Author: Stephen Parker

Today was the Rush Triathlon, what a beast. The bike and run were not too bad but that dang swim was brutal.

Yesterday Paul and I climbed Mount Owen. What a hike, we left Rexburg at 4:00 AM and hit the trail at 6:00 AM. The first 3 miles we were on the same trail as the grand, we then made a turn to the north on the Amphitheater Lake Trail. it is about 2 miles to the lake from there. At the lake we kept heading north until the end of the lake. We thought the trail was straight north and ended up at the base of Disappointment Peak (well named) from there we knew we had to get down to the Teton Glacier. There was no safe way down so we had to back track for about 1/2 mile to the lowest part of the north rim of the lake. From there we descended a short distance and headed east along the base of the Disappointment Peak cliffs.

We kept heading straight for the Teton glacier up and down a few times much like a roller coaster. From the glacier we headed straight up the Koven Couloir, there were a few places where it would be wise to rope up but since we were able to find some great hand holds we just hurried up it. Once to the upper section of the Couloir we had to get out the Ice Axe, they work like magic. That allowed us to ascend right up along side of a huge ice glacier. Once we made it to the top of the Couloir we headed east again up the ridge line. We made a strayed too far to the south and found it was necessary to rope up and climb straight up a 120′ cliff. We made it almost all the way to the top where there was about a 3′ ledge, but from there it was not possible to get up the last 20′ of the cliff there were no hand or foot holds within reach. I tried it once but after getting about 10′ off the ground I fell and landed on my right ankle. I heard and felt a loud snapping noise, I thought for sure it was broken. But when I tried to walk on it I found I could put weight on it it just hurt. So we chose to continue on, this time I stood on Paul’s shoulders and was able to reach a better hand hold and climb to the top of this cliff. I then threw the rope down to Paul and he “supermaned” up the rope.

From there on it was not too difficult we just kept heading east to the Upper Bench, from the top of the Bench we made a direct north turn and proceeded around the west face just about 100′ from the top. This was much like the cat walk on the Grand. We went clear around the top along the cliffs where we ended up on the north side of the top, just about 20′ from the top. We could see the top but found there was a 60′ deep and 3′ wide cliff between us and the top. From there we threw the rope over the peak and had Paul belay me as I made the plunge. This was by far the most challenging part of the climb. There were not very many holds and the ledge was sloped down. I hugged the cliff and worked my way around until I was now on the east face.

It was just a 20′ scramble to the top from that point. What a Hike. Paul came around the same way with me top belaying me. We found on the way down there was a much easier chimney on the west face to come down, and it would have been a much easier way to the top (next time). All in all it was a very challenging climb but well worth the view. We ate a quick snack on top, called Jodi and took some photo’s. It was now almost 3:30 so we had to get headed down. It seemed a lot longer coming down that it did coming up for some reason. Especially since I had a very bad sprained ankle. We just kept plowing away to get down, walking in the dark for the last 1/2 mile or so. Time well spent.

Today I climbed Mount Timpanogos for my first time. At 11750′ and only 15 Miles round trip I figured it would make a great hike to train for the Mesa Falls Marathon. I started on the trail around 7:15 AM, I had intended on starting earlier but I missed the turn and drove almost all the way to Heber City before I realized it (Dang NPR was on the Radio). You turn at the Sundance Resort and drive past it about 4 miles to the Aspen Village area, which is ran by BYU alumni. The trail is very well marked and has water and facilities. I started the first few miles trying to run up the trail, not a good idea since it was very slick because of the rain and also gets steep pretty fast after about the first mile until the third mile. From there on it is mostly switch backs you gain some elevation pretty fast but it is eased with the winding switch backs. There are several pretty water falls along the way, and you cross at least a dozen streams. At about 10000′ there is a beautiful lake and camping spot. Just past that is the old ranger shelter. From there on it is pretty loose rock and shale. You work your way up to the ridge and then just follow the ridge line for about 1/2 mile. At the top there is a steel shelter which was nice since it was sprinkling on me. I had the top all to myself for quite some time. Great Hike, it was getting pretty busy on the way down with hikers wanting to see the water falls about 1 mile up the trail. But all in all very fun. Next time I will have to come on a clear day.

The Top!

