This was a repeat of last Saturdays "long" run (or maybe I should call that "longer" run) and I was itching to go a bit faster. I had high hopes of pushing myself really hard, but my legs were having none of it.
I used the approach into Eldo as a warm up, starting from where the road turns to dirt and taking the usual game trail/Fowler Trail approach. The Fowler Trail, though flat, was a bit scary, as it was water polished ice and I noticed the sometimes large drop to the right more than normal. I tiptoed through here gingerly.
I topped off my bottle at the visitors center and I was on my way up the initially steep Eldorado Trail, just jogging it out, not really pushing at all and trying to take it easy on my heavy and somewhat fatigued legs. I thought about just running to Walker and turning around, but figured I would just take it one step at a time and see what happens. I hit the Walker loop in 37 minutes even, not great, but 2 minutes faster than last weekend (mainly because I had a few delays last weekend, but I'll take the 2 minute advantage).
Again I went clockwise so I could ascend the dangerous stairs above the cliffs next to the river. They have melted a little, but there is one spot on the highest point where I would not want to be going down without traction right now and it was even a bit dicey going up. There was a little less snow/ice on the trail, but what was left is becoming water polished and bulletproof. I pretty much gave in to just casual jogging and it felt as though I was going much slower than last week, but I ended up 2 minutes quicker on the loop as well and was now 4 minutes ahead of last week. This is where the comparisons end though, as I turned around last week to hike with Allison and Emily, but today I kept pushing.
Though I was hurting a bit, I figured it would be good for me to push some on tired legs and though I wanted to back off, I kept upping the pace and intensity and actually started to feel better as I did this. Must have been adreneline or delirium, I'm not sure.
All in all a great run due to the weather, it was fun just being out in the warm sun enjoying the day, knowing how crappy and snowy it is going to be tomorrow. Though I did not run as fast/feel as good as I hoped, I was a bit quicker than last weekend despite it feeling like I had scaled back the intensity due to my heavy legs.
Splits:
Warmup to start of Eldo Trail/Visitors Center: 16 minutes
Started timer Eldo to Walker: 37 minutes
Walker Loop: 1:14 for the loop/1:51 from Eldo
Back to Eldo: 2:25 (not including the 16 minute warmup)
Back to car: 9 minutes
Total: 2:50
Sierra
Sierra
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wednesday, 03/17/10 Green Mountain
Easy day with Sierra up Gregory Ranger. Warm, sunny, slushy.
18:?? cabin
41 summit
1:06 RT
18:?? cabin
41 summit
1:06 RT
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Tuesday, 03/16/10 Green Mountain
Spring was in full swing today. I was running solo today and was hoping to put in a decent effort up Green to test myself a bit. Started at Chautauqua and ran at an easy warm-up pace to Gregory TH. Yesterday, my legs felt great and I was raring to go fast, but I held back and was content going easy and being social. Today, I was mentally there, but my legs felt a little heavy, so I was not sure how the run was going to unfold. I kept a decent tempo, pushing a bit, but never really digging that deep.
I hit the ranger cabin at 15:58 and threw on the Microspikes for better traction. The trail was packed, but was a bit soft due to the warm temps and I was slipping a bit. There was some loose powdery snow still a ways before the 4-way and although the trail has seen good traffic during the day, footing was not perfect.
The 4-way jct. came in 33:39 and I was thinking 36 was in the bag, but I slacked a bit toward the top and ended up 37:13. I was pretty happy with that given the conditions and the fact that it was not an all out effort, just solidly running tempo and never really reaching the red zone.
After a heads up on a re-routing of the Bear Canyon trail from Tony and a play by play description from Homie, I was itching to check it out. I kept the Microspikes in my hand instead of on my feet, which turned out to be a mistake, as most of the trail was snow covered and icy. I kept expecting the trail to dry out, but it never did, except for a few shortish sections. My pace was cautious and slow, then the trip back to Chautauqua on the Mesa trail was an exercise in mud avoidance (futile). My split from Green to the car via Bear Canyon was a lame 53:46, just a minute or so off of my normal ascent time on that route.
Looking forward to the next few warm days.
