Garden of the Gods, Standley Lake Regional Park & A Redo of the Blodgett-to-Rampart Crossover

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Saturday, January 29th, 2022:

When I saw how warm the weather was today, I knew I had to get some mileage in! I also really wanted some lovely pictures, and I decided I'd head for Garden of the Gods. 

I ran on Rock Island Trail to Monument Valley Park, then through Sondermann Park/ Mesa Open Space.

I ran into the Garden near High Point and was immediately greeted by the picturesque formations. 

A tank-top day in the winter!

I enjoyed the visual effect of the snow filling the cracks on the red rocks with the peak in the background.

Rock formations near High Point Overlook.

Although there's still plenty of snow in the mountains from our last snowstorm (which I happened to get to run in at Palmer Park), the Garden of the Gods is almost melted off totally from the warmth in-town.

I sat atop one of the rocks and got an amazing panoramic view. I took a few minutes to relax and eat a granola bar and drink some Gatorade. I loved looking at all the wintery mountains and the rest of the Garden below.

I wish I could have stayed for longer! It was time to head home. Last time I did a run to the Garden of the Gods, I netted 20 miles. But I didn't really want to go that far today, so I took a little bit shorter route back rather than making a big loop, and still got over 16 miles.

What a warm bluebird day! I ran in a tank top almost the whole time. 

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Sunday, January 30th, 2022:

My morning workout was a lot of barbell deadlifts and heavy dumbbell curls. 

Then we took the children for a walk and some exploring at the Standley Lake Regional Park, near Westminster.

It was another 60-degree winter day. Gorgeous for us, concerning for the climate, but I digress.

North Arapahoe Peak and Kiowa Peak, both 13ers, are snow-capped in the distance.

This cute regional park features lovely grassland-area trails with views of the distant 13ers and 14ers, and a fairly large lake with boating in the summer, so we may have to go back then!

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Monday, January 31st, 2022:

Officially my first time in the mountains this year! Actually, since the end of November when I did a Mt. Rosa circumnavigation (semi)-loop.

Two months in town has been lovely, but I jumped at the opportunity to do a long one with no pavement, sidewalk, or asphalt!

This run was sort-of impromptu. I had the time, and the weather was great, and I really wanted to get a run in before the huge snow we are expecting. I wasn't going to go "that" far since I did 16 miles two days ago, and then a ton of deadlifts just yesterday. But plans change!

Originally I was planning to go to the Bear Creek Canyon area, but when we left the house the sun was shining so brightly on the south hills of Blodgett Peak Open Space that I changed my mind.

The south-facing hillsides were completely bare of snow and I figured it would be a warm and lovely day to go out to Rampart Range Road from Blodgett. I knew that it meant tackling about 21 or 22 miles though! I'd brought enough supplies for a run of that length, so I decided to just go for it.

I've done this run once before, in mid-October last year. That day was it real fall weather in Colorado; I got graupel, snow, and wind. I also started at S. Blodgett and did a fair amount of bushwacking when I lost the trail at an outcropping. 

Today, I decided to try this route again from the  main Blodgett Peak Open Space, and try not to lose the trail!!

A bit of cloud cover came in as I first began, but it was a lovely winter day. I immediately was able to connect to the main trail that I was looking for, heading up into the National Forest towards Ormes Peak from Hummingbird Trail.

Top: Blodgett Peak view from the start of the trail; Bottom: Frozen waterfall on the National Forest trail above Hummingbird Trail. 

The trail left the main open space very quickly, and became a much steeper National Forest trail. I passed by a lovely frozen waterfall, and climbed up the class 2 terrain.

Soon, the clouds began to clear and I got a sunny view of Blodgett Peak to the north.

The trail had small amounts of snow in the valleys and north-facing parts. But it was soft powder snow and not icy at all, so I didn't put spikes on (although I brought them just in case.)

The views down into town were amazing as I crested the first ridge. This trail was great, a lovely steep trail that felt like going up the 16 Golden Stairs on Pikes at times. 

The rock outcroppings were beautiful, even as I got into the thickest part of the burn area.

Overhanging rock in the distance... I'll be back!

Note the big rock outcropping in the bottom photo. I plan to come back here and climb that, and stand on that little overhang. 

I was above the highest ridge and on a little downhill section when I came back to the rock outcropping where I lost the trail last time.

Once again, as I approached the outcrop, I couldn't seem to find the right trail. A little perplexed, I backtracked a short way and still it eluded me.

I trended down but towards the north this time, and I was saved by the snow! After a (very short) bushwack downhill, I found the trail. I could make it out much more easily now that I could see footprints in the snow.

