Home Ridgelines

August 22, 2015

The morning had an unusual, stark coolness in the air as I began running.  I ran to the highway, hitchhiked to near West Glacier, and made up for the gaps in the hitchhiking with some road running.  More rides had me running from Logan pass, through about an inch of snow in the alpine, adding definition to the alpine features that have defined my childhood.  Rounding the south face of Clements, I pushed hard to the saddle, and began the climb to Mt. Cannon.  On the summit ridgeline, the snow covered north face fell below me, all the way to Mcdonald creek almost 5,500 feet below.  Wind blew snow particles into the air and I was reminded of snow covered ridgelines only days before in South America.

On the summit of Cannon.

On the descent of Mt. Cannon, which is pleasantly runnable.

I was making a conscious effort to run as much as possible on this day, to increase the efficiency on easier terrain.  The run down Cannon and through the meadows beside Hidden lake went smoothly, and the climb into Sperry Glacier was enjoyable even without a clear understanding of the best route (it was steep).  After a fast descent to Mary Baker Lake, I endured the endless boulder hopping below Sperry Glacier, an unfortunate event from recent low snow winters.  I had debated whether to add in the Little Matterhorn, but as I got closer to Comeau pass, it felt close enough and I stopped to enjoy it.  It was fun to remember the route from last year and enjoy the excellent perspective from this summit.

More boulders.

Sperry boulder hopping.

From the summit of little Matterhorn.

After the scramble descent, the legs were still feeling good enough to run almost to Comeau pass, and once I reached the pass I mixed running and walking as my legs allowed all the way down to the road.  I enjoyed this day, feeling the free legs without skis and moving through familiar terrain.

Day stats:
22 miles, 6,500ft gain, 9800 ft lost, 9.5 hours
Logan Pass-Mt. Cannon-Floral Park-Sperry Glacier-Little Matterhorn-Lake Mcdonald

Splits:
10:30 Logan Pass
11:45 Mt. Cannon Summit
12:45 Hidden Lake
2:30 Mary Baker Lake
4:40 Little Matterhorn Summit
5:35 Comeau
8:00 Lake Mcdonald