I hit the ranger cabin at 15:58 and threw on the Microspikes for better traction. The trail was packed, but was a bit soft due to the warm temps and I was slipping a bit. There was some loose powdery snow still a ways before the 4-way and although the trail has seen good traffic during the day, footing was not perfect.
The 4-way jct. came in 33:39 and I was thinking 36 was in the bag, but I slacked a bit toward the top and ended up 37:13. I was pretty happy with that given the conditions and the fact that it was not an all out effort, just solidly running tempo and never really reaching the red zone.
After a heads up on a re-routing of the Bear Canyon trail from Tony and a play by play description from Homie, I was itching to check it out. I kept the Microspikes in my hand instead of on my feet, which turned out to be a mistake, as most of the trail was snow covered and icy. I kept expecting the trail to dry out, but it never did, except for a few shortish sections. My pace was cautious and slow, then the trip back to Chautauqua on the Mesa trail was an exercise in mud avoidance (futile). My split from Green to the car via Bear Canyon was a lame 53:46, just a minute or so off of my normal ascent time on that route.
Looking forward to the next few warm days.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, 03/15/10 Green
Ran/hiked Green with Brandon and Aron. Took it super easy, chatting it up the whole time. Conditions kind of sucked again up high with the fresh snow turning slushy. Ate it on the ice even with Microspikes steps from the top.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, 03/13/10 Walker from Eldo
~20 miles
Our friend Emily drove up to Boulder to join us for a long walk/run to train for RRR in April. We started walking from Eldo (where the road turns to dirt), took the back way in on the Fowler Trail going casually, then took a short pit stop at the visitors center to use the facilities. Allison and Emily got a head start up the trail and I ended up not catching them until a few minutes beyond the switchbacks.
I walked with them for a bit, figuring out a plan on how to meet up later and was soon on my way running. The day was warming nicely and I was down to shorts and a tech T and was making good time, feeling strong and moving fast, though I took it super easy on the icy sections, as it would be too easy to take a fall.
I made it to the Walker Loop in 39 despite walking with the girls for a bit, stopping to adjust my Nathan Pack and going slow on the icy sections. Once at the loop, I decided to go clockwise, as the steep and icy steps through the clifs above the river scare me this time of year. The steps were mostly melted, but there were a few sections that were tricky to negotiate, even going up, so I knew this was the right choice, as it would be frightening going down. Even so, I had cleared this section and was on the ridge in 4 minutes from the junction and was soon making good time up the trail. From here to the lot, the trail was mostly melted and dry, except for several sections of snow, ice and mud that were not of much consequence as I was going up hill and not that fast anyways. Once beyond the outer lot, the trail was ice/snow covered as expected, so I took it pretty easy down to the river.
Once past the river, it was smooth sailing on mostly dry trails along the river, up to the main lot, along the ridge and over to the spot where the trail drops into the steep switchbacks on the N. facing slopes. This section was very snowy and icy and took some skill/careful foot placements to make it through upright. The next junction at the dirt road was thick with gloppy mud, the type that will pile onto your shoes and render you helpless, so I stayed in the grass for a bit, until the mud relented and I could get into some nice sloppy slush.
I made it back to the Eldo/Walker junction after a 1:16 loop. Not an impressive time, as the conditions were lousy, but when the trail was good, I felt like I was flying. I think if conditions were dry, I might have been close to PR time, but that is pure speculation. It just felt so awesome to be running fast on dry rolling trails (when possible) and I really feel like my fitness is starting to come around.
At the junction, I took a few minutes to eat a Clif bar and emptied the dirt out of my Injinji socks I had just purchased the day before. The mini crew is too short and does not have a snug band, so there are nice wide gaps to let in dirt and muck.... poor planning! I do like the individual toes which seem to prevent blistering, so I might get the crew length which will work better, but are a little tall and grandpa-ish. Wish they made something in the middle and with a snugger band. I also gave my newish Brooks Cascadias a whirl on their first long run. They were awesome for the first ~2 hours and I was positive these would be the shoes I took for RRR in April, but then my feet started to get sore in certain areas, so I am not sure if it is my tender/under trained feet or the shoes, but I plan to give my new Montrail Streaks a whirl soon on the same route for comparison.
