Tuesday, February 23, 2016

If This Trail Were A Food, It Would Be A Cinnamon Roll

If Gooseberry Mesa were a food, it would be a cinnamon roll. If Gooseberry Mesa were a musician, it would be Bruce Springsteen. If Gooseberry Mesa were a television show, it would be Seinfeld. (A few nights ago we watched the Bizarro Jerry episode and howled with laughter.) Gooseberry is the best of the best.

A little while back, I took the South Rim Trail to The Point, easily one of the most beautiful stretches of trail I've ever been on.


The weather here in southern Utah has been pristine lately - not too hot, and not too cold. (That usually only lasts about four days and then suddenly our lovely little community turns into the surface of the sun.) The morning I went, it was still cold enough to freeze some of the pockets of water that had formed in the rocks.

This trail is part of the Zion 100. (You can see last year's race report HERE.) It is difficult, twisting, and turning slick rock that puts your legs through a cheese grater. But the views are worth the shredded legs.

It seemed appropriate to do a jumping picture over a crack in the Earth that was 5 feet deep, but looked 500 feet deep:

I found a decent heart rock on the trail. This is how I feel about Gooseberry:


I reached The Point which leaves you standing at a cliff on the edge of the world. All of southern Utah opens up in front of you and the views are breathtaking. During the Zion 100 last year, I split my shorts opened in this location. During this run I managed to avoid that wardrobe malfunction.

The route back to my car involved more cliff-side trails with Zion National Park in the distance:

When I made it back to the trailhead, I found myself holding a collection of cool rocks I had picked up along the way. I decided to stack them up and leave them for the next person to pass by who happened to be a fellow rock lover.

A few days later I hit the trails in Confluence Park in Hurricane, Utah. I have been using the new Tailwind flavors on my runs. The new ones are Tropical Buzz and Green Tea Buzz. (Both are caffeinated.) They taste awesome! I love Tailwind and the people behind it. If you want to try the new flavors, they are now available at www.tailwindnutrition.com.

I took Little Debbie out with me. When I take her out on the trails, she is like a kid in a candy shop. (Or like me in a cinnamon roll shop.)

5 comments:

  1. Very Informative & Interesting article. I really enjoyed reading it.

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  2. Yay for no wardrobe malfunctions.

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  3. Gorgeous scenery! You are a lucky runner!

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  4. New Tailwind flavors, cute Little Debbie and pictures of beautiful Utah - yes!

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  5. Love the new TW flavours! And this was my favourite section of trail when I ran there, although I still have a slight bad taste in my mouth from the climb up lol

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