Sanitas Valley - Easy

Had just enough time to squeeze in a quick run from the office to the top of Sanitas Valley and back. It was stifling hot.


Time: 47 minutes
Distance: 6 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Average
Weather: Sunny and HOT


Initially, the day's plan was to run easy and a bit longer, but a busy work day and with JP travelling for work, it was crunch time. Finally found a window of opportunity around 2 p.m. and headed out into the our latest heatwave. From the office, I ran up to the end of Pine Street, then over to Mapleton and into the Sanitas Open Space.


I pushed the pace up the Valley Trail and came quickly down the Dakota Ridge Trail, returning to the office via Mapleton.


I was happy to be done with this one. It was hot.

Lincoln Creek Road - Petroleum & Anderson Lakes

Snuck out of the tent just after 6 a.m. to get in a few miles exploring what lay further up the valley above the campground. 

Time:  2:50
Distance: 13.43 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Average
Weather: Partly sunny and warm


With the sun just striking the tops of the thirteeners down the valley from the campground, I set off jogging up the Lincoln Creek Road. Past the campground, the already-rough road narrows and winds its way through sub-alpine meadows and fingers of forest that drop down toward Lincoln Creek from the wooded slopes above. A few early risers camped in the dispersed camping sites along the road were stirring as I ambled by.

An early morning view up Lincoln Creek Road.

 I didn't have a clear plan for the run, just planned on going until I ran out of road or time. After several miles, the road enters the Lincoln Mining District. Silver mining began in the area in the late 1800s and got busy around 1900 when the Ruby Mine opened. Today, the mining district is still comprised of private mining claims and a couple of modern cabins sit on that land. The Ruby Mine area is typically completely hammered, producing a toxic stew of metal-laden waters evident in the stained rocks and lifeless tailing piles. Still, seeing the impressive switchbacks that climb Ruby Mountain up to the mine forces one to pause and consider the perseverance, persistence and pluck that miners of that era had to have to endure the challenging conditions of mining at about 12,000 feet. 

The sign welcoming visitors, including runners, to the Lincoln Mining District.

Not far past the Ruby Mine, the Lincoln Creek Road ends rather unceremoniously. In fact, the road simply disappears into a grassy meadow a fair distance from the head of the valley.  Some of the lands at the end of this valley, a 3.8 square mile parcel that includes Ruby Lakes, is included in the Hidden Gems Wilderness proposal a coalition of organizations is now working to build support for. For info on the Ruby Lakes parcel proposal, click here.

 Looking up the valley from the end of Lincoln Creek Road.

From the road's end, I turned around and ran back about half-mile and hung a left up another rocky road to the Petroleum and Anderson Lakes trailhead. After bushwhacking for a few minutes through the dense underbrush to find a place to cross Lincoln Creek (I hate running with wet feet...unless absolutely necessary), I ran up to the trailhead, past a couple of gates and started climbing to Anderson Lake. This trail follows an old two-track (now closed to vehicles) that snakes up through the woods, quickly emerging above treeline.

First up was Anderson Lake.

After a short climb, the first of the two Petroleum Lakes appears, this one filled with good-sized trout and surrounded by one of the most amazing wildflower displays I've ever seen. 

After a steep, but quick climb up alongside a stream cascading down the slope to this lower lake, the main Petroleum Lake appeared, with the surrounding mountains reflecting perfectly in the lake's still waters.

From the lake's edge, I could see a faint trail continuing up and over a relatively low pass. I spent a good five minutes debating whether to head up to see what was over the other side, but good sense and time obligations won out and I headed back the way I came, pausing now and then to soak up the scenery.

The return run back down Lincoln Creek Road was relaxing and quick. I managed to pick up the pace and bit and put in a good effort from the trailhead back to the campground. By the time I got back to our site, the morning clouds had pretty much cleared out, giving us the fourth perfect day of this long weekend.

JP, jP and CP were just finishing breakfast when I showed up. Leftover oatmeal and cereal awaited.

After a bit of food and before it was time to pack up the gear, I had a bit of time to kick back and contemplate the foresight, hard-fought battles and good luck whose legacy are the public lands that so define Colorado.  What's more, those battles continue today in the form of citizen-led efforts like the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign. 

Elevation gain: 2,103 feet.

Grizzly Lake - Collegiate Peaks Wilderness

Camping just off a rough road that cherry-stems 10 miles into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness provides one with ample opportunity for epic high-country running. Today's destination:  the awe-inspiring Grizzly Lake.

Time:  1:36
Distance: 7.63 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Average
Weather: Sunny & hot  

After a much-delayed departure from Evergreen, we finally turned off Highway 82 onto Lincoln Creek Road, about 10 miles below Independence Pass, around 8 p.m. This rough road, which pretty much requires a high-clearance vehicle, dips 10 miles into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. This road corridor was excluded from the wilderness area as it provides access to old mining claims in the Lincoln Mining District and and contains water diversion structures and Grizzly Reservoir owned by the Twin Lakes Reservoir and Canal Company.

We ended up camping about three miles up the road the first night in an area of free, but restricted, dispersed camping sites. The next morning, following a tip from a fellow camper, we drove up the road to check out the Forest Service campground on the edge of Grizzly Reservoir. With great views up a valley and surrounded by a slew of thirteeners, not to mention the wilderness area, we were hooked.

After quickly packing up and moving up to the campground, we set up camp and prepared for another couple of nights of hanging out in Colorado's high country. With the lake, friendly dogs from other campers and plenty of dirt roads for the kids to bike on, we were set.

Camping on the edge of Grizzly Reservoir, Portal Campground.