After a short stop, I headed back up the trail in a counter clockwise direction, around the muck, up the snowy/icy switchbacks, past the parking lot and down the hill a ways until I bumped into Allison and Emily. I then walked the remainder of the way back with them and the whole outing ended up being 5:45 by the time we got back to the car. I felt great and could have easily run that entire time, but was trying to balance training with being a good husband.
Hopefully the warmer weather holds up, this route will improve by the day and I can't wait to get out there again soon.
Our friend Emily drove up to Boulder to join us for a long walk/run to train for RRR in April. We started walking from Eldo (where the road turns to dirt), took the back way in on the Fowler Trail going casually, then took a short pit stop at the visitors center to use the facilities. Allison and Emily got a head start up the trail and I ended up not catching them until a few minutes beyond the switchbacks.
I walked with them for a bit, figuring out a plan on how to meet up later and was soon on my way running. The day was warming nicely and I was down to shorts and a tech T and was making good time, feeling strong and moving fast, though I took it super easy on the icy sections, as it would be too easy to take a fall.
I made it to the Walker Loop in 39 despite walking with the girls for a bit, stopping to adjust my Nathan Pack and going slow on the icy sections. Once at the loop, I decided to go clockwise, as the steep and icy steps through the clifs above the river scare me this time of year. The steps were mostly melted, but there were a few sections that were tricky to negotiate, even going up, so I knew this was the right choice, as it would be frightening going down. Even so, I had cleared this section and was on the ridge in 4 minutes from the junction and was soon making good time up the trail. From here to the lot, the trail was mostly melted and dry, except for several sections of snow, ice and mud that were not of much consequence as I was going up hill and not that fast anyways. Once beyond the outer lot, the trail was ice/snow covered as expected, so I took it pretty easy down to the river.
Once past the river, it was smooth sailing on mostly dry trails along the river, up to the main lot, along the ridge and over to the spot where the trail drops into the steep switchbacks on the N. facing slopes. This section was very snowy and icy and took some skill/careful foot placements to make it through upright. The next junction at the dirt road was thick with gloppy mud, the type that will pile onto your shoes and render you helpless, so I stayed in the grass for a bit, until the mud relented and I could get into some nice sloppy slush.
I made it back to the Eldo/Walker junction after a 1:16 loop. Not an impressive time, as the conditions were lousy, but when the trail was good, I felt like I was flying. I think if conditions were dry, I might have been close to PR time, but that is pure speculation. It just felt so awesome to be running fast on dry rolling trails (when possible) and I really feel like my fitness is starting to come around.
At the junction, I took a few minutes to eat a Clif bar and emptied the dirt out of my Injinji socks I had just purchased the day before. The mini crew is too short and does not have a snug band, so there are nice wide gaps to let in dirt and muck.... poor planning! I do like the individual toes which seem to prevent blistering, so I might get the crew length which will work better, but are a little tall and grandpa-ish. Wish they made something in the middle and with a snugger band. I also gave my newish Brooks Cascadias a whirl on their first long run. They were awesome for the first ~2 hours and I was positive these would be the shoes I took for RRR in April, but then my feet started to get sore in certain areas, so I am not sure if it is my tender/under trained feet or the shoes, but I plan to give my new Montrail Streaks a whirl soon on the same route for comparison.
After a short stop, I headed back up the trail in a counter clockwise direction, around the muck, up the snowy/icy switchbacks, past the parking lot and down the hill a ways until I bumped into Allison and Emily. I then walked the remainder of the way back with them and the whole outing ended up being 5:45 by the time we got back to the car. I felt great and could have easily run that entire time, but was trying to balance training with being a good husband.
Hopefully the warmer weather holds up, this route will improve by the day and I can't wait to get out there again soon.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Friday, 03/12/10 Green Mountain
Enjoyed a casual hike with Allison and Sierra today up Green. Conditions were excellent with Gregory Canyon being mostly dry, no traction needed and the upper half above the cottage being perfectly packed snow. It was sunny and warmer than usual, regular shorts wearing is getting close. I wore convertable hiking pants just in case I wanted to opt for shorts, but it never really got THAT warm.
On the way down we had a minor confrontation with some foreign tourists who let us know they are afraid of dogs. We stated that Sierra is friendly and just wanted to get past (as did we). One of the girls screamed in terror as Sierra scooted past and we were treated to a barrage of bilingual foul language as we passed. If you are afraid of dogs, hiking an off leash trail in Boulder might not be the best place to go? Go figure.
