Good Times on Limbaugh Canyon Trails

Last Sunday, we headed back up to Greenland to get in a run with Craig - you can read about it here.  I have had a little experience with wanting to put that course to rest, so it was no problem to head up and suffer for another lap in an attempt to push down a good time.  It was a good run and post-run conversation led to all the runs Craig has been missing out on in this wonderful playground that is the Pikes Peak Region.  One of the runs that caught his attention was Mt Herman/Limbaugh Canyon, a stout loop starting from the Monument Fire Center and circumnavigating Mt Herman on some great technical trails.  (Well, I may have left out the technical part...)  So it was decided that this morning we hit up this nice route.

Already a ways up Trail 715, looking over Monument, CO

Our forecast was looking a wee bit sketchy with 50's for highs, after 80 on Friday, and a good chance of rain.  I admit that as I approached Monument and I-25 was wet, I was a bit unsure about pulling this one off.  Limbaugh Canyon is nowhere to be when a lightning episode breaks out!  However, Mt Herman was still washed with sun from behind the clouds.  So off we went, meandering through the trails in the work center, over a couple ridges, before hopping onto the 715 Trail.  I think by this point, Craig was becoming aware of the technical nature of these trails (sorry I forgot to mention it!!) but we were enjoying the start of the long climb with the cooler temps. 

Almost to the Bear Creek drainage, time to head UP!

The climb was, as always, steep and loose with a lot of rocks and decomposed granite surface - something you get used to in these parts, sort of like running on ball bearings at times!  We had been enjoying some good chatter along the route, but a few of the harsher pitches begged a bit more silence, focusing the mind on the task at hand.  For the record, I walked *several* sections of steep, but Craig ran the whole thing - animal!  We worked our way up to the saddle intersection with Mt Herman Road, leaving one last grunt to the entrance for Limbaugh Canyon.  As luck would have it, some fine folk HAD TO BE OUT EARLY at the "shooting range" that needs to be closed on Mt Herman, so we nervously climbed the last bit with what I perceived to be largish caliber rifle and small caliber carbine going off below us.  It was just a wee tiny bit unnerving to drop in the canyon and hear ricochet buzzes echo off the high rock walls above us - yikes!

We thought for a bit the sun would poke out on the run out through Limbaugh, then about a mile out from the opening to Palmer Lake, we could see the whisps of fog rolling up toward us at a good clip.  By the time we approached Inspiration Point, overlooking the town of Palmer Lake, a dense fog had pushed in and some thick drizzly air along with it.

Town of Palmer Lake below the fog bank

Looking back up Limbaugh, with the fog really closing in

It was too cool to stand around and gawk at the sights, so we dropped in the steep descent, then made the sharp right uphill onto the new cut that heads back up into the National Forest on the front side of Mt Herman.  For some reason, it felt like we never finished climbing today, as the 8 or 10 switchbacks here really sapped my legs.  Must be pre-season lack of vert hitting home.  Started to pick up a little light rain a couple miles out from the work center, but it never amounted to much and was never uncomfortable.

Monument Rock on a gray day

It was nice to drop in the top of the work center and run the fresh cut descent on the west side - it was finished sometime late fall, and this was only the second time on it but it is some fantastic trail work.  Got down through the pond, had a few picks of The Rock, and ran it in to the trailhead - 13.5 miles, with just under 3000' vertical gain on the day.   Definitely Good Times!  This was also by far the hardest test I put the Brooks Pure Grits through to date, and it has earned the right to hang in my full time trail rotation with the Saucony Peregrines. 

************************************

 Speaking of shoes..........

OK - changing gears here, but did you know I love shoes?  Kathleen's "Imelda Marcos" streak has really rubbed off on me!  I am borderline shoe-aholic...  One of the things I didn't really get into post-Greenland was that it was the second race I have done in low heel-to-toe drop shoes.  While I admit I have not gone to the great scientific length that this guy has, I did some due diligence to make sure I did not crash-n-burn.  I started "breaking in" my body to a 4mm drop shoe early last year with the Saucony Mirage, which is more of a road shoe.  I did this gradually until I was ready to try out the Peregrine for more serious trail work, and it has been great.  Later in the fall I picked up the Kinvara 2, two days before Crazy Horse and ran the race in them on their first outing.  They were also great and I was pretty well liking the low drop, other than the occasional fleeting notion that I needed wanted more "cush".  After the unnamed cushioned shoes were used a good portion of early winter, I found myself living in KT Tape with a latent hip issue.  Nothing against the tape guys, but that ain't normal.  So in February I went to total low drop - canned all my other shoes.  Over the next couple months, voila, no hip issues.  Hmmmm.  Now while I am definitely not talking minimalist here as all these shoes are still well cushioned, my body has responded well to lowering the heel and I listened to that.  For whatever that is worth...

