Monday, 02/24/14 La Sportiva Bushido, The Ultimate Mountain Running Shoe?

After running in the Bushido for a few weeks in a wide variety of conditions, I can honestly say they are the most competent and versatile mountain running shoes that I have worn.  This shoe strikes what I feel to be the perfect balance of grip/traction, stability, agility, responsiveness, ground feel, protection, fit and cushion, all in a light (for all the it offers) package.

I am quite impressed with how well this shoe hooks up in just about all conditions, snow, mud, slush, wet rock, dry rock, steep gravel and even moderately icy trails.  It even scrambles quite well and can double as an approach shoe.  Certainly the best I have used for a wide variety of conditions, it handles it all very well.  I never really worry if it is going to stick or not.

The "STB Control" TPU frame that wraps underfoot offers amazing stability and control (don't ask me what that really means, all I can tell you is that whatever it is, it really works).  This shoe is amazingly stable and precise when pushing one's limits in the most technical and rocky terrain.

The rock plate is bomber.  I have aimed for the sharpest embedded rocks and hardly feel a thing.  Though this is not the most cushioned shoe out there, my feet never get tired or feel as though I need more cushion.

Fit has been an occasional issue for me when it comes to La Sportiva and even though these shoes are pretty low volume, the upper hugs the foot in a soft, yet very supportive manner.  Lateral stability is unmatched and there is no compromise in comfort.

The toe bumper is just right, not too obtrusive, but just enough to adequately deflect all but the most severe and sloppy toe hits.

And they are light.  In the past, it seems the only way to get this sort of protection was with a 10+ oz. shoe, but Sportiva pared it down to 9.1 oz. and with all the high end performance features, the Bushido may well be the best mountain running shoe yet.

If you happen to be in the market for a new pair of shoes, they are worth a try:

http://www.sportiva.com/products/footwear/mountain-running/bushido

Monday, 02/10/14 Sourdough Snowshoe Photos

A few photos taken by Amelia Tanttila, who was photo/video documenting the Sourdough Snowshoe Race last month.

Seconds into the race

Kendrick (in green) going out too fast ;)

Geoff Roes back to racing

Yet another Tony impersonator.  I almost said something, but I know the response "yeah, I have heard of Anton, but I have had this look since before I knew who he was and it is just coincidence that I wear all the same clothes (or lack thereof), shoes and drive a white pickup with a cap"

I look horrible here in my unflattering shirt, 1991 tights and deformed fun house fat mirror face.

Charlie Nowacki (11.5 miler winner)

Me chasing (I think)

Love this shot of Joe Grant and I.  Was glad to have the hooded shirt, as the Atlas Race snowshoes really flick a good rooster tail.

Geoff

Charlie winning.

My good buddy (and RD) Kevin Lund

Saturday, 01/25/14 Sourdough Snowshoe Race

Sourdough Snowshoe Race
1/25/14
11.6 miles
~1,500 vert.
2:02
2nd Place
Results

My good friend Kevin Lund is the race director of the Sourdough Snowshoe Race and I pretty much have no choice but to participate.  Sometime in the Fall, both my wife and I are automatically signed up by default and I largely forget about it, aside from the occasional reminder from my wife, Kevin, or friends who are considering racing and up until about a week prior, did not even know what date it was being held, just knowing it was some Saturday in January.

So, for the 3rd time since first participating in 2010 (I think Allison has done all 5, or at least 4), we headed up to the Nederland Community Center Saturday morning for check in.  The only hitch, was that we were both a bit under the weather, catching colds from our 3 year old twin daughters who each took turns being sick over the week.  Allison was in bad enough shape that she pretty much knew she was not going to race as soon as she got out of bed, but wanted to head up and volunteer, spectate and get a little fresh air.  I was feeling a bit run down on Friday and awoke Saturday morning with a runny nose and was hacking up orange phlegm, but fortunately my energy and enthusiasm for the race was high.

