I was to do cross-training today; I'm starting my easy week (3 hard, then 1 easy is the pattern). I thought about biking today, but wasn't in the mood. My appetite for hiking was whetted by the jaunt with the kids yesterday. Plus, it's been about 9 years since I hiked Grandeur Peak, and I was in the mood to tackle it again. Yeah, last time I hiked it I was quite overweight and not in good shape at all. I remember that it took about 4 hours round-trip, and on the way down, about 0.1 mile from the car, I slipped on some gravel, fell, and broke a chip off the top of my left talus. (Incidentally, that was the third time I had broken my left ankle!). The hike itself had gone well, though; I remember how great it felt to get to the top and see the incredible view. Other memories from the last time I hiked it: from the saddle to the top is pretty steep and I remember stopping a lot. Heck, I remember stopping a lot on the other parts, too. It's a fairly challenging hike, with a continual grade from the get-go to the top. I remember feeling really bad that Loren had to stop and wait for me so frequently, and I was stressed out that I was holding him back. Wow...almost can't believe that those things really happened to me. It's like it was another life. I guess in a way it was.
So I was very curious to see how today would compare to the last time I did this. I thought I'd be able to run up parts of it, but it was only flat enough to run in a few spots. Mostly I powerwalked up the steep grade to the top. There are a lot of switchbacks, places with rocks, etc. The trailhead starts at 5960ft/1816m and goes up to 8299ft/2530m in just 2.75 miles/4.4 km (according to a website...my Garmin was pretty close at 1805-2528m) Click this link for more info on the trail. What was great about this time around was that I only stopped twice, both times because I wanted to take pictures, not because I had to stop. I could easily have gone all the way up without stopping at all! The whole time up I was smiling inside because I felt so different than the previous time I did this - so strong, and so good. I would not give up the way I feel now for anything.
I reached the summit in 58:46. Yes, that's right - it took me less than an hour to get to the top, incredibly. I am sure that last time it took at least 2.5 hours. Going up my glutes and calves got a good workout, but coming down it was my quads that complained the most. I'm pretty sure I'll be a little sore tomorrow. At the top it was way too steep to run down, but after I passed the saddle I was able to run about half the time or more. Granted, I didn't run fast, as I was paranoid about tripping, falling, or breaking my ankle again. But I did run - and it was FUN! I can see why people love trail running so much. It was amazing to run through the dappled sunlight of the forest near the bottom. I might have to try a little trail running with a friend of mine who enjoys it.
The rest of my pictures are here, including 360 degree views from the summit. You can see the whole Salt Lake Valley, including the city & the lake, from up there. These were taken with the camera on my phone, so please excuse the quality. They're not bad for a little camera, though.
Total time: 1:47:38, about 750m up and 750m down, average pace 11:52/km, and average HR 135 (note that ave HR on the way up was 148).
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