We set out for our long run of the trip today, tackling part of one of the classic rides in this area - Tipperary Creek. These trails are the setting for an annual mountain bike race,
The King of the Rockies, but we would be running only a portion of the course. The nice thing about the Winter Park trail system is that there are many options to customize your run or ride to whatever length you choose. When we ride this, it is a 30 - 40 mile loop with 4000 - 5000' of elevation gain. But today we put together a 13 mile loop, with about 2000' gain, which was quite sufficient for running!!! We warmed up with the Northwest Passage trail, followed by a jaunt up Church Park Road to the Tipperary trailhead.
Kathleen is in the zone, concentrating on her climb up Tipperary Creek trail. The climb is sustained for 3.25 miles, gaining about 1500' before reaching Morse Pass, followed by a 2 mile fast and furious descent on Spruce Creek trail with lots of loose scree under foot!
The Spruce Creek trail has several very wet, lush areas to pass through on the way to the bottom - these are prime moose sighting areas but we saw none the whole trip!
Once off the slopes of Morse Mountain, we picked up the Creekside trail in the opposite direction from the previous day's run. We were ready for a cold soak in the pool and some rest for our feet - it was an epic run for us and good times for the memory bank!!!
We set out for our long run of the trip today, tackling part of one of the classic rides in this area - Tipperary Creek. These trails are the setting for an annual mountain bike race, The King of the Rockies, but we would be running only a portion of the course. The nice thing about the Winter Park trail system is that there are many options to customize your run or ride to whatever length you choose. When we ride this, it is a 30 - 40 mile loop with 4000 - 5000' of elevation gain. But today we put together a 13 mile loop, with about 2000' gain, which was quite sufficient for running!!! We warmed up with the Northwest Passage trail, followed by a jaunt up Church Park Road to the Tipperary trailhead.
Kathleen is in the zone, concentrating on her climb up Tipperary Creek trail. The climb is sustained for 3.25 miles, gaining about 1500' before reaching Morse Pass, followed by a 2 mile fast and furious descent on Spruce Creek trail with lots of loose scree under foot!
The Spruce Creek trail has several very wet, lush areas to pass through on the way to the bottom - these are prime moose sighting areas but we saw none the whole trip!
Once off the slopes of Morse Mountain, we picked up the Creekside trail in the opposite direction from the previous day's run. We were ready for a cold soak in the pool and some rest for our feet - it was an epic run for us and good times for the memory bank!!!
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