On the way down we had a minor confrontation with some foreign tourists who let us know they are afraid of dogs. We stated that Sierra is friendly and just wanted to get past (as did we). One of the girls screamed in terror as Sierra scooted past and we were treated to a barrage of bilingual foul language as we passed. If you are afraid of dogs, hiking an off leash trail in Boulder might not be the best place to go? Go figure.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Thursday, 03/11/10 Green/Bear/S. Boulder
Met up with Mike O, Brandon and Brandon's neighbor John at the Gregory TH around 9am. Took it super casual through Gregory, then Mike upped the tempo a bit after the Ranger Hut, soon after Jim had caught up to us. There was a surprising amount of fresh snow, just the right amount to slip slide in regardless of what kind of traction you have on your feet. Made the summit of Green in 48 I think (according to Mike). Back at the 4-way, Brandon and Jim went right as Mike and I went left down Green/Bear to Bear Peak W. Ridge.
I kept the pace casual in the fresh snow, as my goal for the day was to just go moderate and the fresh snow did not inspire speed. It was a bit of a slog breaking trail up Bear, over to S. Boulder (to the saddle) and then all the way back down Fern, as you never knew what you were stepping on/in.
We sped things up a bit at times on the Mesa Trail, sloshing through copious amounts of muck and packed snow. I am so ready for dry trails.
The whole loop back to the car via a Chautauqua detour was 3:20 including stops. Mike kept on top of the timing and had our loop at about 3 hours of moving time.
Despite the tedious conditions, it was a great day of playing in the snow.
I kept the pace casual in the fresh snow, as my goal for the day was to just go moderate and the fresh snow did not inspire speed. It was a bit of a slog breaking trail up Bear, over to S. Boulder (to the saddle) and then all the way back down Fern, as you never knew what you were stepping on/in.
We sped things up a bit at times on the Mesa Trail, sloshing through copious amounts of muck and packed snow. I am so ready for dry trails.
The whole loop back to the car via a Chautauqua detour was 3:20 including stops. Mike kept on top of the timing and had our loop at about 3 hours of moving time.
Despite the tedious conditions, it was a great day of playing in the snow.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tuesday, 03/09/10 Cougar Sighting on Green Mountain
Ran Green again today with Mike and showed him the more runable Gregory/Ranger route. We started off going moderate pace, but before long, we were going fairly hard. I think we passed Kerrie in the canyon, but it did not register until after the fact (still not entirely sure).
We made it to the Ranger Cabin in ~16:50 or so and took a short break to put on Yak Trax. After the short stop, it took me a while to get back into a groove (if I did at all). I pushed hard and felt as though I was sucking wind a bit, hacking up a lot of pflegm, but forced myself to run most of the way up even when traction sucked.
Made the 4-way in 35:15, then the summit in 38:56. Not too bad given my still somewhat lacking fitness and less than ideal conditions. Mike ran quite well, as he was breathing down my neck the entire run, except for the final few minutes where it was real steep, but he was only 15 or 20 seconds back by the top. One or two more days and I will be chasing him. Awesome for his 2nd mountain run ever.
We cruised the descent at a moderate conversational 28 mintues.
We made it to the Ranger Cabin in ~16:50 or so and took a short break to put on Yak Trax. After the short stop, it took me a while to get back into a groove (if I did at all). I pushed hard and felt as though I was sucking wind a bit, hacking up a lot of pflegm, but forced myself to run most of the way up even when traction sucked.
Made the 4-way in 35:15, then the summit in 38:56. Not too bad given my still somewhat lacking fitness and less than ideal conditions. Mike ran quite well, as he was breathing down my neck the entire run, except for the final few minutes where it was real steep, but he was only 15 or 20 seconds back by the top. One or two more days and I will be chasing him. Awesome for his 2nd mountain run ever.
We cruised the descent at a moderate conversational 28 mintues.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Monday, 03/08/10 Green Mountain
Today I met up with Mike O from Ohio, who tracked me down through Tony's blog. Mike is town visiting while on his Spring Break from Shawnee State University and wanted to check out the infamous Green Mountain that is getting some due notoriety thanks to Tony's current streak of daily (sometimes twice daily) training runs.
