Bergen Peak - Steady Climb

Experienced the first flakes of the season at the summit of Bergen Peak after a steady ascent with friends.

Time: 2:04
Distance: 12 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Average
Weather: Cloudy & Cool

Met up late morning with Patrick G., Woody A. and Steve F. at the house. We quickly set off and ran a half-mile of roads to the neighborhood connector trail toward the upper parking lot at Elk Meadow Open Space. Once on the park trails, we cruised over to Meadow View and took that to the Bergen Peak trail and started climbing.

We ran a steady pace the whole way up, tagging the summit sign in just under an hour. As we stood at the summit sign we got a couple minutes'-worth of snow/ice falling from the sky...enough to call it the first flakes of the season here in Evergreen (the summit is at 9,708-feet).

After a few minutes of scenery gawking at the overlook, we started the descent at an easy pace. We returned the long way via Too Long, Meadow View and Painters Pause to the lower lot, then climbed up Sleepy S to another neighborhood connector that leads, after a few twists and turns, right down into the backyard.

Next up was a proper cool down, which consisted of Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale and an array of appetizers from the bottomless fridge. Really enjoyed catching up with Steve, Woody and Patrick. With my schedule, I don't get to run with groups as much as I'd like. Good conversation makes the time fly.

I felt surprisingly worked this evening. I've been taking it very easy since the Steamboat Run Rabbit Run 50, with only one or two 10+ mile runs. Might be time to start getting back into it.  Which reminds me, I signed up last week for February's Moab Red Hot 50K. I've already put in a request for no snow or mud this year.

Thanks to the gang for the run, especially for Woody, the day after placing 7th in the Wildcat Mountain 10 miler, and Patrick, a day after chasing Tim W. and Scott J. up Lookout Mountain doing 6x1 mile repeats. And I'm complaining about feeling worked...

Al Buehler Cross Country Trail II - Durham, NC

Just one lap through the woods of the Al Buehler Cross Country Trail adjacent to the Duke University campus.

Time: 35:18
Distance: 4.29 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Poor
Weather: Sunny & Warm

Felt pretty beat up today. I'm ascribing that feeling to the brisk pavement run of yesterday. Either that, or a wimp affliction has taken hold.

After a post-conference walking tour of the campus (Cameron Indoor Stadium, chapel, etc...), I high-tailed it to the hotel room, jumped into running clothes and dashed across the street to get in a few miles on the 2.9 mile gravel trail that winds through the woods around a golf course.

Definitely wasn't feeling it today. Didn't enjoy anything about the run, other than feeling good about having done it, post-run. 

Home tomorrow.

Tour de Durham

Curiosity + exploration = grounding oneself in a new place. 


Time: 1:08
Distance: 8 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Average
Weather: Sunny & Warm


An unexpected conference schedule change opened up at the last minute an hour and a half of unstructured free time...just enough time to explore the environs on and around the Duke University campus.


From the hotel/conference center, I run a circuitous loop that took me through the campus and downtown Durham. On campus, I ran past the Cameron Indoor Stadium, the storied basket ball arena. I had always heard that it was a small, raucous and intimate place to see college b-ball. I was really surprised at how small it looked from the outside. Super intimate. From the stadium, I ran through the old campus and was impressed with the beauty of the gothic buildings and mature trees. 


I soon found myself on a gravel path cruising by a pond in the beautiful Sarah P. Duke Gardens, an exquisitely maintained botanic garden right on the edge of campus. I then ran along a winding road, under the highway and into  the Brightleaf and Warehouse Districts. I ran past all the restored warehouses and their happenin' restaurants and into the downtown area, with its mix of office buildings (including several really cool-looking art deco gems), hotels and city and county buildings. 


After a quick loop through the biz district, I went downhill, over the tracks and stopped for a peek into the Durham Bulls minor league baseball stadium. I made my way back to the campus via a slew of streets through some rough-looking neighborhoods.


Thankfully, I did this run carrying a tourist map in my hand. I got a good feel for the general lay-out of the area and the relationship between the location of downtown and the campus. This place has a nice feel, but the stark contrast between the campus with its manicured perfection and some of the nearby neighborhoods is arresting.

