Canicross through the seasons: From an icy spring to a full summer, fading into autumn

I haven't had much time for updating the blog, but Pippin will be moving away to Denver soon, so I figured I'd jot down some of our adventures that I haven't yet shared.

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Before I left for Arizona the first time, which I posted about a few months ago, Pippin and I did Blodgett Peak as a canicross.

I wouldn't recommend it, as it was extremely washed out and scree-filled (as it always is.) It did make it difficult with Pippin on lead. But we still had a good day and got some great views.

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For our next spring adventure, I took Pippin to the Rampart Range on the Winding Stairs trail.

The day was misty and icy, and the frost stuck to all the trees and shrubs in amazing fractal patterns.

It was almost like the frost was protecting the trees, insulating the tips of branches in small, spiky blankets.

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After our Winding Stairs adventure, I spent about three weeks in the Phoenix area. Upon returning to Colorado, many of the higher elevation trails had melted out quite a bit, so I decided to attempt a Mt. Rosa summit with Pippin, starting from N. Cheyenne Cañon.

The trail was fairly clear of snow all the way to the saddle, where the trees begin to get small and shrubby as the treeline approaches.

But the snowdrifts at the saddle were several feet deep, and the icy, crunchy conditions made the trail nearly impassible from this point on.

So Pippin and I climbed upon a small outcrop near the saddle and got some views before heading down.

The streams were flowing heavily and I knew the snowmelt would allow us to attempt Mt. Rosa again soon.

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For Memorial Day, I decided to do a shorter version of one of my favorite loop runs. I opted not to take Pippin for this one, as it might have been too long and hot for him.

Clocking in at 21 miles, it was a little shorter than the 30-mile loop I did about a year ago, but still passed by many of my favorite places.

My absolute favorite pond, which reflects Mt. Rosa in the distance, was in perfect spring condition.

As I descended the gradual downhill on the road, bright green aspens greeted me. The large rock face known as Devil's Slide had a smooth trickle of water flowing down.

As I ran down the road, I enjoyed looking at all the dramatic outcroppings of Pikes Peak granite - the Old Gods of the mountains, watching over me.

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In early June, we did a family hike up to the Devil's Head Fire Tower.

This popular hike features amazing views of the Rampart Range and distant Pikes Peak.

In previous seasons, we have seen clusters of ladybugs at the summit, but the day we went was too cool and windy, and no ladybugs were to be found.

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I was about to head back to the Valley of the Sun for another week or two. But first, I took Pippin back to the Winding Stairs trail, where we'd been in April before I left for Arizona the first time.

This time, spring was in full swing in the Rampart Range!

New bright green growth was at the tip of every tree branch. I thought back to mine and Pippin's last adventure here, and it occurred to me that the frosty pinnacles we'd seen could have been protecting the new growth.

We had a long and amazing adventure, including a few miles of rough scrambling when I reached a dead end on road 323 and had to navigate through the woods to find road 322 so we could return to Palmer Lake. Pippin did great.

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I left for Arizona again. I did a lot of heat training in the week and half I spent there this time, including runs in 105 degree heat by the Tempe Town Lake.

I also summited Camelback Mountain, which is a popular place for athletes to gather in the Phoenix Metro area.

Both the popularity and the steepness of Camelback Mountain reminded me of the Manitou Incline.

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After returning to Colorado again, I began my summer training in earnest.

I summited Pikes Peak for the first time this year, attaining the summit in 4 hours and 16 minutes - a time I'm proud of!

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Since the summer was heating up nicely and the high country was in full bloom, I decided to take Pippin back to Mt. Rosa.

We had a fantastic day and made the summit easily this time.

And on top of the summit, there we found the huge clusters of ladybugs!

There were Colorado wildflowers all along the trail, popping in every color and hue.

At the summit, I met some folks who had come up the other way, from Frosty's Park. One of the hikers was actually a professional photographer, and took the best picture of me with Pippin!

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It was soon after our Mt. Rosa summit day that I found out Mylo (Pippin's owner) will be moving to Denver. Mylo was my roommate a year ago, but since I'd trained Pippin for canicross while he lived with me, I continued to pick him up for runs, as they lived fairly close.

But soon, it will be a lot longer drive to get Pippin. With this knowledge, I increased my runs with Pippin while I still could.

I took him on many runs at Section 16 and Red Rocks Canyon, and up on High Drive, as well as Palmer Park and other closer runs.

