Trail Run up Bair Canyon Utah - following the "Bairgutsman" race route

Trail Followed for the run

During the end of June and the first week of July we traveled to Utah for a holiday. I had planned on running a couple of awesome runs with good friends. The extremely cold wet year eliminated the possibility of running the main route we had chosen so we had to get creative and find something new to run. To test how runnable the Northern Wasatch were and to see what options we had to replace our old run, I decided to take a test run up Bair Canyon which is the course for the Bairgutsman trail race, an 11-13 mile point to point trail race. I was running about 8 miles of the course and then running back so in total I was going to run 16 miles.

Starting at an elevation of 4800' the trail heads straight up Bair Canyon to the summit at 9,500' leaving the total elevation just shy of the 5,000' mark. I started the run at 5:30 a.m. hoping to beat the sun since I am use to running in the mild climate of the PNW. It was quite windy at the start but it was still fairly warm. I had some concerns about the high run-off that would make each of the four river crossings a bit dicey and I was also worried about the snow fields near the summit that were going to be treacherous to cross.

I started off at a nice clip and made it to the first river crossing very quickly. The river was high and frothy but it looked relatively safe. I jumped on in and felt the icy snow melt crash into my thighs. It ended up being quite simple to cross and I could tell I wouldn't have any issues crossing each of the subsequent crossings.

The trail had not seen many hikers past this first crossing this year and the trail began to be quite overgrown. Perhaps the most challenging aspect was the loads of stinging nettle that lined both sides of the trail due to the extremely wet conditions this year. I startled some campers who were sleeping on the side of the trail and weren't expecting to see anyone let alone at 6:00 a.m. I waved and crossed the river again and kept on cruising upwards.

I was also getting covered in hundreds of tiny silkworms that were dangling from the trees. Sometimes I would stop and pick hundreds of the little creatures off of me. Then I noticed a few other unwanted guests hitching a ride... Ticks! I picked several of those off my bare legs and then spent the remainder of the time in the trees and brush petrified of having to pick off ticks when I finished my run. I also began to notice cougar scat all over the trail and was a bit nervous, when a large sage grouse jumped out in front of me. Being already nervous of cougars this opportune explosion of feathers made me nearly have a heart attack. With a huge jolt of adrenaline I powered my way up through the remainder of the trees into the higher slopes of the range. The trail was extremely faint in places making it challenging to follow but my main concern was that on the return down I could easily get lost since the trail would be harder to see as I quickly bounded down the hill. There was also going to be a bunch of branches from mountain mahogany and scrub oak and nettle to sting and scratch my legs as I made my rapid and slightly out of control descent.

I reached snowline at about 7:00 am and found my first snow crossing to be treacherous as I had to slide down a nearly vertical 20' foot snow ledge on my backside. The next challenging snow field was a large side-sloped traverse that angled steeply into the canyon and would have been really bad to slip and slide down on. After crossing this side slope I realized all the switch backs were covered in snow and ice so I just cruised right up the ridge getting scratched and torn up along the full distance.

About two hours after starting out I made it to the summit ridge. The wind was really whipping up there. I decided to summit a small peak to the north of Francis Peak and have a sandwich. I took shelter from the wind behind a communication tower and had a great time on the summit. I changed my socks and started the descent. It went really quickly and running down the snow fields was a blast.

As I predicted the branches and nettle took their toll on my exposed skin and my legs were completely shredded and stung. It is all part of the journey. The descent went extremely quick and I got off the main trail during a slide-rock crossing but found it again and finished my descent with no major issues.

It was a great run and one I will always remember. I really love running in the clouds. Enjoy the footage I took of the run!

Epic run up Ben Lomond July 2nd!

I went down to Utah at the end of June with the intention of running from Smith and Morehouse to Bald Mountain in the Uintas with my best friend Tim. The problem was that even though we waited to do the event until the first week of July, the weather had been so cold and wet this past spring that the Uinta Mountains were completely snowed over.

We had to think fast and come up with an alternate idea. I decided to take a test run to 9,500' in the Wasatch Mountains and see how the conditions were. I ran to Francis Peak and found that it was no problem if I stayed on south and west slopes of the range (more to come on that run). The north slopes were still quite snowy but it seemed reasonable that we could handle any run in the Northern Wasatch.

So while in North Ogden I stopped off at Tim's house and decided to talk to him about our options. We set our sites on 9,712' tall Ben Lomond. The idea was to hit the North Ogden Divide and run the south ridge all the way to the summit. Here is where we ran into our next problem. Tim called me that night and informed me that the North Ogden Divide was closed due to rock slides. We couldn't really get anywhere near the trail head. We devised a new plan to attack it via the east and north slopes of the North Fork Park (I knew that we would be dealing with some serious snow).

