Little Creek and more

-
Just on the other side of the highway from Gooseberry, but a whole different mesa of trails. After vacating our campsite on Gooseberry, we relocated to Little Creek for some brand new trails and exploring. Found one of the best spots to camp, complete with a fire ring and plenty of room. With the temperatures a little warmer every day, we didn't bother with the hunting tent this time. Instead we had a fire every night and stayed up late (8:00!!) to watch the sunset, moonset and the stars. So many stars without any light pollution around us. And so quiet. We spent two nights up there, just enjoying the quiet and the solitude.
My breakfast fire - I was quite proud of that little fire since I'm not usually the one in charge of fire.
We'd found some good trail info online and stuck to the recommended route for the ride. A good mix of fun, tight single track through trees, then popping out into a field of slick rock. Some tech moves up and over rocks and lots of searching for the next cairn to find the way. Some areas were very much like Gooseberry and others completely different. There were a few places that went really close to the mesa's edge, a little to close for my liking. But eyes on the trail and keep focused on where I wanted to go. Its worth going back for - even to get to know the trails a little better to be able ride smoother.



Nick at one of the many view points along the western loop
And then Nick took over for the supper fire...

After two nights on Little Creek, with the chance of weather moving in, we decided to make the last ride in that area on the Hurricane Rim trails. We parked at the western terminus of Hurricane Rim and rode it all the way out. Wow, lots of climbing, lots of sharp turns and lots of chunky rocks. Hard but fun riding and very fitness oriented. After the rim, we climbed up Dead Ringer to the top of Jem. I'd never done Dead Ringer before and it was a nice, sustained climb. I was getting a little confused at times as to where I was - trying to figure out where JEM was in relation to the trail we were on. Finally, we crossed, right at the road. Didn't see that one during the race! More sustained climbing paralleling the road and the JEM descent and finally the upper crossing where JEM becomes one way. Then it was onto the real climb to the top of the mesa. Not bad, better then the road, but quite a challenge. Once on the top, it was time for the JEM drop. Probably my smoothest run through that section on this trip! We took JEM all the way down to Cryptobonic and Cryptobonic back to the Rim. Silly me, I'd assumed since most of the Rim trail had felt like climbing before, it would be all descending back to the car. Wrong! No such luck there - there were some burly climbs for us to get back to the car. We'd beaten the weather and gotten several nice rides in after the race. Time to relocate from St George to the other desert riding mecca....

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A long way on foot - Sheep Mountain Endurance Run

-
Image
Fifty miles is a long way - regardless of how you travel. As I was training and preparing for Sheep Mountain Endurance Run, I knew that it would be a long day - I knew that there would be ups and downs, that the plan would have to be fluid and goals adjusted mid-race. That is the nature of endurance sports and the people who achieve are the ones who can go with the flow and find the ability to turn things around if they do go south. Obviously, for my first 50, I was hoping for nothing but smooth sailing - with no dark spots, no demons and smiling the whole way. A girl can always hope, right? Runners assembled for the start Photo - Human Potential Running The sun was just starting to brighten the clouds as we walked to the starting line with nearly 100 other runners. The race director went through a few things, noting that there had already been some DNS's due to the elevation and to be smart. Smart... Most people would say smart would mean not doing something like a 50 mile ...
the full story...

Mortality

-
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well preserved body; but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a ride!'” - Hunter S. Thompson It seems such a trite quote, but true at the same time. Life is about the journey - the adventures along the way, the failures and successes. A life well lived is a person with stories to tell, taking the chances along the way that will provide fulfillment. You don't realize how close we are teatering to the edge until something happens that affirms our mortality.  In eleven years of practicing physical therapy in a nursing home setting, I've had my share of experiences with death. Never close though - far enough removed to be touched by the passing but not affected. Sometimes it's expected and everyone says "it's for the best. They are happier now." Other times, it's not and we are all shocked...
the full story...

Regaining my mojo

-
Image
I'll be honest. The two months between the middle of July and middle of September just about crushed me. Tired all the time, unable to muster more then a slug pace for most rides, and shuffling my way through my runs. It was the worst two month I've had - made worse by my continuing to try to push through the fatigue. So after Vapor I made sure that I would listen to my body and not pressure myself into training until I felt ready. No matter how long it would take, I would take the recovery I needed. Two weeks of minimal activity - short swims that were mostly just paddling around, very short runs where I didn't look at my watch at all and the easiest of rides imaginable. After those two weeks, I was still tired, but feeling better. Getting more like myself again, with a little more energy. That meant I needed at least another week of easy recovery! It was not the time to succumb to FOMO and start up with the big rides and hard runs again. So I behaved even more, knowing ev...
the full story...

Friends with the Monsters..

-
And the voices inside of my head.  As Saturday approaches, the voices - the demons - have begun talking to me. Sometimes a whisper, sometimes a scream. 54 miles. It's the distance from Colorado Springs to Lake Pueblo State Park. Or the top of Wilkerson Pass... A long bloody way to cover on two wheels, let along two feet! Yet that is my goal. Traverse the trails and roads west and east of Fairplay, covering more then the distance of two marathons. Theoretically, it should be nothing. After all, I've run back to back marathons many times - once getting both under 3:10. Fifty two miles, in just shy of 24 hours at a pace much faster then I'm planning. But in this ventures, I had time to recover between races and took the recovery seriously. Here, nothing but continuous forward movement. One step in front of the other, no breaks between efforts and the the clock doesn't stop ticking.  As Saturday approaches, those voices are getting louder. Ever doubting, ever questioning - ...
the full story...