sometimes it's not necessarily about how fast you get there. sometimes it's about whether you just get there at all. that's how i felt on my "run" today, which was more like a slog, shuffle, grind. i was coming off of two epic work days, having drunk too little water and too much wine, and staying up much too late the night before. my legs were stiff and tired. but i was grateful just to be moving forward and enjoying the beautiful day and the views around me.
a "meridian" is an imaginary arc on the earth's surface from the north pole to the south pole. Salt Lake City lies on the 111 degree 54' 0" west of Greenwich, England. this information seems kind of random and obscure in some ways, but it also seems somewhat comforting to me in some weird way: that we lie on an absolute point in cartographic space. Meridian Peak is a summit north of the city which lies exactly on this imaginary line. it's not a pretty peak, by any means. it is littered with communications towers atop its summit. it is easily accessible by trail and by road. it's pretty ugly, really.
but i like Meridian Peak. the views from the ridge are incredible, as you can see from the photos i've posted. when you attain the ridge, you can see the entire Salt Lake valley to the south, the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island to the west (as well as the airport and gas refineries), Bountiful to the north, and the Wasatch Range to the east. at one point climbing up to the ridge from the west slope, you can see through a gap in the mountains and pick out Mount Ogden. running down the Shoreline Trail, it's hard not to run all the way to Bountiful.
it's a beautiful 8 mile loop. you should try it sometime. i'm glad i got out today.