I hung out a bit with Kendrick before the race, who was there to have a crack at his first snowshoe race and I chatted briefly with Joe, Geoff, Charlie and a handful of familiar acquaintances.  I spent a few short minutes warming up on the course (was really just looking for a place to pee and had to make sure the new snowshoes that I have never used before worked) and was a bit fearful of the pain that was to come, having not really run hard or “trained” since Pikes last August.  The starting altitude is around 9,200 feet and I was severely under acclimatized, having only been above 8,500 feet only two or three times since last August.  Just easily jogging in the snowshoes had my heart pounding out of my chest.  How will I run 11.5 miles?

The race started a bit after 9am and I was happy to let 2 time winner Charlie Nowacki take the lead.  I figured he would slowly pull away and I would get swamped by a few of the faster guys just behind, but we all seemed to settle into a "comfortable" and sustainable rhythm.  After about a half mile, I creeped up on Charlie as the grade steepened a bit and slowly eased past.  I (correctly) suspected that I would not get too far ahead or that I would lead the race for too long, but kept at it regardless, just sticking to my game plan of running my own pace and not worry about what others around me were doing.  But still, I was itching to look back and see what was happening, yet just settled for out of the corner of my eye glances on the switchbacks, where I could see Charlie looking strong, then Joe (his report) close behind and another guy, who might have been Ryan Herzog (knowing Joe was in the 18 mile race, but was not sure of the other).

The miles ticked by and trail conditions were very good.  I felt strong, feeling like I was moving quickly and efficiently.  A bit after 4 miles, I figured I should probably take a gel so that I could wash it down at the turn around/aid station, as I opted not to carry water.  I debated this, as I knew it would slow me, but I figured I should do it just to be on the safe side, as it could pay dividends later in the race.  Of course, choking down a gel at near max effort is no easy task for me and it took way too long and slowed me a bit.  Around the time I finished this gel and very close to the turn around, Charlie came powering by in a convincing fashion and I figured he would be long gone.  I was however able to rally a bit and keep him close, as I yo-yoed 10-20 seconds behind, all the way to the turnaround/aid station at mile 5.8, where he was just leaving as I arrived.  I took a quick swig of water and took off in pursuit with my game face on.

Shortly down the trail, I passed Joe where we exchanged encouragement and a failed (on my part) low five.  Then it was Ryan (I think) and not long after saw Geoff (Geoff's report), who was all smiles and seemed to be really enjoying his first race back in ~2 years.  I maintained my 10-20 second lag, but was struggling a bit on the now churned up trail and even walked briefly a few times on the steeper uphills.  The trail was not that bad, but any loose snow seemed amplified as I became more tired and my footwork was becoming sloppy.

I stayed pretty much within sight to mile 9.2,  I never gave up, but at that point I pretty much knew that unless he really blew it, I was racing to maintain 2nd place.  At 9.6 miles I caught one last glimpse, which gave me a touch of hope that I could rally on the final descent, where last year I maintained 6:?? and even saw high 5:?? Pace on my Garmin, but once I got to this long gradual descent, I got an abdominal cramp and could not muster a pace any better than ~7:20.  I pretty much had no choice but to jog it in and knew it was over at that point.  As always, the final mile seemed to take forever, expecting the next bend to be the end of the trail.  When I finally arrived at the finish, Charlie was already holding his award, so I knew I had lost a good chunk of time and suspected that even if I had not had a cramp, I most likely would not have caught him.

Charlie finished in 2 hours even to my 2:02, each of us finishing 9 minutes slower than our times last year.  Heart rate data suggests that I put in a near even effort, so I think snow conditions were just a bit slower this year.  We lingered for over an hour post race, trading war stories, eating and helping Kevin hand out raffle prizes for finishers (I got a nice pair of collapsible Atlas poles).

This race is a blast, as it is small, low key, well organized, has great prizes, is close to home, the course is fun and the people and competition are great.  Although I was 2nd yet again, I had a great time and it felt good to be competing.  Charlie was 7th at snowshoe Nationals last year and plans to go better this year, so finishing as close as I did felt like an accomplishment.  Having now run/raced on snowshoes 3 times, I really wish I could do this more often.

Friday, 12/27/13 Mt. Evans

Mt. Evans, 14,264 ft.

