Well, it's been a week since my crushing defeat by J.T. at the Garden 10 Miler.  I've assumed a new name, nationality, and residence.  Hopefully the shame won't haunt my descendants for centuries.

Hut Trip

We went on our annual Cheyenne Mountain HS cross-country summer trip earlier this week.  32 kids and 4 coaches marched up to the Shrine Mountain Inn huts just off of Vail Pass and planned for the season for three days and two nights.  If you're a Coloradan and haven't done a hut trip yet, this needs to be remedied.  

Durango, Silverton, and the San Juans

Straight from the huts, I drove down to Durango on Wednesday.  I was able to hit a Wednesday evening trail run with a good 30 folks from the Durango Running Club.  Afterward, some of us met up for dinner and beer at Carver Brewing Company.

I had a couple of climbing goals for my time out west - namely 13,894' Vermillion Peak.  I spent Thursday getting lost driving to the trailhead for nearby Jones and Niagara Peaks.  I ended up parking and just hiking up the nearest hill until I got a good look at everything around me.  On Friday, I fixed my driving error and got a chance to climb Niagara and Jones.  Niagara even had a spicy double-corniced ridge to its summit...it definitely had my attention!

The western terminus of the Colorado Trail is just outside of Durango at the Junction Creek trailhead.  I decided to go for an easy run Saturday on the CT - beautiful trail.  I would love to see more of it.  Hike it?  Run it?  Honestly, I don't care how I see it as long as I get to see it!

This morning, I finally did accomplish my primary goal for the week - summiting Vermillion Peak.  It was a long day, complete with 4:15 start.  I spent most of the day in crampons, and the snow conditions deteriorated too quickly (or maybe I'm just not quick enough) for a chance at Golden Horn.  One less challenging Centennial to go!

Side note:  Despite losing to J.T., I was somewhat pleased with how last Sunday's race went.  I finally got to get the haven't-raced monkey off my back, and my foot gave me no problems during or afterward.  While I hate to say I raced it, I couldn't have gone much faster.