On Wednesday, I did a usual Palmer Park 5.5ish miler, taking to the trails.
Then on Thursday, I met up with Jill for a Barr trail adventure!
The weather was really perfect, truly an early autumn day on the Peak, with some afternoon cloud cover but no storms threatening.
I had brought my binoculars and wanted to get to a nice rocky top and see what I could see, so I tried to get to the big outcropping that I believe is called "Monte's View Rockpile," at least according to this SummitPost trip report.
However, the little trail to the rock pile drops down through a small meadow and is excessively overgrown. And then a crazy bee came up and stung Jill. I felt so bad for trying to drag her off trail to through the overgrown area! Instead, she and I climbed a small rock outcropping to the north side of Barr trail, right behind the metal sign that says 1/2 mile to Barr Camp.
This little outcropping is one of my favorites once you're on top of it, as it feels just like you're sitting in the middle of a picture frame with rocks on both sides of you.
I still feel bad about trying unsuccessfully to attempt the "Monte's" rock pile and causing Jill to get stung! But the day was such a success otherwise, and Barr trail was almost eerily empty - a sign of the unofficial "off season" after the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon.
Since we tallied almost 15 miles on Thursday, I took my next run on Saturday really easy. I went back to Palmer Park and did a brief 5 mile loop.
In the name of trying to be a little more sustainable, the majority of my solo runs are ones that I can access from my doorstep. No driving, saving gas, etc. And Palmer Park, just a mile from my house, is a great natural location for me to get some good climbing in. There are tons of trails, including some old social trails that have a lot of ascent and descent. Also great training for the times when I can meet up with friends and go on trail adventures!
Lots more to come soon! :)
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