Grand Mesa 60K Trail Race

I just finished the Grand Mesa 60k (37 mile) Trail Race, out near Grand Junction.  It was a great race with great volunteers, great organization, and breath-taking views.  I'm already planning on doing the 50 mile variety next year!  The race began at 5am (in the dark) and was my first experience running with a headlamp at night.  We only needed the headlamps for about the first hour, but that first hour was memorable.  Then as the sun began to come up, we slowly crested the Crags Crest Trail, which runs up to a thin, craggy, crest (hence the name) that crowns the Grand Mesa at about 11,500 feet.  The vistas were amazing as the early morning light illumined the San Juans about 80 miles south of us, the beautiful DeBeque Canyon to the north, and the hundreds of lake that adorn the top of the Mesa.  I wish I had brought a camera, but I was pretty concerned with finishing the race, and with the fewer number of aid stations, I packed every pocket and compartment in my Camelbak and waist belt with gels.  Here are a few more generic pictures to give you and idea of the views.

Along the top of the Crest

Looking down off the Crest

After the Crag Crest loop, the first aid station was back at the starting line.  By that time, everyone was pretty spaced out, so I ran up with nobody in sight either ahead or behind me.  But then I heard cow bells and lots of cheering voices, so I assumed there must be runners up ahead I hadn't seen.  But no, it was all for me!  There were about 20 volunteers and spectators acting like I was Scott Jurek - what great people!  They took good care of me, refilling my Camelbak, giving me more gels and pointing me the right direction.  The next 20-some miles were gently (usually gently) rolling hills on top of the mesa, with about a dozen or so lakes.  

The turnaround point and Flowing Park

The weather was perfect for running - high temperature about 58 (at least by noon) and usually overcast sky.  I know that doesn't sound great, but for running I couldn't have asked for more.  I worked really hard to drink and eat as much as I could along the way, and it paid off.  I never really hit a wall and ended up running between 90-95% of the way.  I also managed to find a fellow runner with a similar pace, and Gary and I ran together for about 12 miles towards the end.  It makes a HUGE difference to have someone to chat with and made the time and miles go pretty quickly.  Sooner than I expected, I ran into some hikers who cheered me on and said, "Just a mile or two to go!"  I stopped and said, "What'd you say?"  (After 30-some miles sometimes my mind plays tricks on me).  And they said "Yep, you're almost there!"  I was incredibly relieved, but also suspicious of the good news.  But sure enough, a couple of miles later I saw the finish line and found out I finished 6th overall with a time of 7:01!  Whoo hoo!  

A view of the Mesa - 5000 feet from top to bottom!

Now I'm recuperating (a sore knee, but that's it) and getting excited about picking out the next trail race!

Bob and Betty Lakes/High Lonesome/Devil's Thumb

Bob and Betty Lakes/High Lonesome/Devil's Thumb Run

Sorry about the long title, I couldn't figure out a better description for this particular hike.  It's all in Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, but that's an awfully big area.  Plus, those are some pretty great names, right?

This run started at the Hessie trailhead, just outside the town of  Eldora.  Did you know there was a town of Eldora?  I knew there was a ski resort, but it turns out just past the ski resort is a really cute little town that I wouldn't mind having a cabin in.  (It's an awfully long list of places I wouldn't mind having a cabin in.)  It follows one of the many branches of Boulder Creek and was a wonderful change from the parched run I did last weekend in Pike National Forest.  There were a ton of wildflowers, a roaring stream, hundreds of butterflies following me, and frequent views of the rapidly approaching, snow-capped Indian Peaks.  All it needed were rainbows and unicorns and it would have been a perfect scene for a velvet painting.  

After climbing and climbing (the hike started a little below 9000') I got to Bob Lake, and then Betty Lake, which are on a little spur off the main trail.  They both sit in a high valley that's absolutely breathtaking (and also literally breathtaking, since it's at about 11,200').  

Above is Betty Lake, the lower of the two.  Flowing out of both of them were surprisingly large waterfalls, and enough marshy-willowy areas to thoroughly soak my shoes.  Again, such a change from the South Platte area - here's a picture from that hike!

