Mount Silverheels Run

Run number three of the long weekend was a long-overdue jog with GZ, as we haven't gone for a run since his 100-miler.

That's because I'm a hermit, and because I can only keep up when he's got at least 20-50 miles on his legs.

It was damned windy again on Monday; the saving grace was there was not a cloud in the sky. Having gotten blasted on the top of Buffalo Mountain on Saturday, I was hesitant to summit anything, but what the heck. We discussed it briefly and decided on Mount Silverheels, a high 13er at 13,822 feet. It's visible for miles around in the Fairplay/South Park area.

Silverheels later in the afternoon from US 285

The only downside to the day is my camera lens jammed, and I only got off a couple of snapshots of the run :\ GZ offered use of his camera, and I took a couple of shots on the top which you can see in his post (I think maybe I took a couple of those?), but frankly I was too busy running to worry much.

You see, he seems to want to run without stopping. That's crazy!

I had to commemorate the one time I got ahead of George that day. Dude's a machine:

Once you get near treeline, Silverheels gets more interesting than just dirt roads. For example, there's a grove of bristlecone pines where I'll have to come back and photo-linger some time.

Then above that, the terrain opens up into high grass meadows covering the next 2,000 feet. It's amazingly open and sculptural up there, and reminds of my tiny home hill Green Mountain in Lakewood, only it's harder to breathe :) There's a prodigious amount of red dirt, contrasting with the green of grass and flowers, which you don't notice from a distance, but was very striking in the sharp, brilliant sun of high elevations. Many different colors of rock covered the slopes, suggestive of the history of mining.

We got to the top, passing some folks with a playful retriever and a very mellow wolf hybrid (that loping gait may trigger a personal adrenaline drip if you've seen many nature films about wolves pack hunting).

After some mugging for photos and a brief rest, we started the descent, Hoka vs. Altra. I was doing OK, but it was clear GZ was more relaxed in the Hokas and their cloud-like soles. The Altras did great, but I was definitely more careful. Shoes aside, occasionally I'd spot a knife of rock sticking straight up out of the tundra near by, and be glad I'd missed it. Yikes. But the running down was generally fun, over soft dirt and grass.

The forest roads were... meh... after being tired from hauling my bones up to 13,800 feet, and after two prior days of running up high. But we got some miles in, and had a rewarding day out.

At least as enjoyable was relaxing on the Zack family deck later in the sunshine, sampling his home brew (reminiscent of Wynkoop Silverback, sans spices) out of my Boulder 100 commemorative gift mug (which I'll have to use in a beer review some time) and just talking and chilling.

Later I stopped on Kenosha Pass as I had never set foot on that part of the CO Trail.

Mount Bierstadt (left) and Evans from the trail:

I walked for a few minutes then got back in the car and drove over for some BBQ (smoked chicken, collard greens, baked beans, cornbread) before heading home.

The run distance for Silverheels was 13.69 miles from the trailhead parking lot, time 4:28 (moving 3:37), elevation gain/loss 3,684 feet. Elevation was between 10,318 and 13,822 feet.

Weekend total: 38.28 miles, 8,629 feet of climbing, all above 9,700 feet -- a fine start to the unofficial summer season.

Peaks Trail Run

Day two of the Memorial Day weekend was a somewhat long run on the Peaks Trail in Breckenridge.

I wanted to do something local and learn some more about the town's trails -- sort of like I do at home -- so I tried running from my lodging in town to the trail and onward.

A house in town with an undeveloped lot next door

After coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Clint's, I headed out from the lodge. My effort was frustrated somewhat by the fact that Cucumber Gulch was closed for wildlife, so instead I ran a big loop uphill on Ski Hill Road, which added a somewhat less exciting 2.5 miles to each end of the run. I still learned a little about the area, and ran by the Nordic Center (closed) and stopped for a minute to look.

After getting on the Peaks Trail, for several miles I traded places with a group of 5 guys on bikes who rode narrow rocky trails effortlessly, like they were flat bike paths. I finally passed them when they stopped for a snack at 7 miles.

