You can’t miss the Harold Chapman bridge in the Little Elbow Day Use area. It’s a short jog from the parking lot – maybe a kilometre or so.
Well .. you can miss it if you are running in a pack and the only available light is the glow from the headlamps three feet in front of you. That was our illustrious start (missing the bridge and backtracking) to what would turn out to be an adventurous day.
Our plan was to run the Glasgow to Banded Peak traverse (roughly 34 kilometres and 2,600 metres) and in doing so we would hit four peaks (Glasgow, Cornwall, Outlaw and Banded Peak). The traverse starts and ends at the bridge. I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t you just run the Grand Canyon R2R2R just five days before? Aren’t you tired? Spoiler: I was tired.
Our research brought us to several accounts of people getting lost before reaching the base of Glasgow or other random missteps in the forest or on the ridge. We knew there may be some minor navigational issues (and we were right!) but we didn’t let it colour our day. Our group of seven was pretty laid back and ready to enjoy whatever the day brought forth.
We lost some time – maybe an hour or so – backtracking and second guessing before we eventually made it to the base of Glasgow. Gosh we were happy to get out of the trees. We power hiked and scrambled to the summit. Once we reached Glasgow, we knew the hard work was mostly over as we could see the three other summits across the way.
There isn’t a clear path to the top so it was a free for all in choosing the best way to the top along some parts of the route. Some of us climbed over the large boulders or rockface while others skirted the rock and took their chances on the scree.
It took us an embarrassingly long time to reach the summit. I think we all lost a little of ourselves every time we took a wrong turn or when navigating over the loose rock and scree. I tried to stay upbeat but I was not feeling 100 per cent. I think the past week had really done a number on my energy level.
At the summit we ate quickly and took photos and video. A few people decided it was not their day and wanted to turn around. Erin, Amy and I were on the fence. We kept looking out at Banded Peak thinking we should just go for it. But in the end we decided to stick together and turn around.
I didn’t like the rocky trail to the Glasgow summit. The whole way up I kept thinking – at least I don’t have to back the same way. It never crossed my mind that we wouldn’t do the traverse so I dreading going down over the rocky sections again. It was not fun going up and it proved to be not fun going down.
We learned later that there are two other and easier ways down from Glasgow. That definitely helps for next time (if there is a next time as most of the runners said they had enough of this mountain.) I just take it as another lesson in the importance of being prepared because things can go sideways when you least expect it.
Speaking of which … I fell about four times on the way down. The last time, I punctured my bear spray on a rock and it sprayed all all over my running vest. At first I didn’t know what the hissing sound or where the orange spray was coming from. As soon as I realized, I turned my head way so I wouldn’t get in my face. Thankfully I was wearing a long sleeved shirt and gloves so I didn’t get it in my skin but I did inhale quite a bit.
The bear spray incident just capped off a series of bad luck. During my night in the U.S., I was bit by at least three spiders while I was sleeping. A couple days after Glasgow, I tested positive for COVID. (Thankfully it was only a mild case that involved lots of coughing, and I was cured in less than a week.)
Good times.