter had just returned from a business trip to a mine project (nickel) outside of Duluth, poor guy still wanted to get up and drive. I always seem to time it to arrive just before the race start and sure enough, I checked in, grabbed my number and barely put out my drop bags when the race started (last year I arrived 20 minutes late for the start, it was weird to start running alone). Weather report was for rain and cool temps in the morning breaking to partly cloudy in the afternoon. The first part of the race heads west on a paved path following the Provo river, passing Bridal Veil falls. A lot of people bring head lamps, I don’t, I just poach their light. This hasn’t been a problem in the past, but this year when I turned off the path and headed up the trail, I wasn’t with a luminous runner and I bumped my toes and tripped all over until the sunlight brightened the trail. It didn’t help matters that the sky was overcast, nevertheless, note to self: bring headlamp next year.
After the first couple of miles the hard packed rocky trail, which is minimally affected by rain, turns into a dirt steep trail. This section was tough because of slippery thick mud... just like at Bishop, one step forward and a 1/4 slide back. The rain continued and temperatures were dropping. Right before we left
home Peter talked me into grabbing a fleece ski cap, thank you Peter! I also had my lightweight, not meant for running, rain jacket and a pair of fleece gloves. I was toasty. We continued up to a ridge enduring the lack of traction, it is pretty steep in some short sections and that basically sucked. Greg was in a great position for muddy shots. And then the rain turned to snow, which made the grass on the side of the trail slippery. I thank every little bush that sacrificed their branches to help me pull myself up the hill. I was listening to my shuffle tunes and the song “Look at Little Sister” by Stevie Ray Vaughn played. I always think of my sisters during that song. At that point of tough times, I thought of how we have all had our challenges in life and, well, my sisters are a huge inspiration to me. They have endured much more, with more grace, and why should a little mud and cold ruin my spirit. That was all I needed.....and I was fired up. Oh, and it just happened that on the next song, Sheryl Crow belted out “If it makes you happy, then why are you so sad”, and that put the nail on the SP50 ‘08 coffin. So, Stevie and Sheryl, you share song of the run honors. FYI, I neglected to put in my Bishop race report that the song of the run was “Hotel California” by the Eagles, the acoustics really put a positive spin on the relentless heat at the end of that race. So with this new attitude I reached the ridge and then headed down this nice dirt trail through a meadow to the Squaw Peak road. With the current conditions, the trail was so slick that people were sliding and falling all over. And this is where my post race soreness comes from, quick body jerks to save myself from falling, but I fell anyway. At the next AS, Rock Canyon mile 11, I stopped briefly to mix more Perpetuem potion. A volunteer helped me and as I was rezipping my coat, he took over and put on the hood and then zipped my coat all the way.....very sweet. As I left the AS, I quickly realized how fast my core temp dropped, I am forever grateful to that volunteer for that act of kindness!
The road up to the Horse Mtn AS, mile 15, was quite runable and eerie with lots of fog, then we start the long descent. Most of the downhill to Hobble creek canyon is on a gravel road. The precip. stopped just as forecasted. Right past Pole Heaven AS ( mile 21
@bottom of the descent) I saw Peter. This year it was too muddy for him to pace me on his mountain bike, so he snapped some photos and said “see ya at the bottom of Windy Pass”. From here to Left Fork Hobble Creek AS is almost 4 miles on pavement. It wasn’t too bad this time but in years past I reach this point ~11am and it is scorching on the pavement. You pass by this ginormous ranch that is way too much.... outrageous..... yuck. One entry, not the fancy gated one, has a log pole frame and a saddle on top. I would like to ride it, maybe for my 10th Squaw Peak.... giddy up.
From the top of the pavement, mile 26.5, starts the big daddy climb. I think of it in three s
ections. The first is an ATV road that follows a creek. Usually I am dipping into the creek to cool off but obviously no need. Over one wide creek area is a single log bridge. I knew I was doing well as I walked over the log without problems. If I am dehydrated or bonking I have a hard time with balance. The boy scouts man the Rattlesnake AS, mile 30, at the top of this section. They had snow in the morning but it was dry and sunny by the time I got there, they are always a cheery AS group. The second section starts out by going up a creek bed. Usually I can do this without
getting my feet wet, but today it would have been more time consuming jumping between dry spots and rocks so I just forged straight up the stream bed, which was super fun and a quickie ice bath for the lower legs. Then the trail goes thru this small hill sagebrush area. I always envision sheep grazing here. The trail winds thru a beautiful aspen grove to a steep climb to the ridge. There is a quick descent (term quick also includes untintential sliding in mud) crossing a stream a few times to the Little Valley AS, mile 33.