Later I saw what I thought was a dog running on the path towards me, and mentally braced for a toothy confrontation. But it was an elk calf, galloping along the trail. When it finally came to its senses and realized I was not its parent (or whatever), it veered into the woods. Evidently it was running from the mellow family bikers I saw a short distance later.

At mile 6 on the Peaks Trail (mile 9 altogether) I turned left on the Miner's Creek trail, which is part of the CO Trail, and headed uphill. There is a particular spot on this trail at about 11,100 feet where the forest opens up and you can see the peaks above, a stream with wildflowers, and views back down into the valley. Before the upper trail clears of snow, this is my usual goal and turnaround point:

The trail on the other side of this ravine was covered with snow, and this is where the post-holing begins. Never fails, it's like that every year.

At one point on the Miner's Creek trail -- and I don't know exactly where -- there is a ravine with a creek lined by green ground cover on sculpted surfaces, that is so perfect it's like from a dream. A crystal creek runs through the middle. Further uphill at a bend, the same creek flows through a ravine full of Spanish Moss-covered trees and mossy, fungal ground cover. It must be very damp, and it is utterly surreal and unlike any other forest area on the trail:

The trees are warped into strange shapes, and the ground is covered with moss. Tiny creeks flow through the ground oddly, out of nowhere. Did the crew from Avatar use this as a model for their forests?

By late afternoon, snow flurries had faded away and the sun shone into the woods again, lighting trees and forest ground cover.

A cathedral of lodgepole pines on the Peaks Trail:

Distance was 19.55 miles, time 5:14 (moving 4:05), elevation gain/loss 2,548 feet.

Buffalo Mountain Partial

Buffalo Mountain is the hulk you see straight ahead when you exit the Eisenhower Tunnel heading west, and start descending towards Silverthorne and Frisco, CO. It's kind of like a big gumdrop with avalanche paths scraped down the sides.

I had been wanting to run something around the Frisco/Gore Range area for a while, and this was the first since Mount Royal a couple of years ago. I had some time left in the afternoon after getting out of Dodge and up to Breck for the Memorial Day weekend, so I just picked a trailhead and did an out and back.

I actually thought I was running up towards Red Buffalo Pass but I must have missed a turn and ended up running towards the summit of Buffalo Mountain. Heh.

I really don't care much where I'm going, as long as I'm having fun.

This trail starts out moderately, but gets steeper and steeper. It's lodgepole pine forest at first, and this year there are a lot of downed trees. Must have been a windy winter, and with pine beetles doing their thing, trees are uprooting left and right. I was looking over my shoulder every time I heard the creaking of a tree in the wind.

Twisted beetle kill trees and Silverthorne in the valley:

Life can be tough for trees in the mountains. This is at treeline:

I lost the trail at this point, and ended up going straight up the mountain. Clambering over snow, boulders, by hand and foot. I don't know how far it was, but it was a while.

Straight ahead is the Tenmile Range. It seemed as if I was higher, but I'm actually about 800 feet lower:

After a lot of steep boulders, the slope eases and there's some rocky singletrack that heads over to the left/south towards a snowy valley. There looked to be some skiable terrain up there. The summit is somewhere in the middle-ish.

The top was not that far, but there was a lot of snow between me and the summit, weather was coming, and the wind was like a freaking freight train. I couldn't even hold my camera still without a gust moving it. It felt very odd to be running up there in shorts in the howling wind. Good thing it was not freezing cold.

I decided it was time to turn around. I got to 12,170 feet according to the Star Trek watch.

I managed some 14er-style downhill running (tentative, steep and rocky), which was fun. When I got near treeline and hit the snow again, I tried skiing in my shoes down the firmer parts, but a couple of times my leg punched through, and thankfully I didn't snag a hidden boulder. Here I am hoping my feet don't drop through the crust:

Looking back up at the snow I had to cover, and the steep rocky ridge I climbed:

My shoes had snow in them at this point, my heels were numb, and after I was safely past the snow in the woods I stopped to clear them. I need some gaiters for this.

