Green

From dirt pulloff below the Gregory TH (the gate to the TH was closed due to the snow), Baseline, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Ranger, Gregory.

Started at 12:24 pm. Several inches of new snow today. With the slower conditions and no desire to go hard, I just took it easy on this outing. Ran into Tom K and Kirsten as they were coming down Greenman and chatted for a few minutes. Then topped out to find Jeff and Allison V and Sierra on the summit. Thought they had started earlier, so it was a nice surprise to run into them. Joined them for the hike down.

0:00 - dirt pulloff
3:46 - Baseline/Amph
15:02 - Amph/Saddle Rock
37:07 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
1:07:14 - Green summit
1:12:28 - started down
2:08:06 - dirt pulloff

StreakOrangeC

South Boulder, Bear

From South Mesa TH. Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; over to Bear; down Fern, upper North Shanahan, Mesa, Big Bluestem, Mesa.

Started at 3:31 pm. Running comfortably on the approach to Shadow Canyon, I thought I had a pretty good run going. In the canyon itself, I may have run more than I've ever run. Of course, in order to do that, I may not have been working as hard as possible when I was hiking. Ran quite a bit above the saddle as well. Good to get under an hour, as that's rare for me, but I thought this would be a little faster.

Stopped briefly on the summit, then continued over to Bear, scrambling up the west face. Another brief stop on Bear, then headed down Fern. Felt really clumsy coming down, trying to get down before it got dark. Bonked hard lower down, so ended up walking bits on the way back to the trailhead. Turned on the light a bit before turning onto Bluestem.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
15:50 - Towhee/Shadow
24:28 - Shadow/"Bridge"
52:28 - top of Shadow
59:20 - South Boulder
1:11:28 - Bear
1:34:24 - North Shanahan/Mesa
1:41:32 - Mesa/South Shanahan
1:46:14 - Mesa/Big Bluestem
1:56:05 - Big Bluestem/Mesa
2:02:14 - South Mesa TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 1:53 pm. Just felt like hiking easy today. Not really tired or anything. Just didn't care to work hard. Didn't run anything on the ascent. So casual that I spaced out taking my usual splits on the ascent.

0:00 - Gregory TH
52:27 - Green summit
58:01 - started down
1:25:28 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 9:46 am. Starting up, knew that Jeff V would be chasing me down at some point. Started out more conservatively than yesterday, which led to a much better overall effort and time. Caught sight of Jeff as he approached the spring on the Saddle Rock trail. Pushed hard to hold him off. He came by just below Saddle Rock and then was gone. Ran more than I've been running lately and managed to put in a good finish. Pretty pleased with this time. Ran down with Jeff.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:50 - Amph/Saddle Rock
23:31 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
41:52 - Green summit
46:10 - started down
1:10:24 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 12:32 pm. Took a long lunch break. Went out pretty hard on Amph. Pushed hard for a bit beyond, but then slacked off. Pushed hard again on the flats after the Greenman junction. But slacked off again after that. Ran well heading up the lower part of the wooden stairs, which I'm rarely able to run. Slacked off yet again on the final switchbacks. Was worked on the summit and felt like I should've had a much better time given how I felt. Ah well.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:18 - Amph/Saddle Rock
25:03 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
43:54 - Green summit
47:04 - started down
1:09:44 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Gregory, old logging/fire road with a couple variations, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down Greenman, Saddle Rock, Amph.

Started at 4:04 pm. Got out with Jeff V. Not able to push very hard today. Tired.

0:00 - Gregory TH
42:55 - Ranger/West Ridge
47:40 - Green summit
48:57 - started down
1:19:45 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green x 2

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same. Repeat.

Started at 9:31 am. A bit of fresh snow. Think I wanted to go hard on the first lap, but it didn't really happen. Then just felt awful on the second lap.

Ran into Kraig K just above the Greenman junction on my second lap, as he was heading down from his 100th summit of Green for the year. Stopped to chat with him for probably close to five minutes. Good to catch up with him. Sucks that he had such a rough year health-wise. Hope to see him getting after it again next year.

Coming down on my first lap, I'd passed Fabio S, who was heading up with his daughter. I didn't recognize him, but he recognized me from some trip reports (and maybe from past interactions on SummitPost). They were coming down as I continued on my second lap, and he introduced himself. We chatted for a few minutes. Was cool to meet him. I'd enjoyed much of his stuff on SP, but I haven't been on there much lately. I continued on to the summit, then hiked with them for a few more minutes after I caught them on the descent, chatting about a few adventures. Fun stuff!

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:40 - Amph/Saddle Rock
25:21 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
47:32 - Green summit
48:46 - started down
1:15:49 - Gregory TH
1:16:06 - Gregory TH
1:28:58 (12:52) - Amph/Saddle Rock
2:20:11 (1:04:05) - Green summit
2:22:49 (1:06:43) - started down
2:53:00 (1:36:54) - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:51 am. Knew before starting out that this would mostly be a hike. Just couldn't get the legs going. That's OK. I had plenty of days like this earlier in the year training for Hardrock.

At the trailhead, there was a sign indicating that a mama bear with two cubs had been sighted in the area yesterday. I was on the alert initially but forgot about it probably half way up Amph. On the way down the Saddle Rock trail near the 1st/2nd Flatiron trail junction, I heard and then saw the bears just below - right on the trail at the wooden "boardwalk." I stopped and just waited, as the cubs had already run down into the adjacent ravine and the mama had moved off the trail. I looked to traverse the hillside above the trail, but it looked nasty, so I just waited a bit more. I saw the cubs walking away on the other side of the ravine, but the mama was still by the trail. I took a few steps down the trail, and the mama turned down into the ravine. I waited until I saw her climbing out on the other side of the ravine, then boogied on down the trail. Awesome to see bears out there! I think this is the third time I've seen bears on a run this year.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:59 - Amph/Saddle Rock
27:59 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
49:10 - Green summit
51:18 - started down
1:16:49 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down Greenman, Northeast Ridge, Saddle Rock, Amph.

Started at 6:42 am. Not very energetic, so mostly a hike.

0:00 - Gregory TH
20:03 - Gregory/Ranger
47:08 - Ranger/West Ridge
52:12 - Green summit
55:43 - started down
1:20:44 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down Greenman, Northeast Ridge, Saddle Rock, Amph.

Started at 6:58 am. Not a lot of pep so lots of hiking.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:23 - Amph/Saddle Rock
26:21 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
47:05 - Green summit
1:11:26 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 2:21 pm. On the way to the TH, I was mentally not wanting to work hard today. Sure enough, just a minute or so up Gregory, I switched to walking and did that most of the way up Gregory. On the flats approaching the Ranger junction, I got an itch and ran hard to the junction. Walked a bit, then ran hard to the cabin. Continued this way up to Greenman Spring. At that point, there was a guy hiking at a decent pace ahead of me. I didn't want to be a dork and sprint by him, only to slow down and walk, so I just hiked some 30 seconds or so behind him. On the last few switchbacks, I decided to jog and figured I'd catch him, but all of a sudden he was out of sight. He must've kicked it in a bit. I turned it on hard for the last two switchbacks and started up the summit boulder just as he topped out on it.

0:00 - Gregory TH
21:39 - Gregory/Ranger
??:?? - Ranger/Greenman
37:29 - Greenman/Saddle Rock
59:38 - Green summit
1:05:09 - started down
1:44:14 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green attempt with Mia

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, to the "lookout over Boulder"; down the same.

Mia hadn't hiked up Green from the bottom yet, but I figured she'd manage it just fine. I'd thought about taking her up many times throughout the year, and she was enthusiastic about heading up this day.

Mia started out great and was cruising up Amph. I encouraged her to take it easy and slow down a few times, as she even jogged a couple of short sections. Heck, many days I don't jog any of Amph. Anyway, I was impressed with how she did up Amph, and we took a short break at the top.

Moving on, things slowed down quickly. Her motivation had waned. She was bummed because she didn't want to disappoint me, but she didn't want to go on. We pressed on to the rock outcropping that provides the great view of Boulder and took a break there. Ate a bunch of snacks and decided to head down. While we were there, two of Mia's former preschool teachers, Cecilia and Laura, came hiking up and recognized Mia immediately. We enjoyed chatting with them for a few minutes.

On the way down, we stopped at the lower rock outcropping on the Saddle Rock trail and hung out there for a while in the sun.

We went swimming right after hiking, then went to Zoo Lights in the evening. Mia still had plenty of energy for those activities. Just need to figure out how to keep her motivated on these hikes.

0:00 - Gregory TH
19:58 - Amph/Saddle Rock
55:57 - "lookout over Boulder"
2:13:54 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Treadmill

35:00 - all at 1% incline

12:00 @ 5 mph
18:00 @ 7 mph
5:00 @ 5 mph

StreakYellowC

Green

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down Greenman, Saddle Rock, Amph.

Started at 6:19 am. First time I've hauled my lazy butt out of bed for a run before work since June 25th! Ack! Also my first time in Microspikes this season. Pulled them on above the cabin, and kept them on all the way back to the trailhead. Would've been fine without them, although some ice is forming here and there. Crossed paths with Tony K below Greenman spring on my descent, then saw Jeff V at the trailhead getting ready to head up. Bit cold and windy on Ranger, but otherwise a nice morning to be out.

0:00 - Gregory TH
19:55 - Gregory/Ranger
46:18 - Ranger/West Ridge
51:14 - Green summit
53:08 - started down
1:16:34 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down Greenman, Saddle Rock, Amph.

Started at 1:58 pm. Ran into Max N and Laila (?) a bit below the Gregory/Ranger and stopped to say hi. Snow on Ranger was a bit slippery which slowed me up a bit. Felt solid on the descent, even without traction, but there were a few slick spots.

0:00 - Gregory TH
19:21 - Gregory/Ranger
44:11 - Ranger/West Ridge
49:02 - Green summit
52:10 - started down
1:17:28 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down the same.

Started at 9:36 am. With Jeff V. Started out hiking with Rick C while Jeff moved Rick's car. Jeff caught us about 6 minutes or so up Gregory, and Jeff and I jogged ahead of Rick. Ran a fair bit of Ranger, but walked a few sections. Snowy, but not too slippery this morning. Jaime Y had jogged past Rick and I near the bottom of Gregory. We introduced ourselves on the summit. Stopped to chat with Tony K as we crossed paths on Gregory on our descent. Then chatted with Rick C again near the Ranger/Greenman junction. Felt surprisingly decent on the descent, probably only because Jeff was taking it easy on me.

0:00 - Gregory TH
46:44 - Ranger/West Ridge
51:53 - Green summit
57:28 - started down
1:30:21 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 1:31 pm. Not very motivated to go hard. Just wanted to get out. Ran into Mike P on the Saddle Rock trail and chatted with him for a few minutes (didn't stop the clock). Pushed a bit near the top just to sneak in under 50.

Ankle was tender from rolling it yesterday, so took it really easy on the descent.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:46 - Amph/Saddle Rock
29:28 - Saddle Rock/Greenman (includes a few minutes chatting with Mike P)
49:58 - Green summit
1:00:07 - started down
1:29:59 - Gregory TH

WaveAscend

Green

From Chautauqua, Baseline, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down Greenman, Northeast Ridge, off trail down to 1st/2nd Flatiron trail, Chautauqua.