Today we (Paul, Myself, and Hans Redd) climbed Teewinot, we started around 8:30. This is a great hike but very very steep, so you get a great workout in a short amount of time. As I sat on top I couldn’t help to notice how tempting it looks to climb Mount Owen, just have to find someone to go with me now. Here are some shots from our trek. We gained 7123′ in 3 miles just to give an idea of how steep it is.

Check out the air we got on this rope swing. We are at Bloomington Lake, a high mountain lake close to Bear Lake. It was quite a thrill. We almost landed on our camera woman Michelle, as you can see she was a bit nervous for a minute.

My favorite Tool is broken. My tractor broke in half under my feet, so now I have to save up and sell the parts off this one to get me a new one. It is just too handy to have around. Let the work begin. There is a fellow in the ward who sells tractors and he is trying to tempt me to get one from him.

We saw more than just cars bent out of shape. This fellow was showing the crowd his slot machine. I was tempted to drop a quarter to see if he would even notice. He was eventually escorted out of the arena to lift his shorts.

Jodi and I signed up for the “to bone and back relay” with AMX. We had a good time it was sure hot though. The run is 40 miles round trip so we each took a 5 mile leg. Jodi took leg 1 and I took leg 2 (bad idea) leg 2 is the uphill run. I thought it would be much like Summer’s hill, but it was that x10 we the elevation gain according to my GPS was over 1700′ in 5 miles. I was feeling it from the start, but then I also felt that I was getting low on sugar about 1 1/2 Miles into the run. I can usually push myself when I am not low but when I get low my body calls the shots. I had to run and walk most of the way up and when I finally reached the top I passed out for a bit. Jodi had to force feed me some honey. All in all it was a good time though.

This is the year of Marathons, we ran the “Teton Dam Marathon” this year with Jodi, David, Lynn, John, and Michelle. It was a fun bonding experience, made us all feel like we were part of a team. The Mama’s and the Papa’s was our Team name and we lived it up.

Mason and I chose to hike Mount Lam Lam, Why? Because it is technically the highest point the in world. Because of the Mariana Trench that reaches some 35,000 feet below sea level and Lam Lam being at the top of that trench at 1332 feet above sea level.

The day started very early, we got up around 5 AM and drove to the trail head. We had to hike it fast so I could get to work by 8 AM at Guam Power Authority. It was too dark to hike when we arrived at the trail head (we didn’t have a head lamp), so we waited for a bit in the car. Once we could barely see the signs of daylight we hit the trail. It had been raining all night and was still drizzling. This made the trail like a slippery slide. It was quite the challenge to hike up such a steep hill. Reminds me a lot of hiking littles peak, very steep but much slicker. We heard a few wild hogs in the brush which kept us moving on.

As the light came out so did the bugs, there were tons of Mosquito’s and little spiders every where. After about 1 mile the weeds got so tall that they were above my head and way above Mason’s. There were spiders every and their webs were getting all over us. I grabbed to sticks and held vertical one in each hand to catch the spiders and webs as we worked out way through the jungle like weeds. We saw several bright yellow spiders that were about the size of a baseball. Their webs were about 4′ in diameter and the spider would hang in the middle under the web upside down. They were somewhat intimidating.

The last 300′ was so steep and rocky that we had to circle around to find a way up. It was quite the adventure I slipped and fell right under a huge spider, I am not a big fan of spiders so that was a real thrill. There were huge boulders we had to climb over and around. It was not like anything I had done before because there was moss and foliage all over them so it was hard to tell where they were or well the holes were. After what seemed like forever we made it to the top. It was great. It made all the sweat and wetness worth it. We took some photo’s from the top and then headed back down.

After we got back out of the boulders, we got a little disoriented. I thought for sure it was one way but the GPS said it was behind us. We were in a bit of a panic because we couldn’t see more than 100′ in any direction and I had to get to work. We decided to stop and say a prayer, what an experience. As we prayed we were very fervent and sincere, we were seeking for an answer and expecting it. It was amazing we got up and just started walking following what the GPS said and within minutes were found the trail again. It was such a relief. I know that our prayer was answered. I went totally against what I thought we should do, we had just got turned around. Bottom line is Prayer is more powerful than the sword.

Some serious fog	On top of Mount Lam Lam Guam