faithrunner

On 19-21 July I hiked to Wheeler Peak for the sixth time, I think. (First pictures I have are from 1994) Love this trek and that mountain. I'll have my ashes scattered there.  1994 Wheeler Peak Group Campsite at Lost Lake Jon and Jeff at Lost Lake   The three of us left Riverside Lodge in Red River about 0700 Friday morning. After stopping by Major Bean for coffee and sausage/cheese biscuit, we got to the Middle Fork Trailhead about 0800. The weather was ideal, and my legs were okay after Gold Hill the day before.  We got to the "half-way meadow" by 0900 and texted Kim, who had left for home the day before. I found out we needed a new AC unit at the house back home. Ended up calling Kim, texting a friend to get a friend’s number for a framer to lay boards in the attic, and buying a new unit to be installed Monday. All at 10,000 ft. of elevation! (Not really a break you want from life in the city while on the trail.) The trail ...

I left RR ski lift area at about 0700 and headed up Pioneer Trail (forest road). Hiked to private property gate and found Trail 171 near gate that loops around the property. The run off from the snow made the road a creek bed the higher I climbed. Several long creek crossings. The trail throws you back onto the Jeep trail but soon brings you to the continuation of the trail. That takes you to the Gold Hill Trail juncture. Steep but heavily forested. I think I was the first and only one on the trail. Saw no one coming up.  Took Gold Hill trail to the summit. Steeper and more rugged than I had thought. Switchbacks near the summit were heavily washed out.  The view was spectacular, and the wind was blowing hard. Still some snow on the morning side of the mountains. No animals in sight.  Saw only chipmunks and black squirrels coming up.   Decided to go down Goose Creek Trail instead of back tracking and fighting the ATV traffic on P...

Our Goal from the Road into Red River On Wednesday, July 17, three friends and I hiked out of the Middlefork trailhead parking lot to camp at Lost Lake and then summit Wheeler Peak the next day. This would be my fifth or sixth summit of Wheeler Peak and second year in a row to camp overnight at Lost Lake. Jim and Sara Craig drove in from Santa Fe to join us. This would be Sara's first hike and overnight camp out. She is a marathoner and triathlete, so she was definitely strong enough to make the trip. Jim climbed this trail and summit with two other friends and me last year, and he made the summit of Mt. Rainier that same year. My son-in-law, Graham , rounded out the band of hikers. This was his first summit of Wheeler but hiking and camping is part of his premarital and child-filled days. The weather was ideal and the trails were in good shape from the trailhead to the lake. The trail (#91) to Lost Lake is more scenic than either the East Fork or Middlefork trails, i...

Got up this morning and met Kyle Knighton at the family cabin in the Upper Valley of Red River. Kyle is new to trail running but he is truly hooked on it. He has run trails in Italy and Switzerland, but has not finished a sanctioned run yet. He and his wife Emily live in Waco, and he got the bug while running in Cameron Park. He signed up for his first ultra, The Rough Creek Trail Run (40 miles), September 19 in Glen Rose, TX. He will do great.  We headed to the East Fork trail head and walk/ran for an hour on the East Fork, Sawmill Creek, and part of the Sawmill Park trail. We reversed our run and got back to the car in half the time. 1.5 hr run at altitude.  It rained, and the trail had several washouts and fallen trees. Altitude was a problem going out (Ditch Cabin is 9,730) but coming back was ideal. Cool, soft trails, and my breathing fell back in pace.  Kyle ran ahead and turned back to check on me a couple of times. I soon learned I have not trained adequately for ...