Lovely winter sunsets - at Palmer Park, and around the base of Mount Rosa.

Something about the winter air makes the sunset colors super spectacular. I've been blessed to be able to watch two amazing sunsets during runs this week.

Saturday, November 27th, 2021:

Not quite 8 miles run up in Palmer, almost 1000 ft elevation gain. My route was backwards of last time, Palmer Point Trail to Lazyland Road, then up the road to Grandview Overlook and down Paseo Rd.

The sunset colors tonight were amazing. They often are, but this was an especially impressive evening. I watched the sunset as I ran along the open stretch of road on my way down from Grandview Overlook. 

The sky was even more fantastic in person. It gave me an extra burst of speed, feeling immersed in the natural world.

***

Tuesday, November 30th, 2021:

The last two days I've taken off from exercise entirely. I had some pretty bad DOMS from my heavy lifting day on Friday. Even though I didn't feel sore whatsoever for my 8-mile run on Saturday, I felt like I could barely get out of bed on Sunday morning. I guess that's why they call it 'delayed onset.'

I didn't necessarily mean to take two days off, but Monday got too busy. I think it may have been advantageous for me though, because I finally got out for the longer mountain run that I've been craving!!

I started out today at the base of Bear Creek Canyon. I ascended High Drive - my usual entrance to the mountains these days. I connected to Captain Jack's #667 towards Mt. Buckhorn, and then continued along the Kineo Mountain bypass. 

The winter shadows were already getting long when I reached the #622 split at the base of Kineo Mountain. I was barely 6 miles in, but I suddenly hit a major low point. I felt a lack of energy in my legs, and just a general glum feeling that this segment had taken me too long. I seriously considered just topping out on Kineo and then going back down, giving up on my planned route for the day - which was a big loop around (most) of Mount Rosa's base.

Thankfully, I didn't give up yet. I just had an early low point, which I hoped to trade in on high points later in the run. I took advantage of the short downhill section on 622 to speed up a little, before connecting to Pipeline Trail #668. I got back into the sunlight for a little, which elevated my mood a bit.

There were segments of the trail that had snow along both sides, but the trail itself was melted out, likely due to the popularity of this trail as a dirtbike route. I had briefly contemplated bringing microspikes on this run today, but decided against it when looking at the mountains from my doorstep and taking an educated guess.

This ended up being the correct decision for today, as spikes were totally unnecessary. Nonetheless, it will be traction season in the mountains very soon - ice will probably start to accumulate after the next snowstorm that hits the mountains, since the valleys and north-facing trails get so little sunlight at this time of year.

I breathed deeply in the fresh air of the winter woods. One of my favorite things about this time of year in the mountains is just how crisp the air is.

The spot that I was most concerned about encountering ice on the trail was the big hill on #668 just after Nelson's Camp. This steep hill becomes an icy slip-n-slide after a few storms. Fortunately, it was a non-issue. In fact, the dirt bike tracks mixing with the small amount of snow actually gave the trail even more traction than it usually has (since it's a dry scree hill in summer.)

Left: the fresh winter woods. Right: the steep hill past Nelson's Camp on #668.

I popped out at the end of 668 at Frosty's Park, feeling better than I did at the base of Kineo, but still a little fatigued in the legs. I had just completed the huge majority of my climbing for the day. I had a brief moment of "oh man, am I going to make it?" But I pushed that thought out of my head. It was basically all downhill from here, so I had nothing to worry about 😅.

I captured a photo of the majestic Mount Rosa, the mountain I was doing a big semi-circle around today.

Mount Rosa from Frosty's Park. 

I started slowly descending on the rocky road 379, trying to find my downhill legs after almost 10 miles of uphill.

I guess you could say I have a strange obsession with long, gradual dirt road descents after steep climbs. I tend to really like runs that go up sharply but descend slowly.

I got down to Gold Camp Road with only a little bit of daylight left.

The sun began to set just as I came to an open area in the road, just past the Penrose-Rosemont Reservoir. I stopped and took a zillion photos. It was breathtaking.

I came to the parking area for St. Peter's Dome just as the last sunlight was fading to the west. And to the east, the city lights shone brightly. What an amazing view, an amazing place, and an amazing day to be alive. 

It was only a little after 5pm, but the road descends sharply into the canyon after the overlook at St. Peter's Dome, so the darkness became immediately all-encompassing. 

Now it was just me and my breath, and a small circle of light in front of me from my headlamp. It was cold enough in the canyon that I could briefly see each exhalation. My world became very small - it was just me, one step after another into the small circle of light in front of me. A feeling of serenity washed over me. My cares and concerns lifted away. All I had to do in this moment was keep jogging easily downhill at my own pace. This was the high that I was looking for earlier! It usually doesn't take until mile 17 to feel this great, but I'll take it.

Around mile 20 or so, the road came out of the canyon and began a short uphill section. The whole city came into view! The light from the city reflected off the clouds and gave just enough light so that I could see all the mountains across on the other side of the canyon. I mused about how depressed I'd felt at mile 6, ready to give up, but how worthwhile this run had ended up being. A few sharp rocks and steep cliffs were accentuated by the city lights behind them, just as the road exited the National Forest. I jogged the last mile on pavement, before Alex came with the kids to pick me up at the end of Old Stage Road.

I ended up with almost 24 miles and a little over 5200 feet elevation gain today.

Today was, again, a reminder for me of why I seek mountain long runs so often. In-town runs can be beautiful and enjoyable too, but I don't often experience the same highs (AND lows) that the mountains give me. Over 20 miles in the mountains often seems much easier to manage than the same distance on paved trails.

I'm so happy that my run ended on a such good note. I'm now sitting at home, peacefully satisfied 😌 and thankful for all I've been able to experience.