Started at 9:08 am. With Jeff V. I felt pretty sluggish this day, which meant Jeff was in for a really slow outing for him. He didn't seem to mind, and I had a great time catching up with him.

On the descent, Jeff took off as he wanted to really test out the Hokas that he was borrowing. I pushed pretty hard trying to not lose too much ground to him. The result was a rolled ankle a few switchbacks down (after not rolling my ankle all year, I think). Pretty good one, too. I was able to continue running down pretty hard after the initial pain wore off, though.

I tried on the Hokas after we got back down to Chautauqua. Jogged in them for just a couple minutes. Would like to get a pair of these. Think the cushy ride would be easy on the feet, legs, joints, etc, when getting out day after day.

0:00 - Chautauqua
5:43 - Baseline/Amph
14:08 - Amph/Saddle Rock
30:34 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
51:00 - Green summit
52:28 - started down
1:20:14 - Chautauqua

StreakOrangeC

Treadmill

61:00 - all at 1% incline

15:00 @ 4 mph
36:00 @ 5 mph
10:00 @ 6 mph

StreakYellowC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same (maybe NE Ridge).

Started at 1:06 pm. Yesterday's trip up Green was depressing. Had no energy whatsoever. Today was very satisfying. The times aren't what they were back in June, but I thought I'd lost even more fitness, so this felt good.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:26 - Amph/Saddle Rock
23:56 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
43:07 - Green summit
47:56 - started down
1:12:52 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From the dirt pulloff before the Gregory TH road, Baseline, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same (maybe NE Ridge) to the Gregory TH, then down the road to the dirt pulloff.

Started at 11:44 am. Just nothing in the tank on this day. Glad I didn't run the Basic today, as that would've been miserable the way I was feeling.

0:00 - Baseline Rd (dirt pulloff)
3:06 - Baseline/Amph
12:10 - Amph/Saddle Rock
30:22 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
54:12 - Green summit
57:57 - started down
1:25:43 - Gregory TH
1:27:14 - Baseline Rd

StreakOrangeC

South Boulder, Bear, Green

From South Mesa TH, Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; over to Bear; Bear West Ridge, Green-Bear, Green West Ridge, Green; down Greenman, NE Ridge, trail down to 1st/2nd Flatiron trail, down to Chautauqua.

Started at 1:38 pm. Planned to do the peaks and return to South Mesa, but I wimped out and called for a "rescue" from Chautauqua. Pretty wasted after this.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
16:19 - Towhee/Shadow
25:44 - Shadow/"bridge"
1:00:56 - top of Shadow
1:09:46 - South Boulder
1:24:19 - Bear
1:47:04 - Bear West Ridge/Green-Bear
2:06:03 - Green-Bear/Green West Ridge
2:11:34 - Green
2:46:38 - Chautauqua

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, NE Ridge, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 5:35 pm.

0:00 - Gregory TH
? - Amph/Saddle Rock
24:38 - Saddle Rock/NE Ridge
35:31 - NE Ridge/Greenman
44:50 - Green summit
49:10 - started down
1:17:26 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down Greenman, NE Ridge, Saddle Rock, Amph.

Started at 5:29 pm.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:52 - Amph/Saddle Rock
27:30 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
49:15 - Green summit
52:57 - started down
1:19:26 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

South Boulder

From South Mesa TH, Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; down the same.

Started at 1:40 pm. Been battling a bit of a cold, but I had to get out. Didn't seem to bother me on the ascent, but I had a few coughing fits coming down.

Jogged the entire approach to Shadow Canyon. Hiked the entire canyon. Ran longer than usual above the saddle before being reduced to hiking.

Jogged/walked down very casually. Wanted to take it easy on my foot, so didn't run the steeper or more technical sections. Also cleared a lot of rocks in Shadow on the descent.

Right foot is still very painful at times. When running, it really only bothers me when I step on a rock that puts pressure on the right spot or twists my foot. Hurts much worse day to day just walking around at home or at work. One of these days I'll get it checked out.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
17:16 - Towhee/Shadow
26:29 - Shadow/"Bridge"
59:15 - top of Shadow
1:06:49 - South Boulder
1:10:00 - started down
2:03:30 - South Mesa TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 5:26 pm. Didn't run anything on the ascent. Just didn't care to run. Slow descent, taking it easy on the foot and clearing lots of rocks from the trail.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:30 - Amph/Saddle Rock
26:30 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
47:40 - Green summit
54:06 - started down
1:32:31 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:06 pm. Worked pretty hard on the ascent. Was somewhat pleased with the time, given how little I've been getting out. Slow descent as it got dark on me. Even with the Fenix, running the steep, technical stuff is tough in the dark.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:08 - Amph/Saddle Rock
23:24 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
41:48 - Green summit
47:17 - started down
1:15:34 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:17 pm. Slow descent with much of it in the dark (did have my Fenix light, though).

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:38 - Amph/Saddle Rock
24:50 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
44:01 - Green summit
47:44 - started down
1:17:07 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Longs

Climbed Longs up/down the Cables with Bill W. Bill had biked up Evans in the morning (which explains the slower pace for this outing), so we didn't start up until 1:49 pm.

Used the approach variations that have become common for us of late. On the Jims Grove trail, we were informed by a party that we passed that a hiker had just died on the Ledges of the Keyhole route. Hard for me to put that out of my mind.

This party also bailed off the Cables route due to snow and ice. We'd brought only a 30m rope, harnesses, and a few slings, but I didn't worry as I had Bill along to get us up it.

We continued up to the Boulderfield, anxious to get a look at the North Face. Didn't really look too bad, so up we went. Stopped to don more clothing and our harnesses before entering the cold shadows of the North Face.

When we got to the Cables pitch, it didn't look too bad from the bottom. However, the top part had a dusting of snow covering the polished slabs, which was pretty exciting for Bill leading, and me following, in just approach/running shoes. With the 30m rope, we had to simul-climb a bit, as the pitch is probably around 40-45m.

Stashed the rope and packs above the Cables pitch and continued to the summit. Back down at the Cables, I rapped 30m, which allowed me to barely reach the eye bolt near the lower crux. I put a sling on the bolt and used that to help me down climb a few feet to a good stance, then down climbed from there. Bill rapped 15m, down climbed a bit, rapped another 15m, and I think that got him down the pitch.

Hiked out to the Jims Grove trail, from where we ran much of the remaining descent.

0:00 - trailhead
15:46 - hitting the main trail after the initial shortcut trail
3:04:58 - Longs summit
5:20:57 - trailhead

StreakBlueA

Indiana, Rock Creek, Coalton

From home, down Bristol, left on Indiana, right on Rock Creek, right on Coalton, right on Indiana, back to Bristol, back home.

Started at 7:03 pm. Mia biked along as I ran. She did a fantastic job! Having her along slowed things down a few times but overall had me running harder than I would have without her. Mia talked non-stop for much of the run/ride, but I couldn't manage much conversation (didn't help that I was pushing pretty hard right after eating dinner).

0:00 - home
24:21 - home

StreakOrangeC

South Boulder, Bear

From South Mesa TH, Mesa, Homestead, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; over to Bear; down the same.

Started at 3:37 pm. With Jeff V. Really dragged today, particularly when we hit Shadow. Legs and lungs were dead. A few water stops for Sierra on the up and down.

My right foot has been giving me some serious pain. Top of the foot, toward the outside, about in the middle front-to-back. Several days this week, I could not walk without a serious limp, presumably due to a couple of runs last weekend. Not sure when it started. Perhaps after pacing at Leadville?

The foot actually didn't hurt much at all on the way up today. Only a few times when stepping on a rock or whatever that would twist the foot/ankle more. Really bothered me on the down, though, with all the rocks and uneven surfaces. Was really favoring it.

Time to see a doctor, I think.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
18:12 - Towhee/Shadow
29:35 - Shadow/"Bridge"
1:03:26 - top of Shadow
1:12:02 - South Boulder
1:15:38 - started down
1:28:20 - Bear
1:29:57 - started down
2:17:05 - South Mesa TH

StreakOrangeC

Joe Mills Mtn, Mt Wuh

After Mia's feis at the Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival, I headed up to Bear Lake for a run and a couple of peaks.

Jogged/hiked up to the camp site just south of Joe Mills. Through the camp site and followed a faint trail up toward Joe Mills and shortly topped out. Took a few pics and started the bushwhack over to Wuh. Some of the going was relatively easy, some of it not so much. Seemed to take forever to finally reach the summit of Wuh. Dropped down directly from the summit of Wuh back toward the trail. Eventually picked up an old trail that trended a bit further north than I needed to go, but it was worth sticking with this reasonably decent trail. Worked my way back to the trail and boogied back down to Bear Lake.

2180 up (+22), 2200 down (-32), 3 laps, 3:07

2:44 pm, 9130 - started from Bear Lake TH
3:37, 10630 - Joe Mills
3:47, 10620 - started down
4:13, 9900 - low (Round Pond)
4:41, 10310 - Wuh
4:52, 10320 - started down
5:05, 9850 - low
5:27, 10060 - high, back on the trail
5:50, 9110 - finished

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 3:07 pm. My laziness has continued. Haven't been motivated to get up and out the door in the mornings before work. Started out easy on this since it'd been a while. Was pretty much just hiking the ascent, but the legs felt spry much of the way up, so on a few occasions, I got the urge to run hard, curiously up some of the steeper sections that I rarely run. This was fun, but my lungs protested each time, so it didn't take long to revert to a more moderate hiking pace. Good to get back out on Green.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:16 - Amph/Saddle Rock
24:50 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
44:10 - Green summit
1:01:43 - started down
1:26:12 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down Greenman, Northeast Ridge, Saddle Rock, Amph.

Started at 6:28 pm. After reading Scott Elliott's description of "four-step", "three-step", and "two-step" breathing, played around with this a bit on this run. Didn't do any "four-step" breathing. Did some "three-step" breathing early on, but eventually got working harder. Did a fair bit of "two-step" breathing. This actually kept me running much more of the ascent than I usually do. Pretty sure I was going "easier"/slower while running than when I'm hiking all out up some of this stuff. But interesting to see what happened when I aligned my breathing cadence and foot cadence - surprised myself to be running sections that I normally don't. When I'd switch to hiking, I found it more difficult to align the breathing. I'm sure it can work, but the slower cadence of the hike threw me off. Anyway, interesting to play with this. Of course, I think dropping 15 pounds would be much more effective in getting me up this hill faster than changing my breathing technique.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:33 - Amph/Saddle Rock
23:20 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
41:46 - Green summit
45:52 - started down
1:09:46 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 4:54 pm. Hiked most of this. Did run from Saddle Rock/Greenman to the spring, then some of the final switchbacks. Still worked pretty hard on the ascent, despite not running much. Ran the descent pretty hard, though. Well, some parts. Started out easy, but then picked it up. Took it a bit easier on the "flats." Amph pretty hard. Fun descent. Hadn't worked that hard on a descent in quite a while.

0:00 - Gregory TH
10:05 - Amph/Saddle Rock
27:19 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
46:51 - Green summit
56:41 - started down
1:20:06 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

South Boulder

From South Mesa TH, Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; down the same.