12/27/13

Scott Gomer Gully/West Ridge from Guanella Pass

12.36 miles

3,934 vertical

8:32 (start 7:41am, finish 4:13pm)

Homie and I started from the Guanella Pass winter road closure at the Silver Dollar Lake Trailhead at 7:41am (which adds 3.5 miles for the round trip).  The temperature was 8 degrees and because of that, I opted to wear my warm winter boots instead of my Gore-Tex trail running shoes.  The problem with this however, is that my boots do not fit into my running snowshoes that I brought along on this day.  Having had remarkably good luck along Scott Gomer creek on prior trips to Gray Wolf and Bierstadt, I naively thought I might be OK without.  Little did I know how wrong I would be.

We made easy progress up the packed road to the pass and the temperature seemed quite comfortable for being in the single digits.  It helps when there is no wind, which is a rarity here.  Snow levels seemed generally minimal and once onto the trail for Bierstadt I was happy to find that the snow was packed reasonably well.  After crossing the creek, we followed the drainage toward Scott Gomer Gully and within a 100 feet or so, I knew I had made a bad mistake.  I kept pressing on while Homie geared up with his 30” snowshoes and he soon caught up to me and moved ahead breaking trail.  Sometimes I could stay on top, but without poles and the added weight of a winter pack, I was often sinking in knee deep and sometimes up to mid-thigh or worse.  I contemplated turning around and just hiking Bierstadt, but I knew Homie wanted Evans for a grid slot and I did not want to disappoint because of my poor planning.

Just moving though the sugary, unconsolidated snow had me close to being at my limit and the frequent extractions nearly did me in.  The effort was really making me sweat, despite not being overdressed and still being in the shade.  It was a real grovel fest, but we were making progress, albeit slowly.  We finally got to a point where we could start an ascending traverse of the south facing slopes on the north side of the drainage toward the gully, but the willows and snow were not much better.  Soon, we cleared the willows, but we were hardly any better off crossing talus fields with an unconsolidated layer of snow hiding many deep holes.  Once in the gully, the gradient increased, but the snow decreased, footing improved and I was feeling a bit better.  Above treeline, progress was easy, as the existing snow was fun to stroll across with Microspikes, or could be avoided entirely. 

As we gained the long west ridge of Evans, I was starting to feel the fatigue of my willow wallow and not having been above treeline since Labor Day weekend.  Though the ridge is easy, my wobbly legs were not up to the task of the rock hopping required to move as efficiently as I normally would and I took my time through here, carefully picked my way through the rocks and snowfields.  The weather though was what saved the day for me.  We were comfortable in light layers and did not even need gloves, it was so warm, clear and calm.  It is rare to get days this nice in the summer, never mind December.  I commented how it felt like cheating, but Homie reminded me of all the days out there where we have suffered greatly, so this helps to balance things out.  We topped out around 12:50pm, much later than I had predicted, but was happy to get there regardless.  This was my 2^nd  winter ascent of Evans (1^st was by bike in January 2009) and my 31^st overall ascent of Evans.  This also filled a grid slot for Homie and I.

We spent about 10 minutes on the summit, although I would  have liked to linger if it were not for the late-ish hour (bringing lights never even occurred to me) and I knew I was going to be late for a long planned and rare date night with my wife.  I again took it easy along the ridge, not feeling all that coordinated and Homie was gracious enough to wait on me.  The descent beyond was easy, the gully required care, but was not bad.  I was not at all excited about the return trip through the willows, but hoped that our morning trail breaking efforts, plus the addition of one other climber with snowshoes who made an attempt would lessen the effort, but it was not to be.  The warm day softened the snow enough that the trip out was even more difficult, especially with the cumulative fatigue setting in.  I had no choice but to just power through and was thankful for good fitness and endurance.  Being any less fit could have proved to be a predicament.