Uh-Oh

So imagine then my horror when I come home from the last tune-up run before Greenland and Kathleen points out this in what was going to be my race shoe - Nooooooooooooooooooooo......  Blown out toe is not good.

Plan B - Mr Blue gets to go racing

It just so happens, I found a Kinvara 2 the week before Greenland (the new model 3 is out, which I am not caring for initially) and raced in it (again no break in - isn't that sacrilege for racing???)  But I do have to give props to Saucony - a couple emails were exchanged and they had me send the black shoe back for inspection.  I'm a shoe geek if you had not noticed, so it was hard to part with those puppies after that run at Crazy Horse, but just this Wednesday, these showed up at HT Central:

Still black, but check out those blinding green accents!!!

Can't wait to wear out the Blues and get these dirty!!

Happy Trails!

A little new scenery (and some familiar!)

Been a bit since a post here but we're still running!  When we got back from the desert a couple weeks back, we took a mountain bike ride one day and then headed out to Limbaugh Canyon for a sweet loop we have done a couple times.  Only we forgot how brutally steep the climb was on Trail 715 - especially on tired legs from those fantastic runs in Fruita!!!  Not really sure what to think of Limbaugh - anyone know what the "secret" is there, feel free to fill us in.  Those two runs from the fall are the MOST SEARCHED posts ever since we started blogging.  What's up with that?  Must be the Bermuda Triangle of the mountains or something...

Anyhoo, the last two weeks have been the part of Spring that everyone savors in Colorado - RainSnowFogSleetHailWind - a very annoying weather pattern.  Last weekend we had two long runs in rain/drizzle conditions and cold, so we were not in the "sharing" mode.  You can thank us.  Had some life stuff thrown in with it too and cleared that, so it was time for some good weather in time for the weekend and back to good runs. 

Out early enough to run with the moon!

Kathleen had to work today, so we were out pretty early to get some good miles for her pre-work.  Since we had nice weather and an early jump, we decided to get in some exploration.  For a while the "Scar" has been on our docket for a little exploring.  You have seen it in our pics before - the long, flat scar that was formerly Queen's Canyon Quarry and is now reclaimed.  Technically, the road up onto the scar belongs to The Navigators.  However, it is used a great deal by local hikers and runners.  There is a nice flock of bighorns that live up there - steep canyons are their deal, you know.

Heading into the canyon - Scar is in the distance still

Up onto the mining road now - Tiny Kathleen in a Big Canyon!!!

Fascinating rocks and meadows on the way up

Just a little farther...

Looking down on Glen Eyrie

Posing with the Canyon's mascot

We climbed for a while to the bighorn statue and had to head back down so Kathleen could get to work.  We will certainly be back to check out the rest of the Scar in the near future.  The climb is manageable and the scenery is certainly not what we expected once we got back in there.  There is supposed to be a trail off the far end of the scar that heads all the way over to the old plane wreckage that sits behind Blodgett Peak, as well as a trail that heads up to Palmer Reservoir.  Exploration awaits...

Cruising the descent

Down through the canyon

Some great scenery

After dropping out of Queen's, Kathleen headed off for the climb back over Flying W to home, and I rolled into the Garden of the Gods to continue the run.  It was starting to warm nicely by now, a welcome change from the last couple weeks!  Soon after hitting the Dakota trail on the front of the Garden, I ran into Jonathan & Tammy running their "backyard" trails - funny we don't bump into them more often.  Chatted a bit and was surprised to find out that they have not been running the scar as Jonathan was almost ticketed last time up because they are in the midst of a study on the bighorns - Ooops...  Might explain our solitude up there!  Good to see them again - they are racing on some sweet trails down at the Sage Burner in Gunnison next weekend - good luck!!

Still one of my faves - Siamese Twins

  Pikes Peak - crowned with clouds most of the day

I rolled through the Garden with my intent to run some things reverse of normal route - heading UP Rampart Range Road to the water tank, then descending the singletrack that is usually a laborious grunt from the Garden side.  This was the first run up RRR and, while quite manageable, it is still a task and requires some concentration on the pacing.  It is just under three miles to the tank, where you leave RRR, climb a goat path past one of the city water tanks, and gain the ridge high above the Garden and south of Queen's Canyon.

Top of the Scar, just past the hill in the forground

It was interesting to look out from this vantage point to the scar, seemingly forever away, when I had just been on it 90 minutes earlier.  It was not until on the ridgeline that I noticed that distinct singletrack across the hillside - need to find out about that too!