Started at 12:38 pm. Ran all but the steep hill on the road on the approach to Shadow Canyon. That had me pretty worked. Decided to back off on the effort entering the canyon, but I couldn't have done much more even if I'd wanted to. Have definitely lost some fitness and gained some weight.

Ran into Steph E, Kari F, Fred E, and Terri P on the summit, who'd come up from the west after trail work in the morning at Walker. Chatted with them, then jogged down to the saddle with them. Coming down Shadow, I stopped frequently to clear lots of loose rocks from the trail.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
15:54 - Towhee/Shadow
24:56 - Shadow/"Bridge"
57:23 - top of Shadow
1:04:22 - South Boulder
1:10:34 - started down
1:58:19 - South Mesa TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Chautauqua, Baseline, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down Greenman, Northeast Ridge, off trail down to 1st/2nd Flatiron trail, Chautauqua.

Started at 6:15 pm.

0:00 - Chautauqua
5:36 - Baseline/Amph
14:37 - Amph/Saddle Rock
31:44 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
51:58 - Green summit
1:06:38 - started down
1:40:56 - Chautauqua

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down Greenman, Ranger, old trail, Gregory.

Started at 4:07 pm. With Jeff V and George Z. With these guys leading the way, this was pretty much an all-out effort for me. Thought for sure I'd be under 40 given the amount of suffering involved, but clearly I've lost a bit of fitness (and gained a bit of weight) over the last four lazy weeks.

0:00 - Gregory TH
7:33 - Amph/Saddle Rock
22:31 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
41:22 - Green summit
45:50 - started down
1:17:29 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Branson run/walk

Not motivated, rain. Started out jogging in the morning with Lori, but just ended up walking around the campground at Indian Point.

Branson run

From Tribesman resort, Cave Ln, right on Table Rock Cir, left on Table Rock Cir, left on Heller Ln, right on Indian Ln, right on Table Rock Cir (14:30), right on Heller Ln, left on Table Rock Cir (26:22), Lori turned off at Cave Ln, I went back left on Table Rock Cir, looped all the way around it to Indian Ln (37:45), right on Cave Ln, back to Tribesman (40:44).

Started at 9:15 pm. With Lori.

Branson run

From Tribesman resort, Cave Ln, left on Table Rock Cir, right on Heller Ln, right on Indian Ln, right on Table Rock Cir (12:26), right on Heller Ln, right on Indian Ln, right on Table Rock Cir (20:28), right on Heller Ln, right on Indian Ln, left on Table Rock Cir (29:28), right on Cave Ln, back to Tribesman (32:46). Later measured the "laps" at just over a mile.

Started at 10:15 pm.

Branson run

Jog/hike from Tribesman resort, down to the lake, explored the trails along the lakeshore, then up and left onto Table Rock Cir, right on Heller Ln, right on Indian Ln, left on Table Rock Cir, right on Cave Ln, back to Tribesman.

Started around 8 pm (?). With Lori. 41:27

Longs - Cables/Keyhole

Decided to do Longs at the spur of the moment after packing up camp at Hermit Park. Driving to the trailhead, I could see that the summit was in the clouds, but I figured I'd just give it a go and turn back if the weather got nasty.

Got started at 12:43 pm. Took the initial shortcut trail. Hit the main trail and stayed on it through a right switchback and a left switchback rather than take the shortcut. Now on the long "flat" section, took the trail off to the right just before the creek crossing with the single log bridge. Followed this trail but lost it not far up. After I lost it, I basically headed straight up. Unfortunately, I think I had lost the trail when it headed hard left. Thus, I ended up way too far right. When I eventually saw a bowl open up above me and saw the Jims Grove bump way to my left, I made a long traverse back left and eventually intersected the trail heading up to Jims Grove. Ran into the Jims Grove privy where I headed hard left to reach the Jims Grove trail. Really screwed up this section and lost some time and motivation. Also had a pretty good rain shower through here.

Followed the Jims Grove trail up (shortcut the switchback) to the main trail below Granite Pass. Motivation probably waned more here and I slowed further. However, the rain had stopped. Crossed over the main trail and headed over the north ridge of Lady Washington into the Boulderfield. Had one helpful hiker here yell to me that I was "going the wrong way."

At the Boulderfield, I could see that the cloud level on the north face was around the top of the Cables. Also, clouds were backed up against the east face in the Chasm cirque. Hadn't heard any thunder, and the weather seemed OK despite the clouds, so I wasn't ready to turn back yet. Stayed far left in the Boulderfield, still trying to decide between the Cables and Keyhole routes. The further I got across the Boulderfield, still staying far left, I knew I was going for the Cables.

Worked my way up to the base of the Cables pitch on mostly dry rock. Wasn't working hard any more at this point. Just keeping moving. A small snowfield remained at the bottom of the pitch that required just two or three steps to cross.

Started up the pitch, and the early steep section had me stumped. The polished slab right in front of me was somewhat wet, and it took me a couple minutes to figure this section out. Moved up more easily above this on briefly dry rock, but then saw that the upper part of the pitch was completely wet. Stopped and briefly pondered turning back. But figured getting up the lower-angle wet rock above me would be easier than reversing the steeper moves below. Cautiously moved up the wet section and made the welcome exit move to the left.

Now above the difficulties, the stress was relieved, but motivation and energy was even lower, so I just took it easy continuing up (hard left and up actually). A few minutes later, I started feeling rain drops. Slowed occasionally to "listen" to the weather...and because I was tired. The rain picked up as I neared the summit, so I just tagged the top of the summit boulder and started down the Keyhole route without breaking stride.

The slabs of the Homestretch were wet and, well, slicker than usual, so I was very cautious descending. Passed a couple of guys heading down about halfway down the Homestretch, just as it started to hail. Pea-size hail continued as I crossed the Narrows and dropped into the Trough. Once in the Trough, the hail tapered off. I just continued down cautiously with everything now wet and covered with hail. Down the Trough, across the Ledges, and through the Keyhole. Picked up the pace slightly as I relaxed after the Keyhole, but I still wasn't feeling very energetic. Crossed the Boulderfield, back over the north ridge of Lady Washington, across the main trail, down the Jims Grove trail. Then continued down the shortcut trail below Jims Grove but messed it up again by not staying left all the way down. Ended up intersecting the main trail and following it down through several switchbacks, across the creek with the single log bridge, through the flat section, another couple switchbacks, then down the final shortcut trail, which I managed to screw up also.

So, not a particularly encouraging run given that I was pondering sub-3 for the roundtrip. Had plenty of route-finding issues. Weather was iffy, but it was nice and cool. Don't think I ate anything until I was in the Boulderfield, so that didn't help. Perhaps not fully recovered from Hardrock yet either. Hopefully haven't lost too much fitness. Would like to take another crack at this, but I'd need the Cables to dry out a bit more. The window of ideal conditions on the Cables pitch is just so short each summer.

Carried a handheld water bottle which was a pain on the Cables and upper Keyhole route (stuffed it in the back of my shorts when I needed both hands - might've been nice to have the Nathan pack). And had my GoLite windbreaker around my waist, which I put on briefly while it hailed. That was it for gear. Ate a package of Clif Shot Bloks and one S-Cap. Took one Gu just before starting up.

Suunto log: 4610 up (+35), 4600 down (-49), 1 lap, 3:47

0:00 - Longs Peak TH
10:17 - junction of the first shortcut trail with the main trail
19:24 - leaving the main trail on a shortcut before crossing the creek
59:57 - junction of the Jims Grove trail with the main trail
1:41:37 - bottom of the Cables pitch
1:50:59 - top of the Cables pitch (split taken just a bit above the top of the pitch)
2:03:54 - summit
3:10:55 - crossing the main trail heading for the Jims Grove trail
3:46:16 - Longs Peak TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Chautauqua, "middle" Baseline trails, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 12:22 pm. First outing post-Hardrock. Hot (upper? 90's). Felt quite spry over to Amphitheater. After jogging up almost to the Amphitheater itself, the effort was a bit more than I wanted on this day, so I hiked most of the up except for the flat section in the middle. Body felt pretty good for the most part. Feet still a bit achy.

0:00 - Chautauqua
5:56 - Baseline/Amph
14:23 - Amph/Saddle Rock
31:36 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
53:22 - Green summit
1:08:57 - started down
1:36:20 - Amph/Baseline
1:41:33 - Chautauqua

StreakOrangeC

Fairview field run

Ran for 45:00 on the field/turf at the Fairview HS track while at Mia's track and field camp. Started at 5:57 pm. Ran clockwise except when I turned to run with Mia on the second lap of her 800. Don't know how far this was. For the first few laps, I noticed that I was getting around the field in around 90 seconds. I think I kept a pretty consistent pace throughout the run until I picked it up for the final two laps.

StreakNavyA

Chautauqua run

From Chautauqua, McClintock, Enchanted Mesa, Kohler Mesa, Woods Quarry, Royal Arch (not up to the arch), Bluebell-Baird, Bluebell Mesa, Chautauqua.

Started at 7:34 pm. 53:17 total time for the run. Just wanted to get something moderate without significant climbing. After several days off, felt like I was working hard but not moving too fast jogging up Enchanted Mesa and Kohler Mesa. After that, walked most of the rest of the way, with some slow trotting on the downhills and flats.

Ran with two hand bottles just to try it out, but didn't like it. Will just stick with what I've been doing - one hand bottle plus a bottle in the Nathan.

MountainMasochistA

Missouri, Oxford, Belford

From the Missouri Gulch TH, trail all the way up Missouri, back down the same, then trail up to Elkhead Pass and then up toward Belford, over to Oxford, back and over Belford, down the main trail.

With Jeff V. Wanted to just take things pretty easy, but the pace is always a little higher when going with Jeff. Felt a few aches and pains throughout the day (left plantar, right achilles, both knees - nothing major, I think), so we opted out of Iowa, Emerald, Pecks. Time to rest and heal up before Hardrock.

