Day 7 – Rest for the Weary
September 7, 2007 by Bryon Powell · Leave a Comment
Park City from the Mid-Mountain Trail.Besides the weather, the one consistent feature of my trip has been my persistent illness. I think I came into the trip worn out and within a day of arriving out West, I had a cold. Some days it has materialized as a head cold, making staying hydrated and well fed difficult… heck I’ve even not wanted to drink a beer sometimes. Within a few days, lung congestion of variable severity had taken hold. Some days have been worse than others, but I’ve not felt well in a while. Whether it was this cold or the fact that I had run 97 miles the previous five days (or a hair under 20 miles a day), on the seventh day I rested. Having gone to sleep at 11:30 the previous night, I slept until after 10:30. I finally got out of bed to catch a scrumptious breakfast at The Morning Ray (you MUST try their black beans)… then, despite two cups of coffee, back to bed from 1 until 3. Phew. I am tired.
Trail low on Sweeney’s Switchbacks.I finally rallied for a run around 3:30. I wanted to hit the Mid-Mountain Trail once before leaving town, so aimed for than. I took Sweeney’s Switchbacks up to John’s Trail and then the Town Loop to the top of the Pay Day Lift. (This route takes you up about 300′ per mile for the first 4 miles.) Though usually paranoid of these trails, I couldn’t help but press on. The sweet, dark earth single track through aspen groves like stands of angels were heavenly. The silent choir’s song lifted me and my spirit up the mountain.
Nice aspen grove.From the Pay Day lift I hopped on the Mid-Mountain Trail for some sweet mountain traverse running. A mile and a half above sea level and seeming a world away from reality. I could see Park City far below and miles of trails before me. On occasion a breeze would cool the mountain air enough to make me chill me. Puma concolor be damned, I would enjoy this run and how could I not….
Trail typical of the Mid-Mountain Trail.Eventually, I jumped on the Crescent Mine Grade on down to the Spiro Trail on over to Park City Mountain Resort on the Silver Spur Trail. Not a bad way to spend a couple hours.
An aspen arch low on the Spiro Trail.Afterwards, I took Steve to my favorite Mexican joint in Park City, El Chubasco. The salsa was as good as I remembered it. Be sure to try the mango salsa if you’re ever in town. I was so tired that I didn’t even make it out for a beer afterwards. Instead, I watched some of the truly awful movie, Dare Devil, before crashing.
Daily miles: 10
Daily elevation gain: 2,496′
Trip miles: 112
Trip elevation gain: 25,866′
Weekly miles: 47
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Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
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