Al Buehler Cross Country Trail - Durham, NC

Very solid run with a (formerly) complete stranger on a wooded trail near Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.


Time: 55:12
Distance: 7.64 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Good
Weather: Sunny & Cool


When I was in college, I was in a hardcore band. We weren't very good. But, we didn't know any better so we planned a month-long summer tour across the South, the East Coast and looped back via Chicago and a few other Midwestern stops. We got gigs by finding names and phone numbers of clubs and promoters in fanzines. Pretty much across the board, everyone we connected with in the "scene" were like-minded and eager to help.  So we got gigs and got paid enough to cover gas, a little food and one oil change (biggest payday was $150). We slept on peoples' floors.


That summer came to mind today as I was running here in Durham with Dave R., a total stranger I met (gasp!) through the internet. Actually, it's not that random. Dave was in Boulder/Nederland this summer running the trails and hooking up with a few locals for jaunts in the hills. I followed his adventures now and then via his blog and comments on other blogs I follow. Like the folks the band met that summer on road, I have found runners to be similarly good people. Whether at races, in the blogosphere or on the trails, I have met nothing but warm, fun people. Quite a community we've got here...


Anyway...knowing I'd be here in Durham for a few days, I was eager to find some running routes. Who better to provide advice than a local. I dropped Dave a note last night and almost immediately got a "hell yeah" e-mail back. 


Fast forward a few hours and Dave and I were running a steady pace around a swell 2.91-mile crushed gravel trail through a forest located, miraculously, right across the street from my hotel. We had a good time chatting about life and times as we rolled through the forest at a steady clip.  As I said...good people.

We did two loops, plus a little one-mile loop as a cool-down. Squeezed it all in before the conference reception (beer!) and dinner (buffet!).  


Many thanks to Dave for the great company and for forgoing a nap (and time that could have been spent finding random pictures to illustrate his blog) to get in a few miles with an out-of-towner. 

Beaver Brook - Arapaho National Forest

Steady run through a good chunk of the Beaver Brook parcel in the Arapaho National Forest.

Time: 1:39
Distance: 11.69 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Good
Weather: Sunny & Cool


After dropping jP off at a friend's b-day party, I had just enough time to squeeze in a solid and steady jaunt through the 1,442-acre Beaver Brook open space, which, I believe, is partly owned by Clear Creek County and the Arapaho National Forest.


I started running on a gravel service road, just off Highway 103 on Old Squaw Pass Road, that serves as access to a small City of Golden reservoir.  The road drops a couple hundred feet down to the reservoir. About a 1/2 mile from the lake, the trail/road splits. The service road continues right and switchbacks up a mountainside and accesses some beautiful meadows to the north. If you go left, as I did, you're on the Beaver Brook Trail, which climbs steadily to its terminus in another fine meadow surrounded by resplendent aspens in all their fall glory.


I didn't go all the way up the Beaver Brook trail.  Instead, after about a 1/2 mile, I hung a right and followed a nice trail that followed an old (presumably) logging road, climbing steadily through a nice mixed forest above gurgling Beaver Brook, which is still flowing nicely despite the dearth of rain the last month or two. I noted that there appears to be numerous springs still running in this area. Lots of little rivulets heading downhill here and there.


About four miles in, my trail dumped me out on a dirt road somewhere in one of those subdivisions that give firefighters nightmares - dense forest, a number of poorly marked, dead-end roads and many houses with little, if any defensible space. 


I had a pretty good sense of where I wanted to go, so I started following roads wherever my nose led me.  I climbed one road to a high point (and a dead-end) and could see to the southeast a large rock formation that I knew was at the head of Whittier Gulch on Highway 103, right across the road from the upper meadow of the Beaver Brook Watershed, which is where I wanted to be.


So, after a bit of trial and error (and a couple extra miles), I found what seems to be the major thoroughfare of this subdivision, LIttle Bear Creek Road.  I climbed on this dirt road for about three miles until it hit Highway 103. Hung a left here and ran along 103's shoulder to the upper meadow at Beaver Brook. 


The little parking lot here was as full as I've ever seen it. Kids and grown-ups with cameras were milling about, snapping pics of the golden aspens. I quickly hopped on the Beaver Brook Trail and ran it several miles downhill back to the City of Golden Reservoir.  From there, it was a quick climb back up to the truck.


