Operation King Cobra - Coming to a Peak Near You

[Gambel Oak]

I've been meaning to write this up for awhile but figured I would give it some time so as not to give away the surprise. This was a run we did the last good weekend of October 2011 before the snow hit.



It all started circa 2005 when I rode the MTB up Ogden North Divide to Ben Lomond Peak via North Skyline. A much longer day than I planned on but...the plan was hatched. When you get to the top of Ben Lomond you see this weird out of place summit register. The first day I went up there it was sunny and jam packed with people and maybe it was hot enough that I was a bit worried about snakes. Due to the beautiful summit register, the plan was hatched one might say.



I'm not lazy, just had better options until now. The 15th of October 2011 was when I got around to what is now known as Operation King Cobra. Mainly the window of opportunity was closing for running in the mountains and we decided the desert could wait. The crux of the whole operation was the visit to Toys R Us in Sugarhouse. It was a madhouse, no different that your local grocer on a busy Friday afternoon. Long lines, squabbling over the bill, price checks, you get the picture, the line is going nowhere. I was bonking just standing in line wanting to escape as fast as possible.

We got a nice late Sunday morning start, didn't make it to the trailhead until just a bit before 11:00 AM. Sometimes I just don't want to get up or deal with the cold. Well it looked amazing from the parking lot and we gear up and start running.



Once we got to the top is was all business. Operation King Cobra! It was threatening rain and all the hikers had cleared out. I was hoping for video of our handiwork. None the less, I was very pleased with the results.



Heading home. Beat the rain and was happy that we were not the people half way up dressed in cotton. The colors were spectacular fall of 2011



Hopefully some of you enjoyed the entertainment first hand. Currently trying to source some impressive plastic Western Diamondbacks.

[Sombeech]

So did you leave it up there?

[Gambel Oak]

Oh course, and it stayed for awhile. Some runner friends reported that the cobra had made it through winter hibernation and was there early Spring 2012. By now I'm sure it has been thrown off the mountain by someone who hates snakes.