Then I planned a long day with him, and took him on a run I'd been wanting to do with him for a long time: Almagre Mountain.

We had an amazing adventure, and he did so well.

We made it up to the saddle where you can see over to the Pikes Peak South Slopes and the reservoirs below.

We descended the road 379A instead of the steep trail we came up, and Pippin and I were in sync. He took to the trail like it was his mission. But boy, he was worn out after this adventure, which was over 18 miles (his longest outing yet!)

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It's now nearing the end of August, and I still have Pippin - in fact, he has come to stay with me again for a little bit, while Mylo finds a place to live in Denver and finalizes his job transfer.

It's now getting cool earlier in the evenings, as the sun recedes behind the mountains.

I set out with Pippin on a cool evening a couple days ago, ascending from the base of High Drive. I figured we would do the Mt. Buckhorn loop.

The trees at the base of High Drive are beginning to hint at autumn.

Both Pippin and I felt so good in the cool evening air that I decided we could do a little extra mileage.

But the darkness set in while I was on the rough downhill trail, and I had to slow down so as not to fall down into the canyon. Pippin, naturally, did great. He helped me safely descend the Seven Bridges trail in the fading twilight.

When we made it back to Gold Camp Road, we were able to run again. We made it through the nighttime closure gate at the bottom of the park with 5 minutes to spare (although I think we probably could have gotten around it on foot.) We were able to wish the nice, elderly park ranger a good night.

What an adventure! This part-nighttime jog really helped me increase my confidence, but also reminded me that autumn is coming to the mountains. The sun sets early in the valleys.

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I've had the blessing of being able to run with Pippin, my canicross teammate, for nearly two years now. And I'll still make sure to plan adventures with him (Fourteeners maybe?!), but they will be much less frequent once he's settled in Denver. I'll have to convince Mylo to take a week ski vacation in the winter so I can borrow Pippin and run with him in the snow.

This season has been well-rounded. We have set out and accomplished many of the big runs I had planned on, and revisited favorite locations.

Reflecting on what a season it's been: this summer has come and gone so quickly. As my mom (and her mom before her) would say, that's the way life is. You look back, and it's all gone by in a flash.

Heated Redemption in the Superstition Mountains

The Superstition Mountains were hot and angry one day and they knocked me down, literally, on a steep hillside and into a sharp, bone-white rock.

The impact on my shin was deep and quick, cutting in. It was barely bleeding, but it was pale in color.

We had been target shooting and we were less than a quarter mile from the vehicle, where my husband patched me up with a first aid kit.

It was just a flesh wound.

Two days later, I had my only opportunity to wander the desert after spending nearly three weeks in the Valley of the Sun.

I wasn't about to squander my only chance because of a little shin-cut.

The desert was in bloom!

I approached a unique desert rock pinnacle, and discovered the steep, bare-rock and scree trail that lead to its base.

I ascended the challenging uphill with ease, reaching a saddle in the rock where I did a small scramble to a ledge.

The steep slope on the downhill was my redemption for the deep shin cut two days ago.

I was careful, but I faced down the hill without fear, and I didn't fall! The sweltering heat on my face once I reached the valley felt like a friendly pat on the back from the desert.

At the base of the outcropping, I rejoined the main trail.

Once back to the main trail, I followed it uphill, climbing slowly out of the desert valley that I was in.

The day was hot like an oven, but the wind still had a cool feeling to it.

The intermittent clouds never seemed to pass directly overhead, instead casting distant shadows on desert formations.

I approached a cool rock wall, down which a thin stream of water flowed.

This was the "waterfall" in the desert, providing an oasis from the midday sun.

I climbed up the hillside adjacent to the waterfall, and got an amazing view into the vast Tonto National Forest!

The little puffy clouds may not have provided any shade, but they continued to provide perfect photo opportunities.

I loved the interplay with the shadows.

Unfortunately, my time in the desert was passing by too quickly, and it was time to descend the trail.

I had climbed up over 2500 ft in the canyon, and I felt the heat difference as I went back down.

Rock lizards darted out of my way on the trail, and I finally managed to nab a photo of one as she skittered away.

All the blooms in the desert were fantastic. Spring is definitely an amazing time in the Superstition Wilderness.

As I descended the trail, I took one last look at the rock pinnacle that I had challenged earlier in my adventure.

What a great day in the wild Sonoran Desert.

I can't wait to return someday and top out on the Superstition Mountains, which I didn't get to do this time around.

But for now, it's back to Colorado!