Photo Guide to Sun Valley Runs: Pioneer Cabin/Long Gulch Loop

This edition of Sun Valley Runs features a classic middle-distance run to the storied Pioneer Cabin, which rests at 9,500 feet at the base of the Pioneer Mountains. While the most popular route up and down to the cabin is the out/back on the Pioneer Cabin Trail, it can be overrun with foot traffic in summer and a little short for anyone looking to get in a bit of distance.  We've found that heading up the standard trail first thing in the morning and returning via the less traveled Long Gulch Trail makes for a really nice 9 mile loop with some extra climbing (about 3,500 feet vert for the loop) and a lot more solitude.  It's a classic run not to be missed. Directions to trailhead at trailweb.net.

Looking for more distance and vert?  Add the Hyndman Creek/Johnstone Creek loop to the cabin for a challenging figure eight of about 18/19 miles with 7,000 feet total climbing.

Want a quick tour?  Check out the video slideshow below or the static slideshow, here.

Sun Valley Runs: Pioneer Cabin Loop from Run Junkie on Vimeo.

More Sun Valley Runs

The Long Run: A Dash of the Surreal

Today had one of those poetic moments that rise up to greet everyone who has put in enough time on the road or trail. Mine came in the form of a very small dog -- some kind of terrier no bigger than a loaf of bread.

About halfway through my long run and listening to the podcast of NPR's All Song's Considered top 25 show for 2008, I became taken by the song Furr by the alt-folk Portland band Blitzen Trapper. The tune's about a young man becoming part of a wolf pack, and as the lyrics developed,

I heard my mother shouting through the fog

It turned out to be the howling of a dog,

Or a wolf to be exact.

The sound sent shivers down my back,

But I was drawn into the pack

And before long,

They allowed me to join in and sing their song

So from the cliffs and highest hill

Yeah, we would gladly get our fill

Howling endless and shrilly at the dawn,

I looked down at my feet, and as if from the ethers, there appeared a small, light colored dog running alongside me on the snowy path. The quirkiness of the dog, combined with the lyrics so rich in my head, made for quite a confluence that seemed to reach beyond the simple: "stray dog tails runner."

We ran together for a few miles, with him never straying more than a few feet from my side; then as quickly as he came, he disappeared.

My wife, knowing my propensity for super-bonks and their related loss of mental focus, questioned whether there really was a dog at all. All I could say was "of course there was" while wondering quietly in my mind if in fact that were true.

On the Run: Vorberg Gulch in Pictures

Left without a camera on each of the most amazing runs of the past season, I vowed to not let it happen again and finally replaced our broken point-and-shoot with a Panasonic Lumix FS5 from Costco. Ten megapixels with a classic Leica 30mm lens, it's nice enough to take good photos but light enough for the long haul and cheap enough to not feel a horrible loss when it breaks on a good tumble.

I took it out for a test run this morning on the local Vorberg Gulch--Carbonate loop, a great eight mile run with about 1200 ft of climbing that feels remote but is basically right on the edge of town. Developing technique notwithstanding, it seems like it'll be a great camera to chronicle those epic backcountry runs of '09 and beyond.

On the Run: A Warm Bottle Morning

You'd think coming within twenty yards of a snowy-racked bull moose or even passing a deer hunter on one of the most popular hiking/running trails here in Hailey would have been the red-letter event of my Friday 17 mile run. But, neither of these could quite beat out filling my bottles with warm water that morning, which I did haltingly since it seemed to truly put an end to the '08 season and begin the concatenation toward -10 degree, pitch-black snowy morning runs.

Two hours later, though, as my bottle valve started to freeze on the wind-blown Carbonate ridge, I knew it'd been the right move, even with all the baggage that went with it.

(Depiction of moose encounter by Cash Dart, age 6)