{"id":1718,"date":"2016-06-02T20:50:09","date_gmt":"2016-06-03T02:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/?p=1718"},"modified":"2016-06-09T21:17:25","modified_gmt":"2016-06-10T03:17:25","slug":"first-mt-olympus-ascent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/professorontherun.com\/?p=1718","title":{"rendered":"First Mt. Olympus Ascent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Sam, a peak-bagging trail junkie friend, has been bugging me for a while to come join him up in SLC and the stars finally aligned for me to do so &#8211; to celebrate his birthday with a bunch of Orange Trail Monkeys up on Mt. Olympus. This was one of the peaks on my bucket list last year, but I failed to bag it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe height=\"405\" width=\"590\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.strava.com\/activities\/596788064\/embed\/26dfe24b2632e37ef98773c783bcd4c681976169\" class=\"iframe-class\"><\/iframe>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">I knew these guys were fast and although Sam claimed he would be going slow, I still opted to start 20 minutes earlier than him. It was hot and steep.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">People coming down were warning of lots of rattlesnakes, but I didn&#8217;t see any.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">The trail just climbs and climbs. You climb about 3500 ft over the first 3 miles of trail.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Towards the top, a straight up section affectionately dubbed &#8220;Stairway of the Gods&#8221; was swarming with flies and gnats. I must have swalled 4-5. A few made me gag and almost throw up as I tried to spit them out.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">From the saddle at mile 3, you hang a left and climb another 500 ft. over only .2 miles to the summit.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">I was thinking they would catch me, and had seen them down below once,\u00a0 but they didn&#8217;t. I scrambled up to the summit and had it to myself for a good 10 minutes before the crew showed up. Sparklers, watermelon, and a loud happy birthday sung. It was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">We switched our headlamps on and made the descent, ending with some cake at the cars.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Steep but gorgeous. Worth it.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1719\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1719\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-1.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1719 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-1-1024x768.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Mt. Olympus (1)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-1.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-1.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-1.jpg?resize=360%2C270&amp;ssl=1 360w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-1.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-1.jpg?w=1920 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1719\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steep from the get go!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1720\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1720\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-4.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1720 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-4-1024x768.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Mt. Olympus (4)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-4.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-4.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-4.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-4.jpg?resize=360%2C270&amp;ssl=1 360w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-4.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-4.jpg?w=1920 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1720\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Looking down towards the valley after about a mile and a half<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_1721\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1721\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-5.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1721 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-5-1024x462.jpg?resize=640%2C289&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Mt. Olympus (5)\" width=\"640\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-5.jpg?resize=1024%2C462&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-5.jpg?resize=300%2C135&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-5.jpg?resize=768%2C346&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-5.jpg?resize=599%2C270&amp;ssl=1 599w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-5.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-5.jpg?w=1920 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1721\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Looking South from the Olympus Saddle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_1722\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1722\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-7.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1722 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-7-1024x768.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Mt. Olympus (7)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-7.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-7.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-7.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-7.jpg?resize=360%2C270&amp;ssl=1 360w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-7.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-7.jpg?w=1920 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1722\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Mountain Goat, as I climbed from the saddle to summit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<figure id=\"attachment_1723\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1723\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-11.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1723 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-11-1024x768.jpg?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Mt. Olympus (11)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-11.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-11.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-11.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/professorontherun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-11.jpg?resize=360%2C270&amp;ssl=1 360w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-11.jpg?w=1280 1280w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/darkgoldenrod-hedgehog-874350.hostingersite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Mt.-Olympus-11.jpg?w=1920 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1723\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Summit cairns that Chris (or Jeremy?) promptly toppled<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sam, a peak-bagging trail junkie friend, has been bugging me for a while to come join him up in SLC and the stars finally aligned for me to do so &#8211; to celebrate his birthday with a bunch of Orange Trail Monkeys up on Mt. Olympus. This was one of the peaks on my bucket list last year, but I failed to bag it. I knew these guys were fast and although Sam claimed he would be going slow, I&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/professorontherun.com\/?p=1718\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"First Mt. 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