Solitude at Indian Creek

Work has been pretty stressful for the last two months, and coaching my daughter's soccer team this fall has eaten up most of the available free time in my schedule.  So when I got word at 6:55am on Saturday that our soccer game was canceled, I grabbed my gear and headed for the hills.  I needed some real solitude to unwind and my gracious wife said these fantastic words as I stepped out the door, "Honey, take your time and just enjoy yourself.  Don't worry about us."

My destination was the best kept secret on the Front Range.  Indian Creek.  I haven't been back there for a year and half, and that's crazy when you see how amazing the running is.  I don't understand why it's not more popular.

What I didn't tell my wife, was that my "under the radar" plan was to go on a bear hunt.  I know that area is known for lots of bear crawling around and this time of year is perfect since they're actively on the prowl for food before the long winters nap.  I've never seen a bear in the wild, so I planned to run with my camera in hand and capture a shot - hopefully at a safe distance.

I started in Roxborough State Park heading up the Carpenter Peak trail before veering off on the Elk Valley trail.  Eventually that connects to the Indian Creek trail and the true fun begins.

Thursday's snow left a cushy, unspoiled blanket of white.

I think I woke this guy up.

He didn't budge while I ran by.  Probably too cold to move.

There are very few open expansive views on these trails.  For the most part you are running in the forest 90% of the time.  Perfect if you ask me.

Not much melting had occurred, so it was 3-4" of snow everywhere.  This kind of running is exactly what I was looking for.

Every so often, my large noggin would knock a branch like above and snow would pour down my neck or in my face.  Exhilarating!

I had planned to run a few more miles back there, but I came to several sections like this and had difficulty sticking with the trail.  I decided it would be a smart move to make my way back to Roxborough.

Sadly, I couldn't find a bear.  This baby track was the most excited wildlife encounter outside of spooking countless deer.

As I ran the Roxborough Connector trail, I started getting bummed the run was coming to a close.  Time to slow down and goof off with the camera.

I don't usually get too artsy with my pictures, but this is what happens when I start procrastinating.

I encountered my first people of the day on top of Carpenter Peak.  

The trails got quite muddy on the descent from Carpenter and I had to pull some serious willpower out to not turn around and head back into Indian Creek.  I wasn't ready to get back to real life stuff.

I can't tell you how thankful I am for the opportunity to run in such beautiful places that usher in the peace and solitude that I need.  Sure it gets eery being deep into a place that redefines what quiet means and where your footprints are the only ones those trails will see for days - or weeks.  And sure it stinks when its over, but as I've learned each time I head out the door - there's always another day to run.

Run Stats

Roxborough Run with T.

My wife has become quite the trail runner this fall.  She trained for and ran the Bear Chase Half Marathon and then a week later I got her to join me running my favorite front range trails - Roxborough State Park.

It wasn't just a casual jog around the valley floor either, no we ran up Carpenter Peak AND did the Powerline Loop before heading back down!  What a great afternoon it was!

If you haven't already, you gotta check out the fall colors at Roxborough some year.

At points we were running in the summer heat...

At others we were in winter's deep freeze!

T. soaking in the reward of a running a peak.

The ice from the hard freeze the night before still clung to all the NW branches.

Obstacles?  What obstacles?

Can you say "perfect day"

She's a REAL trail runner now!  Took her first fall on the trail.  I only wish I could fall that gracefully.  Thankfully, no cuts or scraps.  She got right up and kept on running!

The last of the pristine Roxborough views on our descent.

I've had a lot of amazing trail runs this year, but this one immediately becomes a favorite.  I hope there are many more to come.

Wildcat Mountain Trail Challenge - 20 mi.

My ladies made it out to the finish, but it got downright cold standing around!

After last years Wildcat Mountain Trail Race in the snow and cold wind, I thought for sure we would be in for a mild & sunny race this year.   Just one weekend prior, I hung out at the Bear Chase Race on a gorgeous day watching Tanya rock her first trail half marathon.  Needless to say, I had that kind of a day all lined up in my mind.

No such luck.  Yes, we were met with a 28 degrees at the start under foggy and misting skies.  It had rained the night before, so the trails had just enough moisture in them to create sticky mud which promptly gathered on the bottom of your shoes with 5 lb. clods.

From the start I tried to stay with the lead pack, but one guy went out fast and created a small gap.  I started chatting with Andy Palmer, but we were cranking out a 7 min pace, so that didn't last long.  He pulled ahead and began the chase of another guy that had recently passed us. 

After about two miles, the realization set in that I wouldn't be catching up to the top three guys.  They were now flying at a sub-7 pace and I was in no shape to attempt that for 20 miles.  I locked into a pace that was by no means comfortable, but possibly sustainable.  I had 5th place about a minute or two back, so I had plenty of motivation to keep moving.  All these paces were total guesses because once again, my watch battery was dead on the start line and I was left to run 100% by effort.  I'm becoming more and more convinced that this is the way to go.  I love the freedom of running by effort and having one less distraction.

Around mile 10, our tour of The Bluffs ended and we joined all the 5 & 10 milers...and the passing began.  It definitely ain't the easiest or most graceful thing to accomplish.  The trail is singletrack, so passing means venturing into the tall grasses.  Even though I felt like I had slowed considerably, by the number of people I was passing, I must have still been cruising at a pretty good clip.

The four out & backs on this course confirmed the decent lead the top three had, but they also let me know I was putting distance between myself and 5th place.  Although on the final one, I noticed Andy was closing in on #1 and I was gaining rapidly on 3rd place.  The last two miles are almost all downhill and I gave it my all in a final kick. 