6910 up (+33), 6930 down (-69), 4 laps, 5:27

7:22 am, 9610 - started
7:30, 9920
7:40, 10390
7:50, 10790
8:00, 11230
8:10, 11470
8:20, 11750
8:30, 12080
8:40, 12340
8:50, 12620
9:00, 12990
9:10, 13420
9:11, 13450
9:12, 13500
9:13, 13560
9:14, 13590
9:15, 13600 - high on the ridge, a few minutes after reaching the ridge
9:16, 13570
9:17, 13530 - low
9:18, 13560
9:19, 13600
9:20, 13620
9:21, 13610
9:22, 13630
9:23, 13620
9:24, 13640
9:25, 13670
9:26, 13680
9:27, 13720 - Missouri
9:28, 13720
9:29, 13720
9:30, 13720
9:31, 13720
9:32, 13710
9:33, 13710
9:34, 13710 - started down
9:35, 13690
9:36, 13600
9:37, 13610
9:38, 13590
9:39, 13600
9:40, 13600
9:41, 13560
9:42, 13520
9:43, 13540
9:44, 13550
9:45, 13570
9:46, 13550
9:47, 13480
9:48, 13430
9:49, 13400
9:50, 13340
10:00, 12690
10:01, 12610
10:02, 12540
10:03, 12430
10:04, 12380
10:05, 12330 - low at junction/creek, getting water
10:06, 12330
10:07, 12340
10:08, 12360
10:09, 12390
10:10, 12420
10:20, 12710
10:30, 13040
10:40, 13390
10:50, 13740 - high, starting over toward Oxford
10:51, 13710
10:52, 13620
10:53, 13550
10:54, 13450
10:55, 13370
10:56, 13320
10:57, 13270
10:58, 13200 - low
10:59, 13200
11:00, 13220
11:01, 13260
11:02, 13290
11:03, 13360
11:04, 13400
11:05, 13410
11:06, 13450
11:07, 13490
11:08, 13540
11:09, 13570
11:10, 13610
11:11, 13650
11:12, 13690
11:13, 13710
11:14, 13740
11:15, 13770
11:16, 13820 - Oxford
11:17, 13830
11:18, 13810
11:19, 13810
11:20, 13810
11:21, 13810
11:22, 13810
11:23, 13800
11:24, 13800
11:25, 13800
11:26, 13800
11:27, 13810 - started back
11:28, 13760
11:29, 13680
11:30, 13630
11:31, 13560
11:32, 13470
11:33, 13410
11:34, 13360
11:35, 13270
11:36, 13220
11:37, 13210 - low
11:38, 13210
11:39, 13240
11:40, 13270
11:41, 13300
11:42, 13320
11:43, 13360
11:44, 13400
11:45, 13440
11:46, 13460
11:47, 13510
11:48, 13560
11:49, 13590
11:50, 13620
11:51, 13660
11:52, 13710
11:53, 13750
11:54, 13780
11:55, 13780
11:56, 13810
11:57, 13840 - Belford
11:58, 13830
11:59, 13830
12:00 pm, 13830
12:01, 13830 - started down
12:02, 13800
12:03, 13760
12:04, 13710
12:05, 13620
12:06, 13510
12:07, 13420
12:08, 13310
12:09, 13220
12:10, 13130
12:20, 12130
12:30, 11300
12:40, 10490
12:48, 9590 - finished

StreakBlueA

Green

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:02 am. Met Megan F at the trailhead to pick up a Fenix light. She was meeting Justin S for a run up Gregory/Long to Green. Sheri W also drove up just before I headed up Gregory with Megan and Justin. Sheri headed up Saddle Rock/Greenman. At the cabin, I opted to head up Ranger rather than Long. Mostly casual trip to the top of Green, although I did push/run for a bit above the cabin and then at the start of the West Ridge. Hung out on top for a bit, and Sheri arrived a couple of minutes after me. She was headed down Ranger/Gregory, so I tagged along with her for the less steep descent.

0:00 - Gregory TH
22:40 - Gregory/Ranger
48:09 - Ranger/West Ridge
52:36 - Green summit
1:29:14 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Green

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down Greenman, Saddle Rock, Amphitheater.

Started at 6:41 am. Mostly a hike this morning. Jogged a bit in Gregory, but walked everything above the cabin.

0:00 - Gregory TH
20:52 - Gregory/Ranger
47:50 - Ranger/West Ridge
52:51 - Green summit
54:32 - started down
1:22:05 - Gregory TH

StreakNavyA

South Boulder (PR)

From South Mesa TH, Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; down the same.

Started at 5:59 am. With my recent PR improvements on Green, I've been wanting to see what I could do on South Boulder. So, I was planning to work hard from the start, yet not go out too hard. Ran a great time for me on Towhee, and this actually felt pretty conservative. I then went too hard on the road, especially on the steep hill. I was gasping for air as I rolled onto the flats. Not smart. Going up the canyon, I was paying for this, as I wasn't running sections that I ran during my 5/6 PR. I also found my mind wandering going up the canyon, which meant I wasn't keeping the effort high. Turns out I was 1:03 ahead of my 5/6 PR at the bottom of the canyon but only 0:10 ahead at the top of the canyon. Fortunately, there was a bit left in the tank. At the saddle, I really upped the effort, running hard and fast until I could no longer and then hung on hiking hard to the top. Enjoyed a nice break up top before jogging down on noodly legs. Ran into Sheri W and Kirsten near the top of Shadow.

PR up South Boulder by 47 seconds. Previous PR was 57:32 on 5/6/10. Initially I was a bit disappointed by my time, as I thought I had a chance to dip under 55, but I'm feeling good about the PR now.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
15:24 - Towhee/Shadow (0:38 ahead of 5/6 PR)
23:11 - Shadow/"Bridge" (1:03 ahead of 5/6 PR)
50:36 - top of Shadow (0:10 ahead of 5/6 PR)
56:45 - South Boulder (PR!) (0:47 ahead of 5/6 PR)
1:07:56 - started down
1:46:25 - South Mesa TH

StreakNavyA

Elbert, Massive

Climbed Mount Elbert via the northeast ridge from the (North) Mount Elbert TH. Started out easy, just hiking until the Colorado Trail crests, where I jogged easy for a bit down to the Mount Elbert trail junction. Jogged the flat section of the Mount Elbert trail, but otherwise just hiked to the summit. Managed to just dip under 2 hours for the climb with a little hustling over the last hundred yards or so. Had the summit all to myself. Stayed for 15 minutes (nobody else arrived in that time), then jogged down at an easy pace.

Back at the trailhead, refueled a bit and picked up more food and water and headed out. Jogged the road to the Mount Massive TH (probably under a half mile) and headed up. Managed to run a fair bit of the Colorado Trail, still maintaining an easy effort. Seemed to take forever to reach the Mount Massive trail. Mostly hiked from there to the summit. A little bit of snow to deal with but didn't really slow me much. Wind really picked up above the saddle so had to make a quick stop for a long sleeve shirt and hat. Wasn't looking at my watch as I thought I was easily going to get under 2:30 for the climb. A few minutes from the summit, I finally glanced at it and saw that I was already over 2:30. Oh well. Might've pushed a bit if I had known where I was, but there were a lot of people on the narrow, snowy ridge, so I probably wouldn't have bothered.

Hung out on top for maybe 10 minutes. Pulled on my windbreaker as it was cold and windy up there. Got up to start over to North Massive, and the wind was even colder, so I pulled on some long pants before heading out. Went over Massive Green, then heard voices as I dropped to the saddle. Finally noticed two people sitting in the saddle. When I arrived, this mother and her teenage son asked if I knew where we were. They had come up from the west, weren't too thrilled with their route, and just wanted the best way back down to the trailhead. I explained where we were and then suggested that the best option was to continue over the summit of Massive and down to the southwest slopes trail/route. I told them I'd be coming back over the summit of Massive after heading over to North Massive and could help them find their way if necessary.

I continued over to North Massive, looking back a couple of times to see them heading up toward Massive. Returned to Massive and then down to the southwest slopes trail junction and was quite surprised to not see any other folks on the summit or on the ridge. Curious if the mother and son were headed down the southwest slopes, I decided to go that way and jog the Halfmoon road back to the Elbert TH. I slowly jogged down this rocky, technical trail, occasionally scanning for the mother and son. I never saw them. Not sure what they did, but I suspect they went over the summit of Massive and then didn't follow the ridge far enough to intersect the trail, instead heading down some steep, loose gully on the west face. Hope things went alright for them.

Got down to the North Halfmoon TH and jogged on. I felt quite good jogging down this road, which seemed to go up more than down. At one point I caught up to a Westfalia, and he pulled over to let me go by. Jogged most of the road but eventually walked near the top of a small hill. At the crest of this hill, I saw the Mount Massive TH just down the road so kicked it in for the final half mile back to the Elbert TH.

Good day with maybe 10,000' of climbing and 25-ish (?) miles. More importantly, finally got up high and felt decent. Kept the effort easy for the most part on the day.

Ate a package of Clif Shot Bloks and a few mixed nuts and drank two 20 oz bottles on Elbert. Ate a cup of applesauce and drank maybe 16 oz of water at the TH. Ate a package of Clif Shot Bloks and a few mixed nuts and drank two 20 oz bottles and an Ensure on Massive. Maybe a half dozen S-Caps on the day, probably fewer. Pretty light on fuel on the day, but I felt good with it. Perhaps because I'd eaten a ton of pasta/bread on Friday.

Elbert (started at 6:04 am):

0:00 - Mount Elbert TH
19:40 - Colorado Trail/Mount Elbert trail
1:59:43 - Mount Elbert summit
2:14:54 - started down
3:14:00 - Mount Elbert TH

Massive (started at 9:33 am):

0:00 - Mount Elbert TH
4:29 - Mount Massive TH
49:20 - Colorado Trail/Mount Massive trail
2:34:02 - Mount Massive summit
3:31:56 - North Massive summit (taken 1-2 minutes late)
6:02:56 - Mount Elbert TH

StreakOrangeC

Green (PR), Flagstaff

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Ranger, Realization Point TH, Ute, off trail to Flagstaff summit; Flagstaff, Crown Rock, Gregory.

Started at 6:38 am. Still didn't get caught up on sleep, but I felt much, much better out of the gate this morning. So, when I got to Amph/Saddle Rock in decent time, I thought I'd see what I could do compared to last week's "soft" PR (soft because it included the time that JV was buckled over in pain). Knew the time at Saddle Rock/Greenman was good so tried to not let up. Kept on the gas pretty hard all the way up, alternating running and hiking as usual. Knew I had the PR through the final switchbacks. 38:38!

Needless to say, this PR was very satisfying. Kraig K had sown the seed for sub-39 back on March 2nd. I thought that would be a stretch, but perhaps a nice goal to shoot for. After this morning, I'm thinking I could get under 38 on the right day.

Took it easy down Ranger and over to Flagstaff. Ran into Tony K and Scott J jogging up Ranger. Felt really clumsy on the downhills this morning.

PR by 58 seconds. Previous "soft" PR was 39:36 on 6/9/10. I'd set a PR of 41:32 on 6/15/09, just over a year ago.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:09 - Amph/Saddle Rock
21:42 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
38:38 - Green summit (PR!)
45:35 - started down
1:10:53 - Flagstaff summit
1:28:22 - Gregory TH

MountainMasochistA

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:31 am. Sluggish again this morning. Hoping this is due to a lack of sleep. Several times I just wanted to stop and take a seat on a rock.

0:00 - Gregory TH
10:40 - Amph/Saddle Rock
28:29 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
51:06 - Green summit
57:56 - started down
1:27:50 - Gregory TH

MountainMasochistA

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Green-Bear, Bear Canyon, Mesa, Bluebell-Baird, Gregory TH.

Started at 6:29 am. Neither legs nor lungs wanted to work this morning, so I just planned to hike it easy. Just above the 1st/2nd Flatiron trail junction, I saw Kraig K coming from that direction. He caught me shortly, and we chatted for a while continuing up. I started working a bit harder, and I guess it was enough for Kraig to not feel the need to go on ahead. I planned to head over to Flagstaff, but Kraig was headed down Bear Canyon, so I decided to join him. Still fairly wet and muddy in Bear and on the Mesa trail from the weekend rain.

0:00 - Gregory TH
11:10 - Amph/Saddle Rock
29:38 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
47:20 - Green summit
1:46:29 - Gregory TH

MountainMasochistA

Green, Bear, South Boulder

From Chautauqua, Baseline, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; Green West Ridge, Green-Bear, Bear West Ridge, Bear; South Boulder; Shadow, "Bridge", Mesa.

