All three of these canyons are truly spectacular! And the connecting trails both on the upper and lower sections are also fantastic. Bonneville Shoreline Trail on the lower section, and the Great Western Trail on the upper section. Does it get better than that?! Add a summit of Big Baldy where you can see the entire valley and all of Utah Lake and it makes for a pretty epic run.
I ran this on Sept 20, 2021. The weather was perfect. Mid 40s in the morning when I started, rising to mid 60s later on. First loop from Battle Creek to Dry Canyon went well and I was feeling good. Spent a few minutes when I got back to the Battle Creek trailhead to eat some bars and hydrate. (There is a drinking fountain at the Kiwanis Park just north of the trailhead parking lot). Then started back up Battle Creek for the second loop to Grove Creek. The second loop was a lot harder. My quads kept cramping up on me, so it was slower going than anticipated. But the weather stayed beautiful, and despite my legs not cooperating as much as I wanted, it was still a great trip. Took another break at the Grove Creek Spring to eat some more and cool off before heading down the canyon. The spring is the best water source on the mountain, so I had to take advantage. Despite the cramping legs, and having to stop more than I'd like to pound out the cramps, it was a fantastic run overall.
Timewise, I feel like this is some low hanging fruit for some enterprising young runner here in Utah, so bring it on! Let's see those times drop. :)