Trail Running Today

This morning I embarked on a run up in the foothills, planning on a simple trip up Flagstaff and over to Green Mountain. I felt pretty week on the first part of Flag, especially at the start but for whatever reason started getting into a rhythm that kept me going to the top of Green. I decided to head down to Bear Canyon and think about Bear Peak and since running down this part felt OK, I headed up the Bear Peak West Ridge Trail. This is always a slog so I kept it very slow and reached the summit in decent shape. This is important since the hard part is next, heading back down Fern Canyon and the Mesa Trail, especially if you didn't quite bring enough water or food. Next time, two Clif Bars! I made it back to the car, got home and drank about half a gallon of water. I have done this run only once before and consider it one of the great hikes/runs in the area. The weather was surprisingly crisp most of the way and the views from the three summits were spectacular.

I am aiming to get in shape for some higher elevation excursions soon once the snow retreats from the high peaks a little more. Moving fast across high terrain has a magical appeal of its own. For a local blogger with some extensive experience at this, go here. If any readers have recommendation for runs in RMNP or the Indian Peaks let me know.