Stansbury Island Ramble

Running barefoot along the salt flats near Stansbury Island, Great Salt Lake.

I had an excellent 20-mile run around and over the top of Stansbury Island during the Thanksgiving holiday. Other than a bit of smog, conditions were good. I had no set plan. I simply wanted to let my feet take me where they pleased and hopefully take a shot at the Island's 6,650-foot summit. I love this place.

I saw the day's first rays of sunshine lighting up some of the higher peaks just as I reached the first high saddle on the Stansbury Island Mountain Bike Trail.  

I can attest that the island's Mountain Bike Trial is not just for wheels.

I always come across interesting fossils on Stansbury Island. Here we have a petrified burrow of some critter that slithered through limy mud on the Ordivician (some 450 million years ago) sea floor. 

Running around the southern tip of the island with the Stansbury Mountains in the distance.

Petroglyphs abound on Stansbury Island.

Cruising in Tabbys Canyon.

Looking up Cane Canyon toward Castle Rock. It's a stiff, trail-less 2,400-foot climb to the top of the island.

On top, above the smog, the views are incredible of nearby mountain ranges as well as the smooth-as-glass Great Salt Lake.

View back down the canyon (Cane) I climbed up to reach the summit. Below is the Great Salt Lake, the southern tip of Antelope Island, and in the far distance, the Wasatch Mountains.

The rugged northern spine of Stansbury Island. 

Descending the west side of Stansbury Island.

As I came down the mountainside, the mudflat/beach along the west side of the island looked like the perfect place to loose the shoes. This was my favorite part of the day's adventure by far.

The ultimate mineral foot bath.  That isn't ice;  you're looking at salt crystals and clay.

The line between lake and sky is blurred along the western shores of Stansbury Island.

I got in a good 2.5 miles unshod along the shoreline. I wish every run could be this liberating.

The sun sets over the Great Salt Lake and a great day of adventure.