Little Valley AS, the point of contention. Here you decide how you will go to the finish line, trail or truck. A lot of people pull out here because if you continue
but can’t make it, you are screwed and you risk being hauled out by search and rescue.
At this AS I always fill up with max water and the weather is not predictable so at the very least, take an
emergency poncho. Respecting mother nature, I chose to keep my rain coat and swapped for a fresh pair of gloves out of my drop bag.
Ready for the third section of the climb, this is where I shine as I tend to motor right up.
First you wind thru aspens, jumping over or walking thru streams, then you switch
back on a south facing slope.....which again normally is a scorcher but this day no prob. The trail crests
two saddles and then you start a runable contour around the mountain. This is my favorite place to stop and enjoy the view.
I say stop because if you take your eyes off the trail, a root will reach up, grab your ankle and take you down
before you can say “Aaahhh Timpanogas” (which is the mountain to gawk at).
At a certain point you can see the steep climb, marked by what looks like a trail of ants but is actually runners.
I was running low on fuel,
so I stopped to
mix up more potion and enjoy the view :)
I was now ready for the last grunt climb. This is pretty straight up.
Without snow the route snakes along like an animal trail. This time with snow
you go
straight up, then across to another saddle, then up and over a peak looking down to the Windy pass AS, mile 40.
As I started downhill (photo above) I noticed a familiar blue fleeced photographer and was so stoked that Peter had climbed up to Windy Pass, his first time. Not only did he snap pics but he wanted to try running with me down to the next AS. A future pacer?
The Windy Pass AS people are tough. They haul up all the gear, camp 2 nights, then haul it down. They melt snow or get water from a spring for the runners. Awesome.
On the start of the 10 mile downhill to the finish, there was snow to negotiate ~3 miles, then lots of rocks. I was quite slow on this part, quite technical and very frustrating as I do well on the climb and lose it going down. The trail goes thru a couple of avalanche slide paths that have really ripped over the past years. Peter did great, no surprise to me, and we talked about him pacing me up and over Hope pass at Leadville. Once we got to the less technical section my pace improved down thru switchbacks, over the open field and when I got to the last AS mile 46.5, I was completely out of water, which is good because that means I was hydrating well. My pacer would leave me here and drive our Eurovan to the finish. The last 3.5 miles of the course is a paved road, yuck. I really have to entertain myself to get thru it. I goes like this....... first I look for this gazebo groomed lawn place, which I have run by in the middle of a wedding ceremony (no wedding today, rats), then the vegetable gardens, then the busy park and people in the parking lot query about what we are running, then a gross pond, two out turns, the electrical lines, and when you see the houses it is time to really crank it to the finish. I finished @ 14:18, which is not my best (12:56 in 2003), unfortunately because without the conditions I think I could have had a PB. My friend Allen Belshaw won! Strong work Allen. The RD said that with the challenging trail conditions Allen’s time was slower by an hour, so with that in mind, I may not have done that bad. My friend Colleen got her 10 year award, a cougar trophy....Way to go Colleen, one tough cookie. Not far behind me was my friend Lori. She gets the quote of the day...... When Peter and I ran over to snap a pic of Lori as she cornered to the park, she said to us “I just passed Karl Meltzer” (for those of you who have not heard of the infamous Karl, he is a local superhuman ultra runner aka SpeedGoat..... who was pacing his wife).
I had a good post race night and I am recovering well. As I unpacked my gear, all I could think was......Western States.....3 weeks.
Check out more photos on Peter's Photo Gallery link under Cool Stuff. Give him a couple of days as he is getting ready for a boys trip to Alaska. He and Ron are joining Steve for a fishing adventure. Good Luck boys.....I hope to pick up a cooler of Salmon along with Peter.
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