We ran a moderate pace most of the way and I backed off a few times to make sure Mike went the proper way through the intersections as I did not want to get too far ahead. My legs felt decent today and I was feeling as though I could go quick, but I figured I would be best to play it conservative as I know I am still recovering from a nice string of workouts culminating with a nice climb of Antero on Saturday.
I made the summit in 38 and Mike was only about 2 minutes back, pretty impressive I thought for never having run this peak and not really being acclimated. Mike recently set a 5k PR of 15:18, so I am sure that if he had the time to fully acclimate and run this a few times, he would certainly put in some really competetive times here. Great run, I plan on repeating tomorrow.
We ran a moderate pace most of the way and I backed off a few times to make sure Mike went the proper way through the intersections as I did not want to get too far ahead. My legs felt decent today and I was feeling as though I could go quick, but I figured I would be best to play it conservative as I know I am still recovering from a nice string of workouts culminating with a nice climb of Antero on Saturday.
I made the summit in 38 and Mike was only about 2 minutes back, pretty impressive I thought for never having run this peak and not really being acclimated. Mike recently set a 5k PR of 15:18, so I am sure that if he had the time to fully acclimate and run this a few times, he would certainly put in some really competetive times here. Great run, I plan on repeating tomorrow.
Saturday, 03/06/10 Mt. Antero 14,269
Mt. Antero 14,269
03/06/10
~13 miles/4,900 vertical from Baldwin Gulch TH
7:22 RT
Partners: John Prater, Dave and Emily Hale, Sierra, Shep, Kiefer
For at least a month, Dave and I had occasionally discussed the possibility of climbing Antero before Winter came to an end. The fact that there might still be a decent track left over from the recent Sarah/Dwight/Dominic/Kevin trip for us to take advantage of heavily influenced our decision, as did the ever improving weather forecast.
Since Dave and Emily stayed the night in Buena Vista and John and I would be driving to the TH in the morning, I suggested that they start as early as they would like and John and I would arrive a little later and do our best to catch up along the way.
The drive to the Baldwin Gulch TH ended up taking ~3 hours from my house in Louisville by the time I picked up John, stopped for gas, drove cautiously across the ice glazed roads from Kenosha Pass to Fairplay and stopped at Johnson’s Corner to use their facilities.
We finally got on the trail at 8:15am under sunny clear/calm skies and reasonably pleasant temperatures. I got a hold of Dave on the two-way radio and he indicated that they were about 1.5 miles up the road. John and I made good progress, going a steady but very comfortable pace, enjoying the nicely packed trail and the easy walking with Microspikes instead of snowshoes (I was the only one using them, they were helpful but not really necessary).
A short while after the creek crossing, I upped the pace a little, anticipating (hoping) that I would catch Dave and Emily by treeline where I could take a short stop for some food/drink/clothing adjustments.
I made great progress, but as I neared treeline, I took a few deep plunges into the snow, I was forced to put on my snowshoes very near treeline as the previous track petered out and the only tracks now were Dave/Em’s. I followed their tracks to the base of a low angled gulley and I could see them high above. Sierra saw them as well and took off up the slope and covered the ~800 vertical in just a few minutes, but unfortunately, there was no way I could match her pace.
I plugged along up the gulley and before long, we all convened on the road near the upper most switchback, where the road tracks toward the Cronin/Antero saddle. Instead of following the road on it's circuitous path away from the summit, we continued directly up the fall line, through variable snow and talus to the ~13,800 foot sub-summit. I was getting a little hungry by this point and decided that I would just put my head down, “cruise” to the summit and eat once I got all the climbing behind me.
The ridge was less “cruisy” than I expected, complicated a bit by the ample snow. I bypassed the most significant initial rock outcrop on the West side of the ridge which generally worked well, but this bypass was still a bit slower and more tedious than I expected. I should have just re-gained the ridge after the first tower, but instead was not exactly sure where would be the best spot to go back up. As a result, I continued a bit too far and got into some steeper terrain than I preferred and had to backtrack a bit to easily attain the ridge where Sierra was waiting patiently for me. I should have just followed her, as she always seems to find the easier way.
