Barr Trail Mountain Race

Yesterday I ran in the Barr Trail Mountain Race for the first time. This race starts at the Cog Railway on Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs and climbs 3,630 feet in 6.3 miles to Barr Camp which sits a 10,200 feet. You turn around at Barr Camp and descend the same way you came up for a total of 12.5 miles. It was a good warm up to the Pikes Peak Marathon on Aug 22nd. Plus I had a good friend and his college buddies from Boulder come down for the race too. The four of them went to Wartburg College together and ran cross country. Two of the them have run the race for several years in a row and I guess because it was Nick's (the guy in the orange bandana) 30th b-day, they all decided to run it. They were making bets as to who would win would be the first of the four of them to cross the finish line first. In the end Tate won earning an amazing 8th overall spot in a time of 1:38:31 especially since that was his first time up to Barr. Tom came in 16th overall male in a time of 1:45:55, Nick in 36 overall male in a time of 1:59:28, and Joe came in 76 overall male in a time of 2:15:33. I think they all had a great time. As for my race, I had a PR up to Barr Camp and down. I was able to power up to Barr in 1:28:59 and my descent was record fast for me in 48:33 with no falls. Finish time was 2:17:32 good for 13th overall female. I am really glad I did it as I felt like it gave me great incite into my strategy for the marathon plus I got to share the mountain with some good friends.
The Wartburg boys! Nick, Tate, Tom and Joe.

Looking forward to next year!

McClure Pass and Mt Sopris

Fourth of July weekend we made the trek over Independence Pass to Aspen and then to Carbondale for three days. It was a fun activity filled weekend. The first day we rode our road bikes up McClure Pass on State Hwy 133 that goes from Carbondale to Paonia. It was a 38 mile round trip ride with the last three miles being very steep and summit sits at 8755 feet. Carbondale sits at 6181 feet. It was a great ride despite the wind and few sprinkles of rain we got. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera so there are no shots of using cycling. The next day we headed up Prince Creek road to the Dinkle Lake Trailhead and made our way to the summit of Mt Sopris (see the above picture). We ran most of the 4 miles into Thomas Lakes which sits right at the base of the mountain. Many people backpack into this spot before heading up the mountain.
John and Fisher heading up to Thomas Lakes.
Fisher and I at Thomas Lakes.
Fisher at Thomas Lakes with the two summits of Mt Sopris in the background.
From here, the trail gets steep as you quickly make it above treeline. Because it was 4th of July weekend, there were quite a few groups camping up there and there were people shooting off fireworks which terrified Fisher of course.
Time for a rest.
Thomas Lakes in the background.
Snack time!
Getting closer to the summit.
Snowmass I believe!
Looking down at the ridge we came up. Lots of scree!
This was our turn around point. Great Views. There are two summits to Sopris, West and East, with both having the same elevation of 12,965 feet.
Fisher admiring the view.

Our way back down to Thomas Lakes. Round trip it was about 12miles.
Back at the Ranch of the Roaring Fork in Carbondale we had a bald eagle sighting. He quickly took off and went soaring in the bluebird sky!
Fisher having a good roll in the weeds after swimming. See video below plus Fisher crossing the bridge with great care! He hesitates alot and then is very proud of himself when he finally gets across. He hates bridges.