Headed Back To Colorado

The past few weeks have been busy as I return to “normal” life again, if that’s really possible.  After running the Speedgoat 50K with friends Tom “Blaze” Bowling and Joe “Popsicle” Tammaro, I returned to Ouray for a wonderful week of running and hanging out with friends.  Then I made the 17 hour drive back to San Antonio to begin cross country practice.  While I wasn’t super thrilled to be back, I love the kids I work with, which eased the transition a bit.  I snuck a 30K night race in the middle, giving me a taste of what I missed all summer (please send me back to the mountains!).  Now I’m headed back to Colorado, this time to pace friends at the Leadville 100.  The forecast calls for 35 degrees with rain tomorrow night, perfect conditions for running 50 miles in the mountains.  I can’t wait J

(Dave Brown Running Strong at Leadville 100 in 2011) 

(Winfield Aid Station - Mile 50)

Final Days

During my last days in Ouray, I scrambled to get in as much as possible, and that included hitting some new trails, of which there were so many to try.  I decided to visit Chief Ouray’s mine high above town, and boy am I glad I did.  With the trailhead located (literally) right on my door, all I had to do was walk outside and start climbing (sounds like the beginning of every other trail in town).  The climb up to 10,000’ was tough because my legs were feeling pretty flat, but the return trip was nothing short of spectacular.  After visiting the mine and carving my name in Chief Ouray’s house, I put in my headphones and bombed down the smooth singletrack back to the house, passing no one on the way down. 

            On my final day in town, I went out exploring again, taking a few familiar trails until I found a new one that led to the old Alpine Mine and Weehawken Creek.  The overlook into town was one of the best I’d seen all summer, and the singletrack that snaked through the aspens was second to none.  Yes, I’m going to miss this place, but I know in my heart that I will most definitely be back.

(Red Mountain Seen From Chief Ouray Mine Trail)

(Chief Ouray's House) 

(Visitors In My Yard)

(Trail Leading Up To Alpine Mine and Weehawken Creek)

(First Overlook Where I Sat For Awhile)

(Alpine Mine Ruins) 

(Looking Down Into Ouray From Alpine Mine Overlook) 

(Heavenly Singletrack) 

(Resting at Weehawken Creek)

Happiness

As my time in Ouray draws to a close for this summer, I’ve started to reflect on my last 2 months.  While I cannot recap everything or remember some of the best moments (I will come up with a list at some point), the overwhelming feeling I’ve had during my stay here is that of true happiness.  As I sit here typing this, I can honestly say I’ve never been happier.  As long as I continue to live each day here to the fullest and to focus on the moment, I can’t help but have a smile on my face.  Yesterday I set out from the house and headed for Imogene Pass, where I could see Telluride way down below.  Not wanting to get caught in a lightning storm, I scurried down the mountain as I was being chased by the storm.  While I never got any lightning (I heard plenty of thunder), I got plenty of cool rain that made my run great.  I found myself splashing through creeks and hopping down the trail.  Happy, yes, I was truly happy.  Life is so simple here.  This place is magical, and I will be back, hopefully sooner than later.

(Imogene Pass In the Distance)

(Looking Down At the Route I Took Up To Imogene)

(Looking Down At Telluride From Imogene Pass)

(Marmot Up High)

The Goat In Pictures

Wild Week

My friend Tom from San Antonio came into town this past week (picking up a hiker along the way), and we’ve had a blast.  After showing him around Ouray, Silverton, and Telluride (including some of my favorite hikes), we headed to Moab, UT, where we camped and toured Arches National Park.  We then drove up to Ogden to stay with our friend Joe T, followed by a trip down to Snowbird for a little 31 mile jaunt through the mountains known as the Speedgoat 50K (Karl Meltzer’s race).  What a fun week!

(Ice Lake) 

(Looking Up Towards Grant Swamp Pass On Hardrock Course) 

(Island Lake Seen From Grant Swamp Pass)

(Looking At Oscar's Pass From Grant Swamp Pass, both part of Hardrock 100) 

(Fun Descent Down A Scree Field) 

(Wildflowers Abound) 

(Heading Up Bear Creek Trail w/ Tom) 

(Tom Descending Bear Creek)

(Beautiful)

(Tom at Blue Lakes) 

(Relaxing at Blue Lakes) 

(Setting Up Camp In Hal's Canyon - Moab, UT) 

(Tom Heading Up To Delicate Arch) 

(Delicate Arch)

(Turet Arch) 

(Running With Joe T and Tom Outside Ogden, UT)

(Balanced Rock) 

(Tom and Joe T at Salomon Store)

Blue Lakes Pass

The more I run around Ouray, the more I realize how immense and interconnected the trail system is here.  One of my first runs was up to Blue Lakes (still my favorite run to date) from the Ridgway side.  After looking at maps, I realized you could get there from the Ouray side as well via Yankee Boy Basin.  Here are some pics from that run.  One day (may have to wait until next summer) I want to run the full loop from my door.  I think it would be 25-30 miles.  Epic for sure in these mountains.

(Looking Up Into Yankee Boy Basin) 

(Blue Lakes Pass in the distance with Wright's Lake in foreground) 

(Blue Lakes Pass with the Class 3 approach to Sneffels on the right) 

(Upper Blue Lakes seen from the pass) 

(Yankee Boy Basin with Governor Basin in the background) 

(The initial approach to Sneffels.  It only gets gnarlier from there)