John and I met up again here and continued on to the summit together, where my long hiatus from the high peaks, lack of sleep the previous night and a bit of a bonk all added up and I was feeling a little crappy. I was very relieved to reach the summit, where I quickly gulped down a thermos of soup and soon started to feel a little bit better. Dave and Emily arrived soon after and we celebrated with congrats and high fives, taking some pictures and enjoying the excellent views.
The descent was straight forward, but a bit tedious with the variable snow and loose rock and I was regretting leaving my poles in the car, as they would have helped quite a bit. Once back at the snowshoe cache, it was smooth sailing down the lightly snow covered gentle ridge back down to the valley (if I had to do it over again, I would ascend this way as well, unless the snow in the gullies were more consolidated).
Dave set a mean pace all the way back down to the car and we only stopped once for just a minute or two, just cruising the packed trail and gentle terrain. As always, the miles of road on the descent seemed twice as long as the ascent and the cars were a welcome sight after a long day out.
Aside from a short amount of time near the summit, I was dressed quite lightly all day, just a base layer and light fleece, glove liners, ball cap. Unbelievable weather for this date, it could not have been better.
Antero was a new Winter peak for myself, Dave and Emily, satisfied a March grid slot for John and was a new 14er for both Sierra and Kiefer.
Thanks to the previous group and Dave and Emily for breaking trail, it really made the day quite a bit easier, it ALMOST felt like cheating.
Splits:
Start from Baldwin Gulch TH: 8:15am
Creek crossing: 9:23am
Last road crossing/Snowshoe cache: ~10:50ish
~13,800 sub summit: 11:47am
Summit: 12:33pm
Leave Summit: ~12:55
Finish: 3:37pm
Pictures
03/06/10
~13 miles/4,900 vertical from Baldwin Gulch TH
7:22 RT
Partners: John Prater, Dave and Emily Hale, Sierra, Shep, Kiefer
For at least a month, Dave and I had occasionally discussed the possibility of climbing Antero before Winter came to an end. The fact that there might still be a decent track left over from the recent Sarah/Dwight/Dominic/Kevin trip for us to take advantage of heavily influenced our decision, as did the ever improving weather forecast.
Since Dave and Emily stayed the night in Buena Vista and John and I would be driving to the TH in the morning, I suggested that they start as early as they would like and John and I would arrive a little later and do our best to catch up along the way.
The drive to the Baldwin Gulch TH ended up taking ~3 hours from my house in Louisville by the time I picked up John, stopped for gas, drove cautiously across the ice glazed roads from Kenosha Pass to Fairplay and stopped at Johnson’s Corner to use their facilities.
We finally got on the trail at 8:15am under sunny clear/calm skies and reasonably pleasant temperatures. I got a hold of Dave on the two-way radio and he indicated that they were about 1.5 miles up the road. John and I made good progress, going a steady but very comfortable pace, enjoying the nicely packed trail and the easy walking with Microspikes instead of snowshoes (I was the only one using them, they were helpful but not really necessary).
A short while after the creek crossing, I upped the pace a little, anticipating (hoping) that I would catch Dave and Emily by treeline where I could take a short stop for some food/drink/clothing adjustments.
I made great progress, but as I neared treeline, I took a few deep plunges into the snow, I was forced to put on my snowshoes very near treeline as the previous track petered out and the only tracks now were Dave/Em’s. I followed their tracks to the base of a low angled gulley and I could see them high above. Sierra saw them as well and took off up the slope and covered the ~800 vertical in just a few minutes, but unfortunately, there was no way I could match her pace.
I plugged along up the gulley and before long, we all convened on the road near the upper most switchback, where the road tracks toward the Cronin/Antero saddle. Instead of following the road on it's circuitous path away from the summit, we continued directly up the fall line, through variable snow and talus to the ~13,800 foot sub-summit. I was getting a little hungry by this point and decided that I would just put my head down, “cruise” to the summit and eat once I got all the climbing behind me.