I was quite relieved once we intersected the well packed Bierstadt trail and I upped the pace, occasionally jogging to catch back up with Homie, finally making contact a few minutes from the pass.  We made it to the pass a little after 3:30pm, made some gear adjustments and then enjoyed the easy walking back down the road to the car, finishing at 4:13pm for a 8:32 round trip.  I had originally figured 5 hours, maybe 6 if we took our time, but having it take so long was a real surprise and all day, our progress always seemed to be out of sync with the watch.  Had I brought snowshoes, or there had been less snow in the willows, we certainly would have shaved some large chunks of time.

Though this ended up maybe being my hardest earned winter 14er, or any 14er for that matter, I had a great time and was quite satisfied with the accomplishment.  As always, spending the day in the mountains with Homie is a blast and he is a great (patient) partner to have along.

Starting to finally gain some elevation

Homie changing his socks after dipping his foot in the creek.  It was so nice and warm here and the summit still seemed so far away, it was tempting to just call it a day here.

Homie on the summit.

Looking back along the always longer than remembered West Ridge.

Days just do not get much better than this at 14k, any time of year.

Selfie

Putting Microspikes back on for the gully descent

Looking toward Square Top, Argentine, Edwards, Grays, Torreys

Thursday, 12/05/13 Green Mountain/Flagstaff

Green #159 on the year (#830 since Dec. 2004)
From Chat, up 1st/NE/Greenman, down Ranger/Flag.
6.36 miles/2,673 vert./2:02

Planned on getting in two laps, but soon into the run I knew that was wishful thinking.  With below zero temps, I was bundled up, feeling more like hiking than running as to not overheat, but I also did not feel too light and sporty with two layers of pants, wool shirt, hoodie shirt, thick Marmot softshell jacket, heavy shoes with Microspikes, balaclava, Nathan pack with backup warm stuff, etc....   Had some contact issues this morning on the way out the door, so scrapped that and was forced to stick with the prescription glasses, which as expected, was a disaster on a cold snowy day and was constantly messing with fogging issues.  I can see OK without correction, but I did not want to stuff the glasses away in a pocket and risk damaging them and I was absolutely incapacitated if I was in the open sun without them, so I was determined to make things right.

I was dressed perfectly and was quite comfortable, but even though I had waterproof eVent shoes (Saucony Razor 2.0) and thick wool socks, built in gaiters/additional gaiters, my feet got quite cold as I broke trail in the deepening, unconsolidated snow.

Made the summit in a very lackluster 1:04 (and noted how that is 4 minutes off my RT PR from Chautauqua for the ascent ONLY), uggh.  I spent a few minutes on top, taking in the better than average scenery and wished I had brought my camera.  Though my toes were cold, I was hoping to rally for a second lap, but soon into the descent of Ranger, my toes went from cold to painfully cold, to numb, to seemingly detached wooden blocks.  This got me a bit worried and I was kicking myself for not wearing my larger shoes in order to accommodate my warmest sock setup.  Thoughts of a second lap quickly vanished and all I could think of was getting down and warming my toes.  I even contemplated hitching a ride down Flag.

Once I got to the ranger cabin, my toes were feeling as though they were being tortured with scalding needles, so I knew they were coming back.  I contemplated that second lap, but I was running far behind on time at this point and I was content to just add on Flagstaff.

Despite the cold temps and colder toes, this was certainly one of the more beautiful runs in a while with all the fresh snow.  I was quite content to go slow and enjoy the beauty.

A few random thoughts:

I have gotten a kick out of the back/forth on the mountain between OSMP and the monkey wrenchers.  It started with police tape/plastic fencing/plastic signs, which within a few weeks of the flood, would quickly disappear, regardless of whether or not the trail was open or not.  It just became a free for all on the trails and was business as usual, families, retirees, dogs, out of towners.  I went weeks, maybe more than a month without ever seeing a sign or closure on Green (or just about anywhere else for that matter), until OSMP decided to up their game with thick cables and metal signs discouraging access to Saddle Rock and Gregory.  Within a day or two, those too disappeared.  Another week or so went by, then I noticed very thick padlocked chains pop up with metal closure signs in the middle.  I figured that was that, party over, as far as running those trails with total impunity.  But, now those are even gone.

