Mill D north fork trail

So a little over a month ago my sister and I were waiting for some friends so we could go hiking up donut falls, but since they were running twenty minutes late we decided to do some exploring of this other trail that was across the street. It was the Mill D north fork trail. So the name is not the most amazing name in the world, but the trail is pretty cool and the different destinations are pretty awesome too. You can either go to dog lake, or desolation lake. I get excited basically any time that the destination is a lake. They are just so fascinating.
Unfortunately due to time restraints we were unable to complete trail, but it was pretty awesome. This was a dirt trail that started out fairly steep then leveled out and was very cushiony, perfect for running. The portion of the trail that we did has great tree coverage and a great view of the mountains. If you are looking for a place to enjoy nature this is the perfect trail. The distance to dog lake is 2.6 miles while the distance to desolation lake is 3.5. I for one am excited to go back and finish this trail sometime this summer.
What trail would you like me to write about next?

Mueller park Jr. High

This is one side of the hill

Ok so a few months ago I was at this park with some friends to play frisbee and other sports and I thought it was a pretty cool park so I thought I would tell you why this park is great for any runner. The park is at a jr high school. It's the Mueller park jr high. The address is  955 E 1800 S
Bountiful, UT. These are two of the reasons why I like this park.

1. There is this hill that you can run up to do hill sprints. Luckily its not a very long hill, but it is steep enough that it will push you.
2. There is a paved path that is great for running on. Its not exactly a track because the distances are off, but it is great if you want to get in some interval training or if you are a beginner looking for a place to build your base. The distance around the loop is about .37 miles.

This park is a great running place for anyone who lives in the area or who is vacationing and is looking to get a quick run in while they are here.

I included a link to mapmyrun that shows the mueller park loop. Let me know if there are any other parks you would like me to write about or what kind of article you would like me to write next. I have a couple things in the works but I am excited to hear your feedback!

Have fun on the run!

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/734885911

Iron Mountain trail

Listed as one of 10 great hikes in San Diego this trail is just growing in popularity. Some reasons for it is because while its challenging its achievable which is very empowering. As well as providing a unique sense of separation from the city while being minutes from it. I did this trail at the start of the new year with some friends and found that there was a mix of rocky areas and smooth areas. although my favorite part was somewhere in the middle there is a slight decline that puts you in a small patch of trees then comes right back up again towards the rocky part of the trail. This trail is 5.8 miles long and when you get to the top you can look down towards the city.
I would say that this is a moderately difficult trail getting to the top is exhilarating. Personally I would bring two at least one liter of water while doing this trail. Of course I would recommend doing it with two half liter water bottles because that is typically how much water a regular sized water bottle contains.
Iron Mountain trail is just off of poway rd and highway 67.
see you all on the trail!

Some sites I would recommend for more information about this trail are
http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/November-2010/10-Great-Hikes-in-San-Diego/
https://alltrails.com/trail/us/california/iron-mountain-summit-trail-short
http://www.sandiegohikers.com/Hiking-Trails/Iron-Mountain-Trail.html

Nighthawk Trail

Several weeks ago I was in San diego with my sister and we decided to drive around till we found a trail that we wanted to do. We made our way to a couple hill tops and finally we found the Nighthawk trail.
This trail is about 4 miles round trip and there are several really cool things about it. When we were doing this trail we found a sign that talks about the Native American tribe kumeyaay (koo-mee-eye) that used to dwell in these hills. It had some pictures of these different tools they would use in preparing food and even suggested that its possible to find them in the hills.  In case you want to find them they are ehmuu (mortar) which is a hole used in milling acorns, ephii (metate) is a flat sometimes portable grinding surface, and habiichaa (mano) which is a hand held stone used for grinding. I was absolutely excited about this and thought for sure that I would find some, but despite my best efforts I was unable to find any on the trail, or on the adjoining Miner's ridge loop trail that we went on. But if you find any of the objects be sure to take pictures and post them on the facebook page or in a comment because I would love to hear about where they were, and how you found them.
Another cool thing about this trail is that there are whole stretches where you can look out and see three cities at once, and if you turn the other direction you can see San Diego.
Of the trails that I have done in California they all seem to be meant to encourage the masses to leave their houses and enjoy nature, this one is no different. Its dog friendly, and according to http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/osp/blackmtn/todo.shtml it's horse friendly too! The trail is there for you to enjoy, and I think they do a good job. In preparation for this trail I brought one water bottle and that was sufficient, but if you are planning on doing some of the adjoining trails and making a day of it then I would bring 1 to 2 liters of water.
The trail head begins at Hilltop community park, and ends at the microwave towers at the peak. If you are looking for a chance to appreciate nature then this is the trail for you.
What trails have you done? Which one would you like me to do next?