We met at about 5:30 am and drove to the trail head. The sun was already beating down on us as we started the run. We didn't quite know where the actual trail started and ran around the campgrounds a bit to find the actual trail near some corrals, which allowed us to stretch the legs and get the cobwebs out. I was still a bit fatigued from hammering a 13 mile 3,000' run just two days earlier and I could tell the elevation and heat would slow me down but in the end I could care less the mountain air was fresh and crisp, the sky a sapphire blue, and we were doing what I love most about running - propelling ourselves skyward!

The first few miles were beautiful and the trail was in great condition. We were able to quickly move up the mountain in good time. We purposely held back and took our time because we knew that the upper reaches of the mountain weren't going to be a picnic. After several miles of smooth sailing we began to ascend into ever higher trails and then ran into our first snow bank. The snow was soft and made a steep bevel that covered the trail. The edges of our shoes bit into the snow and we navigated the bank with little difficulty. The next bank was a bit longer and more solid than the previous one. Tim, being a road marathoner, was wearing his Mizuno Wave Runner's which have about 600 miles on them. We joked that he was doing an off-road event in racing slicks. This was Tim's first real trail running attempt and as we ran the snow I could see that his shoes were not going to handle too much snow but I thought "it is July, how much snow could there be up there?"

As we made continual progress up the slope we found the snow becoming more and more common. Finally it began to no longer be just a hindrance but a hazard as we side-sloped large ice fields with seemingly endless drop-offs. The once amazing and runnable trail was masked by large snow fields. We would continually lose the trail and have to find it after zig-zagging the snowy slopes. With all the challenges the snow were posing we began to work out a system where I would kick steps into the icy pitches and Tim would follow in my footsteps with his racing slicks. We found a smooth rhythm and began to make some good progress again. After several slow miles of kicking steps and finding the trail we reached a large gully that was choked with snow and ice. We could see that it lead toward the saddle that marked the beginning of the final approach to the summit. All we could see though was white. There was little hope of being able to ascend the last 600 feet without a better form of traction. With disappointment I told Tim that with a pair of Kahtoola Microspikes we would be able to launch ourselves right up the slopes.

We decided to run around a large hip that protruded from the slopes of Ben Lomond. As we rounded the corner we were met with the awe-inspiring 9,764' crags of Willard Peak. All I could to do was drool as I imagined myself standing on its summit in a perfect "snow free" world. Alas it was not to be. It would have been unwise to continue with racing-slicks and besides our unprotected eyes were now looking at the blinding light coming off the snow fields for an hour or two and snow blindness is something neither of us wanted. We decided to call off our summit bid and we anxiously looked back over the miles of mushy snow that stood between us and fast downhill running.

We picked our way back but continually were having issues following our footsteps back and after some confusion we realized there was a subsequent pair of insane runners like ourselves that had attempted the same run. We eventually ran into them as they descended as well having suffered our same fate of getting snowed out. We joked and shared running stories and enjoyed the unspoken bond that links all crazy runners. We all parted ways and began to pick up the pace as the snow thinned out more and more with each step.

Finally we reached the sloping trails leading back to the trail head. After several hours of slipping and sliding and kicking steps in the snow we were able to finally run! We pointed ourselves down hill and really turned up the heat! We floated down the gentle curves of the wooded apron that surrounds Ben Lomond. Leaping streams and flying across slopes covered in lush green grass and wildflowers, we finally felt more like runners and less like mountaineers.

The heat of the day and humidity rising from the dense vegetation gave one a sense of running in a sauna. Before we knew it we were down from the mountain and just meters from the trail head. Our water had run out just as we reached the car. We had given it our best shot and though we were unable to summit something told me as we stood side by side gazing at the blinding jewel that marked the summit we would be back. Tim may be able to run it quite soon but I live 900 miles to the northwest and will have to wait for another year. Perhaps next year I will be able to give it another go and we may even be able to nail Willard while we are at it.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was running with Tim. Our running journey's have followed completely different paths. I have been running for almost 5 years now and have found myself drawn to the trails of British Columbian, where Tim has been running for only a year and a half and has spent most of his time on the roads training for half and full marathons. That being said two best friends of nearly 20 years who have polar opposite running styles and backgrounds were able to reconnect and share our first of many running experiences together and enjoy the camaraderie and joy that comes from running. Something tells me this is just the first page of a whole new chapter of our friendship.

Tim is currently spending the week with me on the island and we are already creating new and amazing running experiences here. I will blog about these amazing runs in the weeks to come.

Here is a video made by Tim of our amazing run. I have not been able to gather all my multimedia from the trip yet but will post it soon. I love the video Tim made and I feel it does a beautiful job of catching the amazing time we had during our first run together ever. Enjoy!

