My intended traverse route on 6/16 Champion to Oklahoma.

For several years now I’ve argued that I’m not “a runner”, yes I run, but the #1 thing that defines me is NOT running. As with most athletic kids I was forced to run for soccer and volleyball (my two primary sports) and did dabble on the Cross Country team in high school. Though I missed half the Cross Country meets for volleyball matches and always considered Cross Country more of a workout to prepare myself for all day volleyball tournaments. It wasn’t until 2006 that I actually started to run on a regular basis and train for races (La Jolla Half Marathon and Bishop High Sierra 50mi). While this makes me relatively new to running, I’ve been camping, hiking and scrambling around in the outdoors as long as I can remember.

Fun class 2/3 ridge scrambling ahead over Pt13476. I made it to the base of Deer (far left) before getting stormed off the ridge, 6/16/13.

Not much has changed since my youth playing in the Sierras and around Lake Tahoe, the only difference is, I can do it a lot faster and further than I used to. If I have my choice on the weekends I’m off to the mountains to climb a peak, scramble an exposed ridgeline or to find some obscure lake in the middle of nowhere. My average pace usually a pedestrian 2.5-5mph, barely a jog if at all. I carry items foreign to most runners; a map, emergency blanket, emergency light, whistle, garbage bag (a what?), small 1^st aid kit and sometimes an ice axe/crampons. But these aren’t the reasons I don’t call myself a runner, it’s how I approach these weekend adventures. I go out for the freedom of the hills, the thin air, the high altitude peaks, the route finding, the scrambling, the adventure of the unknown but most often NOT to run. Sure I end up running on many of my trips because I’ve trained my body to do so, its quicker and allows me to cover more ground in a day, but if it came down to it and I was incapable of running during one of my mountain outings I’d be perfectly content.

Looking back at the ridge and Deer Mt (right), running away from the rain and snow coming my way. 6/16/13.

Even in town, my training consists of endless laps up and down Bear Peak, Green Mt and Mt Sanitas, routes that find me walking and hiking almost as much as running. This is not to say I don’t enjoy running, but I enjoy many activities; volleyball, dance, rock climbing, skiing and many more. All of these items contribute to who I am, but like running, they are not what defines my primary love/ambition in the outdoors.

Me climbing some class 3/4 slab on Giraud Peak in the Sierras, circa 2006.

Hello, my name is Eric Lee and I am a peak bagger, one who’s climbed more than 400 mountains in over a dozen states and several countries in Europe. I run because I enjoy it and it allows me more flexibility to climb many peaks in one go (I once did 14), but what really makes me tick is the adventure of finding one’s way up an obscure rarely visited craggy peak with panoramic views and nothing but silence in the thin still air. Everyone has the right to pick their own labels and to define themselves how they wish, just don’t label me a runner 🙂

Panorama of the North Halfmoon Crk drainage with; Deer, Oklahoma, Massive, K49 in view from left to right. Storm brewing behind the ridge to the left.

A quick note on my training, as I guess I’m tapering now, what for, I’m not really sure. I have not moved on the Hardrock waitlist (still #2), and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t getting nervous that I won’t be running yet again this year (6^th year in a row). But it’s out of my control and I feel as though I’ve done everything necessary to get myself ready, I just need Dale Garland’s Golden Ticket. After going big last week I took it back a notch this week, logging a solid 72miles and 21000ft of elevation gain, capping off a four week training stint of 280miles and 97000ft of elevation gain. After suffering some major dehydration on Saturday (6/15) running the Boulder peaks, I took myself up high to attempt four rarely visited 13ers near Mt Massive; Mt Champion, Pt13736, Deer Mt, Mt Oklahoma. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, so I was only able to complete half the traverse before a blast of snow and rain hit me just after 10am. The mountains will still be there next week, better to play it smart and live to climb another day. Next weekend I’m hoping to make my way down to the San Juans to start my summer project of finishing off the Colorado 14ers, 12 remaining.

Running around the shoulder of McCurdy Peak.

With only five weeks left until the Hardrock 100, I still sit in the precarious position of being 2^nd on the first timer wait list, so close, but no certainty of getting in. The only thing I can control is to keep training, and with five weeks to go I had an ambitious training plan for the week, 90miles and 30k ft of gain. The week started off well, with runs of Green Mt, Flagstaff Mt, Bear Pk and Mt Sanitas, 38miles and 11k ft of gain. Saturday’s plan was to hit the Lost Creek Wilderness for a big loop of approximately 36miles and 9-10k ft of gain. I left the Ute TH at 5:45am headed straight up to the flanks of Bison Peak. As I settled in for the 3k ft climb, I could tell my legs had some lingering fatigue from training, but they still moved well. I hit the high point of my route on the flanks of Bison Peak after only 1:31. I contoured my way around Bison and McCurdy, a high elevation playground adorn with old tree skeletons and towering hunks of granite. I was above 11k for most of the first few miles before dropping down to the McCurdy Park junction. My legs were still feeling good so I made good time to the Lake Park junction, where I kicked back into hiking mode.

Descending through the trees and greenery in Hankins Gulch.

The Lake Park trail was one of the many locations in Colorado that was struck by the Microburst event in November 2011. For 1/2mile every tree larger than 18” in diameter was torn up from the roots, and just like last year I had to pick my way around the blow down, which had not been cleared from the trail. I cruised on down through Lake Park to Hankins Pass and down Hankins Gulch to the junction with Goose Creek. The Goose Creek trail slowly climbs upriver, mostly high above the water and very exposed to the sun. I made steady progress, finally peaking out at the saddle above Refrigerator Gulch. This year I turned up the McCurdy Park trail rather than continuing on the Goose Creek trail to Wigwam and Lost Creek.

In Upper Goose Creek making my way over to Refrigerator Gulch and McCurdy Park

The McCurdy Park trail started out with a series of undulations, down 300ft, up 200ft, down 400ft, up 400ft, finally dumping me out at the cave along Lost Creek. Having never been through this section, it appeared as though the trail crossed the river and headed up the opposite bank. So I began to for through the knee deep water. About 2/3 of the way across I stepped on a moss covered rock and down I went, soaking myself to the navel  oh well, its just water. As I sloshed out the opposite side I realized my camera and ipod were both in my back pocket!!! I hurriedly pulled them out wiped them off and set them on a rock to dry. I found a dry spot in my pack and stowed them away, hoping I hadn’t done irreparable damage. As I followed the trail out the other side of the creek it passed through a campsite then turned sharply down stream, something wasn’t right. A quick glance at the map proved such, I was supposed to stay on the North side of the river. So back I went, fording through at a much shallower easier spot, quickly locating the actual trail and heading back uphill as the cold river water dripped down my legs and slowly evaporated.

The Cave on Lost Creek, the scene of my camera’s demise.

As I slowly made my way up the undulating McCurdy Park trail my energy waned and my slow jog because a hiking slog. When I finally reached McCurdy Park I was extremely fatigued and did all I could just to keep climbing back to the Bison Peak saddle, where the final big downhill greeted me, 3200ft back to the car. No matter how tired I feel I always seem to be able to let my legs roll downhill, today was no exception. The miles passed quickly and at 10h42min after leaving my car I crossed Taryall Creek and collapsed on the tailgate of my Subaru. The day had been more than anticipated; 5400kcal burned, 1800kcal consumed, 38.5miles, 11700ft of gain in 10h 42min. My bonk the last several hours was the result of improper food planning (ran out of VFuel with 4h to go) and insufficient calories, but overall my legs felt decent considering the mileage and elevation. Lesson learned, no matter how strong you think you are and how experienced one may be, the mountains and trails have their own agenda.

Making our way through the Boulderfield toward the Keyhole.

Sunday was to be a ‘easy’ day of sorts. Meaning not a whole lot of running, but a steady hike to get in some additional elevation and miles. At the ungodly hour of 4:10am we left Boulder headed for the Longs Peak TH. It was already warming when we hit the trail at 5:49a bound for the standard Keyhole route. My legs were a bit sluggish as we started uphill, but I finally managed to shake off some of that fatigue and move at a steady clip. We reached the Keyhole around 8:30am, strapped on our crampons, unsheathed our axes and set off across the Keyhole Traverse to the Trough on solid snow. The steps were good and we made steady progress into the Trough where a 1500ft climb lay ahead. A cool breeze blew up from behind and chilled us in the shade of the Trough, and the sun at the head of the Narrows was a welcome sight.

Crossing the Narrows on the Keyhole route.

The Narrows were fully packed with snow, so we took our time slowly setting our crampons into the nice steps that had been laid and were soon across at the base of the Homestretch. With the sun beating down we decided to push for the summit and not linger long. It was a beautiful day on the summit; warm, light breeze, and not a soul in sight. We snapped a few pictures, exchanged a few high fives and took in the views before heading back down. The Homestretch, Narrows and Trough were softening, but the snow was still well consolidated, making for good plunge stepping. Once back at the Boulderfield we plopped down for a snack break and to soak in the warm sun. We took our time strolling back to the trailhead, with much of the trail now a river from the melting snow. We returned to the Longs Peak TH just over 9hours after taking off, by no means a speed ascent, but a pleasant day out.

Celebrating another successful summit back at Chasm Junction

This brought my weekly total to 87.7miles and 27600ft of elevation gain, my biggest week of the year. And while I was a bit tired come Sunday’s jaunt up Longs I was still feeling alright considering the pounding my body has taken over the past 3 weeks. Still hoping for that email from Dale asking if I want to join the 2013 Hardrock 100, only time will tell if all my training can be put to some good use. Special thanks to my sponsors Hind clothing and VFuel for keeping me going through the tough days. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.

Crossing into the Shadow Canyon closure.

“It’s better to give than receive”, sometimes the age old clichés hit the nail on the head. In an attempt to keep myself from running too hard and too long his weekend I signed up with several other Boulder folks to head into Shadow Canyon for a day of trail work in the Flagstaff fire burn zone. After a quick tutorial we hopped in the trucks and drove right up to the base of Shadow Canyon, where we donned hard hats, shouldered various tools and began our long trek up to the saddle 1500ft above. Most of the trail is in very good shape, not being affected by the fire, but as we neared the saddle we could see some of the damage the combination of fire and erosion had caused.

Our work zone for the day, cutting a new switchback through the burn zone.

We split into three groups; all working on different areas of the trail reroute and rebuild right near the saddle. The day’s tasks consisted of; moving logs/trees, building rock stairs, cutting out tread for the new trail, moving dirt, building log barriers and filling in the old trail with our dirt. I always forget how tough trail building is until I’m back out there lugging around 40lb bags of dirt and 12ft trees trunks.

Several of the OSMP staff hiked in Great Harvest sandwiches for lunch, so we all broke around 12:30pm to chow down! After devouring our sandwiches a few of us went for a short jog up South Boulder peak, only 0.2mi and 400ft from the saddle. This was one of the first times non-OPSMP employees had been up to the peak since last summer’s fire. South Boulder was a moonscape, the trees had been turned into burnt match sticks and the only signs of life were little bits of grass growing in the tread. Despite all this the trail was fairly easy to follow and we soon were atop South Boulder Peak staring off at the patch work of burned and unburned forest that adorned South Boulder Peak and Bear Peak.

Looking down the South Boulder Peak trail toward the saddle.

The afternoon was much of the same, dig up some rocks, level out the tread, move the dirt. By day’s end we’d built 4 new stairs, filled in the old trail, and cut approximately 60-80ft of new trail through some pretty rocky terrain. It felt good to give back, especially since our efforts meant Shadow Canyon was even closer to reopening to the general public. Zack, Dave, Beau and John from the OSMP were great to work with and its too bad more of us trail runners/hikers/climbers don’t participate in giving back to the parks in this way. We constantly use and abuse our lands, but very seldom put in the hard work that’s required to upkeep and rebuild them.

Trail leading around the front side of Lumpy Ridge in RMNP.

With my sluggish run at Quadrock the previous weekend, and the fact that my legs came out feeling so strong, it was tough forcing myself to ‘rest’ this week. After a few early week short runs, Thursday I did a TT up Sanitas to test my legs, coming in just 12sec off my personal best of 19:06. This coupled with 1.5 laps of Green Mt on Saturday AM with Homie, a hike up Shadow Canyon, and a beautiful loop of Lumpy Ridge in RMNP put me at 13000ft of gain and 40miles, a rest week of sorts. It’s good that my legs are feeling strong again because I’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of me the next 4 weeks; with nearly 300miles and 90000ft of gain slated for the bulk of my Hardrock training. Still #4 on the Waitlist, so hopefully that June 1^st deadline brings some good news.

After a nice mellow taper week (48mi/8500ft) I’m feeling fairly ready for Quadrock on May 11th, which will be a good indicator of my fitness moving forward to Hardrock and UTMB this summer. Hopefully we’ll also see some dry trails and melting snow in the high mountains after Quadrock, as I’m oh so ready to breath that high mountain air on a regular basis.

Untracked snow in Long Canyon on 5/4/13. After a 5th straight week of >1ft of snow.

The past several weeks on the trails have been tough going, our weekly barrages of snow (1-2ft/week) has made for many wet and muddy miles in April. While I love stomping in puddles as much as the next 10yo trapped in a 30yo body, after a while one longs for clear dry trails to and to just be able to run. As I slop through the mud and moments of frustration boil to the surface I need to remind myself why I’m out in the first place. Sure running keeps me healthy, but I’m out on the trails because I enjoy it. If I just wanted to stay in shape there are many things I could do that didn’t involve mud, snow and puddles of cold water but the trails give me a freedom and enjoyment I don’t get on the roads or in a gym.

I’m sure every runner has had one of these moments of weakness; whether it be on a training run, at mile 2 of a 5k, mile 22 of a marathon or mile 90 of a 100. We are all human and are prone to ups and downs and rough patches while participating in our respective sports, the key is to remind yourself why you’re out there in the first place. For many of us its because we love the sport; the runners high, the feeling of successfully pushing yourself, the freedom of the run, the simplicity of the rhythmic motion, or the feeling of accomplishment after the run is completed. Whatever your reason, just remember that when you’ve hit that low or rough patch. “It can’t always get worse” and usually it’s much better, so remember the highs and all the good going forward.

Me as Spidey shredding some corduroy at Loveland on closing day, 5/5/13.

Personally I like to give races and events a little more flair when possible with a good costume. A little color, a little flair and a little embarrassment for myself and everyone else I’m out there with seems to keep the mood light and to remind people we’re out here to have fun, regardless of the aches and pains we’re fighting through. So the next time you’re struggling through a rough patch while running, climbing, cycling or whatever your sport of choice, pause for a moment to remind yourself why you participate in the first place. Though if all else fails just think of me in a Spiderman suit, dressed up as wonder woman or throwing out jump kicks as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle during a 100miler. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.

Me as TMNT Michelangelo executing a not-so-graceful jump kick during the 2012 IMTUF100. Photo by LongRunPictures.com

Rocking Dana’s Wonder Woman outfit at the 2012 Leadville100 as a Pacer. Photo by Kelly Chadwick.