2 down, 52 to go.

I summited my first 14,000+ peaks today, making a training run out of the Grays/Torreys combination. They are two of the easiest to hike. Running them was tough. I had to switch to hiking once I got above 13k and started to get a little light-headed.

I started at the Bakerville exit (9,780′), which is 3 miles and 1,500′ below the actual trailhead. I topped out on Grays (14,270′) in 2:11, then made my way over to Torreys (14,267′). To truly ‘bag’ a 14′er in style, it is thought that you should gain at least 3,000′ for each summit, rather than traversing from one to another like I did today. No worries, I’ll be doing this route again and will hit Torreys first next time.

It was an awesome run, if a bit crowded. Glad to see people out enjoying the mountains, though.

My run/hike totaled 14.9 miles and 5,100′ of climbing in 4:22. A little slower than I would have liked, but considering all the traffic on the trail, lots of snow on the Grays traverse, and the 18 miles I put in yesterday, not bad.

Grays Peak straight ahead

Torreys Peak on the right

Up the big pile o’ rock

Nice view of Torreys from the Grays trail

The trailhead is near the stand of pines just above center

Grays Peak summit

Crazy to be looking ‘down’ on some very big mountains

Part-way up Torreys, looking back at Grays

Looking down from the top of Torreys at the freeway exit where I started

Nice way to ruin a great view

Big-time rush hour traffic on the descent

I can’t wait to get back to my cubicle.

Jessica and her ‘callipitter’ that I brought back from my run

Desolation Lake - LOTS more snow today than in this pic

I was able to get in a run with Karl today.  It got a little bit old waiting for him on the climbs, but he seems to have some potential.  I think if he keeps working at it, he might be able to get pretty good at this running thing. Ha!

Seriously though, it was very cool to get to run with my coach and see how it’s done.  We got a great workout leaping up snowbank after snowbank then glissading down the other side and hitting the trail again without missing a beat.  It was kind of like skateboarding, hurdles, freestyle snowboarding, and trail running all rolled into one.  I loved it!  What an amazing area to run.  We ran on a piece of the Wasatch 100 course, which was great to see.  Maybe a little preview for next year?  Can’t beat a point-to-point 100 miler along a killer ridgeline.  Meanwhile, I’ll get another taste of some fine Wasatch running in next month’s Speedgoat 50K at Snowbird Ski Resort.

Karl looks to be in great shape for his upcoming AT record attempt in August.  I can’t wait to kill time at work following his GPS tracks.  Keep an eye on the Where’s Karl? website, and check out the sweet ride!