Quest for Kings

Kings Peak in the morning sun

Last weekend was the annual Quest for Kings marathon put on by Craig. This is the second time that I have come on this weekend outing.  I look forward to it every year.  When driving in from Evanston you can see Kings looming to the south.  For me it sets an attitude of adventure and exploration that lasts the entire time.  There is just something about the beauty and ruggedness of this county that I just eat up.

Earlier this year I thought that it would be interesting to try the Utah Triple Crown.  The Triple Crown is a run combining 3 of the tallest peaks in Utah for a total length of 30 miles and over 6000 feet in elevation gain.  The goal is to summit all three peaks from the Henrys Fork trail head in as fast as time as possible.  Well as it turned out I wasn't the only one thinking about doing the Triple Crown.  The Orange Trail Monkeys also known as Sam and Steve were wanting to go for it as well.  When all was said and done there were 9 people total that started in our group.

Sleeping Arrangements 

That night at the trail head I slept in my hammock.  The view of the stars was just amazing and there was also flashes of lighting from a storm off to the east.  I even got to see a number of shooting stars. This has to be my favorite ways of camping by far.  The morning seemed to come way too quick and everyone in camp was buzzing by 4:00 am. After shivering in the pre-dawn morning we headed out from the trail head at 5:00 am.

After heading out I knew I wasn't feeling all that great which had me in somewhat of a panic mode. My stomach and guts were fighting me and I quickly fell away from the lead group.  After having some "alone" time in the wilderness I was able to get past the morning blues and press on.  On my way to Elk Horn Crossing I heard something moving off of the trail.  It turned out to be a moose and it was only about 10 feet away, just off the trail.  I was said I couldn't get a picture of it, but we managed to see it on the way back as well.

The moose

Chris Pope

Steve and I on the ascent to Gilbert w/ Gilbert in the background (Courtesy Chris)

After catching up with the group at Elk Horn Crossing we ventured off to Dollar Lake and turn off and the accent to Gilbert peak.  The climb up to Gilbert was hard but it wasn't the last of it.  The initial climb gets you up the shelf where you can then turn and see Gilbert.  There isn't much of a trail and most of the way was defined by sheep trails. At the top of the shelf we ran into a herd of sheep just as the sun was starting to come over Gilbert.  Chris, Steve and I reached the summit of Gilbert just in time to enjoy the morning sun rising over the valley.  The view was simply amazing.

Peak 1:  Gilbert Peak @ 13,442 feet

Next we started descending the peak to the shelf on our way to Gunsight Pass.  On the way down Chris was bounding from boulder to boulder like the Night Fox from Oceans 12.  I was some what envious.  We eventually made our way to the southern shoot to make our way back down to the Henrys Fork Trail.  It was hard not to just want to sit and stare at the valley below.

The "Shoot"

The shelf between Gunsight and Anderson.  (South Kings and Kings in the background) (Courtesy Chris)

After reaching the shelf between Gunsight and Anderson we were back on familiar ground.  The one thing I was noticing as that being at altitude was beginning to take a toll on my energy level.  I was feeling tired.  Coming to the spring at Anderson I soon began to run into several familiar faces from the group of Wranglers that started later in the day.  The trail up Kings is much more defined that Gilbert or South Kings.  Even with that it still amounts to a lot of boulder hopping.  See the picture below.

Trail to Kings (Courtesy Chris)

Peak 2: Kings Peak @ 13,528 feet

Getting to Kings I felt much better knowing I only had one more peak to go for.  South Kings looked so close but as I was soon to find out would take forever to get to because of the boulders.  It was also getting hot and the wind was blowing hard in the pass.  By the time I reached the base of South Kings I just wanted to be done.  I was bruised and bleeding from the boulders and I needed a huge pick me up.

Peak 3: South Kings @ 13,512

After reaching the summit of Souths Kings I felt elated to know that I had accomplished my goal.  Its one of those things that you can only celebrate by yourself, because there is no finish line, no family waiting for you.  Chris soon was on the summit and celebrating with a Mtn Dew.  Something that I was insanely jealous of.  When heading down South Kings we headed around Kings trying to save some elevation gain. Steve was down at the pass for South Kings feeling very sick from the elevation.  We soon headed back down to Gunsight.  When we got to the bottom of Gunsight we saw some familiar faces with some awesome Wrangler Ladies, completing an epic 40 mile fast pack from Red Castle.   The rest of the trip flew by.  We ran the last 5.5 miles from Elk Horn back to the trail head hard.  It felt good to be moving and approaching the finish.  Chris and I crossed the trail head in 10:47.  It was a very hard but rewarding day in the mountains. One that I will surely have to try again.