Started at 11:25 am. Managed to squeeze this one in between the rain. Don't think I got rained on at all during this run. But the amount of water in the creeks and on the trails was remarkable. Probably the wettest I've seen these trails. Felt about the same as yesterday - good, not great. Interesting that my times for these runs were almost identical.

0:00 - Chautauqua
7:06 - Baseline/Amph (muddy)
16:33 - Amph/Saddle Rock
(dup) - Saddle Rock/Greenman
53:30 - Green
1:37:31 - Bear
1:51:07 - South Boulder
3:13:02 - Chautauqua

StreakOrangeB

Green, Bear, South Boulder

From South Mesa TH, Mesa, Bluestem, Mesa, Bear Canyon, Green-Bear, Green West Ridge, Green; Green West Ridge, Green-Bear, Bear West Ridge, Bear; South Boulder; Shadow, Mesa.

Started at 6:28 am. Rainy weekend. It drizzled lightly for this entire run. Tried to run with tunes, but my waterlogged headphones ceased working about half an hour into the run. Sorta like the tunes, but it's another thing to dork around with on the run. Felt pretty good on this run but not great.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
1:27:46 - Green
2:16:37 - Bear
2:30:28 - South Boulder
3:12:58 - South Mesa TH

StreakBlueB

Green (PR)

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 5:33 am. Met Jeff V this morning. Got there a bit early so did some quick strides up Gregory, then Amphitheater, then Bluebell-Baird until I was gasping for air on each. Figured it was going to be a hard (PR) effort this morning (casual for Jeff) so might as well get a little warm-up in so that the legs didn't feel so dead at the start.

Jeff asked if I wanted to go hard or at a conversational pace as he headed across the bridge from the trailhead. I said something to the effect that it was going to be easy for him and hard for me. I then started my watch at the trailhead and chased after him. Jeff had waited up for me at the Baseline/Amph junction (to start the clock there). When I got there, he started up and immediately his left leg slipped out (on pine needles or loose dirt), and he nearly went down. He stopped, buckled over in pain. At first, I thought he might just be joking, but he said the slip drove his right knee into his chest. He was indeed in a lot of pain, but he continued up the trail after the initial shock wore off.

Up Amphitheater we go. Even in pain, Jeff was just jogging along seemingly effortlessly as I alternated running and hiking, huffing and puffing and sweating buckets. Looking at my split at the Saddle Rock junction, I knew this was going to be a good time given that we lost some time with Jeff's slip. Continued up Saddle Rock, mostly hiking for me but running when I could. Jeff was the perfect "rabbit" to keep me chasing hard. Ran pretty hard through the "flats" at the start of Greenman, then back to mostly hiking but running a few sections that I normally don't on my hardest efforts. Up the log steps, then the mini-switchbacks, then I tried to keep a run going to the summit from there. Walked a couple of times through there but didn't let off the gas to the top of the summit boulder. 39:36! (Jeff had a "post to post" time of 38:47 for me.)

PR by 48 seconds. Previous PR was 40:24 on 5/5/10.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:15 - Amph/Saddle Rock
22:43 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
39:36 - Green summit (PR!)
42:43 - started down
1:11:24 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeC

Double Boulder Skyline Traverse

South Boulder, Bear, Green, Flagstaff, Red Rocks, Sanitas, Red Rocks, Flagstaff, Green, Bear, South Boulder

From South Mesa TH, Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; over to Bear; down Bear West Ridge, Green-Bear, Green West Ridge, Green; down Green West Ridge, Ranger, Realization Point TH, Ute, off trail to Flagstaff summit; down Flagstaff to Panorama Point, View Point to Eben G. Fine, Red Rocks trail, Red Rocks; down Red Rocks trail, up south ridge trail to Sanitas; back the same.

Started at 6:45 am. Pretty tired legs from yesterday's run as I started out. And it was HOT! I ended up downing a bottle by the time I got to the bottom of Shadow Canyon. I knew I was going to need to stay ahead on hydration on this day. Refilled the bottle at the bottom of Shadow. Pokey time up South Boulder. Over to Bear. Over to Green, stopping to fill a bottle at Bear Creek. Up Green, passing Tony K on his way down the West Ridge. Coming back down, I ran into George B so stopped to catch up with him for a few minutes. Over to Flagstaff and down to Eben G. Fine. Filled a bottle here. Then up to Red Rocks. Screwed up and climbed to the southwest summit first, then over to the highest point. Over to Sanitas, where I tried to put in a decent effort, but was, of course, slow.

And return. Filled 2 bottles at Eben G. Fine and 1 at Bear Creek. Felt OK until I neared Bear. Bonked a bit as I hadn't eaten in a while. Ran into Dan B on the summit of Bear so took the opportunity to sit down and chat for a few. Couldn't really manage much of a run down Shadow. Legs weren't sore, but they didn't want to move quickly. Feet were aching. Glad when I finished this run.

Ate 3 packages of Clif Shot Bloks, 1 Ensure, 1 cup of peaches, couple handfuls of mixed nuts, 7 S-Caps, 1 Nuun. Think I drank 8 20 oz bottles.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
20:53 - Towhee/Shadow
33:34 - Shadow/Bridge
1:09:26 - top of Shadow
1:18:29 - South Boulder (stopped to chat with another runner in here)
1:30:43 - Bear
(dup) - Green (think I remember seeing 2:16ish somewhere nearing the summit)
2:48:15 - Flagstaff
3:34:54 - Red Rocks (split taken a couple minutes late)
3:38:18 - starting up Sanitas
4:05:57 - Sanitas (27:39)
4:32:48 - Red Rocks (split taken a minute or so late)
5:40:21 - Flagstaff
6:22:08 - Ranger/West Ridge
6:28:36 - Green
7:33:17 - Bear
7:57:47 - South Boulder
8:55:38 - South Mesa TH

StreakOrangeB

Brook Loop from home

Down Bristol, Indiana, bike path, Coalton TH; Coalton, High Plains, Greenbelt Plateau TH, across 93, Flatirons Vista North, Doudy Draw, Doudy Draw TH, South Mesa TH; Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, "Bridge", Mesa, Big Bluestem, Mesa; home the same.

Started at 5:31 am. Tried to keep the effort comfortable on this run. Physically wasn't all that comfortable but not too bad (right calf, plantar (?!) in both feet). Not used to running so much (ie, most of my "runs" involve a fair bit of hiking). Walked a few times on the run to South Mesa. These were mainly when messing with the FM radio tuner and headphones. This was the first time I'd ever run with tunes. Kinda liked it except the radio reception stunk for much of the run so lots of static. Need to get some tunes loaded if I'm going to do more of this. Anyway, walked the steeper hills on the Brook Loop. On the return home, I ran most everything and felt pretty good keeping it going. The tunes might've helped with this. Did take one Ibuprofen leaving the South Mesa TH.

Ate 1 package of Clif Shot Bloks and 2 S-Caps. Drank 60 oz of water (carried 3 bottles from home).

Something like 24-25 miles and 2600' of climbing. Probably should've added on a bit for a marathon PR. :-)

0:00 - home
6:56 - Coalton TH
38:52 - Coalton/High Plains
1:05:44 - High Plains/Greenbelt Plateau
1:43:30 - South Mesa TH
2:01:24 - Towhee/Shadow
2:12:03 - Shadow/"Bridge"
2:20:43 - "Bridge"/Mesa
? - Mesa/Big Bluestem (missed split)
2:29:35 - Big Bluestem/Mesa
2:36:15 - South Mesa TH
3:19:13 - Greenbelt Plateau/High Plains
3:44:16 - High Plains/Coalton
4:09:34 - Coalton TH
4:14:53 - home

StreakNavyA

Double Mesa (PR)

N-S-N.

Started at 6:18 am. Ran fairly comfortably from Chautauqua to South Mesa, except for the uphills, which never seem comfortable. Was hoping to be closer to an hour, despite not pushing too hard, due to my fitness (which is pretty good right now, I think). Clearly, though, it takes a really solid effort for me to get under an hour for the Mesa. Ran into Jennifer F just north of Bear Canyon on the way south. Given my time at South Mesa and how I was feeling, I thought breaking 2:10 was probably out of the question. Tried to run a little harder on the return. When I crossed Skunk Creek, I knew I had a chance at 2:10, so I pushed pretty hard. Nearly crashed hard in here but recovered without going down. Finished strong, psyched to have run fairly even splits for the out and back.

0:00 - Chautauqua
6:35 - turn from road onto trail
20:12 - Skunk Creek
24:34 - turn from trail onto Bear Canyon road
31:18 - turn from Bear Canyon road onto trail
35:27 - Mesa/North Shanahan
40:38 - Mesa/South Shanahan
44:29 - Mesa/Bluestem
48:54 - high point starting the descent (some rocks/logs in/by the trail)
1:03:45 - South Mesa TH
1:12:24 - Mesa/Bluestem (lower junction)
1:26:19 - high point atop the climb
1:30:01 - Mesa/Bluestem
1:34:46 - Mesa/South Shanahan
1:39:42 - Mesa/North Shanahan
1:44:21 - turn from trail onto Bear Canyon road
1:48:32 - turn from Bear Canyon road onto trail
1:53:41 - Skunk Creek
2:04:40 - turn from trail onto road
2:07:55 (1:04:10) - Chautauqua

StreakNavyA

Green x 2

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down Greenman, Saddle Rock, Amphitheater. Repeat.

Started at 5:23 am. Started out easy but gradually got to feeling that I didn't want to go slow today. After a fair bit of walking in Gregory, I ended up running all of Ranger (and a bit below, of course) and West Ridge to the summit. Took it easy on the down. Some discomfort in the knees on the descent had me wishy-washy about doing a second lap. But I rolled right through the trailhead without stopping. Probably ran more of Gregory than the first lap (although I was slower). Ran a fair bit of Ranger but walked the steeper stuff. Felt pretty good on this lap. On the descent, ran into Kraig K on Saddle Rock just above the 1st/2nd Flatiron trail junction and chatted with him for a few minutes.

0:00 - Gregory TH
19:55 - Gregory/Ranger
42:13 - Ranger/West Ridge
46:18 - Green summit
1:13:24 - Gregory TH
1:13:32 - Gregory TH
1:33:42 (20:10) - Gregory/Ranger
1:58:03 (44:31) - Ranger/West Ridge
2:02:37 (49:05) - Green summit
2:35:49 - Gregory TH

StreakNavyA

LCW run

From the Wigwam TH, Wigwam, Goose Creek, Hankins Pass, Brookside-McCurdy, McCurdy Park, Refrigerator Gulch, Goose Creek, Wigwam, Wigwam TH.

With Mark O. Started at 5:51 am. We started out pretty easy up Wigwam and Goose Creek. Legs not feeling peppy...still not recovered from Jemez. When we started going down the other side of the pass on Goose Creek, I started feeling soreness in my quads. The downhills were going to be painful again today.

Early on the Wigwam trail, we noted a number of downed trees over the trail. This would become a theme for our day, as Mark and I would end up clearing many trees (10-40 feet long) and branches from the trails throughout the day. Mark started the effort somewhere along the Goose Creek trail. Lots more out there, unfortunately.

Rolled along the Goose Creek trail and then up towards Hankins Pass. Down the other side of Hankins to Brookside-McCurdy. Cruised down that then started the long climb to McCurdy Park. Took a short break about half way up the climb, as both Mark and I were pretty beat. On up to McCurdy Park, then the long downhill to Refrigerator Gulch. This downhill, in particular, had my quads screaming.

