The Oquirrh Mountains is a mountain range that runs north-south for 30 miles on the west side of Salt Lake Valley and Utah County. The mountains have been mined in gold, silver, lead and copper including one of the largest open pit copper mines, Bingham Canyon (Kenicott) mine. I’ve climbed up to the ridge top in three spots and have always wondered if it was possible to traverse the entire southern portion of the range along the ridge top, starting from the desert floor at Fairfield to Butterfield Canyon.  I knew it would be pretty rugged and slow at times, but for several years I had wanted to attempt it.

Timing for this adventure was critical because water needs.  I had no desire to haul large quantities of water along the way and there are no convenient access points along the way to drop off supplies.  The solution is to use snow fields, but the fields shouldn’t be deep enough to obscure the trails along the way. Thus the right time to try this would be late spring or late fall.

Periodically I like to insert “repeats” into my training.  I will select a difficult day hike and see how many times in a row I can do it in, at a much faster pace than hikers.  Not only is this a good physical challenge, but it is a significant mental challenge.  My theory is that if I can toughen up myself mentally too, when times get tough during a long race, I will be less likely to quit.  Instead of quitting, you figure out how to continue on with a memory and assurance that with adjustments things will improve.  With “repeats” it is easy to quit because you come back to your starting point, which is a way out toward rest and comfort.

For me, the rules for summit repeats include starting at an established trailhead, climb to the summit and then return to the trailhead.  Then do it again, and again. Past repeats I’ve accomplished have included my repeats on Mount Timpanogos, the most consisting of five consecutive summits (24,000 feet of climbing in 70 miles).  I’ve also accomplished Kings Peak (highest peak in Utah) repeats, accomplishing two consecutive summits, which I have done on three different occasions (9,000 feet in 52 miles).  All three times I hoped to do three summits, but just didn’t have the mental push to run it one more time.  Behind my house, I did four consecutive summits of Lake Mountain (12,000 feet of climbing in 36 miles).  Others have tried to match or beat some of these accomplishments, but so far the records are safe.

As the snow melts from the tops of the mountain and late spring arrives, I shift my training from long runs on lowland terrain to climbs into the mountains.  This Saturday I was interested to start doing some serious vertical training and I selected Y Mountain above Provo, Utah, as my destination for doing repeats.  See good article on the Y mountain trail.

Lake Mountain rises 3,200 feet behind my home.  Much of my training takes place in its foothills.  A week ago I finished Salt Flats 100 which was a good race for me. I recovered very fast and by Thursday was itching to run again.  On Friday I tested things out and did a tough run from the Utah Lake shoreline to the top of Lake Mountain, a 12-mile round trip that climbs 3,200 feet.  I felt recovered and again ready for a long run this weekend.

I decided to do some unfinished business.  I wanted to run the entire Lake Mountain ridge line all the way from Eagle Mountain Ranches to the Soldier Pass road, about 16 miles.  I once did this, but not quite right, I skipped the last two miles of ridges and descended into a valley and didn’t run all the way back around to my starting point.  I wanted to go the entire distance without using any valleys to go up or down, something I’m sure no one has accomplished before.  Yes, it would be pretty crazy and required some careful study and planning, but it would be possible.

With recent cold spring storms, I chose this weekend to stay in the lowlands for a long run. The day before I got the idea of running all the way around massive Cedar Valley which lies about five miles west of my home. It is mostly flat, 23×7 miles and surrounded on all sides by mountains.  Because my wife was gone for the evening, I decided to make this a night training run that mentally should help me in my 100 milers as I have had increased difficulty running the entire night without problems.

I’ve run in this valley many, many times but the planned a route would take me on a few roads and trails I haven’t explored before.  I would run a giant loop in the clockwise direction. I parked my car on the east end of Eagle Mountain city center and took off running south at about 8:00 p.m.