I know I should be happy that only 8% of the trails are still closed, but to me, it is nearly 100% of what I normally run.

Saturday, 10/26/13 Monster Dash

There was a little Halloween race in downtown Louisville, so we decided to go check it out and enter the Spooky Sprint, the shortest of the race options (10k, 5k, 1/2 mile, 1/4 mile and 1/8 mile).  Amelie and Isabelle wanted to go dressed as Snow White and Cinderella, but miraculously, I was able to talk them into Tinkerbell and Fairy costumes, on the grounds that these costumes were faster.

We biked the 1.5 miles into town, got registered and then were told that the Spooky Sprint started on main street and headed back to the start/finish banner.  This was surprising to me, so I checked with the announcer at the start finish (which he confirmed) so with plenty of time to spare, we walked up toward Main Street to watch the 1/2 mile and 1/4 mile races go by.  After the completion of those races, we heard the announcer assembling the Spooky Sprint racers and I was struck at how few of us there were and was surprised that none of the nearby marshals were lining us up despite the fact that the countdown was on.

The start horn blows and we immediately realized that the race indeed started at the start line and we were starting from the turnaround cones.  Oops.  We, along with several others who had asked me where the race started, ran toward the oncoming rush of racers in our race, made it to the start line, where we saw some friends we knew and finally got our race officially started.

I don't think the girls ever really knew the difference as to what was going on vs. what was supposed to happen, but I was a little annoyed by the screw up by two different race officials.  I have raced enough to know that races usually start at the start line and finish at the finish line, so I was skeptical right away, but figured since this was a short kid's race, things might be different.

Either way, the girls were much more determined in this race than the Taste of Louisville race back in June (where they were tied for last), and they held their own here, mid pack roughly.  This race ended up being way too short and I should have signed them up for at least the 1/4 mile if not the 1/2 mile.  Next time, we will sign up for a longer race and be more sure of the start location.

Either way, we all had a great time.

Race Video: ( Password:  Sierra )
MVI 4380 from Jeff Valliere on Vimeo.

Heading to where we think is the start line.

Pre race jitters and fueling

Spectating the 1/2 mile race

The race is finally underway

Well placed at the turn around as I encourage them to rally for a negative split

Pushing hard

In the finish chute

Saturday, 10/19/13 Buffalo Peak (Lost Creek Wilderness)

Buffalo Peak, 11,589
10/19/13
TH: Stoney Pass
Partners: Allison and Sierra
8.46 miles (starting from Wellington Lake)
3,755 vertical
6:43 Round Trip (~4 hours moving time, yeah, we stopped a lot)

Having made an attempt at Buffalo in May, 2008, I was simultaneously eager to get back there and finally make the summit, yet not too excited, knowing how slow and tedious the terrain is.

Allison and I had a full day and a half without the twins, so we were eager to get out to Lost Creek Wilderness for a hike and maybe catch some waning Fall foliage. We initially were set on a repeat of Bison/McCurdy, but after spending Friday afternoon/evening transporting 3 tons of crushed stone and a massive pile of woodchips to the back yard, along with all the associated landscaping work, I was too exhausted to even think about packing, getting up early or doing anything physical.

After 9.5 hours of solid sleep (amazing how well one can sleep without kids in the house), I felt refreshed, so we packed quickly and were out the door a bit after 8am. We still had no idea where we were going in LCW, we just headed up 285 with Roach book in hand. We narrowed it down to Windy (new for Allison, but a repeat for me), or Buffalo, which would be new for both of us and soon committed to Buffalo, as it is only 5.2 miles.

A few miles down Park County Road 68, South of Bailey we started to encounter snow and ice on the road and I suspected that we would not be able to make it to the trailhead on the steeper, North facing Stoney Pass. Just beyond Wellington Lake, there was a reasonably deep creek crossing, followed by a steep icy grade where I would have no momentum to even have a chance, so we turned around and parked, which would add an extra 3 miles to our hike. The walk up the road was a pleasurable warm up in the warming sun and led us through some brilliant aspen groves. The road, as remembered got steeper and as expected got icier, which validated my decision to park where we did. AWD and studded snow tires or chains would have been a must on this morning.

