Marmot Heads for Higher Ground
After a bear encounter in the Garden of the Gods and nearly stepping on a rattlesnake at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, it was clearly time to move to higher ground. Last Saturday, 6/24/2017, we ran from Elk Park to Barr Camp and back. It was a safe uneventful run with my wife and friends.

It was great to see and visit with Teresa and Neal Taylor (TNT) who were back at the camp for the weekend to fill in for current caretakers Zach and Bailey. It also afforded me an opportunity to check in on the construction project at the camp. We (the Barr Camp Board of Directors) have been working on getting this project off the ground for a number of years and are extremely thankful to everyone who donated to the cause. We're particularly happy with the support, hard work and professionalism of GE Johnson (our contractor). Pulling work like this off in the middle of the woods is no easy feat.

Marmot Returns to Home Turf
Saturday morning, 7/1/2017, we drove to the summit of Pikes Peak to train on the top section of Barr Trail. It was a wonderful welcome back to the summit as 7-8 marmots lined the edge of the road above Cog Cut to whistle for me. Apparently, among marmots, I'm only second in notoriety to adventurous old Clive (name changed to protect his privacy). I had an opportunity before our run to learn about old Clive from Pikes Peak Ranger Al.

"One summer, in pursuit of adventure, or possibly food, Clive climbed into the back of a car from Ohio, where he remained undetected until the tourists arrived back home in Ohio. They promptly called the Pikes Peak Highway to ask what they should do with him and should they send him back. I'm not sure what the Highway's recommendation was, but I don't think it involved sending Clive back to Pikes Peak, which is exactly what the kind Ohio family did. Clive was crated up and shipped back to Pikes Peak for release somewhere on Pikes Peak, presumably far enough away from any cars he might be tempted to climb into. To this date, Clive holds the all-time marmot travel record."

Carpe Dolore
I'm beginning to embrace the summer's motto, as my thighs nearly cramped right at the end of the Elk Park run, my IT band is getting a bit tight and sore, and today was more grueling than many runs to-date. I'm trying!

I almost forgot... I had a traumatic experience today with what can be a very scary rock at times. See the picture to the right.