Run up Ben Lomond July 2nd, 2011

I went down to Utah at the end of June with the intention of running from Smith and Morehouse to Bald Mountain in the Uintas with my best friend Tim. The problem is that even though I was waiting to do the event until the first week of July, the weather had been so cold and wet this spring that the Uinta Mountains were completely snowed over.

We had to think fast and come up with an alternate idea. I decided to take a test run to 9,500' in the Wasatch Mountains and see how the conditions were. I ran to Francis Peak and found that it was no problem if I stayed on south and west slopes of the range. The north slopes were still quite snowy. I had a great run and will block about it later.

Brooks Cascadia 6 review

To view the Cascadia 7 review click here.

After nearly 1000 miles on my last pair of Cascadia 4's I decided it was time to buy some new shoes. I looked at several shoes from various brands. The criteria I was looking for was a shoe that has the ability to carry me 2-4 miles on the roads to get to the trails I frequent, and then be able to perform well on wet, steep, rocky, rooty, and muddy terrain, and then turn around and run back home on the roads. The problem with this sort of request from a shoe is that trail shoes that are nubby with good traction tend to wear extremely fast on the roads whereas shoes built to handle more road running tend to be a typical road runner with a more hardy sole but are not meant for hardcore technical trails. This combination of factors is why I have been running in Cascadia's for the last 3 years since they have proven themselves worthy to handle significant road miles followed by extreme trail conditions and long trail runs. The new additions and tweaks to the Cascadia 6 looked great and I decided that was my shoe again. So how did the new shoes holdup to my test?

New Cascadia 6 at mile 0

Maiden Voyage of the Cascadia 6's

First here are the stats of what I have put the shoes through thus far:

Weight: 12.0 oz

Heel-Toe Drop: 11.3 mm

Heel Height: 34.1 mm

Forefoot Height: 22.8

Socks - Injinji

Size - 10

Total weeks I have owned the shoes - 2 weeks

Total miles ran in the new shoes - 86 miles

Roads - 12 miles

Gravel Flat Trails (wet, dry, and snowy/icy) - 12 miles

Steep Dirt/mud Trails (>20% grades) - 15 miles

Steep Rocky Trails (>20% grades) - 8 miles

Varied Single Track (muddy, dry, sandy, flat, rooty, inclined/declined and streams) - 39 miles

I believe that the variability and current mileage I have ran while wearing these shoes has qualified me to make a proper assessment of their performance since I have put them through about everything a typical trail runner might encounter.

OutSole

The shoes tread has been changed slightly from older models to include additional traction for going up hills and running down them. There is a series of thin linear treads in the arch area of the shoe. Additionally they added what they call a "Caterpillar Crash Pad" in the heel area to aid in heel-striking. They exposed the ballistic rock shield through the sole so you know it is there.

So how did these improvements perform on the various surfaces I tried them on, and how do they compare to previous tread designs?

Roads - The tread on the roads is not the best because there just isn't that much surface area in contact with the road. On wet asphalt there is some slippage as the large lugs search for purchase. Lets face it though, roads are a necessary evil to get one to the trails and to be honest I don't need the shoes to grip the road but instead be able to handle the road until I get to the trail and this is what they do. I have never fallen on the road while wearing any of the Cascadia's and these have been the same. The feel of the shoe on the road is surprisingly cushioned and I have raced up to about a half marathon on the roads with the Cascadia 4's and so I feel the soles are suitable for the roads. Most impressive is how well they wear. They can handle many miles on the road before you begin to notice wear. 2.5/5 for the soles performance on the road

Trails - This is where the sole and tread design of this shoe excels. My first run in them was three 500 foot steep muddy and rocky hill repeats on Mount Doug. When I stepped off the pavement onto the muddy trail I instantly felt the shoe bite through the mud. The lugs are spread wide enough to prevent mud from caking on the bottom, they also don' allow gravel to get wedged (a real pet peeve on gravel trails). They felt much more stable on steep uphill in the mud (I am comparing them to my worn Cascadia's) but they still feel better than I remember the old ones. Once again on the down hill they gripped the muddy slopes well with no slipping. Some of the trails were steep and muddy enough to slide down on your butt but there was no sliding in the shoes. They handled sand and gravel well also with no complaints. As for wet rocks they did as good a job as you can expect a shoe. There always seems to be some slipping on wet rocks but they really felt stable and I was confident enough to turn up the speed a bit faster than normal. They hug dry rock extremely well and the ballistic rock shield eliminates the shock from sharp roots and rocks. Total score for tread off the road is 4.5/5 (to get a perfect score from me they would have to find a way to improve wet rock traction but I haven't found a shoe yet that can handle the wet slimy rocks).

