Today I accomplished something I never thought would matter to me. I logged over 1000 miles in 2012. I knew I would hit the magic number this weekend, and I wanted it to be special. I took a trip about 45 minutes south of my home to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve.
Today's trip ended up being a little more than 14 miles. It should have only been 12, but I found myself a little befuddled for a moment or two. Here's some pics of the experience. (I plan to break the pics up between two posts)
1st Sunrise over the Red Cliffs. The snow capped mountain in the rear is Pine Mountain
Pic two- Dinosaurs tracks! The indentations are real live dinosaur tracks. The green things are not dinosaurs.
I love this stump. I think it looks like an ancient elephant head, just lying by itself in the wilderness.
See the path? These are moki steps. the pool is about 6 feet deep.
This picture is a bit fuzzy. It was a bad idea to take it myself at this point. i really didn't want to get wet
other side of the moki steps
These next two are the reason for some of the extra length on the run. I was unwilling to get into this water. It was about thigh deep, and cold. not gonna happen with air temps in the high 30's. It took a while to find an appropriate detour around these.
I do want to get back here in the summer and go through this water.
This part was pretty fun. I had to go from one side to the other about 5 times to stay where it was flat, and not in the water. There were a few spots where someone had set bolts in the rock and attached webbing or ropes. It made it pretty handy.
more in the next post!
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I really liked this branch in the middle of the water. The icicles were hanging on for dear life. I took about 30 pics of it, and decided this was the best one.
Here's where it get interesting. There were about 5 of these pools, each 4-5 feet above the next, and quite difficult to navigate around (again, trying to not get wet)
Another shot of the pools
After the pools, I came upon this. It's a 30-40 foot tall dryfall. It's hard to see, but there is a rope attached at the top, that hangs down to about the halfway point. The top is where that tree against the sky is.
The halfway point, looking down. I was pretty nervous through here. I had never been on this portion of the trail, and I was alone.
The dryfall conquered! I do have a bit of experience in canyoneering and rock climbing. I still don't like doing it alone. Bad idea. I am glad I chose to do the loop in this direction, I would have not enjoyed navigating down this obstacle.
Some slickrock singletrack. This is the area where I got befuddled. I knew that I was supposed to follow the drainage (wash), but the main drainage was a little tough to pick out. I had to backtrack a number of times. I finally said "forget it, I think the car is that way" and just headed off. I chose wisely
the end of the road
All in all it was a great day. The temp was perfect, the sun was shining. I only fell twice on ice. About 80% of it was runnable. I look forward to going back soon!
Wow, gorgeous! And dinosaurs, too! Congrats on hitting your milestone in such a dramatic way, and thanks for sharing the experience.
sugnim
Wow! Very nice. I'm not even sure I'd know how to run on terrain like that. Looks like a very cool place, and the dinosaur tracks are a major plus. One day, when humans are extinct, some new species may go for a run in that area and take pictures of the tracks you made today. Thanks for sharing!
running under the BigSky
congrats on the 1000 and looks like you did it in grand fashion!
the canyon country of Utah is calling me
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
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2013 races:
3/17 Shamrock Marathon
4/20 North Coast 24 Hour
7/27 Burning RIver 100M
8/24 Baker 50M
10/5 Oil Creek (distance to be determined)
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Absolutely beautiful!
I have got to get out West and run this.
Endless trails
Congrats on your accomplishment, great job!
Awesome pics, thanks for sharing.
Wow. Thanks for sharing the pics!
Faster Than Your Couch!
Looks like an epic run! The climbing sections seem a bit scary, though. Glad you made it through in one piece!
Run for fun.
thanks for the nice comments everyone! This really was a fun run, and I look forward to doing it many more times in the near future. This is going to be my go to training run for Moabs Red Hot. If your ever in the area, I'd be happy to show anyone the route.
Weegee
What a beautiful capper to a tremendous year! Here's to yet another one in 2013.
First Loser, 2012 Washington Grand Slam With Ham.
Ultra Cowboy
I have huge respect for you making that trip. What really struck me was the stillness of the water and the perfect reflection of the canyon walls and sky. I have to say you are the first person to make me say "I need to go there" . Well done on the mileage, the trip and the destination.
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