Celebrate the 4th on the Trails!

We tried to come up with a creative route to include the Section 16 loop on Saturday without having to finish uphill. So we started out at the main trailhead for Red Rock Canyon Open Space and headed up onto the rim to catch the Section 16 connector to Intemann Trail. At the first connection point on Intemann to Section 16, we had to decide whether to climb the brutal side or the "runnable" side of the loop. Since we were already 700' of climbing up the brutal side, we figured we could power hike most of it and enjoy a looooooong runout back to the trailhead on Gold Camp. The Section 16 loop has 1800' raw climb from either side. The side we took does it in just under 2 miles - you do the math. Here is the view about a mile into the climb up Section 16, already well above Red Rock and a fair amount of work still to do!
Once onto the big saddle on Section 16, you have this view across the canyon of High Drive's harsh switchbacks, starting from the lower right and then snaking up the canyon wall. We ran these a couple weeks back after dropping through Bear Creek Canyon. After having this view, it is no wonder they hurt so bad! It was quite a nice morning but the clouds were coming in oh so early from the west - time to get a move on because there is still some real estate to cover.

From the top of Section 16, the reward for the harsh climb is almost 4 miles of descending to the parking area on Gold Camp road. Then we got to climb back up the start of the loop to the Intemann Cutoff and back across to the Red Rock connector. From the high point on Intemann, this is the view north, high above Red Rock, looking out onto the Garden of the Gods.

Back down onto the rim, Kathleen is definitely ready for the descent to Red Rock Canyon trailhead.

One last view from the top of the canyon before heading down!

Steve cruises down the Roundup trail, finishing the day strong but tired! We had a great run, although it got a bit warm for all the climbing. Hope everyone enjoyed Independence Day - Happy Trails!

Stats:
Shoes - Asics Gel Trabuco
Distance - 12 miles
Elevation gain - 3400'

Happy 4th of July - God Bless America!

America the Beautiful
Written by: Katharine Lee Bates

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet

Whose stern impassion'd stress
A thorough fare for freedom beat

Across the wilderness.

America! America!

God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,

Thy liberty in law.

O beautiful for heroes prov'd

In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,

And mercy more than life.

America! America!

May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,

And ev'ry gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream

That sees beyond the years
Thine alabster cities gleam

Undimmed by human tears.

America! America!

God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

Trail Running on the 4th of July!

We headed out for a short run today at Garden of the Gods. We started a little later than expected and, with the heat coming up early, we knew it would not be a long outing. That is OK since we do have an event to participate in on Sunday morning. It was great to be out on the 4th of July, especially with Pikes Peak - America's Mountain - as the backdrop for our run. For those who don't know, America the Beautiful was penned by Katherine Lee Bates while on a trip west to teach at Colorado College. The poem began to form in her mind while atop Pikes Peak and she finished composing it in her hotel room upon returning. We see it every day and don't ever want to take for granted the majesty of Creation before our eyes!
Back to the heat issue. We have always ridden our bikes in the heat and have learned to manage pretty well. However, we have not done a lot of summer running until this year, so the learning curve is on for running in the heat. The second difficulty is that we had such an extended cold spring that we went from running in long sleeves to figuring how little we can wear - virtually overnight. Part of the "learning" will be to start earlier in the day. 90 degrees at 6000'+ altitude definitely takes a toll. With the speed of biking, especially road biking, there is always the opportunity to have a little built-in wind chill. At our current running pace, wind chill is non-existent!!! :-)
Regardless of heat, it was another spectacular day for hitting the trails. We saw so many people out enjoying the day on our way to the park and while we were there - bicycling, running, hiking, horseback riding, rock climbing - we live in a very recreation oriented community for sure.
We finished our run and headed home for a little ice-bath session to get the legs in recovery mode. It also helps to cool off the engine room on a hot summer day. The run was great and as always - good times!

It is that time of year again - while most sports fanatics are in the doldrums of summer, we will be keeping an eye on the Tour De France starting tomorrow. We're a little disappointed that #1 and #3 from last year's Tour are not there but it should still be interesting.