It wasn’t even that hot today but I have sweat like this for a while. There are a few close-by trails here in Farmington that I have yet to explore so I picked one today. The fire trail 03 that goes south from just above flag rock down into Hornet Canyon.

4.8 miles in 1:18:00 @ 15:14 min/mile and with 1,431 ft. Elevation gain.

I started at the Davis Creek TH and took the BST past Steed Creek and then up the south access trail to flag rock. This intersects with the ascent trail I usually take right below Eagle Rock. That part was bad and the nice rolling traverse over to the Patsy’s Mine cutoff felt great. Then the switchbacks. Baking in the sun. Ugh.

At the top I took the Centennial Trail up to where the fire trail turns. I wanted to see what centennial looks like, because it would be a very fun route to take to the top. Way overgrown. Bummer. I bombed down the fire trail 03 and soon found that it was more overgrown than I had heard. Lost it a couple times. To make matters worse, friends have been seeing lots of rattlesnakes lately and I wasn’t too excited about Bushwhacking. Luckily – no encounters – but I was nervous the while time. The lyrics to a Lateef and the Chief song about snakes lurking in the grass kept running through my head. (Read about they on my music blog, Desert Island Mixtapes).

The Hornet Canyon Trail was a bit of a let down too – lots of loose gravel skree. Doesn’t make for a fun descent. By the time I got to the car, it felt like I had gone a lot farther than 5 miles.

I blew through about 1.5 liters or water. I should have filled it with the full 2 liters.