It's not the highest or gnarliest peak around, but I had my eye on
Grandview Peak for quite a while. I've been close to it several times, in fact the Wasatch 100 course passes within a mile and a half but I've never stood on top. Bagging peaks is always rewarding, but really the peak was just part of bigger idea I had been working on since last year. A
point to point run from Big Mountain pass to the mouth of City Creek canyon, sticking to the ridge the whole way. Whenever I mentioned the route idea to others I always got a funny look and a little bit of waffling when I asked if they were interested in joining me, especially from those that had done it before. When I finally set a date I found that everyone was conveniently busy, so I would be attempting this one alone.
View Big Mtn to City Creek in a larger map
On the drive up to Big Mountain pass I noticed quite a few of big trucks parked along the road and once I arrived at the parking lot my suspicions were confirmed. Opening day of the Elk hunt had arrived. As I grabbed one of the last spots in the parking lot and headed off I got a few strange looks from hunters. I suppose my attire was a little different than everyone else's, black shorts with a red shirt as opposed to the full camo kit with orange vest that seemed to be the trend.
The storm that had come through earlier in the week had left a good 6 inches to foot of snow on the mountain. Straight away I was on snow packed trail as I headed in the opposite direction of the Wasatch 100 route. I must have passed 20 to 30 hunters in the first four miles or so. One pair of hunters decided to set up camp right ON the trail, complete with a little fire, unbelievable. After I got past Swallow rocks I didn't see another soul between there and the peak. The trail junction was little hard to see because of the snow but I knew I just had to head out on the ridge toward the peak.
As I got closer I could someone or something moving around on the peak. Turns out it was a big bull moose. I kept an eye on him as I made my way along the ridge and noticed he was making his way down the bowl that I intended climbing up to reach the summit. So I decided to to stick to the rocky ridge until it became impassable then just wait him out. He took his time coming down, stopping every now and again as I sat on a little band of rocks taking pictures of him and refueling.
I finally reached the summit a little over 2 hours after I started, snapped a couple of pictures then made my way down the west ridge toward the City Creek north ridge.
At the saddle between the peak and ridge I ran into a couple of hunters who had just come from the direction I was headed. I asked them how foolish it would be to run the ridge down to Rudy Flat. One of them told me it was "pretty" foolish, which I interpreted as definitely doable. They both looked at me like they would be hearing about me on the evening news that night. A little further down the ridge and I started to wonder if I might end up on the news as well.
I knew there wouldn't be a trail for a few miles but the new snow just confounded the route finding and slowed my progress significantly. The whole section between the peak and Rudy Flat was definitely a test of patience. The south side of the ridge was often to steep while the north side had a significant amount of snow. I was ready to bail at one point and head down into City Creek after I realized I bushwhacked out on to the wrong branch of the ridge and encountered the Burro mine. This little mistake cost me about 40 minutes and involved an unholy mess of a bushwhack. I finally made it back on to the proper ridge and just about kissed the singletrack trail I saw laid out in front of me. Now I was cruising with confidence and feeling good. The trail dropped off the ridge toward Rudy Flat where I found a myriad of trails branching in different directions. I was able to get a sight of the ridge I needed to be on and followed that trail. I thought for sure it would be smooth sailing from here to City Creek and just about that same moment the trail just ended.
I desperately searched for a trail through the scrub oak, but there was nothing. The snow was gone now that I was down around 7,000' so I didn't have trouble seeing the ground but there was no clear path. No choice but to bloody the shins and just go. Eventually I made it through and on to the south side of the ridge where I started going out of my way to avoid the patches of scrub oak that littered the hillside, my shins just couldn't take it anymore. I even down climbed a few rock bands just so I wouldn't have to go through it anymore. The 4wd double track that I had been waiting to see finally came into view and I finally got to run again as I dropped down toward the mouth of City Creek. Approximately 22 miles and a little over 6 hours after I started I reached my destination where my lovely wife picked me up. Even though it was a "downhill" route my watch recorded 5,100' of ascent and 7,700' of descent. I know I could do this route faster without snow, I just don't know if I'll be attempting it anytime soon.
