Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! We dug out all of our local trail books and came up with some new routes we are pretty excited to try. Today's was one of those routes and it's a keeper! We started up High Drive following a group of 10 hearty mountain bikers. Part of that group was 2001 Women's Mountain Bike World Champion, Alison Dunlap, one of our locals. We ended up passing the mountain bikers as we entered the Palmer - Section 16 singletrack (they were waiting for a couple of stragglers).
Steve heading up and up. This side of the loop starts with a long but very runnable (albeit somewhat slowly) climb.
The snow provided really good traction today.
The vistas were really pretty. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn't too great for showing the beauty in the pics.
Now we get some reward for the climb - a little descending is in order! Most of the descent is quite steep, though, and more technical, with lots of rocks and roots, than the climb we came up. We figured we descended about 1100 feet in 1.25 miles.
We found the trail that connects with Red Rock Canyon. There are so many trails that can be linked together in this area! And close to home . . . Bonus!
The sun started to peek out periodically late in the run . The red rocks of Garden of the Gods rise up in the distance.
Down some steps on the Intemann Trail with some glorious sun peeking through!
Back at the trailhead, with the sun still smiling. So are we! Lots of fun. The Garmin recorded 10 miles and 3130 feet of climbing. We should get stronger with regular runs like this - that's our goal! It was an awesome loop with the potential to link it with many other trails nearby - we are eyeing connecting most of this route with Jones Park/Bear Creek for a 15 mile very high quality run. Much longer routes are possible. With some good effort, the possibilities are almost endless. We've got some work to do to get stronger so we can see and savor everything available! Living and loving life . . .
Shoes: S - Asics Gel Trabuco
K - Asics Gel Trabuco