Cushioning/pivot points/caterpillar crash pad

The new Brooks Cascadia 6 has incorporated the new Brooks DNA into the mid sole. This non-newtonian substance is supposed to give each runner a new tailored ride. Additionally they have added a 4th pivot in the front medial side of the shoe. The pivots are meant to take the shock of stepping onto the side of your foot on a rock or root and prevent ankle rolls.

Roads - The cushioning on the roads is great. I couldn't notice the cushioning at all which I feel is a great compliment to the shoe's cushioning. If you notice cushioning then that means it is too soft or too hard. The shoe absorbed the shock from the hard asphalt and concrete really well. During forefoot striking they really were smooth. The heel strike in the new shoe is actually much improved. For those who over-stride you will notice that the "caterpillar crash pad" is not just a gimmick but that it does make a smoother transition from the heel to toe compared to the past model and is a great addition. I think that the DNA feels great, like I said earlier the shoe is hardly noticeable on the road and this must mean the DNA is doing its job. I give the cushioning a 5/5 on the roads.

Amendment: After running several longer 3 hour runs since writing this review I have noticed some hot spots on the balls of my feet and I feel this may be due to the cushioning. If this issue persists I will most likely drop the score for the cushioning. I will have to see if the shoe really is harder or if I am just breaking it in a bit or because I haven't been running many 3 hour runs lately my feet are just more tender as they adapt to the miles.

Trails - Everything said previously about the cushioning on the roads applies to the trails but even improves slightly more since the added softness from the trails makes the impact even less noticeable whether you are mid-foot striking or heel-striking on rocks to mud. Where the cushioning in the mid-sole makes the biggest difference is the pivot points on uneven terrain. I don't feel I appreciated this feature until I started to pay attention to what it does. The new point added to the medial toe actually saved me from a possible roll just the other day. I was cruising down a steep hill and stepped right onto a sharp rock right on my right ball of my foot. Under normal circumstances a rigid sole without the pivots would have been thrown to the right and a painful roll and fall would have surely happened. This was not the case. I felt the shoe deform around the obstacle and I was stable enough to keep in control and not get injured. It was perhaps the most noticeable example of this feature helping in preventing ankle rolls I can think of. The shoe definitely gets the full 5/5 for cushioning because of the pivots, the DNA, and Caterpillar Crash Pad that all work together to give you a custom, stable, and hardly noticeable ride.

Upper

The upper has several adjustments as well, including an adjustable piece in the eye row, suede overlays and hydrophobic foam improvements.

Roads/Trails - The upper has worked really well and perhaps the most noticeable feature/improvement was the adjustable eye piece that flexes and changes across the bridge of the foot. What makes this feature so great is felt the shoe held much snugger in the arch when I need arch support but it flexed and eased up on the bridge or top of my foot during toe-off so that I had a better fit on the arch without pain on the bridge of my foot from being too tight to achieve the same effect. Running in the snow this week and rain last week the shoe can go from completely water logged from stepping in a stream or puddle to dry in about 20 steps so that the shoe really expels water once it gets in there and even seems to draw water out of the wet sock and move to the outside of the shoe. This is key for any long runs that have high probability for getting your feet wet. The shoes upper receives a 4/5 The reason I gave it a 4 is that I have had some issues tightening and adjusting the laces towards my toes. The laces also come untied easily and I had to use triple knots with the occasional stop and retie. The laces could really be improved. I did have some fit issues in the toebox as well. My toes were sliding forward slightly on the steep downhill running and resulted in small blisters on the tips of my toes. This seemed to occur during the first 20 miles I wore the shoe and now as the stretch is removed from the shoe and it is molding better to my foot it feels much more secure in the toe box. The shoe is an ounce lighter from the last model and is a step in the right direction (more bang with less weight). I love the bold colors Cascadia uses. I don't want a color that blends in the road or trail making it seem like I am hiding the fact that I am a trail runner. I want something that punches you in the face when you see it and says "I run hard gnarly trails and I am proud of it!" The lava red is awesome!

Overall I gave this shoe a total 21/25 (2.5 of those points are deducted from the grip on the road so the score without that category would be a much higher 23.5/25) and I feel any shoe over 20 is a top notch shoe. If I was to use the same grading system on the Cascadia 4 it would get several points lower. I feel all the improvements, although seemingly minor, all add up to make an improved ride and each new addition is not just a gimmick but serves a purpose and makes a difference for each step which adds up after millions of steps. I would recommend this shoe for the runner who could be running on a track one day and running down a steep mountain the next, the versatility of this shoe is impressive. There was little to complain about this shoe and I feel most people would be well off training and racing in this shoe.

I am posting a recent video of a run while I was in Utah in June. The run is up Bair Canyon and is part of the Bairgutsman trail race. You can read more about the run here.