A beautiful start to the day

Some lingering, but very limited Fall foliage

Once at the pass, as Roach states “the hike is completely off trail and stark in its simplicity”.  “Bushwhack 2.3 miles SW up unrelenting slopes to 11,400, then it still does not relent”.

Having been here before (but only to 10,000 feet) we knew what we were in for and the fresh snow added to the challenge.  This route required constant attention to keeping on the proper track on a macro level and continually trying to find the path of least resistance over the continuous deadfall and at times thick trees and bushes.  There were numerous false summits along the way and we were constantly wondering where the heck this summit may be.  Though on paper the route is quite simple, it is almost entirely in the trees with very few line of site opportunities.  We did not have a map or GPS, so I was relying on my memory from 5 years ago and a good bit of dead reckoning/terrain reading.

Sierra sporting her finest Winchester hunting vest (yes, it is hunting season and we heard a lot of distant gun shots, but fortunately nothing close)

Looking North toward Mt. Evans with the Castle and Wellington Lake in the foreground

"Spiking up" on the ascent (Microspikes went on/came off numerous times on the up due to varying snow quality)

Starting to look like Winter

Almost there

Progress was slow and combined with our 10:08 am start, casual breaks and approaching turn-around deadline, I was starting to think we may not make it, but the prospect of having to come back for a 3^rd attempt at this peak was gnawing at me.  At 11,400, there is a large meadow where we took a break to get a bit of energy and assess.  I knew we had to be very close, as we were just 100 vertical feet from the summit and the distance on my Garmin watch further hinted at this.  Sure enough, after pressing on for a few more minutes, the Eastern summit appeared and we were quite relieved.  The true summit though is the Westernmost of the twin summits, just a few hundred yards away, with a bit of a dip.  A few minutes of careful boulder hopping and scampering got us there and the views did not disappoint.  It was a perfect fall day and we of course had this remote and difficult to access peak to ourselves, spending 15 or 20 minutes enjoying the views.  At 2:25pm, we figured we should get boogying, as we knew the difficult terrain would be slow on the descent as well.  Microspikes helped tremendously and the descent went easier than expected, as I could follow our ascent tracks and just cruise on auto pilot.

Looking SE toward Pikes  

View to the South

The West (true) summit from the East summit (Windy Peak just beyond to the left)

Looking back at the East (lower) summit from the West summit

Looking NE with Wellington Lake far below

View to the West

Windy Peak ~4.5 miles away

At 2:25pm, we figured we should get boogying, as we knew the difficult terrain would be slow on the descent as well.  Microspikes helped tremendously and the descent went easier than expected, as I could follow our ascent tracks and just cruise on auto pilot. 

Buffalo is a bit of a challenge, but is really fun if you enjoy steep bushwhacks, routefinding and log hopping.  Was thinking it would be a blast to put together a Windy/Buffalo link up with a car shuttle someday.  

Thursday, 10/10/13 South Boulder Peak, Bear Peak, Bear Peak, South Boulder Peak

9.8 miles
5,645 vert.
3:01

Got out this morning for my first run/summits on open trails post flood.  Was quite happy to learn that Bear and SoBo opened yesterday morning via Fern and Shadow, accessed only by the Shanahan Trails, so I was eager to head over, since I had not yet seen Shadow Canyon.  Put in a moderate effort up Shanahan, South on Mesa, up Shadow to SoBo, across to Bear, down Fern, then back up for another dose of both peaks.  Steady pace today, not really pushing at all, just enjoying the freedom of moving along on open trails, without the worries of the only one new, human initiated post flood threat.

A few random thoughts.

