The Escalante Cross, Lookout Point, Red Knoll and the Spanish Fork trail system

As I have begun my training for the Hardrock 100, I have had the chance to hit a couple of the local trails in Spanish Fork , UT. I am a transplant from Texas and one of the things I love most about living in this valley is the unbeatable proximity to great mountain trails. One area that is only about 5 minutes from my house is the Spanish Fork trail system. It has a lovely little section of trails that is 5-6 miles if you go through all of it. You get the great pleasure of running to multiple landmarks in the process: Red Knoll, Lookout Point and the Escalante Cross. You get to do some great hill work on some reasonably technical trail. Non of the hills are particularly long but they are all of a decent incline, if you sprint them it makes for a great workout and allows you to train on ascent and descent techniques.

This is the view as you are looking down from the cross.

You also get a nice view of the windmills right at the mouth of the canyon.

The trail leading to the cross.

As always, my trusty dog Sammy came along.