The ridge was less “cruisy” than I expected, complicated a bit by the ample snow. I bypassed the most significant initial rock outcrop on the West side of the ridge which generally worked well, but this bypass was still a bit slower and more tedious than I expected. I should have just re-gained the ridge after the first tower, but instead was not exactly sure where would be the best spot to go back up. As a result, I continued a bit too far and got into some steeper terrain than I preferred and had to backtrack a bit to easily attain the ridge where Sierra was waiting patiently for me. I should have just followed her, as she always seems to find the easier way.
John and I met up again here and continued on to the summit together, where my long hiatus from the high peaks, lack of sleep the previous night and a bit of a bonk all added up and I was feeling a little crappy. I was very relieved to reach the summit, where I quickly gulped down a thermos of soup and soon started to feel a little bit better. Dave and Emily arrived soon after and we celebrated with congrats and high fives, taking some pictures and enjoying the excellent views.
The descent was straight forward, but a bit tedious with the variable snow and loose rock and I was regretting leaving my poles in the car, as they would have helped quite a bit. Once back at the snowshoe cache, it was smooth sailing down the lightly snow covered gentle ridge back down to the valley (if I had to do it over again, I would ascend this way as well, unless the snow in the gullies were more consolidated).
Dave set a mean pace all the way back down to the car and we only stopped once for just a minute or two, just cruising the packed trail and gentle terrain. As always, the miles of road on the descent seemed twice as long as the ascent and the cars were a welcome sight after a long day out.
Aside from a short amount of time near the summit, I was dressed quite lightly all day, just a base layer and light fleece, glove liners, ball cap. Unbelievable weather for this date, it could not have been better.
Antero was a new Winter peak for myself, Dave and Emily, satisfied a March grid slot for John and was a new 14er for both Sierra and Kiefer.
Thanks to the previous group and Dave and Emily for breaking trail, it really made the day quite a bit easier, it ALMOST felt like cheating.
Splits:
Start from Baldwin Gulch TH: 8:15am
Creek crossing: 9:23am
Last road crossing/Snowshoe cache: ~10:50ish
~13,800 sub summit: 11:47am
Summit: 12:33pm
Leave Summit: ~12:55
Finish: 3:37pm
Pictures
Friday, March 5, 2010
Friday, 03/05/10 Green Mountain
Up in 1:03
Down in 50ish?
It was a bit colder than yesterday, actually a lot colder with the wind on the upper half of the Ranger Trail. The snow that was so soft yesterday was a skating rink this morning. I just tagged along with Allison and Sierra, content to go their pace, even though my legs felt surprisingly good. Trying to fully recover a bit from the past few days and rest up in anticipation for my Winter climb of Antero tomorrow. I am very much looking forward to getting up high, but know that I will be sucking wind big time, especially chasing Homie on snow at high altitude. I have not been to 14k since 12/19/09 and it has been since mid Jan. since I have been above 13,000. Either way, it will be a fun and challenging day.
Down in 50ish?
It was a bit colder than yesterday, actually a lot colder with the wind on the upper half of the Ranger Trail. The snow that was so soft yesterday was a skating rink this morning. I just tagged along with Allison and Sierra, content to go their pace, even though my legs felt surprisingly good. Trying to fully recover a bit from the past few days and rest up in anticipation for my Winter climb of Antero tomorrow. I am very much looking forward to getting up high, but know that I will be sucking wind big time, especially chasing Homie on snow at high altitude. I have not been to 14k since 12/19/09 and it has been since mid Jan. since I have been above 13,000. Either way, it will be a fun and challenging day.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Thursday, 03/04/10 S. Boulder, Bear, Green, Flagstaff, Sanitas
Ran/hiked the skyline traverse with Brandon from the S. Mesa TH today. Forecast was for near 60 degrees and I decided to go with shorts/tee (with arm warmers), which turned out to be a good call.
The weather was perfect, but trail conditions were all over the place, dry, muddy, slushy, icy, hard packed snow, knee deep post holing snow and 10lbs of mud sticking to each shoe sloppy. We went a moderate pace most of the time with some easy cruising mixed in. Sanitas as usual was a grunt and I was thankful to be done, as today's run is about at the limit of my not yet enduring endurance, but was a great stepping stone.
We just had an awesome time enjoying good conversation, warm sun and great scenery. Bumped into the elusive Kraig K at the top of Green and chatted with him for a while.