On the ridge, looking out at Cedar Heights - those poor folk have horrible views, eh???

Took this video while running across the ridge to the drop in for the Garden.  Hope it is not too shaky -the wind was gusty up there, so no commentary during the vid either.  This is about 800' feet or so above the Garden, so you get some pretty nice views.  Rolled out through the middle of the park, which was by now packed with people on such a great day.  Made my way up and over Flying W and home, rolling into the casa with just shy of 21 miles and 3800' of climbing.  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.  Kathleen had rolled in a while back with 11 miles, which is also great for a morning run before heading off to work.  Hope all is well and might be back tomorrow with some more fun stuff.  Happy Trails!

Shoes - Saucony ProGrid Mirage

Fun in the Sun!

We have had at least a solid month of the most phenomenal weather (as if it is not always great...) and aside from needing some rain, we will take all of it we can get!  We had our hopes up to run Falcon Trail at the Air Force Academy Saturday morning to test out Kathleen's running progress, however, when we got there the trail was closed for a 24 Hour mountain bike race.  Plan B - we headed back home and ran at Ute Valley Park, which is always a good backup plan!

View across park to Pikes Peak

Kathleen running bottom of the valley

It was another splendid fall day along with summer like 80 degree temps.  We were able to get in about 9 miles at Ute and loop back to the house.  Kathleen decided to break off there and nurse her ailing legs in hopes of a shot at a longer run Sunday.  I headed across to the Foothills Trail and up for a short extra loop in Pike National Forest.

Starting to show some fall on Foothills

Next weekend, expect more orange and yellow..

Ended the day with 12 miles and both feeling really good.  We got a late start with the trail confusion, so we were a little sapped from the 80's at the finish of the run.  But fall is here, and we'll stockpile all the warmth we can!

Stats - 12 miles, 1600' elevation gain

Shoes - K Asics 2150 Trail

S - Asics Trabuco

Limbaugh Canyon Run on a Spectacular Day!

Trail 715 with Mt Herman in the background

We were hoping to get in a run today with a bit of fall color starting to show, and we hit the jackpot by heading to Monument to run the Limbaugh Canyon Loop that we first ran back in August.  We got out quite a bit earlier today, but it was already warming up.  Welcome back summer!  We ran a loop through the Fire Center and connected over to Trail 715, which is the backbone of the route.  Won't need a whole lot of description for the run as the photos pretty much tell the story.  If you want to see more after seeing the pics, you might be interested in this link.

Climbing 715

A little group photo-op

Why run pavement???

Bucolic countryside south of Mt Herman - Love Colorado!

The trail heading up Bear Creek drainage

Since we knew all the turns for the route this time around, we were able to just concentrate on the trail and the beautiful mountain we were running around.  The above photo is about 1 mile below the Mt Herman road crossing and was our first taste of changing Aspens for the year.  There is something serene about their quaking leaves and the soft crunch of a leaf-blanketed trail that makes running in the fall endearing.

Opening from the forest to Mt Herman road

Signature fall colors in Colorado - Aspens & Blue Sky!

Wanna get away???

For those who live in the east and upper midwest, I know the plethora of colors you get in the fall - I grew up back there.  However, there is something about the dry mountain air, dizzying elevation, azure blue sky, and rich golden aspen trees that really make the fall here.  What it lacks in colorful variety, it makes up for in mountain grandeur!!!

Trail 715 - Limbaugh Canyon

Kathleen running Limbaugh - Awesome Day!

Wildlife encounter #1 - Smooth Green Snake

Not nearly the size or intimidation factor of a bull snake or rattlesnake, but this smooth green snake might be the most colorful snake we have seen.  He was almost moving too fast to get a good pic!

Coming out of Limbaugh Canyon...

... to this View!  Inspiration Point, overlooking Palmer Lake, CO

Kathleen passing the sandstone spire on Red Tail

Wildlife Encounter #2 - Hello Yogi!

So we're finishing off a nice run, heading back down through the Fire Center and I round the trail nearing the pond to this sight.  After regaining consciousness (!!) I carefully extracted the camera and started taking pics.  As soon as he (how can you tell?) saw that I was not going to continue toward him, he just sat down in the trail and watched me.  This is ~ 100 feet away.

Hey ... how's it going tasty human???

Finally distracted by some horses

So we have seen bears before on the run, but never one this large.  This was a very large, very magnificent animal.  He seemed very mellow, and honestly, I think he just wanted a dip in the pond.  It was already in the mid 80's by now and that is ONE.HEAVY.COAT he has on!  Pretty cool to see animals like this close up.  He took off into the brush shortly after this photo as a group of 5 horse riders approached.

