Running on Eddie: August 2017

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Malan's Peak Hike - Ogden, UT

Look up at Malan's Peak

Introduction

This past Sunday I was looking for a new hike to do. I knew that there were several trails in Ogden that I've just started to explore.

So after a few searches, I elected to do Malan's Peak. This is about a 2.5 mile hike from the 27th Street Trail Head parking lot to the top.

There isn't a parking lot like 22nd street, but there is plenty of street / residential parking. The area appears safe, with many charming older houses.

There are two trail access points from the street. To start, I took the one on the left and I just kept heading east. Eventually there were some signs. I followed the signs for Taylor Canyon.

About a mile into the hike you'll come across a bridge. There was a sign there indicating to take a right to follow the trail to go to Malan's Peak:

Hang a right (go south) here.

The first part of the trail is fairly manageable, but things get challenging upon crossing the bridge. From that point on, it is almost all up for the next 1.5 miles.

Blessedly, it is a bit shaded but I was definitely hurting as I made the ascent.

It took me about an hour to reach the top. You can see my route here. At the top you will be treated to some beautiful views of the Ogden Valley, The Great Salt Lake, the islands and Ben Lamond Peak. The trail continues up but I heard rumors that it did peter out after a bit and became difficult to follow. I decided to stop at that point.

The trail along the way offers some real nice views of a creek bed. In fact, the initial go reminded me a bit of Adams Canyon. There was a small "waterfall" of sorts that required a bit of a side jaunt. You'll see it just after the bridge cross-over. It looks like a man-made construct enables a flow of water into the creek below. This was pretty much the only source of water on the trail.

All in all, it took about 2.5 hours to do the trail. It is definitely worth while for a good workout.

Looking north from Malan's Peak

Looking west from Malan's Peak

Looking south west from Malan's Peak

Looking south from Malan's Peak

Typical stretch of trail

Mini-waterfall just after the turn off

View of Taylor's Canyon from the parking lot

Monday, August 28, 2017

This Week in Running 8/20 - 8/26 + Desert Running

Picture from Friday morning's long run

Day	Mileage / Workout	Comments
Sunday	Off	7 Miles of Hiking
Monday	7
Tuesday	10	Medium paced long run
Wednesday	5	Easy
Thursday	Off
Friday	12	Long run in Nevada
Saturday	7	Desert running
Total miles for the week: 41; YTD: 1144

Week's Summary

I finally cracked 40 miles for the week! While I am not 100% healed from my worn out patella tendon, I am able to run pretty much as much as I'd like. While I've been a little hesitant on turning on the jets as far as speed work, I am able to run distance and quite comfortable.

About the only day I felt a bit of discomfort was initially on Friday. I had taken the day off from work and in the morning I was trying to figure out where to run. Given the high temperature of the day and not wanting to prolong running by driving, I just headed down old I-93. This road is no longer used and as time takes it's toll, it is becoming less of a paved road and more of a dirt road. You can drive on it -- in spots, but for the most part no one knows about it. However, you are always within shouting distance of the "real" I-93.

The rest of the week was built around tentatively and patiently building up the miles. All in all a productive week and on my way back to being ready for a marathon.

Desert Run

With Friday and Saturday at my disposal, I did two desert runs. It is always a treat to run something new on account that I generally run the same route. I find running in the desert to be relaxing and I like challenging myself with a hillier route. It also gives me ample opportunity to explore and just have fun for the sake of running. Even the same routes I've done before, sort of have an air of exploration.

Enjoy the photos:

Leppy Canyon just north of West Wendover, Nevada

Heading back down into West Wendover, from about 1.5 miles out in Leppy Canyon

Old highway I-93 - south of West Wendover, NV

Upcoming Races

09/02: Midway Swiss Days 10K - Midway, UT (Confirmed)
09/09: Race to the Angel Half Marathon - Wells, NV (Probable)
09/16: Take it to the Lake Half Marathon - Ely, NV (A Stretch)
11/12: Las Vegas Marathon - Las Vegas, NV (Confirmed)
04/21: Salt Lake City Marathon - Salt Lake City, UT (Confirmed (2018))

Monday, August 21, 2017

Indian Trail Hike - Ogden Utah

Introduction

The other day I was looking for a new hike to do. I was looking for a hike that wasn't going to kill me, have some people on it and that offered something new.

For a while I've been wanting to the Indian Trail Hike. This hike is on the east side of Ogden in a residential area. Apparently, this is an old Indian trail that was used by Native Americans when the Ogden River was overflowing. So there is a bit of history and some cool geological phenomenon along the trail.

The trail head and parking can be found on Google Maps by looking for 22nd Street Trail head.

The Ogden trail folks have done a good job of placing easy to read and find trail markers which will guide you to the actual trail. This trail intersects with several other ones and I would've been sort of lost without them. You can pick up the Bonneville Shoreline trail and a few others. I had no problems making my way to a trail that hugs the ridge of the Ogden Canyon.

The first three quarters of a mile are exposed. There isn't much shade as you make a brief ascent. Then suddenly, you'll enter a copse of trees and the rest of the hike is primarily shaded (especially if you are hiking before noon).

I believe there is only about a 1000 feet of climbing. While at times the hike can be strenuous, for the most part the climbs and descents were easy to manage.

The trail is easy to navigate and in fact a little runnable in many spots. I wouldn't recommend it for cyclists as there are several sharp drop offs. One false step and one could easily tumble down the side of a cliff. There is ample room and only one area looked a little scary, but one should mind their footing while on the trail.

There was one confusing part along the trail at a spot about 1.75 miles out. The trail seemed to head up and another path continued to hug the ridge. From the initial perspective, it would appear that you should climb. In short, don't do that. The upwards going one seemed to peter out and got hard to follow after about 30 - 40 yards. I got smart and decided it was a weird trail and went back to the main trail. Not sure where it went to, but clearly the way around the trail is to hug the ridge above Ogden Canyon.

After about 2.5 miles from the 22nd Street parking lot I came across a shelter. There was a dog watering bowl there (dogs appear to be okay on the trail). Here, you are treated to a wonderful view of the Ogden Valley and beyond. There are places to sit and evidence of a fire. On a clear day you can see beyond the Great Salt Lake. Alas, today wasn't one of those days.

I continued about another half mile from that point and realized I was going more down than up. I didn't really want to go all the way to the canyon road below (even though I think I would've hugged a creek). The entire trail is 4 miles -- from the 22nd street trail head to the canyon road below. I had seen enough and didn't want to have to re-ascend all the gains I had made.

This trail is definitely a good one to do on a hotter day. It is heavily shaded and fairly lightly trafficked. For those that are curious, here is the route I took. For a Sunday, I came across about half a dozen people -- I expected to see more.