Cheyenne Cañon and Stratton Open Space

We decided to run Cheyenne Cañon today starting from Starsmore Discovery Center. Right behind the center is the entrance to the Columbine trailhead pictured above. It was another bright Colorado day and the forecast was for our first day in the 80's so far and we were looking forward to it after our COLD winter and spring!

The Columbine trail climbs briskly along the stream and above Cañon Drive for almost 2 miles until the cutoff trail that we use to catch Gold Camp Road. Shortly after starting we saw a small bear cross the stream and scamper up into the brush before I could get the camera on him. He was not at all interested in posing for us - go figure! Columbine rises steadily, at times sustaining grades above 15% and averages a solid 10% for the first 2 miles.

After climbing to the intersection with Gold Camp Road, there is a short tunnel to run through, and then a mellow dirt road cruise (and a short paved section) to the upper trailhead for The Chutes. As the name implies, Chutes is a bermed, curvy downhill that is a blast to mountain bike down and not too shabby to run either. Awaiting you at the base of Chutes is Stratton Open Space, another of Colorado Springs fine park areas. It is a mixture of small open meadows and coniferous forest and is quite a beautiful park.

K running the Upper Meadows Loop.

S running near the end of the Chamberlain trail. We ended up with about 9 miles, but starting with a climb like Columbine in the legs, that is plenty for us. As is usually the case, we ended our run with a smile on our face and good times etched in our memory banks!

Fun at Spruce Mountain Open Space

We've not been able to get out much this week - Steve did a short run Monday night after work and Kathleen did a before work run on Wednesday morning. BUT, THANKFULLY!!! we were able to get out today for a very fun trail run!!! We did a 10+ miler on the Spruce Meadow/Spruce Mountain trails. We have mountain biked these trails many times over the years (we bike a 30ish mile big loop) but today was the first time we ran this portion (we are slowly morphing into REAL trailrunners, I think!). The picture above is at the start of the sort-of lollipop loop. The first two miles roll through open prairie, then begin to climb into scrub oak and finally pines on Spruce Mountain. Unfortunately, there is not much green or color yet-the scrub oaks are still bare so the pictures seem a little dull. But it really is a beautiful area!


S starting the climb up the switchbacks to the top of Spruce Mountain . . .


. . . and K bringing up the rear!
Now we are on top of Spruce Mountain, looking north toward Castle Rock and Denver. On a really clear, bluebird day, we can see all the way to the famed snow capped Longs Peak. The views from up here are amazing! Today was a little hazy so no Longs Peak. Oh, by the way, this is one of the few days K has worn a short sleeved top on her run - it was mid 60's and we were trying to get maximum vitamin D absorption. Winter was too long this year!


S enjoying the descent off of Spruce Mountain!


We met an interesting trailrunning team today - pictured above (on top of Spruce Mountain) is Steve and his burro, Finegan. Today, they did a 12 mile training run in preparation for the trail races they will do over the summer. Finegan is 10 years old and was so sweet and mellow! We spent quite a bit of time talking to Steve and petting sweet Finegan. Burro racing is really an interesting sport. Steve gave us this website: http://www.packburroracing.com/. Look it up! It is a fun, entertaining, and interesting website. Steve and Finegan are pictured in one of their 2007 races in the "Gallery" section. He said they are always looking for new burro racing recruits and can put people in touch with "rental burros" for those wanting to try something new and exciting involving lots of trailrunning with a companion. We thought it looked fun!
After our most excellent run and visit with Steve and Finegan, we climbed into the truck and had to agree that "Life is good!". Get out and enjoy!

K's Monday mountain bike ride with Becky!

I met my dear friend, Becky, for our Monday morning mountain bike ride. We had a beautiful, blue sky, WARM (finally!!!) morning as we headed over to the Fire Center in Monument. Although we had intended on doing a longer ride, we both ended up with the "BLAHS" today, consequently shortening our ride. We still had fun, though!!! We ended up with almost 17 miles of mostly delicious singletrack!!! Every day is a good day (even when we're feeling a little blah) especially when we are able to get out to bike or run on the trails!!!

K riding "The Downhill"

Because Becky and I were "photographically challenged" today due to our "blahs", I am including a couple of other pictures we snapped from the past couple of our Monday rides:

B enjoying the view on Spruce Mountain

K picking her way down Helicopter