If I had another mile, I might have caught him, but as it stands I crossed the finish line one minute after for 4th place.  2:24:51.  Good for a 12 minute improvement over last years snowy scramble.  Somehow I also got first in my age group...gotta love chasing the fast 40 year olds!  Okay, it also helps that there were only 24 finishers of the 20 mile race.

I'm going to try the HR Backcountry Half Marathon next month and if I learned anything from this race, I really need to get in some training runs in the low 7's on those trails before I attempt any speedy shenanigans again.

Save The Date

The 2nd Annual HR Pancake Trail 20 Run will be held on Saturday, 11/17.  More details to come, but I'm pleased to announce a few.  The course will be altered a bit from last year.

• In the tradition of Hardrock, we'll be reversing the direction and running the route clockwise this year.  This means the 1.5 miles of pavement will be over and done with before we're on dirt the rest of the way.
• You'll get to run on the curviest stretch of trail in Colorado.  36 turns in .35 miles!
• We'll say hello to the Daniels Park buffalo herd while running the most scenic stretch of dirt road (voted by me) south of Denver.  Possible aid station at Daniels Park.
• Lastly, you'll get to see the world's largest compass before heading back to chow down on the best pancakes (regular and gluten free) you'll have this year.

This is not a race, but a chance to run while lamenting the end of the 2012 trail running season.  We pretty much run together and meet up several times to re-group.  

If you want to race these trails, c'mon out the weekend before to the Backcountry Half Marathon.  Better yet, c'mon out sooner to the Wildcat Mountain 5/10/20 mile run on Saturday, 10/6.

Mt. Antero and more....

We spent Labor Day weekend camping near Buena Vista at the Chalk Lake Campground.  It's a beautiful spot to spend a weekend.  Our first day featured some play time at the lake, scrambling up a slope of boulders, and a hike to Agnes Vaille Falls.

The small, but pristine Chalk Lake.  It is spring fed and loaded with fish.

A challenge was made, and the race was on!

The scramble up the boulders ended up being much steeper than we thought it would be!

Zoe led the charge and I couldn't keep up with her!

The trailhead for Agnes Vaille Falls was right across the street from the campground.  It's only a half mile hike, so you can expect a packed parking lot when you arrive.

Sadly, we learned Agnes Vaille was an avid outdoorswomen who died after falling 100' during a winter ascent of Longs Peak in 1925.  She actually survived the fall, but succumb to hypothermia before she could be rescued!  That was definitely a downer as we started the short hike.  Interestingly, the shelter on Longs just below the Keyhole is also named after Agnes Vaille.

Once again, Zoe was full steam ahead.

On Sunday, I convinced the ladies to spend a morning at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, while I took a jaunt up Mt. Antero.  I didn't get an early start, but was able to shave off 3.5 road miles when Tanya offered to drive me to the 2WD trailhead.  I started at 7:30am and the plan was for me to meet them back at the campsite at 12:30pm.

If you have a good 4X4 vehicle, you can drive 3+ miles up a very rough jeep road and get much closer to treeline.  I wanted to run it and make it about a 18 mile outing (inc. the road back to the campground).

The first hints of fall colors.  Climbing Antero means OHV roads all the way to 13,700'.  It all very runnable.

The last time I hiked Antero, my buddy James & I drove my truck across this creek.  This day I hopped the rocks.

Around 11,000', the Aspens were exploding.

Same trees but a little closer.

I had originally intended to tag Cronin Peak before Antero, but I couldn't find the trail over to the north ridge.

A good look at Antero's summit from above treeline.

Cronin Peak was named for Mary Cronin, who was the first woman to climb all CO 14ers in 1921.

At 13,100', I finally noticed just how spectacular the clouds were this day.

From here you can easily climb the SE ridge of Cronin Peak, but I would have to pass on it as my time was running out.

Now at 13,700', this is the end of the road for the OHV's.

I thought I'd document the time it took me to get this far.  2:01.  I was feeling great and ready to make a strong push to the summit.

After crossing the ridge, I plowed my way up the talus.  It was quite shifty and I couldn't follow any defined trail.

Looking back on the ridge.

Yeah!  Only 17 mins to the summit!

I arrived on the summit at the exact moment another hiker did.  We started chatting and he informed me that I just passed Eric Lee as he descended from the summit on his way to the final two peaks of his attempt of the Nolan's 14.  Awesome!  He did complete the challenge in 57:27.

After introductions, I learned my summit companion was Bob Whitely, 20 time finisher of the Pikes Peak Marathon!  He's a 68 year old hiking and running machine...and a really nice guy.  We spent over thirty minutes on the summit talking and enjoying the views.  He was getting in a last long run in preparation for Imogene this weekend.

The Chalk Cliffs.  I learned they're not actually chalk.

Mts. Tabegauche & Shavano.

View to the west, Baldwin Gulch, Cronin Peak, and the Antero switchbacks.

Mt. Princeton and the Sawatch Range to the north.

Thanks for the summit shot Bob!

Funky cloud over Shavano.

After saying farewell to Bob, I began my descent and didn't stop until I reached the trailhead.  I felt great for the first 3-4 miles, but then my quads reminded me of what I did to them two weeks prior at Leadville, and the rest of the run was a tad uncomfortable.

The jeep roads were unforgiving at times.

But catching this clump of gold again on the return trip reminded me of how lucky I was to be in the high country.

I made it down in 1:30 and started the 3.5 mile road run back to the campground.  I was tired, hot, thirsty, hungry, and all around ready to be done.  Lo and behold, two minutes later Tanya came driving up the road.  I've never been so happy to see my truck!  I hopped in and we were off to lunch and then back to the Hot Springs for the afternoon!

Getting the last bit of life out of my gnawed on Hokas.  963 miles and still going.