Winter solstice at the Bottomless Pit junction

On Friday, I made my way up Barr Trail to the Bottomless Pit junction via the Incline.

I like celebrating the solstice by having a nice peaceful run. I usually spend both summer AND winter solstice this way. Since it was winter solstice, daylight was short.

Luckily I felt fast and started the day with a 33:37 Incline. Not bad for a winter Incline, and maybe with a little training I'll be able to break that magical 30-minute barrier this summer.

I did see Jim at the false summit! Unfortunately I didn't get to catch up with him at the top, and I could have sworn I had his contact info, but my phone doesn't seem to have it. So if you're reading this Jim, leave me a message at the bottom.

At the top of the Incline was a very well decorated Christmas tree! The holiday spirit is alive and well in the mountains.

I will say, I was tempted by the summit - I wish I had started earlier so I could push a summit since it was such a nice day. But, alas, daylight was too short to complete a trek that lengthy today.

Instead, I pushed past Barr Camp, and decided to go for the Bottomless Pit junction, which I reached in a solid 2:21! Woah - I felt pretty invincible. That's the type of time I'm looking for in the summer, and considering all the ice on the trail, I can't complain in the least.

I will have to say, my husband got me a new pair of spikes which worked excellently for the trail conditions on Barr, which was packed snow with a thin slick icy melted layer on top.

I still had enough time to stop in at Barr Camp and wish them a happy holiday. On the shortest day of the year, Barr Camp was still pretty busy - at least three others stopped in while I was there, and I only had about 15 to 20 minutes to spend.

I love the long shadows in the afternoon on a winter day at Lightning Point. 

And the summit of Rocky Mountain soaking in the last moments of sunlight as I descended towards No Name Creek. 

And finally, I got to witness sundown on winter solstice while I was still a couple miles up the trail.

I still was able to complete my run before it got dark, and meet my family at the park in Manitou where the kids played for a whole hour after sundown and before it got too dark and cold.

All in all, a perfect celebration of the winter solstice for me!

Last week's Barr Camp trip!

For anyone still out there, I wanted to post about my run *last* week before it was too late. Plus, I haven't gotten to the mountains this week yet, but photos from last week are the next best thing.

I ran to Barr Camp last Monday, and what a great day for it. (Although it always is!)

I didn't bring spikes which is not the smartest thing in the winter, but most of the trail was pretty crunchy-packed, so it wasn't too terrible.

I started on the Incline and landed a 34:51, even though I slowed significantly after the false summit due to ice. I was excited for a sub-35 winter Incline, so I'll take it!

The day started out very sunny and bright, but it quickly grew overcast. I enjoyed the blue skies above the Incline while they lasted! 

The clouds formed over the Pikes summit on my way towards Barr Camp: 

At Barr Camp, I got to catch up with Reagan and Jonathan, and they told me they had pulled down the Men's/Women's signs on the bathrooms and asked if I wanted them!

Let me back up a second here and explain. Recently, the Denver area passed a law that states any place that has two restrooms that are single-stall and lock behind  (intended to be individual stalls) must no longer be labeled men's and women's, but just rather be two restrooms for anyone to use.

The Barr Camp restrooms are simply two identical single stalls. I brought this issue up to my friend Karl and he brought it up to the Barr Camp board, which he sits on. They agreed that it's more reasonable, I mean - this is the wilderness of Colorado! We don't need gendered restrooms. So the caretakers took down the signs some time back, and had spared them from burning for long enough that I could retrieve them as a great momento.

On a different topic here - my Scott Jurek FKT Vest worked so well for  me to carry those signs down the mountain with! I was easily able to run and they did not fall out.

At the risk of sounding like a spokesperson for the brand, I'm most impressed with how *nothing falls out* of the vest, even when taking it off and on (to add or remove layers). I'll definitely be running with this pack for quite some time.

As I jogged down the mountain and the day wore on, I felt immersed in the peaceful winter woods. The view back towards Hurricane Canyon was cloudy, yet very still.

I hope to get to the mountains this coming Saturday. Although this winter I've only been able to get to the mountains sporadically, I'm sure I'll be there more often as the new year comes around. See you all soon.

My first run with my new Scott Jurek FKT Vest (review)

So I've been a gym rat as of late. First it was cold, then icy, then cold again... blah blah excuses blah blah... long story short, the weight room has been a replacement for running lately. I'm not complaining, it's still exercise, but I've been itching to hit the trail.

A couple days ago, my husband gave me an early Christmas gift - the Scott Jurek FKT (Fastest Known Time) vest! My old running pack was literally coming apart at the seams (the phone pocket was almost completely torn through), so it was time. He was so nice to give it to me early so I can put it to use already!

And I have to say - I'm impressed. Running packs have come a long way in the last few years. This thing is lightweight! And it fits perfectly. (I needed a size small, which still leaves me some "room to grow" - you know, when I get this massively wide chest from all my gym days, ha ha!)

I don't have any "action shots" yet, but here's what it looks like. The back:

And front:

It came with the two water bottles but not the (optional) bladder that can go in the back. My run today was just short of two hours, and I only consumed one of the water bottles, leading me to believe that the two bottles alone will be sufficient for a standard Sunday run (like Barr Camp). And the bottles are much easier to fill at aid stations in longer races, rather than a bladder in the back.

The bottles have good squeezability.

And pockets galore! I'm easily able to fit my phone in the front pocket in front of the water bottle (since I like to take photos for my blog when I run) and I still have lots of room for bars, gels, snacks, etc.

I'm impressed by the fit, the lightness, the utility. Really, I don't have any complaints about it as of yet.

There's even a whistle built in for those rare times you encounter a bear or mountain lion. (Hopefully not, but I *do* run in the mountains fairly often.)

A final nice touch is the small mountain pattern/design. I like the color scheme, although it's more subtle than some of the other vests I've seen. Overall I'm very happy with this vest as an ideal choice for that Sunday long run! Adding a bladder to the back will make this pack go much further, as well - making it a good option for a self-supported ultradistance adventure, as I've been known to do from time to time!

I have been marked absent for the last two club runs (OR rather not marked at all yet for the new season) so I fully plan to change that on Sunday and set out with the Incline club for another great winter day in the mountains. And give the vest a full trial run (I'm sure it'll do great). See you folks on Sunday! (Not going to skip out again like last week.)