Up and down and up and down through Refrigerator Gulch until we finally reached the Goose Creek trail again. Slowly worked our way back over the pass. Here I didn't want to stop to get my full water bottle from my pack. This was stupid, as I got fairly parched. I also started getting a sharp pain above my right knee on the inside through this section. Stopped when we hit flowing water. I dumped several bottle fulls on my aching quads, on my head, shirt, etc. I also had a Gu, S-Cap, and 2 Ibuprofen (for the sharp knee pain). Continued down with 2 bottles in hands, one for drinking, one for pouring on my quads and head.

Continued down Goose Creek, and I tried to keep a jog going, despite my quads. Gradually, the pain in my quads disappeared. I'm sure this was the Ibuprofen kicking in. I didn't expect this and found myself flying down the trail and cruising up the occasional uphill back down to the Wigwam trail.

Mark lucked out through here. Near the bottom of the Goose Creek trail, Mark's camera fell out of his pack without him noticing. He subsequently lost a shoe in a muddy section. Fortunately, some backpackers we had just passed found the camera and hustled after us to ask if it was ours. If Mark hadn't lost his shoe, they probably never would have caught us, and Mark's camera would be gone.

We hit the Wigwam trail with 3.7 miles to go back to the trailhead about 10:15 into the run, and Mark noted that we might be able to finish in under 11 hours. That sounded hard given the way my quads were feeling all day and with some technical downhill ahead.

Turns out my quads were feeling even better at this point. We flew down this descent. I felt unbelievably strong and fresh. At a short, steep uphill, I flat out sprinted up the thing and turned on the jets down the other side. I couldn't believe how well I felt some 35 miles into this run. On some of the smoother trail sections, I'm sure I was running under 7:00 pace (very rare for me). When I hit the final, short climb back up to the trailhead, I waited for Mark for a couple of minutes so that we could finish up together. Very satisfying finish!

So, the Ibuprofen thing is a tough one for me. I immediately wondered what could have been if I had taken some at Jemez when my quads disintegrated (I was actually carrying some but never even thought about taking it). In general, I don't like taking stuff like this. And I'm aware of the issues that some have had with Ibuprofen usage in ultrarunning, so I'm quite wary of using it. Definitely something I'll consider if/when the quads start suffering at Hardrock, though.

Mark's GPS recorded around 36.5 miles. I didn't run a log on my watch, but I did this run in 2005, and my watch recorded around 8500' of gain on that trip.

0:00 - Wigwam TH
10:48:29 - Wigwam TH

StreakBlueB

Bear, South Boulder

From Cragmoor TH, North Shanahan, Fern, Bear; over to South Boulder; down Shadow, "bridge", Mesa, South Shanahan.

Started at 5:40 am. Hiked almost everything going up Bear. Just trying to go easy. Legs didn't feel sore on the ascent but are very tired. Down the west face of Bear and over to South Boulder, still moving slowly with no pep in the legs. Ate a Gu as I started down South Boulder. Originally planned to head over to Green, but I didn't have the time for that this morning. So, headed down Shadow and could hardly manage a run down that. Legs a bit sore still but mostly just fatigue. Actually got light-headed a couple of times coming down so just tried to take things easy. Jogged and hiked my way back to the trailhead. Somewhat frustrating. I'm beat!

0:00 - Cragmoor TH
16:46 - crossing Mesa
1:01:57 - Bear
1:16:35 - South Boulder
2:17:00 - Cragmoor TH

StreakOrangeB

Green x 2

From Gregory TH, Gregory, Ranger, West Ridge, Green; down Greenman, Saddle Rock, Amphitheater. Repeat.

Started at 5:28 am. Been meaning to start doing two laps some mornings. Finally got up early enough to do so. Although, I don't think this did my quads any favors in the recovery department. They're still quite sore from Jemez. Wanted to go at a fairly easy pace that I felt I could sustain for a while. I think I succeeded at that. Upped the effort slightly on the second lap since I was only doing the two laps. Grabbed a water bottle and granola bar from the car between the laps.

0:00 - Gregory TH
22:13 - Gregory/Ranger
49:56 - Ranger/West Ridge
54:50 - Green summit
1:22:06 - Gregory TH
1:22:48 - Gregory TH
1:44:23 (21:35) - Gregory/Ranger
2:10:38 (47:50) - Ranger/West Ridge
2:15:21 (52:33) - Green summit
2:41:36 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:46 am. First trip up Green this year with no snow on the trail! Yeah! Quads are still beat up from Jemez, so I was just out for an easy hike. As I approached the 1st/2nd Flatiron trail junction, I saw Tony K running up the trail ahead. He had obviously come down that trail to the Saddle Rock trail. Shortly beyond, saw Terri H coming down. Jogging from the Saddle Rock/Greenman junction to the spring, Tony came up from behind and passed me (he was off exploring). We chatted for a minute or so until he moved on. Reverted to hiking until the final few switchbacks where I upped the effort with a little running. Not too spry on the downhill with the aching quads.

0:00 - Gregory TH
10:54 - Amph/Saddle Rock
28:50 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
47:08 - Green summit
49:50 - started down
1:18:07 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeB

Cerro del Aire

Wanted to shake out the legs a bit on the drive home from Los Alamos. Pulled off at the Wind Mountain Public Access north of Tres Piedras and drove dirt roads for a few miles, through a couple of gates, then parked at a junction near a small pond. Hiked up a road for maybe a quarter mile before heading off into the trees more directly toward the summit. Great views from the top. Lots of mountains visible that I'd like to come back and climb.

About an hour roundtrip. 600+ feet of gain.

MountainMasochistA

Jemez 50 Mile

12:14:42 (I started my stopwatch late and had 12:14:30)

Suunto log summary through 12 hours:

11000 up (+27), 10920 down (-39), 7 laps, 12:00

Marshall Mesa Lollipop

From Marshall Mesa TH, Coal Seam, across 93, Community Ditch, Doudy Draw up the hill, Flatirons Vista North, across 93, Greenbelt Plateau, connector, west on Community Ditch, Coal Seam, Marshall Mesa TH.

Started at 6:24 am. Nice cool morning. Tried to take it easy but found myself working hard a few times.

0:00 - Marshall Mesa TH
31:00 - Doudy Draw/Spring Brook
53:34 - Greenbelt Plateau TH
1:13:51 - Marshall Mesa TH

MountainMasochistA

Marshall Mesa to home

From Marshall Mesa TH, Coal Seam, east on Community Ditch, connector, Greenbelt Plateau, High Plains, Coalton, home.

Started at 5:48 pm.

0:00 - Marshall Mesa TH
22:19 - Greenbelt Plateau/High Plains
44:42 - High Plains/Coalton
1:11:41 - home

Sanitas hiking with Anya

Lori went up Sanitas while I hiked with Anya (Mia was at her dance class). Hiked up the South Ridge past the initial steep stuff, then turned left on a trail down to a rocky outcrop overlooking Sunshine Canyon. Anya did amazingly well, hiking all the way up this on her own (with some hand holding). She basically had to scramble up many of the big steps. She walked down much of it on her own, but I carried her for a few sections so we could get down to meet Lori.

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:38 am. Crazy how much harder the 9:57 up Amph felt compared to last night's 8:13. Trail conditions were much better than yesterday (cool morning, less slush) despite some more fresh snow on the upper part of the mountain (maybe an inch). Much better time up Greenman compared to yesterday. Pushed near the top to sneak under 50 again. Also much better time on the down, which felt easier than yesterday.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:57 - Amph/Saddle Rock
27:33 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
49:55 - Green summit
51:58 - started down
1:19:36 - Gregory TH

StreakBlueB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 4:57 pm. Felt strong from the start (night and day compared to my morning starts) but didn't really feel like going hard as I knew there was still a lot of snow higher up. Also still considering the Friday night TT so didn't want to spend it today. Sort of fartlek-ed my way through the first 15 minutes since I was feeling so good. The 8:13 up Amph (pretty fast for me) actually felt pretty casual. Was really wishing for dry conditions and to have JV pace me to a PR. Eventually, this turned into a slush-fest. Wet and sloppy and slow. Pushed a bit near the top just to get in under 50. Running down was quite a chore in the sloppy conditions.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:13 - Amph/Saddle Rock
25:20 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
49:47 - Green summit
52:01 - started down
1:27:52 - Gregory TH

StreakBlueB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:54 am. Another snow storm overnight. I had to park at the pull-off below the Gregory TH as the gate was closed (the gate was open and the road plowed when I got down). Anywhere from 0 to 12 inches of snow on the trails (probably more like 6-8 inches of actual snowfall, but some spots end up deeper, and some sheltered sections end up with less). Lots of trees/branches hanging over lower Amph, a few more higher up. Above Greenman spring, there was an ice crust atop the snow. Initially, it wasn't a big deal, even though I was wearing shorts. But eventually, it started getting pretty painful, and I noticed that I was leaving some blood behind. The last few minutes to the top were miserable. Coming down, though, was excruciating. At times, I didn't even want to move. Tried lifting my feet back or up rather than moving forward into the crust, but that only helped a little. Eventually, the crust wasn't such a big deal, and I was able to jog down making better time. Sick of the snow!

0:00 - bottom of Gregory road
2:11 - Gregory TH
12:22 - Amph/Saddle Rock
33:12 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
1:04:32 - Green summit
1:38:18 - Gregory TH
1:39:36 - bottom of Gregory road

StreakBlueB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:36 am. Took it easy today. Cleaned up lots of rocks and branches on the up and down.

0:00 - Gregory TH
10:14 - Amph/Saddle Rock
28:14 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
49:16 - Green summit
1:26:02 - Gregory TH

MountainMasochistA

Lake Valley jog

Jogging with Lori, Mia biking. Niblick, Golf Club, Pebble Beach, stopped to play at the park for about 10 minutes, sidewalk to Spy Glass, across the dam, stopped to play at the lake for about 10 minutes, Ace, Niblick. Maybe 2 miles.

MountainMasochistA

Green, South Boulder, Backside

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Green-Bear, Bear Canyon; south on Mesa, "Bridge" over to Shadow, Shadow, South Boulder; down west ridge of South Boulder to Walker, up to Ethel Harrold TH, Pika Rd, Flagstaff Rd, Long Canyon, Gregory Canyon.

Started at 6:04 am. With Bill W and Mark O. Met Mark at Bear Canyon/Mesa.

6410 up (+38), 6340 down (-48), 4 laps, 5:06

0:00 - Gregory TH
10:16 - Amph/Saddle Rock
28:50 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
49:58 - Green summit
1:01:42 - Green-Bear/Bear West Ridge
2:00:03 - "Bridge"/Shadow
2:35:38 - top of Shadow
2:44:52 - South Boulder summit
4:35:24 - Flagstaff Rd/Green West Ridge
5:05:46 - Gregory TH

StreakBlueB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 7:01 am. Just wanted to go easy today. Fresh snow on the trails this morning, up to an inch or so.

0:00 - Gregory TH
11:24 - Amph/Saddle Rock
32:21 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
58:20 - Green summit
1:27:15 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeB

South Boulder (PR), Bear

From South Mesa TH. Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; over to Bear; down Fern, upper North Shanahan, Mesa, Big Bluestem, Mesa.

