Probably my biggest single goal for the summer was to run my first 50-mile trail race. Well it didn’t take long (three days into the summer to be exact) to fulfill that goal at the San Juan Solstice 50 in Lake City. Though a complete whirlwind, it was one heck of a day out there.
After securing a spot in the lottery in January I began ramping up the miles and vert throughout the winter and into spring ski season. Then it was on to the Dirty 30 in early-June, which is perfectly placed in the calendar as a “training race” being exactly three weeks ahead of the San Juan Solstice. A few more big days in the hills after the Dirty 30, including a run of the Barr Trail on Pikes Peak (which somehow was my first time up that route), and I finally felt “ready” to give the SJS a go. Keep reading…
Good friends are indispensable in this life: both necessity and luxury. I knew Ryan was extremely busy this year with both wedding plans and a trip to Peru, so I’d assumed a prior talk about him repeating Lizard Head to lead me up was not in the cards. But when I omitted Lizard Head in my list of summer plans at the engagement party for him and Steph, he prodded: “Not interested in the gecko, anymore?” or something along those lines. Read more…
At the beginning of September, Kyle Knutson and I headed south for a four day peakbagging romp in the San Juans. Our plan – hit as many 13ers as we could, focusing on the mini-range to the west of Silverton and south of Ophir. We had spent a little bit of time in this range previously, both having climbed Vermillion and Golden Horn, but beyond that would be new terrain. This area of the San Juans is notorious for bad rock and loose scrambling. Throw in a handful of lesser traveled routes and we knew we were in for an interesting one. Read more…
To cap off the month of July Steve and I motored down to the Cimarrons for a weekend of car camping and peakbagging poppycock. What can I say about the Cimarrons? While the Gores are rugged and quaint, and the Weminuche mythical and remote, there’s something that sets this area apart from the rest of the state. I’m not sure if it’s the lore present in the air, or the high rolling green tundra studded with craggy, Dr. Seussian towers, or simply the colors and unique rock common to the region. Regardless, ever since my first visit to the place, I had long awaited a return trip. Keep reading…