Late in the afternoon, following an all-too-brief family hiking jaunt up the same trail, I headed out to do the 3.6 mile run up to Grizzly Lake, which lies within the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area.  The trailhead was about 2/10s of a mile from the campsite. 

The trail climbs steadily, switchbaking through a forest, for the first half-mile or so. Soon, though, it enters a beautiful mountain valley, filled with wildflowers and offering classic Colorado alpine scenery. 

Since it was late in the day, I pretty much had the trail to myself. I encountered two pairs of hikers coming down, but saw no one headed up. That said, I did have a bit of company. This yellow-bellied marmot claimed to own the trail and tried to exact a toll. Fortunately, I managed to get by him without incident.

After passing the Trail Marmot, the trail began turning upwards as it led me up to a shelf. I powerhiked through this section and then began running the minor ups and downs alongside a couple of small tarns. The views from here, both down valley and up valley, were mesmerizing. As I passed the second tarn, I began wondering where the hell was the lake. Just then, I saw a trail climbing steeply up through the tallus that looked like a "V" laying sideways. It disappeared over a rocky ledge above -- another shelf. I made quick work of the V and within a couple of minutes, I gained the shelf and was treated to a drop-dead gorgeous alpine lake - Grizzly Lake.

The final stretch of trail just before gaining the shelf that contains Grizzly Lake.

 Grizzly Lake.

Grizzly Lake and Grizzly Peak from a promontory above the lake. See trail down and to the right.

After a few minutes of exploring and soaking up the views, it was time to head back down for dinner. The return trip was quick and uneventful. One thing about running Colorado's high country is that out-and-backs are never boring. Even though one covers familiar ground, it all looks different given the new perspective.

Elevation gain: 2,166.

Bergen Peak - Upper Loop

Typically today would have been another hard running day, but within the first few steps out of the steps out the front door I could tell today's run up the Bergen Peak loop was going to be sub-par...and it was.


Time:  1:30
Distance: 8.7 miles
Effort: Easy
Body: Poor
Weather: Sunny & hot


I had hoped the mile-long downhill road run to the Elk Meadow trail system would shake out the heaviness I felt walking out the door. But, it didn't. Once I stepped onto the trails, I just resigned myself that this was going to be "one of those runs"...a character-building run.


I jogged up Painters Pause, over to Meadow View and up to the intersection with Too Long. I hung a right on Too Long and ran the Too-Long - Bergen Peak Trail upper loop on the flanks of Bergen Peak. I just ran steady, pausing here and there to yank up blooming Russian or musk thistles growing trailside (trail users are active spreaders of this invasive plant, so they often thrive trail-side...and at this time of the year they are just about to release seeds).

Looking down on Elk Meadow from the hilltop behind my house.

I hit the intersection with the Summit Trail in a sloth-like 55 minutes. I found little physical solace in the descent down the Bergen Peak Trail. Even the downs were a bit of a slog today. 


I returned home via Meadow View, Sleepy S and the neighborhood connector trail.


Off for a few days of camping. 

Bergen Peak - Upper Loop - Tempo

After a day off Monday to absorb the Pikes Peak roundtrip, today was tempo day. Ran a good, steady "comfortably hard" pace over the upper loop on Bergen Peak in Elk Meadow Open Space.


Time:  1:20
Distance: 9.03 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Average
Weather: Partly cloudy and warm


From the house, ran the roads to the neighborhood-owned path that leads into Elk Meadow Open Space and up to the upper parking lot off Stagecoach Road. From there, ran Meadow View to Bergen Peak and climbed on that trail, hitting the high point on the trail in 41:27.

The intersection of the Meadow View Trail and Bergen Peak Trail in Elk Meadow Open Space

Picked up the pace over to the intersection with the Summit Trail, but due to time constraints opted not to do the one mile out-and-back to the apex of the mountain. Instead, I high-tailed it down Too Long, running the downs respectably hard. My quads, happily, had no residual soreness from the cruise down Pikes Peak on Sunday. I view that as a good sign...and a sign of some progress. 


At the intersection of Too Long and Meadow View, I had to run through a small pack of mountain bikers camped out right at the trail junction. Surprisingly, I saw 9-10 mountain bikers this evening...the most I've seen in months on these trails. I only saw two other hikers/runners. I should report that literally every time I came upon moving bikers (and this only happened as I was ascending), every single one pulled over and stopped to let me pass. Far more often than not, this is how things have gone on JeffCo trails. It seems there's a descent stasis between hikers/runners and bikers here. So good to see. I hate to see trails closed to bikes due to bad behavior and trail abuse. Fortunately, the trails at Elk Meadow are pretty resilient, unlike, say, Dowdy Draw and Spring Brook trails in Boulder. Now if we could just train all trail users to not walk/ride around waterbars or cut switchbacks! Too many segments of the trails in Elk Meadow are getting braided and widened due to people riding around waterbars.

An example of trail widening due to riding around waterbars. This was narrow singletrack when I moved to the area.

This section of Meadow View was a single singletrack several years ago. People avoiding rocks or mud created new paths.

OK, off the soapbox...

Back on Meadow View, I cruised the rollers over to Sleepy S, running a few good chunks at around a 5:30 pace. I was running that pace when there was a mountain biker about 30 meters behind me. I was determined to keep him at bay until the Sleepy S junction.  From there, it was a short downhill jaunt to another neighborhood connector trail, over the hill above the house and then the through-the-woods drop back down to the house.

Just a great hour-twenty on the trails. This was one of those runs where it just felt great to be moving...to have the fitness to run hard when I wanted to...to be healthy enough to still push physical boundaries and see improvement over time...and to regret, a little, not working this hard before I turned 40!


Elevation gain: 1,794 feet.