Thursday 12/30/10 Green Mountain

Had a great day out in the snow with Allison and Sierra (up/down Gregory/Ranger).  Met up with Homie on the summit and he joined us for the descent.  It is not close to Joel Wolpert/Tony quality, but here is a short video from the day.

Splits: 

Up in 1:23
Down in ???


Green Mountain 12/30/10 from Jeff Valliere on Vimeo.

Wednesday, 12/29/10 Green Mountain

Whether or not I would be able to get out today remained tenuous at best, though I was always at the ready and pounced on the opportunity at the last minute, as I found it nearly impossible not to get out for a run in shorts one last time for the year.

Started up Amphi/Saddle/Greenman a bit after 3pm.  It was a good bit warmer than yesterday, but a bit windier.  My perceived effort was a little bit higher than both laps the previous day, but most of this was because I was in a hurry and tight on time.  Even though I pushed a little harder (moderate to upper moderate), my legs were feeling a bit sluggish and I ended up putting in the slowest time of 3 ascents in 2 days.  Descended back down the front on cruise control.

Splits:

Up:  36:27
Down:  21:36

RT: 58:03

Tuesday, 12/28/10 Green Mountain x 2

Snuck in 2 laps on Green today, up/down Amphi/Saddle/Greenman.  Went pretty easy on the first lap, moderately casual, but took it very easy on the down, as the 6oz race flats I was wearing/testing (Inov 8 F-lite 195s) were a bit too minimal and soft for rocky and technical trails.

Second lap seemed to be a bit more conservative to start, but I ended up 10 seconds ahead of the first lap at the Saddle/Greenman jct., so I upped the effort a bit to the harder side of moderate and ended up a minute faster by the summit.  Went a little quicker on the second descent, but still somewhat slow due to the next pair of shoes I was testing (K-Swiss road shoes), as they had better cushion, but less than optimal support on the upper for this type of terrain and I was worried about twisting an ankle.

Splits:

1st lap:

Saddle/Greenman: 20:30
Summit:  36:20
Descent: 25

2nd lap:

Saddle/Greenman: 20:20
Summit:  35:20
Descent: 23

Sunday, 12/26/10 Green Mountain

Started at 7:30am, up back/down front.  Easy jog up, took my time coming down for a little trail work and stuck to Saddle to the bottom instead of Amphi.

Did not see another person outside of the parking lot.

41:54up
25 down

Saturday, 12/25/10 Green Mountain

Started around 1pm.  Up/down front, felt a little better than yesterday (at least I had no phlegm/throat issues).  Super crowded at the TH and on the trail/summit, more than the average weekend day for this time of year.  Was great to be running in shorts and a T (it seemed warmer at 8,000 feet than it was at the TH, but the Gregory TH is always an ice box).

Splits:

Gregory TH to summit:  33:19
Descent:  19:20

Run RT: 52:39

Drive from home in Louisville to Gregory TH: 12:45

Drive from Gregory TH back home: 13:35

Total RT with driving:  1:18:59

Friday, 12/24/10 Green Mountain

I was in a bit of a hurry today, as I promised to get in my run quickly and get home to get ready for Christmas Eve festivities.  I sent Homie an invite and our timing was perfect, as he was on his way there in the morning as well.  I told him to get a head start and I would either catch him along the way, or meet him on the summit depending on which came first. 

My need to get this run in quickly, coupled with my motivation to chase Homie had me going light, with shorts, long sleeve shirt and fast feeling shoes.  I almost started off too fast, but geared back a bit to warm up some.  Hit the 1st jct. in 6:24, decent, but not super fast and still no sign of Homie.  I kept a steady tempo and eventually spotted him above as I neared the first spring, figuring I would pass him near the 1st Flatiron jct..  About this time, my throat started gurgling up phlegm and I was hacking up a lung, which gave away my stealth approach.  Homie heard/saw me coming and put up a good fight, not allowing me to pass until Saddle Rock. 

I made the Greenman jct. in 18:40, still solid, but not near PR.  I debated going for broke, but my motivation was not really there and I just wanted to cruise it in and finish 33-34 minutes as I had intended.  I tagged the summit at 33:30 which I was pleased with considering the time of year, hung out for a minute or so and then backtracked about 2 switchbacks down to finish back up with Homie (who was pushing pretty good and had a killer sprint on the final stretch).

