December 12, 2009 / 8:00 am
Waldo Canyon Loop
Distance: 6.8 miles
Time: 1.33 hours
The flurry of emails the night before again and Waldo Canyon this morning. Chris, F, Bob, Mike and I and a wonderful morning to run. The temperature was in the low 30's and no wind or snow -- okay, snow on the ground; but not falling from the sky.
I failed to mention earlier that I had a slow week. Finals and grading for my 5 classes kept me busy Monday and Tuesday with a little ear trouble and below freezing temperatures forcing me onto the treadmill the latter half of the week.
The run was difficult due to snow on the trail. It was the soft, dry type and packed by previous footsteps. In addition, ice littered the trail in places. Yaks or no yaks was the discussion before we took off. I elected to wear the spikes on my shoes and they worked perfectly.
Waldo canyon trail is a lollipop trail. You head up the stairs from the parking lot and then go up a side of a mountain/hill until you drop into a valley. The loop begins at the far end of the valley and we usually elect to take the loop clockwise getting the steeper climbing out of the way early.
During the run, I checked my Garmin twice for elevation. At one point we were at 8100' elevation. I cannot say definitely if this was the highest point; however, it was the highest of my two readings.
Bob is our mountain goat and made it to "summit" of the loop first with Mike, Chris, F and I trailing. I am truly humbled by his ability to float up trails seemingly effortlessly. I need to run behind him and pick up his technique! Each of us have our strengths in our group; but Bob is the strong one going uphill.
At one time this morning, power hiking up a steeper portion, I looked up and thought wow. The sun was out and the sky was crystal clear blue and it was a beautiful sight. I love looking up through the pines and seeing the brillant blue Colorado sky. I don't know if there is a better way to view the sky than that, and if there is, I'm not sure I want to know.
Once we headed "down" the loop, back to the meadow, F took the lead and kept up a brisk pace despite the snow and ice on the trail. What a great run down. It only has a few uphill points and those weren't too bad.
After the run, Mike treated us to a great breakfast and, of course, stories were told. I've got to remember that Chris works with Rick and stop telling Rick stories!
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