• I am stoked to be able to legally access Bear and SoBo, this is a huge step.  Although I think it took them a few weeks to long, I am glad those trails are now open, so moving on.
• Moving on...  onto the still closed trails.  It makes no sense at all to have them still closed.  Shadow Canyon is very rough and eroded post flood and based on OSMP standards for safety and user friendliness, I am a bit surprised they opened it.  I personally do not mind at all though, it was fine before and though different now, a bit more technical, it is fine now.  I prefer technical trail over the buffed wheelchair accessible trails like they created on the new (last year) Green/Bear connector.
• Regarding Shadow, I am not sure whether it being open now inspires confidence that the much less affected trails on Green and elsewhere will open soon, or if it being open now erodes my confidence that those making the decisions do not really know what they are doing.  Seems as though there is no rational consistency here.
• Was thinking a bit today, with a chainsaw, some flagging and a pick/shovel, I could re-open Amphitheater/Saddle/Greenman AND Gregory/Ranger in a day, maybe a day and a half tops, by myself (taking into account that I have never performed trail work before).
• Thinking about comments relayed to me from the OSMP Council meeting last night, I am a bit disturbed by much of what I heard, but two things jumped out at me, that were cycling through my mind today while running.  They say they are not sure what to do with the huge washout on the dirt road the connects Realization Point and the Ranger Cabin that comprises part of the Gregory Ranger route up Green.  Not sure why this is so tough, and again, I am no expert, but it seems very simple.  Route the creek back on it's original path (currently it is flowing through the washout where the road/trail once was) and get the dump trucks of dirt rolling.  No biggie.  OR, they could leave it as is, create a trail on the hillside on the North bank of the washout/creek and have it be foot access to the cabin.  Not sure why it is essential OSMP trucks need to make it there.  They could also re-locate the outhouse to the Realization Point lot, where it could be more conveniently utilized by more people, or just scrap the outhouse altogether.  BUT, that is all no reason to keep it closed to hikers, as it is all easy to bypass.  Another option would be to temporarily use the old, still in tact trail that begins at the top of Gregory Canyon that ends just above the Greenman/Ranger junction, which would avoid damage entirely and enable a complete undamaged route to the top of Green.  This could happen right this minute with no work.
• One of the Council members last night mentioned that some trails may never re-open because of "fissures".  What are these "fissures"?  Where are we, Hawaii?  Vesuvius?  The San Andreas Fault?  I have no idea where they got this and why they would even embarrass themselves by saying such an ignorant comment.  It sounds as though some of these stiffs have never set foot off of pavement and these are the people representing our best interests?  Quite disturbing.
• I wish I had the time and skills to help fight the good fight like Buzz and Peter have been doing for so many years.  A huge thanks to them for all they do/have done.  I for one really appreciate it, these guys are heros.

Monday, 09/16/13 Longmont Flood Photos

With all of OSMP closed and the remainder of the foothills essentially inaccessible, I was forced to do some flat running from work on my lunch break, so I got out for a quick scout around Left Hand Creek and the St. Vrain River.  As bad as the flooding is, it made for a bit of an interesting adventure trying to get around all the destruction, closed paths, standing water and closed roads.  I made the mistake of wearing road shoes and I was sliding all over, essentially hydroplaning at times on the fine silty mud.

Left Hand Creek at 95th

This house was among the most severely damaged along the creek (at least in this neighborhood).

A lot of these houses really lucked out, missing the wrath by literally a few feet.

Pike road underpass (bike path underneath)

This is normally ankle to knee deep, now it is eating away at the banks and knocking trees over.

Damaged, but probably repairable.

Under previous normal flow, you could probably cross in a few steps, now it is really wide.

Collapsed pool

Looking East from 287/Main.  The cement path is completely washed out, I think all the way to 119 from what I could tell.

287/Main over Left Hand.  Looks like a crack has developed in the center of that buttress.

Now along the St. Vrain River.

Still very angry

National Guard is all over protecting neighborhoods, blocking roads and helping however they can.

The industrial parks along the river got hammered.  Have to wonder what chemicals spilled into the river.

I could loosely follow the path along the river, but had to really work at it, take detours and be creative.

Standing water near the fairgrounds.  It really stunk here, as the floods cleaned out the vast stables and left deposits of poop all over.

This whatever area was really toppled.

I was glad I quit following the path when I did and crossed the river on a road bridge (Sunset I think), as this bridge would have caused me some serious detouring or backtracking.