After a short break on the summit, we headed back down, just chatting at a coasting pace.  Great to get out on an awesome Christmas Eve day. 

Hope everyone has a Happy Holiday!!

Splits:

Top of Amphi:  6:24
Saddle/Greenman jct.:  18:40
Summit:  33:30
Descent: 23 high or low 24??

Thursday, 12/23/10 Green Mountain

A.M.  3 road miles running back/forth to Big O for an oil change.

P.M.  Met up with Aron shortly after 3 for a trip up Green.  Went up Amphi/Saddle/Greenman at a casual pace for me, but pushing Aron to go a bit faster than on our previous few trips.  A short ways up Saddle Rock Trail, we crept up on the BTR Thursday HHR run and I think that inspired Aron to push a bit harder than normal, combined with the fact that I was not making him talk as much as I typically do.  The BTR group turned out to be a few people we vaguely know, or know of.  Fred Ecks, Peter B and Steph E, Maria P and Chris ?.  We became somewhat mingled in their group and chatted with them off and on for the remainder of the hike and for a while at the summit.  It was surprisingly warm and calm and with a bit of daylight remaining, Aron and I opted to descend Bear Canyon, a new route for him.  Of course, we had our picture taken twice along the way.  Aron probably thought it was the papparazzi stalking him for some 127 hours dirt ;).

Finished up around 5:15 just as it was getting dark.  Awesome evening run.

Splits: 

44:30 up
1:07 back to Chautauqua
5 or 6 back to the cars near the bridge

Sunday, 12/19/10 Green Mountain

Met Homie at the Gregory lot at 4pm, up Gregory/Ranger at a casual pace.  Wore my studded shoes today and scratched on rock for the most part, but was thankful to have them in a few spots coming down the front side.

Up: 47
Down: 30

Saturday, 12/18/10 Green Mountain

Met up with Dave a few minutes past 11am at Chautauqua.  Headed up Flagstaff/Ranger at a generally casual to moderate pace, chatting and laughing about posing for the wildlife cameras placed around OSMP to verify our claims of running Green Mountain ### amount of times.  We went a little harder over the final 10 or 15 minutes to the top of Green, but it did not seem as though we were going fast, just slipping around in the loose snow conditions and I was sucking wind.

We spent a few minutes on the summit and then parted ways, as Dave was tacking on Bear and SoBo, while I went down Greenman/Saddle/Amphi.  I threw on the spikes for the upper switchbacks which helped, but soon became overkill, as there was just enough snow to make things slick, but not enough to make the spikes the right choice.  Spotted some fresh Homie prints in the snow and was hoping to cross paths, but no sign of him.  I went home and drilled up a pair of screw shoes.

Splits:

58 up (from Chautauqua via Flag with a few minutes of stopping included)
25 back to Gregory/5 more to Chautauqua

Friday, 12/17/10 Green Mountain

Up/Down Gregory/Long Canyon/W. Ridge.  Finally it feels as though Winter has arrived.  A dusting at home turned into snow covered roads by Chautauqua and then several inches on the trail.  Followed 3 sets of tracks up Gregory and was playing the tracking game.  What kind of shoes, gait, age of tracks, is it somebody I know?, how fast are they moving, when or if I will catch them?. 

I finally passed them at the top of Gregory, a group of 3 hikers with serious day packs and gear.  I was still following some down tracks to the cabin and was itching to get some freshies, so I headed up Long Canyon.  Damn, more down tracks, a new set laid by a duck footed hiker, male, size 11 or 12.  It was snowing reasonably heavy, very peaceful though and when I topped out, I noticed a OSMP ranger truck and did the track math, figuring out who belonged to the tracks. 

Coast clear, up through the woods to Super Flag, then got the freshies I was looking for on W. Ridge to Green and was surprised to be the first one to summit that morning (or at least since the snow accumulated).  On the way back down, I passed the 3 well equipped hikers from earlier and the duck footed ranger laboring behind.  It was fun to follow my own tracks back and critique my own prints.  I definitely do not pronate or supinate and was impressed with my artwork, perfectly straight, in line and well spaced, cutting the apex just right.