We had a great 14 mile run - this is really just an all around awesome loop, especially with the fall color and wildlife excitement!  Hope everyone has a great week and let us know if you would like to try this one out - we'll be glad to go along!  Happy Trails...

Stats - 14 miles, 2700' elevation gain

Shoes - K Asics Trabuco

S Pearl Izumi SyncroSeek XC

Limbaugh Canyon Loop

Back in May we did a little experimentation on Trail 715 leading out of the Monument Fire Center up onto the flanks of Mount Herman.  We have been looking to get back out and do a loop around to the south, over the saddle, and down through Limbaugh Canyon to complete a circumnavigation around Mount Herman.  Thanks to some fantastic trail data from our friend Jon, we finally made it out for the loop today.  Not knowing what to fully expect for a completed loop mileage, we hit the trails fairly early with some cool breeze and mild temps.  Though we have mountain biked Limbaugh before, the route we took for that was quite a bit different.

Kathleen ascends Trail 715 with Monument, CO below

Up into the scrub oak zone, before the forest begins

Dense Gambles (scrub oak) blanket the lower hillsides of Mount Herman

We made our way through the Fire Center and over to the bottom portion of Trail 715.  This trail makes up the "spine" of a large portion of the loop around Mt Herman.  The majority of the first 6 miles is climbing, broken into two very significant pushes to gain the ridge before dropping into Limbaugh Canyon.  The first segment climbs the lower flanks of the mountain before dropping into the Beaver Creek drainage.

Kathleen climbing through the forest

Looking south from the ridge across ranch land to the US Air Force Academy

Dropping in to the drainage

There was a tricky turn down the hillside that we missed on our recon run in May - thanks to Jon, no problem this time.  We dropped in to Beaver Creek and discovered an awesome little section that we would have never thought existed back here.  There was lots of dense vegetation, plenty of shade, and several crossings of Beaver Creek.  

Trail 715 crosses the creek

After the first crossing, it was back to climbing and this one was steeper than the initial push.  After crossing the creek several times and then Mt Herman road, we continued on 715 for one final push to gain the ridge above Limbaugh Canyon.  Now it was time to drop into the canyon for one of the cooler trails in the area.  Limbaugh has everything from super steep, loose descents in dense forest to flowing rollers through lush open meadows full of dense vegetation as it follows the Monument Creek drainage down into Palmer Lake.

Steve rolls through the forest on Limbaugh

Aspens and singletrack - sweet!

Open meadow with Mt Herman rising up behind

It has been many years since I have been back in this canyon (although Kathleen has been through more than I over the years) and we'll just say less time will pass before the next trip.  Pristine singletrack and lush surroundings lend to an atypical setting for our alpine desert climate.  Need to add a quick note too:  Jon and his wife, who we'll call the Trail Queen, have helped organize a lot of trail work in this area with many hours put in by local Boy Scouts and other volunteer groups.  The work shows, as Limbaugh was in better shape than we have ever witnessed - GREAT WORK!

Little video work from Kathleen

Nice pools on Monument Creek

Oasis in the canyon

It is too bad this spot above was still a ways from the finish of the loop - these pools would make an awesome place for a cold soak to start the leg recovery!  Since water is scarce in these parts, this creek provides the life force for all of the beautiful scenery in the canyon.  From here, we ascended the eastern ridge to make our way around the northern side of Mt Herman.  After climbing a bit through the trees, you round a corner to this:

Inspiration Point

The trail rounds a bend and there, 900 or so vertical feet below lies the town of Palmer Lake.  Quite a view!  Spruce Mountain and Greenland Open Space are in the far distance.  Now it was time for a quick drop and then up onto the eastern side of the mountain.  The exit from Limbaugh has been a land use controversy for years (thanks to ONE single landowner with a stick in his behind) and this was our first trip on the re-route trail that was cut to avoid Mr Cranky's wrath.  The trail was as expected - awesome.  Tough in spots and technical, but absolutely smile-inducing the whole way across.  After navigating across the contour above Palmer Lake, we dropped out of the forest onto Mt Herman road and crossed back into the Fire Center.  We made our way past Monument Rock and down to the trailhead for our first completed loop around the mountain.  Loop was 14.25 miles with around 3400' accumulated elevation gain.  The experience can't be captured in numbers.  We're already up for another shot and thinking of a couple trails we could add to up the ante a bit.  If you're interested, come run it with us!  Hope everyone has had an awesome weekend - Happy Trails!

Shoes - K Asics 2150 Trail

S - La Sportiva Wildcat

Almost forgot - here is the profile of the run from SportTracks: