View of the Indian Peaks Wilderness from Flagstaff Mt.

It’s almost May and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t antsy to get up into the big mountains. We had a beautiful weekend in Boulder (70s and sunny) and I finally had the good training run I’ve been waiting for, a solid 26mi/6300ft mountain run through the Boulder hills, on a lot of clear trails. From Bear Peak to Green Mt to Flagstaff Mt to Sanitas, I covered all of the main Boulder mountains that are open, while it was a very enjoyable but challenging run, something was definitely missing from the day as a whole. After some celebratory food and beers at Southern Sun I decided what I was lacking was the thin clean air and expansive views that one gets at 12000ft. The invite went out to head up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a jaunt up to one of my favorite high country locales, Chasm Lake.

Meeker and Longs from Chasm Junction, always a beautiful scene.

One person took up the invite, so at 730am on Sunday Adelaide and I headed for the Longs Peak Trailhead to try our luck up at getting to Chasm, knowing full well that a lot of snow was still present. It was a balmy 50F at 830am at 9500ft at the Longs Peak Trailhead, much warmer than expected. The trail was nicely packed so we left the traction behind and headed on up. We slowly made our way up the hill, and as we climbed out of the trees the wind picked up and temperature dropped. The view from Chasm Junction was spectacular as always; snow glazed rock pillars jutting from Meeker, The Loft choked with snow and the immense face of The Diamond looming overhead. The final traverse to Chasm Lake was steep hardpack snow, so we decided to forgo the Lake for today, and enjoy a nice easy jog back down.

Running near Chasm Junction with Longs Peak in the background.

To cap off the weekend Adelaide and I stopped by Hall Ranch on the way home for a pleasant hilly 10mile run on the Bitterbrush/Nighthawk trails. From wind and snow packed trails to warm sunshine and dry dirt. A total of 43.2miles and 10700ft of elevation gain put me in a good spot going into my taper for Quadrock. More importantly though this brings me into the meat of my Hardrock training (now 4^th on the waitlist), so I’ve got a lot of work ahead. For now time for a little relaxation, some more cross training and to catch up on house chores (like the planting the garden!).

Amanda, Adelaide, Jason and Kevin heading up a snow covered Bear Canyon on 4/20/13.

Amanda and Jason on the summit of Green Mt, 4/20/13.

…but they don’t always tell the whole story. After receiving another 18-24 inches of snow in Boulder this past Monday through Wednesday, it was no surprise that the trails were a sloppy mess all week long. With the Quadrock 50mi looming only three weeks away I was hoping to put in about 45miles and 12000ft of gain spread over Saturday and Sunday. As I started up Bear Canyon Saturday morning it quickly became apparent that I was either going to have to readjust expectations or spend almost twelve hours out on my feet in order to obtain that kind of mileage and elevation. Most of the trail was slushy and crusty ankle deep snow, though I even found myself breaking fresh trail for about 1/2 mile up toward Green Mt.

A muddy mess on the Mesa Trail. What happens when 2ft of snow melts very quickly, 4/20/13.

After 5h43min on the trails I’d amassed a measly 21miles and 6200ft of elevation gain, for a whopping 16:20/mile average pace. The effort definitely felt like more than 21miles, but my running log won’t accurately reflect that. By week’s end (Mon-Sun) I’d only accumulated 55miles and 14000ft of elevation gain, not quite the 70miles and 16000ft I’d planned on. But add to those numbers several hours of weight lifting, three hours of competitive volleyball on Friday, four hours of downhill skiing on Sunday and a whole lot of sloppy trails and you get a fairly full week. It remains to be seen how well this “perceived” effort translates to actual training, but I’ll know in three weeks time. Just remember, that while “numbers never lie”, they don’t always tell the whole story and sometimes pace and mileage goals might not be reached and that’s ok. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.

One last partying note, I’d like to welcome the newest addition to my house hold. My little lady Missy, a 4yo tabby from the Longmont Humane Society. She’s a complete love-bug and is just happy to have anyone around.

Missy helping me check messages and edit photos.

Over the past two months I’ve been to Moab twice and Mississippi once so it’s been nice the past several weekends to be able to hang out closer to home and enjoy all the great things the backyard has to offer. From running and climbing in the local hills, to BBQ with friends, to relaxing at home with a good movie and most of all enjoying all of this with minimal vehicle travel time. It’s also allowed me to get back to a much more consistent and focused training routine.

Bogie and Amanda heading in a very green Horsetooth Mountain Park. 4/13/13.

With the Boulder hills being a bit muddy and snowy, this weekend I was able to convince my friends Bogie and Amanda to head North to Loveland for a run of the Blue Sky trail. For those unfamiliar, the Blue Sky trail is a wonderful 10.5-11.5mile long trail that stretches from Hwy 34 in Loveland to Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins. A mix of rolling single track, wide double track, and a few technical sections, it offers a nice day of runnable terrain (also bike friendly). Saturday’s weather was looking promising ahead of the snow storm that was supposed to hit Monday-Wednesday so we made the trek out of the bubble to the Devil’s Backbone trailhead, where our adventure would begin.

The trail was smooth and dry, and it felt great just to get out and run again after having slogged through the snow and mud all week long in the Boulder hills. We saw a few friendly Fort Collins faces, but the trail was surprisingly quiet for a 60F Saturday in April, no complaints here. In addition to our run on the Blue Sky trail we added the Indian Summer loop both ways and another loop up Towers Rd and down Stout in Horsetooth Mt Park bringing our daily total to 30miles/4600ft in just under six hours. Sometimes it’s nice to venture a little ways from home, but not too far, as a reminder of how many great places the Colorado Front range has to offer.

Ascending Fern canyon to Bear Peak, frosty trail and trees ahead. 4/14/13.

View from the summit of Green Mt looking toward downtown Boulder. 4/14/13.

On Sunday 4/14/13 I went back to my old hometown favorite, a combination of BearPeak and GreenMountain. My systems were a little off Sunday morning, something that would unfortunately stick with me through the whole run. As I climbed up FernCanyon toward BearPeak I found a fresh coat of snow and ice frosting the very top of the peak. The lightly frosted trees made for a nice contrast against the green valley below. I kept plugging along, occasionally fighting the bitter cold wind that was gusting out of the west. My body finally eased into the run on the downhill, allowing me to move a little faster across the West ridge and back up Green-Bear to the summit of Green Mt. The sun was finally starting to warm the air and melt some of the fresh snow as I made my way down BearCanyon back home. I’d only covered 13miles/4000ft on Sunday’s run, but it was a decent effort after the long day on Saturday and put me right at my weekly goal of 70miles/14000ft.

With four weeks until Quarock, I’ve got two more weeks of hard training before a nice little slow down. Then its ramp back up in hopeful preparation for Hardrock (now 4^th on the waitlist!). While I wouldn’t consider myself a home body, its been really nice the past few weeks to adventure closer to home. I am due for a mountainous adventure though, so I expect a little skiing or mountaineering in my near future. Even though I (like most) love to travel and adventure, its nice to know that when I come home there is no shortage of great places right in my own backyard. I’d implore all of you out there in interweb land to look around for the same. No matter where you live there is something unique and different nearby, embrace it for what it is, and get out and enjoy the experiences your hometown has to offer. Run fast, run healthy, but mostly run happy.

Evening run up Bear Canyon. Snow pounding Colorado, over a foot and still coming down, 4/15/13 7pm.

The group hiking up the slickrock on the approach to Leprechaun Canyon.

Sunday March 24th found us with yet another early pre-dawn start, packing up the tents as the sun’s morning glow illuminated the San Rafael Swell. Today it was off to Leprechaun Canyon south of Hanksville, UT. The three forks of Leprechaun canyon are in a region of Utah known as North Wash, known for its very narrow slot canyons (less than 2ft), so to the point of being extremely dangerous. We parked ourselves at the Sandthrax campground and started our approach hike up the slickrock, quickly gaining elevation all the way to the rimrock high above. We were treated with some sweeping views of the Henry Mts to the South and the deep narrow canyons of North Wash on all sides. We quickly picked up a trail and strolled our way to the head of the East Fork of Leprechaun canyon, the easiest of the three.

Panorama shot of the three forks of Leprechaun Canyon and the Henry Mts on the approach hike.

Ben giving Amanda a deadman belay at the second obstacle. Note the pile of rocks is the main anchor.

Ben showing some good technique, a shoulder stem.

We skipped the first rappel, walking around and exploring the short slot from below, and proceeded into the meat of the canyon, which immediately started off with a 3 tiered drop through a series of potholes. We set up a rappel off a deadman anchor for several of our party, while Basit and I downclimbed. For those unfamiliar with the terminology, a deadman anchor consists of a weight, usually either a pile of rocks or a person, that one secures the rope to. These objects are most often not attached or secured to the canyon itself, simply relying on weight and gravity to hold them in place, sounds fun huh? As we continued to squeeze down canyon we encountered some impressive narrows, stretches of up half a mile at a time where the canyon walls rarely exceeded

Yours truly downclimbing a silo in Leprechaun Canyon. Photo by Ben Smith.

2ft wide. We stemmed, squeezed and chimneyed our way down canyon, setting up a few short rappels along the way, though Basit, Ben and I were able to downclimb all the obstacles without the aid of a rope.

Me, pausing for a photo part way down the final handline aided drop. Photo by Ben Smith.

Near the confluence with the Middle fork the canyon walls finally opened up, just before the final drop, a series of three potholes with a 15ft vertical drop at the end. We opted to set up a handline for this short drop, and simply went hand over hand down the webbing. Once at the confluence we dropped our packs for a little bit of exploration up the Middle Fork into a slot known as Belfast Boulevard, so narrow that we had to walk sideways and couldn’t pass one another once we’d started in. After a little playing around we shouldered the gear and headed down canyon through a dark tunnel which brought us to a large subway section with overhanging sand stone walls towering above a smooth and flat canyon floor. It’s one of those places that reminds you of how small you truly are.

Ben squeezing his way into Belfast Boulevard.

The huge walls of lower Leprechaun, accessible to all by hiking up from the bottom.

We strolled down canyon, soaking in the grandeur of our setting and the warm sun. We soon hit the road and made our way back at the Sandthrax campground, only 4.5hours after we’d started. The East Fork of Leprechaun offers the canyoneer a fun adventure, with lots of scrambling, stemming, downclimbing and chimneying. All of the major obstacles can be downclimbed without a harness/rope by a strong canyoneer, though assistance with handlines and foot spotting is definitely helpful. The Middle Fork and West Fork are much more difficult, so only proceed into those with an experienced crew and all the proper gear.

At the cars we opted to enjoy a little down time, devouring much of our food and stretching our legs before the long drive home. We finally bid Ben and Amanda farewell, as they were headed to Cedar Mesa for the next five days, and hit the road for the long 7.5hour drive back to Boulder, CO. What a weekend, the drive had been well worth all the adventure and good times. There will definitely be more slot canyons in my future, though hopefully I won’t have to wait too long.

Hiking up Long Canyon on the approach to Granary.

After getting snowed out of our canyoneering adventures in Moab in February, it was decided that we’d give it another shot in late March. Friday found us piling into the Subaraus, and headed for the desert for a weekend of canyoneering fun and hopefully snow free adventures (as a storm bared down on the CO Front Range). We awoke early on Saturday in sub-freezing temps, but determined to make our way through Granary Canyon just outside Moab, UT. We slowly packed up our gear and started up the Long Canyon Rd for the 5mile/2400ft approach. As we hiked on up the road the sun began to break over the canyon walls, warming us in opposition to the cold wind blowing in from the NW. We made fairly quick work of the road and started off on the old jeep tracks

and use trails toward the top of Granary Canyon.

Myself, Grant and Amanda surveying the canyon from the first rap station. Photo by Ben Smith

Basit rappeling into the Onion.

Looking back up at raps #1-3. #1 and #2 anchored from the two trees in the middle of the frame. #3 starts right above The Onion.

The route started out with some mellow slickrock walking, a few easy scrambles, and fantastic views of Long Canyon and the other surrounding landscape. We worked our way down the ridge, finally dropping into a large sunny wash where the canyoneering fun would begin. After a short snack break we shouldered the gear and quickly made our way down to the first of a series of four rappels. As with many of the popular canyon adventures, anchors were already built at all the main raps, so we could save our gear for another day. All four rappels came in quick succession, spanning maybe half mile in total, each with its own character (The Snail and The Onion being two of them).

Ben hurdles a pothole in the middle section of Granary Canyon.

At the bottom of the forth rap, the sun was finally beginning to warm us, and the cold wind was blocked by the steep canyon walls, so we took a minute to bask on the warm rocks and grab a snack. Ahead lay a few miles of canyon that only required some scambling, stemming, a butt slide and hiking, no rope work for a little bit. The scrambling was quite enjoyable and freeing, then at last the canyon flattened out, opened up and deposited us on the edge of a 500ft cliff that dropped precipitously down to the Colorado River canyon below. Thankfully the route beta let us know that by traversing the rim for 1mile down to Jug Handle Arch we’d be able to rappel down to “The Granary” for which the canyon is named over a much more manageable 195ft drop.

Ben leading the way down the final 195ft rappel in Granary Canyon.

The views from the rim down to the Colorado and across to the Lasal Mts was quite impressive, and when we reached the final rap station we were happy to sit down and wait for the party ahead of us to finish their rappel. As we waited the sun drifted behind the clouds and cold wind picked back up again, time to get ourselves down. Ben led off the final double rope rap, disappearing into the abyss below. Amanda and Grant followed, then myself and Basit bringing up the rear. We scrambled our way back down to the cars, making for a round trip time of just over 8hours, not bad with our hike up approach and a group of five. Granary canyon offered us a little bit of everything, hiking, scrambling, some group assists, pothole jumps, small and big rappels, along with fantastic scenery.

Photo-op in Little Wildhorse canyon with Scott, Ben, & Amanda.

We headed off to the San Rafael Swell next to meet up with a few friends and camp out for the night. On the drive over, Ben posed an interesting proposition, a night time run of Little Wildhorse and Bell slots. These canyons make up one of the classic slot canyon loops in all of Utah. In approximately 8.5miles one gets to experience several miles of extremely narrow slot canyon, with walls several hundred feet deep at times, lots of interesting rock formations, all in canyons that are accessible to any skill level. After setting up camp with the larger group we were able to talk Scott into joining us for the night run, so off we went right at sunset. Twilight fell as we entered Little Wildhorse and switched on our headlamps as we jogged through the 3-4ft wide slot canyon, bouncing off obstacles and pausing periodically to take a photo or to admire the moonlit rock walls rising on either side. It was a unique experience and my first time ever in a slot canyon at night, one felt very isolated pinched between the narrow rock walls. Near the top of Little Wildhorse the moon rose directly overhead, and we switched off our headlamps, running purely by moonlight through the sandy wash and along the dirt road that connected us over to Bell canyon. We dropped into the wider Bell canyon, running most of the way in silence, enjoying the quiet still night air and being all alone in one of the Swell’s most popular attractions. We soon exited and jogged the last half mile back to our car, completing the loop in just under two hours. In all we’d managed to pack in over 10 hours on our feet, see four fantastic canyons (Long, Granary, Little Wildhorse, Bell) and we still had another day of fun ahead, it was going to be a great weekend.