Mt. Wire from 2nd false summit (1/8 mi. to go).
Microwave boards 1/8 mi. down-ridge from Mt. Wire.
Grandview peak, with the 9K-ft Burro Mine ridge to the left, with very little snow.
Looking down Georges Hollow from 2nd false summit. SLC below.
The old air-traffic-beacon-tower on the summit. When my parents were in school, living in the old stadium village (where Rice-Eccles Stadium now sits), my Mom would see those flashing lights from her window at night as she took care of my screaming older brothers. (the altimeter reading is 45 feet high - glad I'm not flying an F-16 with this thing.)
Why?
I’m going on 50 but my mind is stuck in third grade. I never got past noon-time recess. Getting away from the desk to run the trails, for an hour or so (emphasis on ‘or so’), still works wonders for the body, mind and soul. Plus I'm lucky enough to work at the edge of the Wasatch – quite literally at the edge, where the City ends and the mountains begin. Hmmm, eat a burger with the boss and talk shop, or go trail running in January??
Route:
Start at the loading dock at the Williams Building (NW of the new Utah Museum of Natural History);
- Run .5 mile south on the Bonneville Shore Line Trail to Georges Hollow (drainage due east of Huntsman Chemical);
- Run (1
st gear) 1.5 miles up the 'Hollow';
- Run (4wd–low) .6 mile up the ridge (south), over two false summits, to the top of Mt. Wire.
- Reverse the route back to work. Don’t listen to your Ortho; running downhill is good for your knees, my 49.8 year-old knees are proof, and it’s the best ski conditioning on earth.
With very little snow the trail is still runnable as it has been since last April when the record snows of '10-'11 melted away. A year ago there was 3 feet of snow at the summit, now there is just 6-10 inches, and only on the northern aspects.
Stats: 5.2 miles RT from work; 2,160 feet of elevation gain; high point 7,143 feet; low 4,970 feet. Ran 98% (icy on first false summit).
Time: up 43 minutes; down 24 minutes.
