Midweek adventure on Barr trail

I have so many photos I wanted to share that I didn't want to wait for a weekly update to post.

Yesterday I did a standard "short route" at Palmer Park. The yucca area provides some great views.

I felt pretty good running yesterday. After my run, I did some weighted squats and some ab crunches.

Today I planned to do the Incline, and then push as far as I could within my time limit up Barr trail.

The day was hot and clear to begin with. Tons of people on the Incline. I crawled up the thing, both literally and figuratively. Is it just me, or does the Incline seem more difficult lately - ever since the last major storm when it washed out a lot?

I landed 43:18, disappointingly slow, but I am going to chalk it up to a combination of my training volume lately, and the heat, and the squats I did yesterday.

The sun was brightly shining as I rounded the corner on the Pikes overlook past the Incline.

It took me almost exactly 2 hours to the second to reach Lightning Point. That would have meant at least another 15 to 20 minutes to Barr Camp. Not the worst ever time, but still sluggish for a summer day with clear trails.

As I came up on Lightning Point, the weather changed rapidly. It got windy and overcast and chilly. It's amazing how quickly it happened.

Because I was trying to stick to my time limit and I didn't bring a long sleeve shirt, I didn't go much further. Instead of pressing on for Camp today, I just climbed the nearest flat rock with a big view.

Now I want to show you something kinda neat! This photo is from the top of the rock I climbed on the Sunday before last:

If you look really closely at the flat rock near the center (slightly right), it has a fire ring atop.

And here is the fire ring up close from today!

The rock outcropping I was on previously is prominently visible towards the center-left. How much fun is that?

Here's a panorama from the top of the rock!

And, as quickly as that storm had moved in and on top of the peak, it was gone. It moved south and east quickly.

I ate my snack near the rock outcropping, finding a perfect spot to set up a tent, making a mental note for future adventures. Then I headed down the mountain for the day. I caught one more very nice photo, near Bob's Road, of the distant Almagre Mountain.

Although I wasn't fast today, it was a very picturesque day in the mountains. And breathing in the fresh mountain air is so refreshing for the soul!