First half of August 2026

In the days after my race experience at Grand Mesa, I really needed the recovery.

The early days of August I spent going easy on trails with Mocha.

Nice calm evening on Templeton Trail in Palmer Park.

I'm really happy at how far she has come in our trail training already. She still is excitable, with her puppy energy, but she is doing much better channeling that into herding me successfully.

After a few days of really chill recovery, I felt energetic enough to do a few longer, more structured jogs with Mocha.

Moonset above Pikes Peak from Austin Bluffs Open Space 

We did a big loop through Austin Bluffs Open Space one day.

Then, Section 16 another day. (Palmer Red Rock loop)

The Palmer Red Rock loop is such a classic.

One day, I wanted to do St. Mary's Falls with her, and decided the best option would be to start at Daniel's Pass.

This ended up being a good choice of trail, as Daniel's Pass is very canicross-friendly, smooth and easy to navigate.

St. Mary's Falls is notoriously more steep and rocky, especially in the last quarter mile before the Falls, but Mocha still did very well on this excursion, which ended up being our longest outing yet at 8.5 miles. 

There's not that much water in the Falls at the moment.

St. Mary's Falls, looking up from the rock in the center of the Falls- not much flow!

With the smoke coming in from wildfires across the state, I've been lucky to find some nice pockets of clear air.

In the early morning at Red Rock Canyon one day, the fog on the mountains seemed to lift the wildfire smoke away with it, giving at least temporary reprieve from the haze of the day.

Mocha is a dog after my own heart, as she enjoys a good view just as much as I do. I notice her stopping to take more breaks at beautiful lookouts.

Airy clouds lifting off of the Section 16 summit, as viewed from the Ridgeline Trail

It was a great day to do the loop from Ridgeline Trail to the Gypsum Canyon Trail in Red Rocks, which gives an overlook of all the layers of uplift before delving into them, winding between different sandstone strata of time.

Another day on Sec 16 loop, the skyline was a little hazy with smoke. The wildfires still burning in the state are impacting air quality.

One morning, I was up early enough to take Mocha up to Kineo Mountain. She was a little cautious on the steep climb above Seven Bridges trail. Even in the sharp morning daylight and uphill direction, the trail is very steep here. I recalled how Pippin once guided me downhill on this very same steep canyon trail, at night. I marveled a little at how I survived that expedition unscathed!

Near the 622A/667 junction, I came across an acquaintance from the Striders who was also on a canicross mission with his dog. It's always nice to see a familiar face out in the mountains on adventures.

Mocha and I got to the rocky overlook, spent a few minutes, and headed downhill on 667 to 776, which was much more canicross-friendly than the way we came up. 

Kineo Mountain summit.

Now that the worst heat of the summer seems to be winding down, I'm looking forward to cooler trail days ahead, and more distance with my best new trail buddy.