Footing was REALLY crappy all day with the several inches of light snow and no base.  Traction would not have worked, as you would be scraping on everything underneath, but it was slick and prime conditions to roll an ankle, so I took it super casual, especially on the descent (and even then, still managed to minorly roll my weak right ankle).  An amazing morning in the snow, let's hope for more.

Splits:

56:27 up
41:59 down

Thursday, 12/16/10 Green Mountain

Got out a little later than I had hoped, maybe started at 1:30pm or so from the Gregorty TH.  Up Gregory/ Ranger at a moderate pace.  My legs felt strong, but my right ankle made a loud snap 3 steps in (is surprisingly gimpy from twisting it last week and also my achilles was very tight (ongoing issues since April)), so I just rolled along at a conservative tempo.  Back down the same way, going a decent pace, but still being careful and favoring my right ankle a bit.

Splits:

Up:

16:12
20:00
24:34
33:53
37:29

Down:  22:40

RT:  1:00:09

Monday, 12/13/10 Green Mountain

Allison and I met Aron at the Gregory TH at 4:15pm for a leisurely trip up Green, as it was in the 60's here today and none of us could resist an evening hike.  Up Gregory/Ranger, down Greenman/Saddle/Amphi at an easy conversational walk the entire way.  What a beautiful night to be out, hard to believe it is December.

Up:  60
Down: 50

Saturday, 12/11/10 A new route on Green Mountain

For years, I have been eyeing the steep and narrow canyon, adjacent to the rock outcrop/overlook near the top of Gregory Canyon. This canyon creates the deep North/South cleft between Saddle Rock and lower Greenman and has been luring me since first noticing it, so I decided on somewhat of a whim to finally get off trail and do some exploring.

I started up the Gregory Canyon Trail shortly after 2pm, jogged easy to a point just beyond the second wooden bridge and then dropped down into the bush choked canyon. Progress up the canyon was slow, as the walls narrowed and the Gregory Canyon Trail soon seemed to soar quite the distance above. Before long, the canyon steepened as it turned SW, then South, leading to a pronounced headwall.

Staying in the center of the canyon proved to be impossible through this section, as the creek had frozen here into a nice waterfall of ice. This was easily bypassed to climbers right on a nice (but a little exposed) ledge system and immediately the canyon became relatively level again. From here on, the going continued to be slow and somewhat tedious at times when sticking to the canyon floor. I encountered a real tangle of bushes (sometimes thorny), deadfall, mossy rocks and boulders, ice etc…., as I stuck to my arbitrary “rule” of staying within 10 vertical feet of the canyon floor.  At any time, I could have made quicker progress on the relatively clear hillsides above. 

It never ceases to amaze me how getting off trail just a little bit can bring such a sense of isolation and adventure. I could have reached a busy trail in 5-10 minutes in any direction, but it felt like I may have well have been in Alaska. After 47 minutes of hunching over, crawling, zig zagging, shimmying, back tracking, extricating myself from leg grabbing bushes, galumphing and getting slapped in the face with branches, I finally intersected with the Greenman Trail, exactly where I anticipated a few minutes below the Saddle Rock junction. It was a welcome relief to be on the familiar and well travelled trail, which I continued on to the summit, then down Ranger/Gregory so I could view bits of my ascent route from afar. My only regrets were not having a camera, thicker gloves, eye/face protection, or good company to share the exploration with.


Splits:

Intersect with Greenman Trail below Saddle Rock jct.: 47

Summit: 1:04

Descent: 29 (easy with a few stops)

Friday, 12/10/10 Green Mountain

Started from Chautauqua, then up/down Amphi/Saddle/Greenman.  It was very windy and I was not particularly motivated.  I pushed somewhat hard for a short while (5 or so minutes at best), but my physical performance, mindset and unity of the two were lackluster at best.  I felt decent on the down, but my right ankle that I twisted yesterday was still a bit sore, so I just cruised (quick, but not taking any risks).

Splits:

Up:

4:23 warmup to Amphi from Chuatauqua

Reset watch:
6:23/12:30/14:33/19:10/33:55

Descent:

20:33 to Gregory TH/23:55 to Chautauqua

1:02:13 RT