There were quite a few downed trees:

This was the start of runnable trail, but it never really eased up, with plenty of rocks and roots. Still pretty fun, and I got a better outing than I thought I would, with a near-summit. Some day I'll head up here when it's dry. I had about 0.5 mile and 600 feet to go.

Distance was 5.04 miles, time 2:45 (moving 1:40), elevation gain/loss 2,398 feet.

Steep. And pretty arduous, with the slope, downed trees and snow. But fun.

Friday Of Rest

Since I drew the jury duty card for Friday, I was close to home in Lakewood in the morning, and I walked at Belmar Park before lunch. I was dismissed from an apparent apartment criminal trespass case (we didn't get too many details). Would have been better than a gory week-long murder case, which one of the jurors mentioned they'd been on :\

Baby geese, with parents watching me warily:

Baby ducks (this is about 1/3 of them, who were all diving down into the pond to eat something-or-other):

Walking in a ravine off-trail. Also watching for snakes:

Water trapped in the stem of this giant plant like a Bromeliad.

An unnamed creek flowing through the park:

Grass and sky.

I frequently see photos being take around this pond and the gazebo visible in the back:

Then I worked a half day and made plans for the holiday weekend, had some good beer and posted these photos ;) Better than breaking rocks.

Gear: Altra Lone Peak

I've talked about this shoe in passing in some of my posts, and after running in it for a while I thought I owed the shoe a post of its own.

I ran happily in the Brooks Cascadia for several years, but was unhappy with recent variants using "DNA" gel in the sole, which seems harsher to me than the nice soft foam of previous years. Even just walking, I could feel shock waves running right my spine with that sole composition. No thanks.

Then again, since I haven't run on my heels for years, I don't give a rat's about fancy-pants heel composition. This also coincided with my exploration of less traditional shoes and minimalist or "barefoot" options. Hence zero drop. Hence my discovery of Altra and its Lone Peak, which has no heel lift at all. Totally flat. Lovin' it.

My first impression of this shoe was... mmm... neutral (loose fit, stiff sole), but I write that off to unfamiliarity. In short, this shoe has become my new Cascadia, and it's proven itself to be up to the task and has become my new favorite.

The Lone Peak in its natural element

The "loose" fit I think is the result of a thick upper and a wide toe box, and has been utterly un-problematic. I have had zero problems with fit on runs up to 30 miles.

The firm sole is a matter of adjustment, and may have relaxed somewhat with wear. It's not harsh, it's just different from the softer sole on some shoes like the old Cascadia, the Brooks Pure line, and some Saucony models. The sole is plenty protective from rocks (as much as the Cascadia). Of course since my stride has become gentler, soles don't matter as much anyway. I can run in Five Fingers and be pretty comfy.

So, pluses are: substantial but breathable, protective in the sole, great toe protection, which after nearly breaking my toe in some MT110s, is a relief. The big toe box in the Altra line is huge for me, now that I've all but sworn off bullet-shaped lasts and their warping effects on my feet. I wear their Instinct to work every day and love it too.

The sole is rather flat in the arch and has only the support offered by the substantial upper. I worried about plantar fasciitis, but that's a matter of form and stretching the calf muscles more than anything.

The tread pattern works, and is not that much different from the Cascadia (I've run on snowy trails in both shoes).

I should mention as a disclaimer that I'm a trail fitness/tourist/photographer runner, not a racer, and I make no pretense of being a fast. The long, slow run is my modus operandi ;)

However, I do put in some miles and I do run technical terrain quite a bit, and this shoe has proven worthy. I'm glad to have a new go-to trail shoe.

Thursday Short Table Run

Lunch along suburban Clear Creek, following a duck and ducklings along the river as I ate. I missed them going down some very mild rapids, I'm sure that would have been entertaining.

I didn't have much time after work today, but got in an hour on North Table.

Distance was 6.45 miles, time 1:20 (moving 1:14), elevation gain/loss 992 feet, avg. pace 12:31 (moving 11:30).