Donut Falls

Donut falls - the trail named after a delicious dessert - is up big cottonwood canyon about 11 miles in, on the right side. You can identify it by a parking lot as well as a gate and a road that leads up towards the trail head. This is a fun trail that crosses a bridge, that crosses through a small stream, and you will have to take a large step down this gulf or whatever you would call it. The gulf and stream is basically the end of the trail; then you can walk around looking for the best view. Be sure to use caution when looking for the perfect view because the hillside is steep, and significantly more challenging than the entire trail.
This is a fairly short hike from start to finish it is about a mile, unless you start up from the road then it is a little bit longer, possibly another mile or mile and a half. If you are new to trail running then this is the perfect trail for you. It is a fairly popular trail its great for families or groups of people. I try to do a trail every weekend. This was by far the best turnout I've had yet. If you're looking to get people excited about trails then this is a great starter trail.

 

Elephant rock trail

How was your thanksgiving? Were you able to go out and run? I hope it was a great experience. Today I wanted to share with all of you about the elephant rock trail. Its one of those really good running trails in Bountiful Utah. I was introduced to it by my Aunt Kimi, and I thought I would share with you what she shared with me about the trail."If you want to try a really cool trail, the Elephant Rock trail in Mueller Park Canyon in Bountiful is awesome. I usually hike up and run down. It's 3 miles each way. I go as far as I have time for, so the distance varies for me. It's pretty steep, so you have to really concentrate while running down. There are tree roots and rocks coming up out of the ground in a lot of spots that you have to dodge and try not to sprain your ankle or fall and kill yourself, but that's the best part about the run to me. Keeps it interesting! I'd love to run it with you sometime. It's gorgeous right now!"

Is this the kind of trail that you are looking for? It was for me. Something else you might be interested to know is that this is the first time that it has occurred to me that not all trails have to be completed to get the benefits out of them. This was how it turned out on this occasion. We all hiked up then we ran back. Imagine that feeling coming down the mountain feeling fast. Also feeling a little out of breath, but the speed is so fun that you don't want to slow down. That is what I experienced on the run back down the mountain. 

This trail is a little over 3 miles. Its a popular trail for runners, hikers, cyclers, and more. This trail is off of 1875 N, Bountiful Utah. You'll see a toll booth, and the trail is to the right of it.

Let me know how you enjoyed it.

Where are the wind caves? Part 1

As I was going up the trail with two awesome sisters I was thinking 

what should I share with my friends about it

Up the trail with switchbacks and visitors

Were some roots and some rocks 

that I had to watch out for!

As I looked to my left I saw on the mountain

The most amazing colors was this 3d animation?

Around the next bend I noticed my legs were burning

The mountain just seemed to keep rising higher and higher.

At one point I met some children coming down from the mountain

“You’re not even half way!” they said to our dismay.

This couldn’t be, surely they didn’t know, but confirmed it was by their mother

not far behind. 

At long last we arrived we completed the 1.5 mile trail

Where are the wind caves? 

But No! They’re below

You’re standing on them come down and you’ll see 

Here are the arches, the caves that you sought. 

Then back down we descended other sights to behold

Logan canyon! is where it all happened 

Then end I said 

How was yours?

