In search of dry trails...

With wet heavy snow that turned to a cement-like crust last weekend, we have had serious issue trying to find something dry to run.  Everything that has had sun is wet all the way through and will just about suck your shoes off your feet!  Yesterday, went over to Santa Fe trail which is usually our go-to trail when everything else is muddy.  No such luck.  Ran 9.5 miles of muck - the only thing not muddy was the snowpack that was still left.  Covered in mud, no photos will be posted!  :-)

So we hit the road this morning, heading south on I-25 to Pueblo and a run along the Arkansas River Trail.  We knew we would have to run some on the paved bike path, but it was dry so we went for it.  We would generally come to Pueblo to run the south shore trails at Pueblo Reservoir, however, today we decided to get a little fast leg turnover on the flat route.   When we made the turn west on Arkansas River Trail, this was the view back to the east under Pueblo Blvd - the Arkansas River looking pretty calm.

After passing by the Nature Center, we were out in the open in Rock Canyon running an abandoned dirt road (which kept us off the cement bike path!!)  Thought this knarled tree was cool looking against the bluff.  The road is a gradual ascent out toward the reservoir, generally following the twists and turns of the river.

Kathleen coming off the dirt road and onto a section of the bike path.  From here, we would be on and off on paved and dirt double track sections all the way out to the dam.  As you can see in the pics, we had a nice sunny day though the cool wind kept temps in the upper 40's. 

After following a large bend in the river, the dam wall comes into view.  On the left, you see one of MANY fly fisherman we saw on the run - they had an awesome day to be out.  If you have seen any of our pics from past runs at Pueblo Reservoir, you know there is a LOT OF WATER behind that dam.

The handiwork of beavers, above, could get ugly on the trail when they are a little further along on their task!

Me - Enjoying the run and NO MUD!

More fishing activity.  Fly fishing always looks peaceful, kind of like trail running!

The satellite view of our out and back run.  Like I said, lots of water behind that cement wall!  We had a nice run of just over 11 miles, though very different for us with continuous leg turnover and faster pace.  Aside from some paved areas, it is a nice mellow run with a total elevation gain of a little under 900 feet - pretty much flat for Colorado.  This is probably the Happy Trails version of a road run :-)  Hope everyone has a great week!

Shoes - K - Nike Structure Triax

S - Brooks Ravenna

Quick trip up the Incline

Azure skies and brilliant sunshine extended their cheerful greeting this morning and the perfect workout for snowy - slushy conditions is the Incline.  So I laced up a pair of screw shoes, donned a running skirt for some vitamin D action, and made a quick trip over to Manitou.  Surprisingly, the normally overflowing parking lot at the Barr Trail trailhead was almost empty.  Made my way around the bluff to the bottom and started the march up the mountain.

Yes folks, read the sign - I AM a lawbreaker.  So are thousands of others in this fine town who regularly trek up the hill.  Good news for all of the lawbreakers - it's on the verge of becoming legal.  Yahoooo!!!

Nearing the top, it was shady and cool.  

With one mile and 2000 feet of vertical gain in the legs, a fellow lawbreaker snapped this photo at the top.

Awesome beauty on the way down.

I love rocks!

The run down Barr Trail was part super-slush, part snow-pack (awesome traction!), and part dirt.  Made it to the bottom safe and sound and continued to savor the awesome sunshine and blue skies.

Caught this little buck foraging in our front yard and perennial flower garden (looks like a bunch of weeds at this time of year) in the afternoon.  He dug himself a nice hole in the snow then moved on to check out the bird feeder to the right.  He was a little ticked off because the BIRD feeder was EMPTY.  Oops, my bad.  After he moved over to our neighbor's yard, I filled it for the next group of visitors.  Notice the buck in our neighbor's yard across the street.  There were also two does to the right of the little guy in our yard.  Couldn't fit them all in the photo!
Happy Trails this week!

Play Day in the Snow

Got some good wet, heavy snow last night and were expecting more today.  However the sun broke out late morning, so instead of staying in for the day, we ventured out in the cold for a little trail/snow run. The storm actually went "dry" as the fancy weather folk would say.  Cold north wind kept the accumulation low, whereas a warmer, upslope wind would have dumped more on us.  We got about 6 inches total in the NW part of town, so not too bad.  Ute was a winter wonderland when we got out.

 

Usually get this more in the spring snows, but I love the icicles on the spruce.

 Kathleen heading into Ute Valley, glad to be out of the wind!

 

 Footing was tricky as there was water running under the snow in a lot of spots.

 

 Looking over the bluff toward the mountains.

 

 Kathleen navigating the boulders - the snow hides a lot of loose rock, so footing is tentative on days like this.

 

 The "stream" was little wider this morning!

 

Enjoying the day and glad we got out for a while instead of holing up.  Plus we were able to get some nice pics in the snow and some fresh, crisp air in the lungs.  Happy Snowy Trails!