Tuesday Blurry Bird And Run

At lunch at a park I heard an unfamiliar bird song, and it was the bird you see below, which I think is one of these. Never seen one before:

Ralston path in the evening, starting out slow to warm up, then faster, but couldn't hold the pace. I think it was a combination of speeding up too fast and turning around to run the very slight uphill on the creek. Last laps were OK. Beautiful evening, and I'm enjoying them until the T-storms begin:

Stopping to smell them:

Union Street Trail, one of a gazillion little side paths in metro Denver (in this case Arvada):

I then cut through Harry S. Truman Park, then back down Union path to Ralston path. Man, we have a lot of parks and bike paths around Denver. There are still parts in the central corridor and more industrial areas that are tough to navigate, but once you get into the suburbs there are options.

Run distance 10.22 miles, time 1:39 and elevation gain/loss 335 feet.

Green Short Trail Ride

Monday I drove to the other side of Green Mountain (Lakewood) so I didn't have to waste time on streets getting to the singletrack, since I didn't have much time.

This looks like an open hillside in Hawaii or something, rather than the far side of Green Mountain in my neighborhood in normally arid Colorado:

The trails were emptying out, so I had quite a few stretches of trail ahead where nobody was visible and I could just put the hammer down. When I saw someone ahead, I'd slow down and make it clear I was going to pull over, then speed up again until the next blind turn or whatever.

I drifted into a a couple of bad lines, wobbled some, and still brake too much, but on my own slow scale... I killed it.

Because I had more speed, hills went as follows: crank the approach, coast and quickly downshift, then spin over the top and if necessary stand up and grunt it out to get over the crest. It worked great, and I don't know where the power came from (granted, it was a short ride). I still had to hike it a couple of times on steeps.

Near the end I ran across this cache of gems; wildflowers in almost every color of the spectrum represented (zoom in to see them all):

Distance was 6.20 miles, time 42:33 (moving 36:00), elevation gain/loss 499 feet, avg. speed 8.7 mph (moving 10.3), and max speed 22.5 mph.

A fun ride.

IP Road And Trail Run

I headed up to the Indian Peaks for a run on Sunday; I had not been up in the high country to run yet this spring, and I wanted to see the state of things.

Hessie TH near Ned was a crowded cluster and I realized left my water bottles on the counter at home :\ so I swung back through town for water and headed up to the Rainbow Lakes area instead. That trailhead is not open yet, and because the winter gate was still closed it would be less crowded. I passed six people in five hours.

I parked at the Sourdough lot and ran down the road and past the closed winter gate to Rainbow Lakes. It was 5 miles of forest road to the camping area and trailheads, and it was raining lightly.

I wore an eVent cap and jacket and shorts in the light rain, and it worked well.

This was my first long run on a forest road in the mountains this year, a familiar routine for anyone who runs Colorado peaks, and the opening of my mountain running season, so to speak.

I ran with bear spray in one hand, water bottle in the other.

There were still orange signs from the 2011 construction closure (new terraced grill areas, reshaped parking, new restrooms), and I began to wonder if the whole area was still closed. This was reinforced by the fact that there were fallen trees and woodcutting activity evident on the lower parts of Arapaho Glacier trail. But this is 2012, and the signs seemed to be about vehicle traffic. Nonetheless, it was somewhat ambiguous.

Afterwards I emailed the Boulder Ranger district office, and they confirmed that the closure expired at the end of 2011 and the trails are indeed officially open to foot traffic.

This being May, I found the trails around 10,000 feet were draped with deep drifts of snow, which you can either bypass, or sink into up to your shins. My shoes were soon full of slush, my legs chilled. It was lots and lots of this:

Verdict: not ready for running yet.

If you can find a trail with more exposure it would probably be clear.

The silence was total up high. As I wandered through and around the drifts, through gnarled pines and seemingly landscaped dwarf tree groves, featherweight graupel began to fall, making faint "pok" sounds as it hit my jacket.