Four parks in an hour or less?!

In the heart of Cedar City running south east and north west you can find the Coal Creek Trail. This 3.5 mile trail goes through Bicentennial park, Main Street Park, Canyon Park, and a Nature Park. If you want to go under bridges, over bridges, past soccer fields, rivers, and waterfalls, then this is definitely the trail for you. The terrain is all asphalt and the elevation is around 5800ft.

This trail is great for the intermediate to advanced runner, I have run this one many times and it is definitely a great run to put in some miles. 

This trail is great all year round, they are generally maintained during the winter, but honestly passing the waterfalls frozen is probably my favorite time to go running it. 

Have fun on the run!

Let me know what your favorite part about this trail is, and be sure to like the facebook page for more awesome trails and races.

Silver Lake Trail/ Twin Lake Trail

This last weekend I found a couple awesome trails I would love to tell you about. Normally I would give them their own post but these two are right by each other and I did them basically at the same time.
Starting first with the twin lake trail. This trail is awesome first because of the name, however you should know this is not for the faint of heart. I actually did this trail with my twin so there was no way that we were going to skip it. This is a dirt path with all the things that you can expect on a mountain trail. There are lots of rocks and trees which definitely gives it the fresh mountain feel. It is mostly uphill. Don't be surprised to see wildlife since its in the mountains.  It starts at around 8750 ft elevation but increases it all the way up to 9454 ft elevation. This is a great trail but its a little more difficult so be prepared when you do it, and don't shy on some water. Its a nice quiet trail and when you get to the lake it has a really nice view.
The other trail is the Silver Lake trail.  This trail is basically made up of a board walk. The only thing challenging about this trail is dodging the photographers and families as you make your way around the lake. If you want the path to be more quiet I would recommend coming around six in the evening, or possibly even in the early morning because thats when it started to clear out. The distance around the lake is about .8 miles. So this would be a great beginner/ intermediate trail, but regardless it is fun for everyone. Another great thing about it is the fact that since the elevation is higher it gives you a better cardio workout.
Just so you know you will find the Twin Lake trailhead branching off of the Silver lake trail. There are a few other trails in the area and over all it is a great area to visit and explore.
If you want to find this trail you drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to the very top and you will see a sign about Silver lake in front of a parking lot.
Let me know what you think, and also let me know what trail you want me to feature in the coming weeks.

Lone peak park

As I was looking for a place to tell you about this week my siblings and I found Lone Peak Park. This is an enjoyable park with a paved trail. I really liked the quiet feel to the park. It has a couple of small playgrounds, and some tree coverage along the paved trail. It is just off of 7th east in Sandy, but there is just enough space between the street and the trail to allow a quiet run. The trail is relatively flat with one big loop, but there is another paved trail splitting the loop. For the full loop it is .69 miles, or if you take the side of the loop with the soccer fields the loop is .54 miles. If you are a beginner looking to build a foundation of running or if you are looking to do some intervals this is a great choice.

Let me know if you have any trails that you would like me to feature in my blog in the coming weeks.

I included some pictures from the trail so you can know what to expect.

Trail running: Settlement Canyon

Since cross country season is starting up I thought I would talk about my favorite courses and why. The first course I would like to mention is the settlement canyon trail a popular run based out in Tooele.
Some of the things that this course features are tree cover, and a little stream. In the hot summer its nice run because you get a chance to cool off, the trail finishes off through the a stream. This trail is especially great during autumn because of all of the different colors.
The course starts off on the road going uphill and transitions to a trail about a mile past the first campgroud where it goes at a slight decline for most of the rest of the run. This is a fast trail where you can set some personal records. It is about a three mile run. When running it be sure to watch where you step because there are lots of loose rocks. I would reccomend this trail to anyone who just wants to have a fun run.

I included a picture taken on the trail.

I'm going to be posting a different trail each week so tell me your favorite trail in the comments and I will go run it and share my thoughts on it.
 Thanks for reading