Another short downhill section of now easy-to-follow trail to the north, and just like that, I was at the 4-wheel road that encircles Ormes Peak.

 

The trail past the highest ridge through the snowy forest, and a fire-scarred tree trunk.

I saw the cairn from last time that goes up the true summit of Ormes, but I wasn't planning on doing that side trip today. I do want to come back and do a full Ormes summit trip when there's less snow on the ground and warmer weather. In fact, I'll probably plan a rock-outcropping-hopping adventure in the future and include Ormes.

Now that I was at the road, it was covered in several inches of powdery snow. It wasn't awfully deep and it was just slightly crunchy on top, perfect powder for running in.

I saw one set of footprints of someone who'd been here since this last storm, but I hadn't seen a person all day. Perfect quiet winter woods. I took a lot of photos along road #303 as I jogged toward the "main drag" of Rampart Range Road #300.

Looking back at Ormes Peak from Road #303.

Road #303.

Pikes Peak comes into view in full splendor on road #303.

Pikes Peak came into full view. It was at this point that some wind gusts came upon me, super strong and already indicative of the cold front that would be pushing into town later tomorrow evening. There's nothing like an icy winter wind! The sun was so warm though, and the wind so spontaneous and impersistent, that I immediately warmed back up.

I spent some time contemplating life and being thankful for this moment and my life experiences. I prayed for friends and family. The Rampart Range was quiet and peaceful, sunny yet cool, and the perfect trail church.

Before I knew it, I'd reached Rampart Range Road #300. I considered this the "easy remainder" of the run, 14ish miles of mostly-downhill.

300 was completely clear down to the dirt, but I didn't see any traffic.

When I approached the Eagle Lake Overnight Camp a mile or two down the road, I saw why. The road had only been cleared to that point and it was a complete snowdrift beyond that. The gate must be closed at Balanced Rock. I'd have the rest of the way to myself, but I'd have some snow to contend with.

Bottom: Rampart Range Road after the Eagle Lake Camp was filled with snow, and one set of footprints. 

There was one set of footprints that were tracked all the way along the road in the snow, going in the opposite direction (from GoG to Rampart). If I had to guess, I imagined they were probably Craig Burbank's. He's the only other individual I knew personally who would be crazy enough to go this far in the snow on Rampart Range Road!! (Well, maybe crazy ultrarunner Bob, but more likely Craig.) I was impressed when he told me he sometimes did the road all the way to Woodland Park twice a week.

As I was going uphill before the overlook, a HUGE gust of wind kicked up a snow drift in front of me. I saw it coming and turned around, the wind almost knocking me over it was so strong! I felt determined, relaxed even. I had the right attitude for this run - it was going to be a great day, I was going to feel great the whole time, and nothing could stop that. 

Soon I'd arrived at the overlook and now everything from here on was all downhill!

Some views from the overlook.

The long downhill was gradual and I felt good still, so I kept going at it. The sun was shining and the snow was mostly melted from this point on. I was quite glad that there were no vehicles.

As I went downhill, so did the sun, traveling on its long arc towards the western horizon, making the shadows long and bathing the foothills and canyons in dramatic light.

Top: The high point along the ridge with the jutting-out rock looks like the same rock I saw on my way up. 

At this point, looking towards the north, I spotted an overhanging rock outcropping that I believe is the same one that I saw in the National Forest on my way up from Blodgett, that I had sworn to return to.

Lower down on the road, all the snow had melted away. I jogged casually and comfortably downhill, spotting familiar landmarks in the distance, like the noticeable bluffs of Palmer Park, Austin Bluffs, and Pulpit Rock. I felt great! I was coasting along and barely felt like I had over 20 miles on my legs, despite heavy deadlifts yesterday, and despite 16 miles the day before that. I pondered how this was possible, but I was mostly just thankful. Thankful that my body could take me this far and feel this good; thankful for the opportunity to explore my world; thankful for the present moment.

I finally reached the Garden just after the sun went behind the mountains.

Top: The near-sunset light on Queen's Canyon, with Austin Bluffs below and beyond. Bottom: This rock outcropping indicates an arrival in the Garden of the Gods, just one turn up Rampart. 

I ended up with 23 miles, and 5300 feet elevation gain. And I gained a lot of confidence! Maybe mostly mental, but I didn't let my cumulative fatigue overcome me, and I felt strong all the way through until the end.

Now I can stay home for the next few days as the cold front and snowstorm come through, focusing on resting and cross-training.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I realize this was a long one. I wanted to document it in great detail so that I can look back and draw inspiration from my experience, realizing that we are all capable of much more than we expect!