Started at 5:59 am. Started out easy. But the effort has to increase to keep running on Towhee and up to the start of Shadow Canyon. Tried to keep it as comfortable as possible and still be running. Upped the effort entering the canyon, hiking fast and running a number of short, less steep sections. Didn't really stop on South Boulder and continued over to Bear, scrambling up the west face. Couldn't find any rhythm going down Fern. So steep, so technical, legs were tired. Down on the Mesa, ran the "Death Stairs" (always hard), then eased off until I hit the Mesa again below Bluestem. Worked pretty hard there, including sprinting all out from the wooden bridge to the finish. Fun run.

PR up South Boulder by 57 seconds. Previous PR was 58:29 on 7/14/03.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
16:02 - Towhee/Shadow
24:14 - Shadow/"Bridge"
50:46 - top of Shadow
57:32 - South Boulder (PR!)
1:08:36 - Bear
1:29:59 - North Shanahan/Mesa
1:39:14 - Mesa/Big Bluestem
1:47:18 - Big Bluestem/Mesa
1:52:19 - South Mesa TH

StreakOrangeB

Green (PR)

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Ranger, Gregory.

Started at 6:43 am. Always feel sluggish in the morning starting up Amphitheater, but I knew I was going to go hard this morning. Legs felt much better than yesterday but still not totally fresh. Hiked the majority of the ascent, but threw in some jogging on the less steep sections. Still a number of snowy spots up high, and it was cold this morning, so these were rock hard, and I slipped a number of times. I definitely think I could improve on this time under ideal trail conditions and either with some warm-up or starting later in the day.

PR by 44 seconds. Previous PR was 41:08 on 3/2/10.

0:00 - Gregory TH
8:32 - Amph/Saddle Rock
23:07 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
40:24 - Green summit (PR!)
45:23 - started down
1:11:01 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:18 am. Was going to do South Boulder, but I didn't want to deal with the outrageous winds this morning so changed plans en route. Legs felt tired from the start. I guess that was from running hard down South Boulder on Sunday. Caught up to Kreighton B and Olan Y (who were taking it easy) a bit above the talus section. Chatted with them for the rest of the ascent. John O and another guy were waiting on Kreighton and Olan on the summit. Kraig K came up shortly after we arrived. They all headed down Ranger, and I headed down Greenman solo.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:56 - Amph/Saddle Rock
27:01 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
48:05 - Green summit
51:21 - started down
1:15:51 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeB

South Boulder

From South Mesa TH. Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; down the same.

Started at 2:20 pm. A few minutes into this, I was feeling pretty good and decided to go hard. On Towhee, I felt I was going faster than on 4/22 (when I hit Towhee/Shadow in 15:43). Then I ran into Keith and Beth B so stopped to chat with them. Didn't stop my watch, but based on my time at Towhee/Shadow, I'd guess that I was talking to them for ten minutes or more. Anyway, pretty satisfying time for me up South Boulder. Worked pretty hard on the down but not all out.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
25:42 - Towhee/Shadow
33:14 - Shadow/"Bridge"
1:01:48 - top of Shadow
1:08:59 - South Boulder
1:11:45 - started down
1:46:33 - South Mesa TH

StreakOrangeB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 3:01 pm. Tired from driving home yesterday (got home at 12:30 am). Not very motivated today starting this run. Started out going really easy, but gradually picked things up.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:06 - Amph/Saddle Rock
23:56 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
41:58 - Green summit
50:59 - started down
1:15:22 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeB

Park Point Lookout

Jogged up the road to the lookout from the main road as the gate was closed.

StreakOrangeB

Balcony House tour at Mesa Verde

Observation Point

Started at 7:06 am. With Jeff V. Ran up to Echo Canyon but faded above there, mostly hiking the rest of the way up until it it flattens at the top.

0:00 - bridge at TH
56:45 - Observation Point
1:37:19 - bridge at TH

StreakOrangeB

Pa'rus Trail jog

Jogged while Mia biked. From South Campground up past the second bridge over the Virgin and a bit past the museum trail junction. Back the same. About 2 miles.

StreakOrangeB

Angels Landing

Back up again with Mia and Jeff and Allison V. Started around 10:30 am. Think it took about an hour and a half up. Spent a while on top (30+ minutes?). Finished around 2:30 pm.

StreakOrangeB

Angels Landing

Started at 7:18 am. With Jeff V. Actually, warmed up by jogging the trail from Zion Lodge to the Grotto.

0:00 - bridge over the Virgin
11:44 - bridge in Refrigerator Canyon
17:31 - start of Walter's Wiggles
19:29 - end of Walter's Wiggles (at a paved water bar)
19:58 - at West Rim/Angels Landing trail junction
28:33 - top of last chain
29:22 - Angels Landing summit (top of "bee hive")
35:58 - at Angels Landing/West Rim trail junction
40:54 - bridge in Refrigerator Canyon
47:56 - bridge over the Virgin

StreakOrangeB

Pine Creek Waterfall

Hiked into the waterfall with the family. Played for a while. Back out.

Lunch at Zion Lodge. Lori headed out to hike up Angels Landing. Took the girls up to Temple of Sinawava to hike up the river walk, but Anya fell asleep, so headed back down to wait for Lori.

Dinner at Mexican place with Jeff and Allison V.

Angels Landing

Started at 7:26 pm. With Jeff V.

0:00 - bridge over the Virgin
12:16 - bridge in Refrigerator Canyon
18:13 - start of Walter's Wiggles
20:24 - end of Walter's Wiggles (at a paved water bar)
20:57 - at West Rim/Angels Landing trail junction
29:31 - top of last chain
30:14 - Angels Landing summit (top of "bee hive")
56:54 - bridge over the Virgin (spent roughly 5 minutes on top)

StreakOrangeB

"Progeny Peak"

South Boulder

From South Mesa TH. Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; down Shadow, Towhee, Homestead, Mesa.

Started at 6:19 am. With Bill W and Neal (?). Bill was going hard to break an hour from the start. I didn't expect to feel too strong due to R2R2R.

Bill and Neal gapped me slightly (10 seconds or so?) before the first stream crossing on Towhee. Above there, the mud was horrible as it had rained hard overnight. The weight of the mud nearly pulled off my right shoe several times. Once further along on Towhee, the mud wasn't a problem. Stayed within reach of the guys up Towhee and the Shadow road. Near the top of the steep hill on the road, I had closed to right on Neal's heels. Got to the canyon and mostly walked but ran when Bill then Neal would run. Through the lower part of the canyon, I felt pretty good and thought that I could go faster but wanted to wait before going. Higher in the canyon, as Bill was running the last few switchbacks, those thoughts faded. But halfway through the final switchback to the saddle, Bill switched to walking and I went around Neal and then Bill. Got the heart rate way up there, nearly going too hard. Above the saddle was a mix of snow and trail. The snow was mostly soft, but I slipped a few times. Continued working hard to the top. Excellent time for me at the top! Neal was just behind me. Bill just under a minute back.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
15:43 - Towhee/Shadow
23:46 - Shadow/"Bridge"
51:31 - top of Shadow
58:49 - South Boulder
~1:45 - South Mesa TH (per Bill - I had inadvertently stopped my watch at the summit)

StreakBlueB

Grand Canyon R2R2R

From South Kaibab TH, South Kaibab, North Kaibab, North Kaibab TH, North Kaibab, South Kaibab, South Kaibab TH.

Started at 5:35 am.

10590 up (+27), 10500 down (-48), 2 laps, 10:25

Stopwatch splits:

0:00 - South Kaibab TH
1:00:05 - Black Bridge
2:35:59 - after leaving Cottonwood water
3:57:00 - Supai Tunnel
4:35:43 - North Rim
5:51:54 - Cottonwood water
7:18:03 - Phantom Ranch water
7:35:27 - leaving Black Bridge after a stop in the shade for peaches
10:22:50 - South Kaibab TH

Log:

5:34 am, 7120 - started watch
5:35, 7120 - started down
5:40, 6720
5:50, 5950
6:00, 5250
6:10, 4560
6:20, 3810
6:30, 2990
6:35, 2560 - Black Bridge
6:37, 2520 - low
6:40, 2540
6:50, 2630
7:00, 2780
7:10, 2930
7:20, 3080
7:30, 3240
7:40, 3430
7:50, 3650
7:54, 3830 - high on Ribbon Falls hill
7:55, 3740 - low
8:00, 3830
8:10, 4030
8:20, 4270
8:30, 4550
8:40, 4980
8:50, 5400
9:00, 5740
9:10, 6050
9:11, 6060 - high before the bridge
9:13, 6000 - low at the bridge
9:20, 6250
9:30, 6650
9:40, 7030
9:50, 7410
10:00, 7750
10:10, 8080
10:11, 8110 - North Rim
10:14, 8100 - started back
10:20, 7700
10:30, 7050
10:40, 6300
10:45, 5980 - low at the bridge
10:47, 6050 - high
10:50, 5950
11:00, 5390
11:10, 4700
11:20, 4280
11:30, 4060
11:40, 3840
11:43, 3760 - low
11:46, 3850 - high on Ribbon Falls hill
11:50, 3670
12:00 pm, 3480
12:10, 3290
12:20, 3140
12:30, 3010
12:40, 2870
12:50, 2730
1:00, 2630
1:02, 2600 - low
1:06, 2640 - took break at Black Bridge/tunnel
1:10, 2640
1:11, 2650 - hiking again
1:20, 2970
1:30, 3290
1:40, 3630
1:50, 3910
1:51, 3930 - took break - nauseous
2:00, 3930 - hiking again
2:10, 4160
2:20, 4400
2:30, 4660
2:40, 4990
2:50, 5300
3:00, 5510
3:10, 5770
3:20, 6080
3:30, 6370
3:40, 6670
3:50, 6930
3:58, 7200 - finished

StreakOrangeB

Sinking Ship

Hiked with Gerry R, Jeff V, and George Z from the Buggeln picnic area over to the rim, then down to the saddle with Sinking Ship.

Gerry and I headed around to the SW side to explore the route in GCSS. Initially bypassed an easy-looking option and then we checked out a steeper, more difficult option a bit further along. Gerry continued even further to have a look while I went back to check out the first option. I scrambled up an easy initial section to the base of a solid-looking, south-facing slab/wall. I scrambled up this featured face, then got the gear out in case Gerry wanted a belay. Looking down this wall, it looked much steeper than it had seemed scrambling up it. Gerry climbed this solidly without a belay.

While Gerry was finishing up this initial wall, Jeff poked his head through a hole from the east side. I moved a short distance north on the west side, then went over a small saddle to the east side. There were two options to reach this point from the east. Jeff would eventually climb up to this point, but I couldn't convince him to go any higher.

Next up was a loose gully. Gerry did the initial move and continued up the gully to a chockstone. He tried the moves past the chockstone but requested a belay. I used some pockets on the wall on the left to get past this, then continued up loose dirt to a small saddle. Belayed Gerry up from the saddle.

The saddle put us on a ledge on the east side of the Sinking Ship. Worked our way up some ledges here. Gerry took another belay for one move here. We then continued up to a broad saddle and moved north toward the summit block.

