Ok, so this is a little late, but I still wanted to post it just for the record. Yes, I did summit Table Mtn on Wednesday, May 26th, which marks my seventh month in a row with an ascent up Table. This was my final prep for the Pocatello 50 three days later. Taper? Nah.
As you can see, it was as gray a day as all of May had been which is a good reason why I hadn't made it up there sooner. I prefer going up in clearer weather to enjoy the views, but this was probably my last chance to go up for the month and I figured going to 11,000 ft three days before a 50 miler would be good altitude training.
Nearing the summit, it really wasn't all that cold (as far as cold can be in the Tetons), but it was practically a white out in a cloud with a bitey south wind.
It cleared just enough at the top to be able to see the big peaks.
I took this photo facing south and I used the flash to light up all the gale-driven snow particles. (I didn't realize it at the time, but training in these conditions would prepare me well for what was in store for us at the Pocatello race that weekend.)
Three days earlier, I drove over to Jackson with a bad case of cabin fever (since it had been pouring rain almost every day the prior week and all the trails in Teton Valley, ID were greasy clay). I was hoping the trails around Snow King and Cach/Game Creek would be in better shape. And they were!
Five years ago, when I first began this whole running journey, this was one of my favorite routes:
Begin at the Town Square. Run to Snow King on King St. Run up Snow King. Run the ridge going E/SE from the top to the trail that drops down into Game Creek. Run up Game Creek to Cache Creek. Run the Put-Put trail down Cache Creek to the end at Nelson St. Then finish up with the last mile down Broadway back to the Town Square. I need to measure the distance, but I think it's somewhere around 18-20 miles most all of which are on beautiful, blissful singletrack.
Jackson, WY
A week prior to that, I spent the weekend in Boise and got in a long 4 1/2 hr run on Saturday starting from Fort Boise and following the Shafer Butte 50 route all the way up to Bogus Basin. It was a warm day and I was able to get in about 5,000 ft of climbing. On dirt! Mostly...
The snow was still very present on top of the ridge leading north to the summit of Bogus Basin.+
That's Bogus! No, really, it is.
3 comments:
So Table Rock is snowshoe-able! I knew it. What's the avalanche danger like? Is it pretty bad?
It's definitely snowshoe-able/ski/boardable. Year-round. Avy danger appears to be pretty minimal as the steepest areas are well-protected by trees on the lower slopes and the upper slopes are, for the most part, less than 30 degrees. I'm sure you could get something to slide if you travel off the main route, but the main route is pretty safe.
So stay on the Huckleberry trail and stay away from the Face Trail, eh? Thanks for the response. I may give this a shot this winter.
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