I'll Just Run There

Now that Nick is finally here in Grand Junction, we've been able to do some fun exploring weekends. Lots of miles running and riding. One of the adventures I've been eyeing is the kinda thing that takes those long weekends of learning the trails and roads. With that in mind, there have been more then a few times where Nick has kicked me out of the van and I've run to the final destination. No better way to learn then actually running!

The first day was just an out and back while Nick rode with the guys. The first section of trail, and what might be the busiest chunk. My goal was to turn from the Loma Trailhead to the Salt Creek bridge and then back. I wanted about 20 miles and the Koko was the kind of terrain I needed for that day. Lots of runnable miles, but with some good climbing. As expected, it was quiet on Mary's out to Pizza Point. I met a few mountain bikers, but not to many. That stretch was also really fast - after the initial climb, a gradual downhill with just a few punch climbs. When the trails switched from Mary's to Lions, there was more climbing. Rocky and steep, forcing me into a power hike for a bit. Some great views of the valley and the Colorado River though! There would be more climbing after I popped off the single track to follow Koko further west. On some of the tracks, a few of the other runners had dropped down into Crow's Bottom. It looked like that was the route on the map, if you weren't paying attention. And you would avoid the really steep climb up the Mack Ridge Road. But the double track into Crow's didn't go all the way through to Troy Built, leading to even slower bushwacking and scrambling to get back onto the trail. I stayed on the Mack Ridge Road, climbing up to Troy Built and then descending down all the way to Salt Creek. Time to turn around!

This is a good place to turn around!

Every run adds a little bit of knowledge to the bank. An unanticipated camping trip allowed me to get another section checked out. This time, it really was a kick me out of the van situation. We drove to the Hawkeye trailhead and I again started running west. My goal was the Juflas Campground in Rabbit Valley where Nick would meet me after his ride. At the end of the road, I was once again on Troy Built, this time approaching Koko from the north. When I reached the split above Salt Creek, I dropped down to the bridge again. Over the bridge and into the unknown. I really didn't know where the trail was going this time. I'd decided to play with the technology on my watch though, and had built out the run as a route and loaded it into my watch. While the buzzing at some of the turns and twists in the trail was annoying, having the line on my wrist was kinda nice. There was a couple of miles of fun single track along the creek and railroad tracks, then Koko started climbing. And kept climbing. Gone was the nice, well used single track of the Mary's area. This was more rugged and seldom used singletrack. Fun! And some great views again. Too soon though, the single track popped out on double track. It would stay double track, turning to gravel road for the rest of the run into Rabbit Valley. I pushed the pace a little on the long stretch paralleling the interstate, listening to my music in one ear and the trucks on the highway in the other. Nick was waiting for me when I reached the campground. It would be a quick turn around to go ride bikes!

Looking down at the Colorado River from the top of the single track climb

A well marked trail is always the best!

That was 22 miles. Some fun singletrack, some mind numbing dirt road. Time for another big chuck of miles. This time, Rabbit Valley over to Utah. I wanted to at least reach the Westwater Road on that run. Once again, Nick kicked me out of the van with my map, my route in my watch and the spot tracker. I had a feeling I knew a lot of the route from a mountain bike race years ago, but wasn't sure. Either way, having the map and the route on my watch would get me to where I wanted to go. It was after a rain storm, so the road through Rabbit Valley wasn't super sandy. Still, the potential for pace breaking sand has to be monitored. Again, I settled into a solid pace, knowing that it was likely faster then what the ultimate goal would be, but where I needed to be running for my upcoming race. Other then some neat views of Western Rim, there was nothing memorable about this section. Just dirt double track in the middle of nowhere, with an eye opening climb up to the mesa near the end. I remembered the climb - I'd pushed my bike up it years ago. Nick saw me on the climb and yipped - I waved back and then continued on my way towards the Westwater Road. Still on a jeep road, but more interesting at least. I kept eyeing the single track dirtbike trail paralleling the route. That would be more fun, but wouldn't get me the data I needed. After what was actually a pretty neat and rocky descent, I t-boned the blacktop road. While Koko would turn left and head down the road, I turned right and took an unmarked double track back north. Hopefully, I would intersect a single track short cut to get back to the van. The Zion Curtain waited for us!

The ribbon of road (trail?) in the desert

He's the cutest little trail guide!

That's 40 miles or so covered. Just under 100 to go. But as winter settles into the La Sals, the scouting will have to wait. I'll turn to my maps and scribble notes about access points, support areas and other details. And ponder. A long trail attempt has always been a dream of mine. But is this the right trail?