But back to Bob and Betty!  I thought I'd cut across back to the original trail, but just ended up tromping through about 100 yards of marsh, re-soaking my shoes and slowing me down considerably.  After about 20 minutes though, I found the original trail and headed up to Woodland Lake, which sits just below the Continental Divide near the Ralston Pass 4WD road.  I passed it, and headed up to the Divide, but first took a quick picture of dear old Bob and Betty as I ascended:

Once I got to the Divide, I joined the High Lonesome Trail, which follows the Divide on the West, providing great views of the Frazier Valley and points west.  Points west include views of the mountains around Steamboat, the Gore Range near Veil, Lake Granby, and the southern peaks of RMNP.  The trail is aptly named since it's all above tree-line and although you can see forever, there's no evidence of human existence whatsoever!  It was great!  After a couple miles of that I headed back to the Eastern Slope over Devil's Thumb pass.  I looked all over for the Thumb, and finally saw it once I had gotten all the way back down to Devil's Thumb Lake.  Not very thumb-like if you ask me, and as to the Devilish quality, I couldn't guess.  On the way back I had planned on taking another side-trip to Jackson Lake, but a couple of the gels I had stuck into the outside loops of my Camelbak had fallen out, and I didn't want to risk bonking (running out of fuel) so I just took the straight shot back to the Hessie trailhead, completing the loop.  On the way back I went through some beautiful fields of wildflowers - some of the reddest  Indian Paintbrush I've ever seen, and yes, more butterflies and waterfalls.  Here's some of the wildflowers there:

All told the run (frequently just a hike) was 17 miles and took about 4:45.  For you scoring at home, you'll find that's not a very fast pace, but I wanted to enjoy it and take it easy before my big race in Grand Junction next weekend.  It's a great loop though - I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good run, or a really long hike.

Ben tries Fast-packing!!!

I've been wanting to try fast-packing for several months now, and a couple weeks ago my lovely, supportive wife said, "You should shut up about fast-packing and just do it already!  Why don't you go this weekend?"  After thanking her profusely, reflecting on what an awesome wife I have who would allow me to abandon her and the two boys for a weekend, and generally counting my blessings, I started to get serious about planning my trip.

First of all, for those of you who aren't aware of fast-packing, a quick definition.  Fast-packing is like backpacking, but you generally run, and you bring a far smaller pack (to allow for the running part!)  So instead of a traditional backpacking trip, where you might cover 10-15 miles a day with a 40 pound pack, a fast-packing trip might cover 20-30 miles a day with a 15 pound pack.  I love the idea because it means I can explore more, see more, and experience more during my trip.  For those of you who have backpacked before, you might wonder, "How do you manage with a 15 pound pack?  That's crazy!"  And you'd be right, at least about the last part.  Which is another reason I wanted to try it.  Although fast-packers vary in what they bring along, most people dispense with the tent and just bring a sleeping bag, a thermal blanket, or a tarp.  Obviously this depends on the weather you're going to encounter, but the overall idea is that you just sleep out under the stars, wherever you happen to stop running.

As I researched the concept, I discovered that there are a lot of wonderful fast-packs you can use.  These are specially designed to be small (around 20 liters in volume, 1-2 pounds empty weight) yet still have shoulder and waist straps so they stay firmly on your back while you're running.  Many of them also have hydration systems (more on this later!) to allow for the ample water supply you need while running long distances.  Although my wife is amazingly supportive, she is also very cheap (a quality I share with her!) and suggested that before I invest $100, I should try out the whole experience and see if I'm actually going to like it.  So I started hunting around the house for backpacks that met most or all of the characteristics listed above.  My day-pack was a good size but bounced all over my back when I ran.  My Camelbak (which is awesome!) simply had no room for anything other than a couple of gels.  My backpacking-backpack was WAY too big.  So my final solution?  My 3-year old son's backpack, courtesy of my folks.  After adding another strap to hook into my waist-belt water bottle holder, it sat on my back without bouncing around.  And between the two packs I could fit:

• A light-weight fleece sleeping sack
• 5 almond butter and jelly tortillas
• 4 Odwalla bars
• Iodine pills for filtering water
• Bear spray (to ward them off, not smell like a bear)
• Some Clif Shots and Clif Blocks
• A baggy with some bandaids, sunscreen, disinfectant, etc.
• A headlamp
• A lightweight rain jacket
• Two water bottles

So I looked a little silly with my "Junior Ranger" mini-pack tied down chaotically to my waist-pack, but it held what I thought I needed and didn't chafe my neck or back.  