I really enjoyed exploring some parts of this relatively big (and close-in) chunk of public land that I haven't previously seen. There's only one official trail in this area (the Beaver Brook Trail). Still, from what I saw today, there's still more to explore, trail or no trail.


I was a tad late picking up jP from the party. Thankfully, though, no one, including the hosts, seemed to mind.


1,672 feet of elevation gain. Average pace was 8:20.

Evergreen Mountain - Tempo

Lunch time tempo run around one of Evergreen's signature open space venues, Evergreen Mountain.


Time: 44:50
Distance: 5.67 miles
Effort: Hard
Body: Good
Weather: Sunny & Warm


With a very narrow window of time and a yearning desire to run something besides Elk Meadow, I opted to hop in the vehicle and drive 10 minutes over to Evergreen Mountain, an 8,527-foot hump visible from my living room window.


Now part of Jefferson County's Alderfer-Three Sisters Open Space park, Evergreen Mountain is a former 440-acre chunk of State Land Board land that was transferred to the county in 2004 and added to Alderfer. The climb up the northern face of the mountain is moderate in grade, making it a good trail to run up...quick.


Since I was squeezing in this run between a busy work morning and an afternoon flight to D.C., I knew I only had 50 minutes. And, since I prefer to avoid out-and-backs whenever possible, the day's best bet was a tempo effort to see if I could get up the mountain, do the short loop at the top and return in time to get home, pack and get to the airport in time for my flight.


So, from the western parking lot by the big yellow house, I ran across Buffalo Park Road and onto the Wild Iris Loop Trail, which climbs gently up through a hay meadow to the lodgepole forest that dominates this mountain. Next up was the climb up the Evergreen Mountain Trail West. Once in the trees, I picked up the pace and suddenly was feeling good.


The trail switchbacks up and at 1.32 miles, I hung a right on the Summit Trail and ran up to the mountain's large rounded top and zipped around the .5 mile loop there and headed back down, turned left right at the trail junction and cruised 2.6 miles down Evergreen Mountain Trail East to it's intersection with the eastern edge of the Wild Iris Loop Trail. From there, it was a short skip back to the truck.


Felt good to run the ups with a solid, hard effort. Also really enjoyed jamming down the mountain, running a good bit of it in the low 6s and high 5s. Total elevation gain for the run was 1.024 feet and an average pace of 7:49.


Ryan Burch's Run Rabbit Run 50 race report is up. Here.

Mesa - Bear Canyon - Green Mountain Loop

Time: 1:43
Distance: 8.23 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Average
Weather: Sunny & Hot


Morning run from Chautauqua up to the Mesa Trail, over to Bear Canyon, up to the Green Bear Trail, over to the four-way and up to the summit of Green. Ran steady the whole way to the summit of Green. The cruise up Bear Canyon was a highlight. Just felt solid the whole way up. No fatigue in the climbing legs. Slowed a bit heading over to the four-way and up the Green's summit. 

Green Mountain from Chautauqua

View from the Mesa Trail just before descending to Bear Canyon

Looking east back down Bear Canyon, about 2/3 of the way up.

Looking west from the summit of Green Mountain

Took it way easy descending down the front side of Green. Note to self:  You do not like that trail. Do not descend that way. 


Got it.


This stretch of record-breaking warm fall temps has been great. I know it can't keep going this way, but I sure am loving it for now.

Mt Bierstadt Hike with CP

Time: 5:02
Distance: 7.5 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Fair
Weather: Sunny & Cool


For the better part of 2010, CP, my nine-year-old daughter, and I have been talking about climbing a fourteener. She professed to be ready to tackle the challenge and I'm up for any excuse to get out into them thar hills. So, with the summer racing season drawn to a close and perfect weather at hand, we set off from the house at about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, bound for the Mt. Bierstadt trailhead atop Guanella Pass.

Mt. Bierstadt and the Sawtooth

As one would expect, the parking lot was full and teeming with humanity as we hit Forest Service Trail 711 and began the 200-foot descent down to Scott Gomer Creek. Once across the creek, I was on the look-out for some boardwalk I helped build 10 or so years ago through a boggy willow area as part of a Colorado Fourteeners Initiative project. The boardwalk is still in good shape and the willows have nicely rebounded now that thousands of hikers aren't forced to find new ways through the underbrush and around the mud.