Here I led up a wall on the left, then back right onto a platform. Next up was the crux moves up a steep, bulgy flare on the left. I dispatched this pretty quickly, then made a few more moves up to the summit area. Belayed Gerry from a seat down in some boulders. I would eventually have to lower a #1 Camalot to Gerry for him to place at the crux as an aid. Shortly, we were both on the summit.

We opted to go down the north side that I knew Sarah M, Courtney P, et al, had been up recently. Easy scrambling (down one steep wall) took us down to a ledge covered with loose rock. On the east side here was the wide chimney that Sarah's group had climbed. Was a bit more than I wanted to solo down. We ended up leaving a sling on a good boulder/pinch further west and rapping over a shorter, narrower chimney and face to a ledge maybe 20 feet down. We then rapped further, although it would've been possible to scramble down from the ledge.

While stowing the gear, Adam M and Pete K walked up. We gave them some beta, and they would end up climbing up what we rapped, ascending the narrow chimney.

Hiked back around the east side of the summit, found the metate, then hiked back out to the car. Stayed on higher ground on the return rather than crossing the gully which was a bit longer but much nicer walking; ie, less brushy.

Buggeln Hill

Driving to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon with Jeff V and George Z, we saw Gerry and Jennifer's truck parked beside the road so pulled off to chat. They were returning from the short walk to Buggeln Hill. After chatting for a bit, we headed up Buggeln as well.

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:14 am. Trail was mostly dry up to Greenman Spring. Didn't pull on Microspikes above there, but I should have as I was slipping quite a bit and working hard to stay upright. Stayed on the summit for a while until Kraig K arrived. Jogged down with him after pulling on the Microspikes.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:11 - Amph/Saddle Rock
24:54 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
45:58 - Green summit
1:20:04 - Gregory TH

StreakBlueB

Grays & Torreys

Finished up the monthly grid for Grays and Torreys. Was a bit sick (including laryngitis), so started out slow. And the pace pretty much stayed slow. Breathed through my balaclava for much of the day to warm the air. Carried snowshoes but never used them. Stashed them at about 12,700'.

4950 up (+20), 5000 down (-36), 2 laps, 6:48

5:50 am, 9810 - started
9:46, 14140 - Grays
9:56, 14130 - started down
10:05, 13600 - low
10:25, 14130 - Torreys
10:40, 13580 - low
10:43, 13640 - high after climbing back up toward Grays a bit to drop off the ridge
12:37 pm, 9760 - finished

Coalton run

Started at 6:28 am. Every step of this run was a chore. Quite a contrast from last night's run. Feeling a bit sick.

0:00 - home
6:29 - gate at Coalton TH
17:52 - gate atop the climb
22:27 - turn south
27:57 - last power pole (split taken 20 seconds or so late)
35:19 - gate at 128
35:56 - started back after stopping to stretch briefly
42:47 - last power pole
47:15 - turn east
51:12 - gate atop the climb
1:00:13 - gate at Coalton TH
1:05:53 - home

StreakBlueB

Boulder Reservoir

From the Eagle TH, north on 55th, right on the trail going around the res, over the little hill on the east side of the res, res road back to 51st, north to the Eagle TH.

Started at 6:15 pm. Started out easy and gradually picked things up. Felt really strong.

0:00 - Eagle TH
38:50 - Eagle TH

StreakBlueB

South Boulder

From South Mesa TH. Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; down Shadow, Towhee, Homestead, Mesa.

Started at 6:22 am. With Bill W. Ran to the start of the canyon, then hiked the canyon, then ran for a couple minutes above the saddle, then hiked the last several minutes. Felt pretty good today. This wasn't a hard effort (these climbs are never "easy" for me), so I was psyched with the ascent time given that. Did the entire ascent and descent without Microspikes as there was a fresh bit of "Dippin' Dots" snow covering any snowy section of trail, which actually made the traction quite good.

Didn't get out Sunday due to Easter activities with the family. Didn't get out yesterday morning due to insufficient sleep. But both days I had almost no soreness or stiffness from Saturday's long run. Quite a pleasant surprise!

0:00 - South Mesa TH
17:40 - Towhee/Shadow
26:17 - Shadow/"Bridge"
57:19 - top of Shadow
1:04:29 - South Boulder
1:44:32 - South Mesa TH

StreakBlueB

South Boulder, Bear, Green, Flagstaff, Green, Bear, South Boulder from home

Down Bristol, Indiana, bike path, Coalton TH, Coalton, High Plains, Greenbelt Plateau TH, across 93, Flatirons Vista North, Doudy Draw, Doudy Draw TH, South Mesa TH, Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; over to Bear; down Bear West Ridge, Green-Bear, Green West Ridge, Green; down Green West Ridge, Ranger, Realization Point TH, Ute, off trail to Flagstaff summit; back the same.

Started at 4:33 am. Started out walking and eating a burrito. Walked to the Coalton TH, where I started running. Ran without a light to High Plains, then used my Tikka on my wrist for High Plains, then off until the downhill on Doudy Draw, off for good at the bottom of that, I think. Wore Microspikes over the peaks (except Flagstaff), putting them on near the top of Shadow (could've used them earlier, but I didn't want to stop). Felt like I climbed and descended well all day. Even ran up the steep climb on Doudy Draw. Really didn't start feeling trashed until High Plains where I walked quite a bit.

Very, very windy day. Fortunately, not until I got to South Mesa in the morning, though. Mostly not a problem since I was in the trees much of the day. From South Mesa to home, it was a pretty nice tailwind.

Ran into Bill W and Mark O a few minutes from the top of Shadow. Tony K as I headed down the West Ridge of Green. Kraig K as I hit Flagstaff Rd - he turned and hiked/chatted with me for a couple of minutes. Tony K again (on his second of four laps up Green) as I headed down the West Ridge of Green the second time. Max N on Green-Bear.

Ate 3 packages of Clif Shot Bloks, 3 Gus, 2 Ensures, 2 cups of peaches, about half of a 2-oz bag of salted peanuts, 10 S-Caps. Carried but didn't eat 1 package of Clif Shot Bloks, 3 Gus, about 3 oz of salted peanuts, 2 Quaker Chewy granola bars. Started with 2 20-oz bottles. Filled up 4 during the run. Didn't drink much of the last one. So, drank about 105 oz of water.

Some chafing on Coalton near the end. Would've been good to have had some BodyGlide or Vaseline.

9250 up (+31), 9380 down (-46), 10 laps, 9:12 - probably wind-affected a bit

0:00 - home
9:45 - Coalton TH
23:25 - gate atop the climb
28:32 - turn south
34:10 - last power pole
42:52 - Coalton/High Plains
1:10:38 - High Plains/Greenbelt Plateau
1:51:48 - South Mesa TH (split at concrete bridge, then stopped for water)
2:13:38 - Towhee/Shadow
2:24:05 - Shadow/Bridge
2:57:56 - top of Shadow
3:06:09 - South Boulder
3:19:00 - Bear
3:46:04 - Bear West Ridge/Green-Bear (stopped for water after this)
4:12:30 - Green
(dup) - Flagstaff (this was around 4:38, I think)
5:22:57 - Green
5:40:33 - Green-Bear/Bear West Ridge (stopped for water before this)
6:20:18 - Bear
6:34:27 - South Boulder
7:24:33 - South Mesa TH (stopped for water before this)
8:07:24 - Greenbelt Plateau/High Plains
8:38:45 - High Plains/Coalton
9:10:41 - home

StreakOrangeB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down the same.

Started at 6:50 am. I just keep getting slower. Again, no pep today.

0:00 - Gregory TH
10:10 - Amph/Saddle Rock
28:22 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
50:05 - Green summit
52:29 - started down
1:17:09 - Gregory TH

StreakBlueB

Marshall Mesa

From Marshall Mesa TH, Coal Seam, across 93, Community Ditch, Spring Brook loop CCW, Doudy Draw up the hill, Flatirons Vista South, across 93, Greenbelt Plateau, connector, west on Community Ditch, Coal Seam, Marshall Mesa TH.

Started at 6:33 am.

0:00 - Marshall Mesa TH
29:40 - Doudy Draw/Spring Brook
55:39 - Spring Brook/Doudy Draw
1:47:03 - Marshall Mesa TH

StreakOrangeB

Green

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Green-Bear, Bear Canyon, Mesa, Bluebell-Baird, Gregory TH.

Started at 6:33 am. Didn't feel like pushing hard enough to actually run any of the ascent, so it was mostly hiking. Guess I worked harder near the top than yesterday, though. Wanted more time/distance, so headed down Bear. Still lots of snow on Green-Bear, and the track on the lower half was off the normal trail and a bit of a bushwhack. Pulled the Microspikes off near the saddle at the head of the canyon, thinking the snow would be soft in the canyon. It wasn't. Slipped all over for several minutes, going down once, before finally pulling them back on until I crossed Bear Creek on the Mesa Trail.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:55 - Amph/Saddle Rock
26:47 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
47:33 - Green summit
48:16 - started down
1:51:18 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeB

Green, Flagstaff

From Gregory TH, Amph, Saddle Rock, Greenman, Green; down West Ridge, Ranger, Realization Point TH, Ute, off trail to Flagstaff summit; Flagstaff, Crown Rock, Gregory.

Started at 6:20 am. Not much pep on this run. Stomach started feeling crampy around 6:30 Sunday evening. A few hours later, I liberated several quarts of fluid from my digestive system. Felt much better thereafter, although I was about six pounds light. So...hoping my lack of energy on this run was left over from Sunday's dehydration.

Roger L was on the summit when I arrived, so we chatted for a bit.

0:00 - Gregory TH
9:26 - Amph/Saddle Rock
26:10 - Saddle Rock/Greenman
48:05 - Green summit
55:00 - started down
1:19:44 - Flagstaff summit
1:35:56 - Gregory TH

StreakOrangeB

Ninemile Mountain

Hiked up Ninemile with the family. Given the energy Mia has displayed recently, I expected her to zoom quickly to the summit, but she had to be motivated by snacks every few minutes. She did a great job, though, especially given the wet, snowy trails. On the descent, she'd take off sprinting to get her next snack. I was impressed with how well she can run when she wants to. Times from memory: started around 12:26 pm, topped out around 1:16 pm, spent about a half hour at the top and the view point, then got back down around 2:10 pm.

StreakOrangeB

Snow Mountain Ranch run

From Aspenbrook Lodge at Snow Mountain Ranch, ran the main road (53) out to Hwy 40. Turned and ran back, then turned right at the admin building junction. At the Library building, found the snowshoe trail "Peter's" and ran that lollipop. Back to the road, continued west toward the cabin area, then south and then east past the stables back to Aspenbrook.

Started at 6:38 am.

0:00 - Aspenbrook Lodge
1:10:21 - Aspenbrook Lodge

StreakOrangeB

Ninemile Mountain

Started at 1:18 pm. Up at Snow Mountain Ranch for a busy weekend of fun activities. Got out while Lori took the girls on a sleigh ride. Jogged up to the trailhead, carrying a pack with snowshoes. Put the snowshoes on not far up the trail (not wanting to start postholing in my running shoes), then took them back off a few minutes later. Didn't ever need them. Jogged back down and got back to the stables just as the sleigh ride was finishing up.

0:00 - stables
36:57 - summit
1:06:10 - stables

StreakOrangeB