[Nick's Trail Adventures] Bonneville Shoreline Trail Adventure!

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Trailrunner

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May 10, 2011, 2:25:07 PM5/10/11

to nicks-trail...@googlegroups.com

Sunday morning my mom and I hopped into our car and hit the road, and headed down to the start of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail where we met our running partners Bryon and Meghan. After a few minutes of getting prepared we set off and start our journey. In the first few minutes I got very hot so I decided to take of my jacket, luckily I had a hydration pack so I had to place to stow the jacket. My first impression of the trail was it was so fun and beautiful, the rolling hills to the right and to the left and overview of Salt Lake City. Further and further we went into the mountains, when finally we came upon the trailhead that marked the start of our climb. As we entered the trail I felt like we were in a tunnel the first few feet because of the trees that clung together and the tops. I followed Bryon up the hill with my mom and Meghan following behind me, soon we came upon a stream crossing we quickly hopped from rock to rock to avoid getting our feet wet. But as soon as we came to the next river crossing I was getting really hot so I ran through the water allowing the water to cool down my body.

I thought to myself how fun this trail was because you are running through streams while navigating your way through the woods. Looking around I saw a stream on my side that was overflowing with run off water and I immediately took a picture just to capture that moment. While avoiding streams and slowly making our way up the hill we come to the area where the climb gets even harder. Up two switchbacks we suddenly are right on the side of the mountain looking over the trail we have just left, up ahead Bryon points out the two mountains that make a saddle and says we will stop there for a rest. Climbing this trail was difficult but not the hardest thing in the world but I still felt the need to walk for a second, but I thought ahead to some of my races that I was training for and I decided not to give into my weakness. We soon reached the saddle and stopped to take in the view, it was an overview of Salt Lake City and I was absolutely amazed!

There were so many buildings that I couldn't even imagine how many people lived down there but I would have to assume a lot! After our short break we keep following the trail along the mountain while inspecting the wild flowers that have started to pop up. Running this part of the trail was nice because it wasn't a climb but a mixture of up and downs, it was nice to have this after our climb. Following the contour of the mountain we quickly came upon the point were we had to turn around and stop, but before we did we took a few pictures and took a quick break for some water.

Continuing back the way we came we were going faster than before, tackling the terrain with ease. We passed a group of bikers with some dogs and they called us the "Mothers Day Convoy" we all laughed and kept on going down the trail. Back at the saddle I take the lead and speed down the trail with pleasure, I quickly had to pull to the side to allow a biker to pass who was struggling to get up the hill. But as soon as she passed I was quickly making my way down the mountain splashing through the rivers with joy! A few times we had to run up on the side of the trail to get around a group of hikers but it was fun because we got to see all the people enjoying the trail just as were!

Bryon sprinted in front of me and hide in a bush and when Meghan and my mom passed he jumped our and scared them! I wish I had hidden to because it would have been so funny! As we got back to the trailhead we decided to take a shortcut by taking a trail on a small cliff that is riddled with holes where the trail fell through, and soon we made it out to find ourselves face to face with such a step hill that we almost have to crawl our way up. Bryon and I sprint to the finish and we give each other a high five as we wait for our companions! Down Meghan and my mom came with a look of pleasure on their faces, with that said we all had a great time and we we couldn't wait to do it again!