Splits:
S. Boulder: 1:04
Leave S. Boulder: 1:12
Bear: 1:22
Splits in the middle were fuzzy, I never really looked.
Base of Sanitas: 3:23
Summit of Sanitas: 3:47
The weather was perfect, but trail conditions were all over the place, dry, muddy, slushy, icy, hard packed snow, knee deep post holing snow and 10lbs of mud sticking to each shoe sloppy. We went a moderate pace most of the time with some easy cruising mixed in. Sanitas as usual was a grunt and I was thankful to be done, as today's run is about at the limit of my not yet enduring endurance, but was a great stepping stone.
We just had an awesome time enjoying good conversation, warm sun and great scenery. Bumped into the elusive Kraig K at the top of Green and chatted with him for a while.
Splits:
S. Boulder: 1:04
Leave S. Boulder: 1:12
Bear: 1:22
Splits in the middle were fuzzy, I never really looked.
Base of Sanitas: 3:23
Summit of Sanitas: 3:47
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Wednesday, 03/03/10 Green Mountain
Met up with Tony this afternoon for a lap on Green. We started off chatting, but not long up Amphitheater, I was sucking wind, knowing that my fitness is not near where I want it to be, but as I tell George all the time, "It is only [insert month]".
Even though it was Tony's second lap for the day, I knew I was holding him up and after 6:45 at the first junction, he took me up on my earlier offer to go his own pace. He cruised on ahead and I kept him occasionally in sight on some of the more open areas, last seeing him just after I crossed the spring below the big, talus switchback ~10 minutes from the top.
I continued to fade and made the top in a somewhat disappointing 36:47. I was hoping to be in the 35 minute range, but I see after today that is a bit much for me to expect with the type of inconsistent training I have done over the last many months. No worries though, it is only March.
Tony was nice enough to wait ~4 minutes for me on the summit, then a few extra while I enjoyed some time on the summit. We took the descent at a casually quick conversational pace, getting back down in 22ish.
Spring was once again in the air today, it has me so mentally rejuvenated. It was also great to get my butt kicked and have a bit of a push up the hill, it will only make me better in the long run. My records indicate that I am on par or maybe even a little ahead of previous years with more consistent training, so I know the fitness will come.
Thanks for a great run and conversation Tony. I look forward to doing it again soon.
Even though it was Tony's second lap for the day, I knew I was holding him up and after 6:45 at the first junction, he took me up on my earlier offer to go his own pace. He cruised on ahead and I kept him occasionally in sight on some of the more open areas, last seeing him just after I crossed the spring below the big, talus switchback ~10 minutes from the top.
I continued to fade and made the top in a somewhat disappointing 36:47. I was hoping to be in the 35 minute range, but I see after today that is a bit much for me to expect with the type of inconsistent training I have done over the last many months. No worries though, it is only March.
Tony was nice enough to wait ~4 minutes for me on the summit, then a few extra while I enjoyed some time on the summit. We took the descent at a casually quick conversational pace, getting back down in 22ish.
Spring was once again in the air today, it has me so mentally rejuvenated. It was also great to get my butt kicked and have a bit of a push up the hill, it will only make me better in the long run. My records indicate that I am on par or maybe even a little ahead of previous years with more consistent training, so I know the fitness will come.
Thanks for a great run and conversation Tony. I look forward to doing it again soon.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Tuesday, 03/02/10 Green Mountain
Met Wayne at Chautauqua, jogged the road to the Gregory TH to avoid the copious amounts of mud along the way. We started off jogging the Amphitheater Trail, but it was a bit steeper than Wayne was used to, so I let him set the pace.
He jogged most of it and I hiked behind him chatting away about our upcoming trip to the Grand Canyon. It was much warmer than it has been (fast approaching shorts weather), but the snow was still nice and solidly packed on the front side which was a welcome surprise.
Made the summit in a very relaxed 47:15, then jogged the down in a quickish, but not pressed 21:34.
He jogged most of it and I hiked behind him chatting away about our upcoming trip to the Grand Canyon. It was much warmer than it has been (fast approaching shorts weather), but the snow was still nice and solidly packed on the front side which was a welcome surprise.
Made the summit in a very relaxed 47:15, then jogged the down in a quickish, but not pressed 21:34.
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