CP navigates a section of boardwalk on the Mt. Bierstadt Trail

CP was in fine form, passing people, pausing now and then to rest (good pacing!), retrieving the water bottle from my pack and downing several mouthfuls (hydrating!) and noshing on banana bread I made the night before (sticking to her nutrition plan!).


After gaining the first ridge, we traipsed up the long trail ahead of us until we hit the steeps. From here, we went cairn to cairn, pausing to catch our breath and add a rock to the piles. The pikas served as welcome distractions and reason to stop and observe (and snap a few pics).

Pika near the saddle before the final ascent.

Time went quickly as we chatted, gazed at the amazing scenery, including Squaretop Mountain across the valley and the beautiful blogs of yellow aspens far down below us. Soon, we were at the saddle before the final scramble up the double pile of rocks that is Bierstadt's summit. With Caroline leading and route-finding (and seemingly effortlessly hoping from rock to rock and across sizable gaps), we soon stood with 30 or so others at the apex of Mt. Bierstadt, 14,060 feet high. 

Looking west over Guanella Pass Road to 13,794-foot Squaretop Mountain

We spent a good 15 minutes at the summit taking in the 360-degree views, gazing down at the Sawtooth that links Mt. Bierstadt to Mt. Evans, looking over at the observatory atop Mt. Evans and looking down at Chasm Lake below us. The weather was perfect, albeit a wee bit chilly, so we weren't in a hurry to head back down.

The USGS summit marker.

Obligatory summit photo.

CP signs the summit register. In the "comments" section, she wrote: "Only in CO!"

Alas, all good things must come to an end, so we loaded up and retraced our steps back to Guanella Pass Road, where the truck was parked.

Girl Power!

This was an absolutely splendid outing. CP had a great time. She got all sorts of comments..."How old are you?"..."Way to go!"..."Darn, I just got lapped by a nine-year-old"..."Is this your first fourteener?" She handled 'em all with a big smile.  Near the end of the hike we were talking about how great it feels knowing that there was nowhere else we'd rather be at that moment.  Too cool.


By the time we got back to the car, we both were tuckered out. She crashed out as I drove home. We both spent the rest of the day lazing around, napping and reading. A perfect fall weekend day.

Elk Meadow - Meadow View Loop Plus

Time: 1:09
Distance: 7.14 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Fair
Weather: Sunny & Warm


A little longer variation on the standard Meadow View Loop from the house. Tacked on a little social trail section that drops down from Meadow View to the bridge over Troublesome Gulch and the parallels Evergreen Parkway before re-connecting with the Meadow View Trail.


No zip in the legs. Still some soreness too, including a new twinge in the left hamstring.


I'm loving these last vestiges of warm days. The nights and mornings are getting down-right chilly. Won't be long before Mt. Evans will be dusted with snow.

Day Off

Busy work day...but I should have gone for a massage.

This from the NY Times about a new study on the physiological benefits of massage. I guess it feels good because...it's good for you. Now, if it were cheaper...

Regimens: Massage Benefits Are More Than Skin Deep

By RONI CARYN RABIN

Does a good massage do more than just relax your muscles? To find out, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recruited 53 healthy adults and randomly assigned 29 of them to a 45-minute session of deep-tissue Swedish massage and the other 24 to a session of light massage.

All of the subjects were fitted with intravenous catheters so blood samples could be taken immediately before the massage and up to an hour afterward.

To their surprise, the researchers, sponsored by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, found that a single session of massage caused biological changes.

Volunteers who received Swedish massage experienced significant decreases in levels of the stress hormone cortisol in blood and saliva, and in arginine vasopressin, a hormone that can lead to increases in cortisol. They also had increases in the number of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are part of the immune system.

Volunteers who had the light massage experienced greater increases in oxytocin, a hormone associated with contentment, than the Swedish massage group, and bigger decreases in adrenal corticotropin hormone, which stimulates the adrenal glands to release cortisol.

The study was published online in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

The lead author, Dr. Mark Hyman Rapaport, chairman of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai, said the findings were “very, very intriguing and very, very exciting — and I’m a skeptic.”