Perrigrine Trail

The three best months for trail running are May, September, and October, and I wanted to use this wonderful time of the year to try out some new trails.

In Mueller Park, past the fee gate, there are several new trails. As I said before, I'm not sure of the rules, but I think I can go in if I'm not using the picnic or parking spots? I did pass a guy with a golf cart and he didn't say anything to me, but he was talking to someone else.

Anyway, I have been on some of the new trails, but I wasn't sure where they went. So on Wednesday, I headed up for an evening run. It was a rainy day, but the rain had stopped, and I was eager to try it out. 

I started at the Kenney Creek Trailhead (an old trail), but instead I took the new Bonneville Shoreline Trail, which led to the Hornet Trail, which led to the Maple Syrup Trail. There were some lovely sights and lots of wildflowers. (In 2020, Blogger "fixed" something that ain't broke, and it is so much harder to add photos now. I hope some developer gets punched in the face!)

Cutleaf balsamroot

Showy stickseed

I had been on these trails before, but I knew there had been some new trail construction. After about 2.4 miles, I came to the intersection of a new trail, Perrigrine. I presume it takes its name from Perrigrine Sessions, one of the founding pioneers of Bountiful. 

I could have gone past Perrigrine to meet up with the Kenney Creek Trail, which goes to the remains of an old cabin. I wondered if Perrigrine went to the cabin too. But this trail was not very steep, and eventually I realized I wasn't going up anymore, so it wouldn't go to the cabin. During part of this time, there were wild turkeys running on the trail ahead of me!

I got into areas of newly fallen snow, and eventually there were no new footprints or bikeprints, so I was the first person there in at least a few hours. There were various rock outcrops of the Farmington Canyon Complex. These are Precambrian rocks that are 2.4 billion years old! 

And then I found myself going downhill, and there was a very sturdy bridge over a roaring creek. This was four miles up the trail, with no nearby road, so it seems like quite a feat to build a bridge there! But I know nothing about construction. 

The trail began climbing again, and I expected that it eventually met up with the Mueller Park Trail. But I didn't know how long that would be, and I had to turn around before it got too late.

When I got back to my car, I was at 8.9 miles, so I had to run an extra 0.1 miles to make it an even 9. I'm really pleased that I'm in good enough shape to run nine miles on a whim on a Wednesday night.

My curiosity was piqued, and I had to know how far the trail went, so I went back on Saturday. All the snow was gone, but I did get rained on part of the time. Despite the rainy period, it was a lovely run.

Heartleaf arnica

Wallflower

James' Chickweed

Cutleaf balsamroot

Arrowleaf balsamroot growing on the pipeline

After the bridge, I was determined to keep going until I met the Mueller Park Trail. I hit it just about a mile after the bridge, five miles into my run.

And then I headed down the Mueller Park Trail, past the always-busy Elephant Rock. This was familiar territory, but I more often go there on sunny days, so it was different to be there on a cloudy day. And my BYU boss just happened to be hiking there with his son, so I was glad I was fully clothed.

My plant app calls this twolobe larkspur, but sometimes it's wrong

Smallflower woodlandstar

Wild strawberry

The yellow of dandelions provides a great contrast to the purple of western waterleaf

 

Arrowleaf balsamroot next to cutleaf balsamroot

Mallow-leaf ninebark, which is one of the first plants to change colors in the fall (even late summer).

Mulesears

Chokecherry

The entire run was about 9.25 miles, and I climbed about 1,300 feet. By contrast, when I run up North Canyon, it's 1,500 feet in a total of seven miles, so this trail was not super steep or difficult. I might have to add it to my regular rotation!