Quarry Trail

I've run this trail a couple of times with the Salt Lake Track Club and hiked it once. It's one of my favorite trails in the Salt Lake Area. It follows a river up the Canyon. The views of the granite slopes are amazing. It was so green right now too. The river is very high right now. I love the sound of it rushing down the canyon.


This is a tough run (for me). There are some decent steep parts for running. I went with a friend and we stopped to walk a few times. Just walking, I don't think it's too bad. I've seen kids there. On good days I've seen families taking pictures by the river.


I don't know how far up the trail actually goes. The SLC Track Club always went to the old church and turned around there. It looks like there's more trial. The "church" is about 3 or 3.5 miles up. I was told the old stone building was the church that the workers used when they were cutting the granite blocks for the Salt Lake Temple in the 1800's. There was a whole camp of rotating workers, so they built the church so they could hold services on Sunday. I also heard it suggested it is a mill because it's next to the water. There seems to be more of a story behind the church theory though. If I ever find out for sure, I'll update. Either way, it's cool if you are into old ruins.
Location

The trail head for the Quarry Trail is right at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. If that lot is full there is a park & ride lot on the North side of the road that you can also park at.



Safety

The river is very strong, don't fall in
This is a popular mountain biking trail, so keep a look out. If you go there with an mp3 player, keep the tunes down enough so you can hear people coming
Lots of rocks to trip over
Some of the trail has loose rocks that can cause slipping if running
It had rained this day, trail was muddy and slippery in a few spots

Bonneville Shoreline Trail--North of Salt Lake section

I realized there are a lot of different sections of the Bonneville Shoreline. I'm not sure if there is a name for this section. It's the part I did before. I found the street up on the bench you can start at instead of hiking up from the City Creek Canyon area.


I was using this hike/run as part of my training for the Wasatch Back Relay. I hiked most of it going out. I ran a few little spots, but defintely hiked up the steep parts. Then I ran most of it back. I have a big downhill leg in the race, so I was targeting downhill this time.


I didn't notice this the last time I was there, but there was this large patch of irises blooming. Very pretty. I love purple irises.


I did see a pretty good sized snake close to where I turned around. If I had been running or biking at that time, I might have gone right over it before I noticed. It was just warming itself in the sun I think. I stood back and watch it for awhile. Eventually it slithered off and I went on. I wasn't feeling up to jumping over it so, that was almost the end of my hike/run.


Access

To get to the parking lot, take I street all the way up. It will turn into N Hills Drive, wind back around as Northmont Way/18th Avenue. On Google Maps the trail is shown as N Hilltop Road. That is where you turn in to park though.





View Larger Map

Safety


This is territory for rattlesnakes and blow/bull snakes. There has been a rare sighting of cougars in the foothills all along the Wasatch Front. I haven't heard of any incidents involving injuries, but stay aware of your surroundings.

There wasn't much shade past Memory Grove, so use whatever sun protection you prefer--sun block, hats, sunglasses, etc. Also take the right amount of water for you activity and length of time there.

I saw a lot of bikers. Be aware around some of the tight turns with limited visibility.

Note--For some reason I can't load pictures to the blog without it crashing. I will post them when this issue is resolved.

Product Review: Cliff Bar Black Cherry Almond

I used to eat Powerbars, but once you switch to Cliff it's hard to go back. I tried the Black Cherry Almond the other day. I liked it a lot.

It was a lot like a granola bar. You get actual chunks of fruit that can be identified as cherries. The almond chunks are pretty big too. It wasn't too hard to chew and I didn't get a stomach ache later, so I was impressed.

This one is probably one of my favorite Cliff flavors now.