After a while however, the slogging over and around drifts became tiresome, and I still had a ways to go to treeline (which would have been the next arbitrary goal to reach), so I turned around and headed back down.

This is back down on the road, near the I was exploring right before seeing the moose.

After I got back to the car, I shed the pack and headed out on Sourdough for a few, pausing for a snack and to wait out the latest wave of rain and sleet.

At this point the only other vehicle was a van from Oregon with bikes and hula hoops on the back (were people sleeping inside?).

The Sourdough trail is pleasant, winding back up a ridge through lodgepole forest. It passes a mine, with a small area of broken pots and rusted cans. No telling what year they were from. Pretty lonely out there around dusk, so I turned around as it was getting dark.

I headed out a 3rd time for a short run with my camera for shots of the glowing sky. I was still psyched from seeing the moose, happy to be out, and the sky perfectly reflected that mood.

Distance was 17.25 miles, time 5:23 (moving 3:45), elevation gain/loss 1,986 feet, avg. pace 18:46 (moving 13:04), and best pace 7:17. Elevation between 9,193 and 10,412 feet.

That's ridiculously slow, but I just plain spent a lot of time messing around and having fun, stopping to enjoy everything.

The winter gate opens some time in June. But I liked having the place to myself, at the small price of some sweat and effort that I was going to expend anyway.

Moose Made My Day

My Sunday started out poorly, with me oversleeping, on a day with predicted typical thundershower cycle in the mountains (i.e starting around noon). I basically had screwed myself out of any sort of outing above treeline.

I got rolling as soon as I could, and headed up to the Indian Peaks (Sourdough/Rainbow Lakes area), and some running on high-altitude forest roads was done.

As I was heading back, I recognized the turn in the road where I had seen a moose cow and calf last summer, as they dashed into the woods near dark. I stopped for a look and found some bark missing from fallen aspens, and some poop that looked like this.

To my amazement, just a couple of minutes later I heard a huge CRASH! in the woods and trampling of trees and bushes. I carefully walked down the road, and when I stopped and looked into the woods, I saw this:

You can see the calf on the right, and mom is much better hidden on the left, with both looking right at me. I took a couple of steps closer and they bolted.

It's too much of a coincidence for this to be another pair of animals. I'm sure it's the same cow and calf (which was much smaller last year).

Moose are not that common here, and I feel very lucky. And good to see mom and child are doing well, and I hope I didn't spook them too much.

Awesome.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Thursday - I walked along a drainage canal in Arvada at noon. Can you tell the difference between paint over graffiti, and paintings that sell for thousands of dollars in galleries? I have an MFA, and I can't.

In the evening, a rare crummy run... at least the ending, which was cut short (6.6 miles) because my quads were still hurting from Tuesday's faster outing. I just want to heal and get back to what I'm doing, so I walked the remaining 1.7 miles back.

Tree arch along Bear Creek:

Friday - I took a lakeside lunch break, as did this heron:

I was irked about cutting the prior day's run short, so I got out again at super-slow pace along Ralston Creek, to take it easy on the quads. Rain was closing in, and I decided not to push it too much so I called it at 8 miles.

I'm really enjoying the ability to run singletrack that is traffic-free and faster than mountain climbs, which these river trails provide. And they still offer more visual interest than streets or concrete. I've not given up the foothill trails, it's just nice to have options where I can spend two hours and actually get some miles in. I can also run after dark on the nice smooth path nearby.

Saturday - Crap weather in the morning, and I holed up inside while it rained all day.

About 3 PM things started to clear up, and eventually I got to enjoy this weather during a street ride on the MTB in the hood (way too muddy for trails; I made the mistake of walking on one, and had mud on my tires and shoes for the rest of the ride):

Interesting sound and visuals in this video, but I'm not sure I'd stray far from a public trailhead with Miss Psychedelic-trance-baby-mumbles and friends:


As for this, well it's just damned good:


The May 19th Saturday Night Live was great. I only caught bits, so I need to go back and finish watching. The Digital Short was hilarious as usual.