Next I figured a good route: one I knew well, wasn't too high, and was one-way so I'd stay motivated to finish.  I settled on the Colorado Trail from Waterton Canyon to Wellington Road, where the Lost Creek Wilderness starts.  Originally Kristina and the boys were going to pick me up out west when I finished, but then we decided that they'd take me out there, have a picnic together, and then drive home, while I started running the 40+ miles back to Littleton.  There's nothing more motivating then being dropped off in the middle of nowhere, knowing that your only choice is to run home!

After I got used to the idea that I had actually chosen to do this, I settled into a good rhythm and really enjoyed the run.  My pack was only slightly heavier than my loaded Camelbak, and the first few miles of the run are almost all downhill.  It's a beautiful area with Lodgepole and Ponderosa pines, and a few gurgling streams.  Unfortunately, after about 6 miles the streams dried up, and the pines thinned out as I struck out into Buffalo Creek Burn area.  The complete lack of trees made for an amazing view, but the unrelenting sun, combined with late afternoon humidity and a complete lack of surface water, caused some serious problems.  

Although I refilled one bottle early on when there were still creeks, I had emptied both bottles by mile 15 with another 10 to go before I got to the South Fork of the South Platte river.  It was miserable!!  The last few miles were passed by stumbling, grumbling, and lots of internal monologues where I berated my "adventurous spirit."  By the time I got to the Platte I was dehydrated, and although I drank as much as I could, it only made me nauseous.  Luckily I was also sleepy so I thought I'd just sleep it all of, since it was getting to be dusk anyway.  However, my decision-making faculties were also sub-optimal due to the dehydration, and I chose to sleep on a hill (bad idea!) covered by sage and needle-and-thread grass (worse idea!) in my feeble fleece sleep sack.  After initially passing out due to my exhaustion, I woke up about half an hour later to realize that this situation was untenable, and then tried to find a new place in the waning light of evening.  I found a slightly better place, but my fleece bag had already absorbed about a million little needle-and-threads, which - in conjunction with the jutting rocks - conspired to wake me up every 15 minutes the entire night.  Oh, and I discovered that a "50 Degree Comfort rating" does not mean that one is comfortable when the temperature dips to 50 degrees.  I'm not sure what it DOES mean, but I did notice that the comfort rating was in quotes, so maybe it's the manufacturer's way of joking with me.  Oh, and several times that night I was awoken to blood-curdling screams that sounded like they came from a horror movie!  I later discovered (thanks to Google) that this was the mating call of the female red fox, and so not the least bit dangerous, but I didn't know then!

Eventually the sun rose however, and the new day brought new energy, optimism, and the realization that if I didn't get home by noon my wife would call in search and rescue.  So I started off and the last 15 miles went by with relatively few snags.  There were more water sources along the way, my iodine pills seemed to be working great, and running in the early morning meant it was nice and cool.  I also found huge stands of rasberries and thimbleberries, and gorged on them a bit more than I should have.  Although in the middle of the night I promised myself I would never do this again, an entire day has since passed and I'm figuring out my next route and working out new ways to pack.  The lessons I learned were:

• Never assume the blue lines on the map will actually have water!  Especially in drought-stricken Colorado!
• Bring more water!  I need at least 24 ounces of water per hour, which means I need a full Camelbak (70oz) if I go more than 12 miles without documented water sources.
• Fleece sleeping bags are pointless!  They don't cushion the ground, they don't add significant warmth, and they absorb pointy-things!  (So maybe they're not "pointless"!  :)  )

I hope you enjoyed the summary and if you're thinking about fast-packing, hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.  I also promise to include pictures in future postings.  Some of my favorite blogs (see Woody's Blog) include amazing pictures of the sights that are possible while trail-running, and although I'm not much of a photographer, I think that nature's beauty will speak for itself.  

Inspired by some great trail-running blogs, I decided to try my hand at this blogging-thing as well!  As I've learned first-hand, blogs can be a great way for people with similar interests to share information, ideas, and inspiration.  Although I'm not an expert trail runner, I do love the sport and hope that some of the information found on this blog can help other trail runners as well.  

One of the main reasons I love trail running is the opportunity to explore the beautiful, awe-inspiring landscapes of Colorado (where I live) and the rest of the American west.  A few years ago I discovered that I could take road-running (kinda fun, but generally boring) and apply it to hiking (super-fun, but limited by time).  And voila!, now I could use my limited time and get in some serious exploring!  (Obviously I'm not really exploring since I'm going on trails blazed by hardier souls, but it's good enough to satisfy my wonderlust!)  

So if you're a trail runner yourself, or just interested in hearing about my running adventures, I hope you enjoy the following postings!