Squaw Peak 50 recon, take three. For those who are keeping score, it's now Squaw Peak 2, Eric 1. Catherine dropped me off at Nunn's Park on her way to run with a group in Orem. I covered the short portion on the BST quickly. I overestimated how cold it would be and had to stop after a mile to shed some layers, and the light of my headlamp was making me dizzy, but I made it to the first turnoff with no problem. And thanks to the cairn Jun and I made on Saturday, I actually found the trail without any drama. The trail from the BST to Hope Campground is a nice one once you're on it, and it should be completely runnable, but I was a little off this morning so I ended up hiking some of the steep and loose sections. I knew exactly where to find the trail out of Hope Campground, but after less than half a mile I realized I was in a creek bed instead of on the trail. I backtracked, sidetracked, and generally wandered around for quite a while before conceding that I had lost the trail. (I also nearly had a heart attack when I came around a tree and found myself staring right into two glowing eyes--fortunately, it was just a deer). I wasn't surprised, given the difficulty of finding an overgrown trail in the dark, but I was disappointed. I decided to backtrack to the camp site and then run up the road until I found the trail again. But almost immediately after turning around I realized where I had gone wrong, and I was back on course. Of course, no sooner was I back on course than the course disappeared. As Jun mentioned on Saturday, there's been a little tractor-induced mayhem in the mountains this summer. I wandered through the fallen trees and chewed up earth, but it was hopeless--the trail was gone. (And I'm not sure why--if there's a reason for what they've been doing up there, it's not obvious to a city slicker like me). I just walked up the hill, trusting that I'd eventually hit the road, and I did. From there, I had to decide whether I was above the place where the trail meets the road or below it. I guessed I was above it, and for perhaps the first time in my trail running career, I was right. Result! The trail is pretty clear from this point, and it was light enough for me to turn off my headlamp, so I cruised on up to the Squaw Peak overlook and down to the road at Rock Canyon Pass. I descended the trail through a meadow surrounded by changing leaves and big mountains (I apologize for not bringing a camera), and after a little more than half a mile I was back at the road, right on schedule. It then occurred to me that I had no idea whether I was supposed to find another trail or stay on the road (after getting lost two times before, I hadn't actually reviewed the course directions after the pass). I decided to stay on the road, which quickly deposited me at Rock Canyon Campground. From there it was a quick descent through the canyon, past the temple, and past campus. Just as I hit Center Street, Catherine drove by on her way home from the gym, so I hopped in the car with her instead of running the final mile home. Good morning.
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