July 17, 2004
I decided to try to hike Mount Timpanogos twice in one hike. I saw a guy do it last year and wondered if I could do it. I attempted it with brother-in-law Ed late last year but it was too cold and we gave up. Little did I know what a stir I would cause among the weekend hikers on the mountain.
I hit the trail at 3:30. The temperature was great. I ran into a couple of people coming down and saw a couple of lights heading to the summit. My pace was a good one and I reached the saddle in 2:18. There were still some large banks of snow to cross, but the so much had melted since my last trip up the mountain. The runoff was more than I had ever seen. I headed down with a quick pace and soon started to run into the usual groups of weekend hikers. Most of them were kind to move aside as I ran down the trail. My legs felt great and I was pleased that my knee wasn’t hurting as it had been earlier in the week after a 6-mile run. My round-trip time was 3:51, a record for me.
At the parking lot I saw a large group of young hikers from Lehi preparing to hit the trail. Rusty Johnson was with them and he was surprised to hear that I planned to head up the mountain again. I re-hydrated and ate some to rebuild my energy and then hit the trail again. I ran into a huge moose standing in the middle of the trail looking at my just before Scout Falls. I coaxed him away and continued on. Soon I started to pass the groups one-by-one that I had passed running down the trail. About half of the groups had someone who had recognized me from before and asked if I was really heading up again. They were amazed. One guy asked what I had done wrong to require such penance. My pace increased as I blew by groups who rested and watched me cruise up the mountain. I felt great and it was fun to put on a show for the masses.
I reached the saddle again and then headed down for a second time. Now I was passing the groups for the third time! This time all the hikers recognized me and realized I had hiked the mountain twice. Many people asked how many times I was doing it. A couple groups yelled out, “Go for 3!” “Go for 3!” One group clapped and cheered. Many would say, “your great” and “way to go.” I didn’t expect this reaction, but I guess if you pass hikers three times on one hike it does get their attention.
My legs felt great for about 2/3rds of the way down, but soon I could feel the tired results of the adventure. My pace slowed significantly for the last few miles, but I still did a 4:11 round trip. I did it! Twice in one day in only 8 hours!
Two days later I felt pain on the top of my left foot. I swam a couple days and it seems to get worse. The tendon to my big toe was creaking bad and very painful. The pain and swelling would move up my foot. I backed off all exercise and then discovered that the injury is the most common foot injury for swimmers. My hike had probably caused it, but the swimming really did it in. To make sure I could still do the 50-miler race, I let it totally rest. I only did a two-mile jog the day before the race.