Day 1 (thu, sep 19) - Skyline Traverse, Boulder CO
First day was pretty crazy. I woke up at 1:45am, got everything packed up and checked in my bag at the airport because my flight was at 5am. Once I landed in Denver, I picked up the car and drove to Boulder because I wanted to stop by Patagonia Boulder to get my running vest exchanged. After that, I drove straight to the trailhead, parked the car and started running.
Since this was just 18+ mile run and I was starting just before 12pm, I figured I could get it done in under 5 hours. But the early wake up and the altitude definitely got to me as the first 3 miles of the trails were just straight up to the peak. After that the trails were more runnable, but deinitely wouldn’t be able to finish in under the estimated time at this point.
I texted Robyn (who lives in Denver) that I will be late as she was going to pick me up at the other end of the trail. It was also over 80F that day in Boulder for some reason, plus Colorado is like a dry state. They don’t have water fountains at trailheads. Luckily this group of hikers were nice enough to give me two bottles at the half way point and I was able to keep going. Climbing up the last peak felt good because its about 5pm’ish and not as hot. But the last mile coming down was super technical so I took my time. Finished just before 7pm and Robyn picked me up, we picked up my car and grab dinner. I was a little nauseous so I took most of my dinner and drove 1.5 hours to a motel in Grant, CO and ate the rest.
- Distance: 19.5 miles
- Elevation Gain: 5,673ft
- Running Time: 5:35:54
- Strava: Skyline Traverse
Day 2 (fri, sep 20) - Lost Creek Wilderness, Jefferson CO
Woke up early because I wanted to start my long run at 7am and the drive to the trailhead was 1.5 hours. It was only 30 miles from the motel but the road was loose dirt so I had to drive slowly because the car drifted a few time on my way there. Strava indicated the total gain for the day would be around 3500ft, so thats what I prepared myself for. Somehow it ended up being 5500ft and I finished just before 4pm. It was in the middle of nowhere for sure. I saw 3 groups of hikers the entire day. That was it!!!
Once I finished, I had to drive all the way to Snowmass 3.5 hours away. By the time I got there and checked into my hotel. It was almost 10pm and most of the restaurants were closed. Except for that one BBQ joint, but I didn’t want BBQ in my stomach for the next day. So I ended up getting a pack of sliced turkey meat and a bag of cole slaw and made turkey taco. It was the saddest, most ghetto dinner ever!!!
- Distance: 27.5 miles
- Elevation Gain: 5,561ft
- Running Time: 7:52:35
- Strava: Lost Creek Wilderness
Day 3 (sat, sep 21) - Four Pass Loop, Snowmass CO
The plan was to wake up at 5am, start the run at 6:45am since this has four 12,000+ft peaks and 27+ miles. Unfortunately by the time I got close to the trailhead, I was notified that the parking lot was already full and I would have to park in town and take a shuttle up. Parking was $25, shuttle was $6 but the ticket office didn’t open until 7am and shuttle didn’t start until 7:45am’ish. By the time I got dropped off, it was just after 8am so I knew it would be a long day and was already planning on how to get back to my car from the trailhead because shuttle service ends at 5pm.
The uphills were tough, especially near the pass. But I wasn’t going to turn around. I literally have all day at this point because I would need to find a way back to my car somehow. The trails were easy to navigate although I didn’t took 3 wrong turns. That added to my already long day. Because it was Saturday and there were a lot of multi-day hikers on the trail, I was never really alone on this one.
On my way down from the last pass, my nose started bleeding. My nose has been bleeding randomly since the day before and would continue for the rest of the trip. Most likely due to dryness and the altitude.
I finished the run at around 6:30pm. Sat at the parking lot and gathered myself then started walking down. I ended up hitch-hiking and got picked up by this group of tourists whom were also from the Bay Area.
Once I got back to the car, I drove straight to a grocery store in Aspen and got myself a rotisserie chicken and ate half of it in the parking lot before driving another 1.5 hours to Leadville for the night.
- Distance: 27 miles
- Elevation Gain: 7,644ft
- Running Time: 9:05:06
- Strava: Four Pass Loop
Day 4 (sun, sep 22) - Mount Elbert, Leadville CO
The day started in the low 40F or high 30F. I was planning to do Mount Elbert and Hope Pass but decided to give my legs some rest and just do one. The first 2 miles heading to Mount Elbert were pretty easy jog/hike, but once I cleared the tree line, the steepness kicked in. The last 2 miles were steep, windy, and cold. I had 5 layers and was still freezing (although my layers were super thin). It took me 2.5 hours to the top. Took few pictures and got myself back down to the car as fast as I could (in a safe manner of course).
Since today was only less than 10 miles, I actually had time to get real food for lunch. So I drove to Buena Vista, found a cute restaurant and ate lunch there before driving to Colorado Springs.
Well, maybe theres a reason that the motel was $54 at Colorado Springs. Because it was on the ghetto part of the town. Oh damn!!! I ordered thai food to go and ate in my room, went to bed and got ready for the next day.
- Distance: 9.25 miles
- Elevation Gain: 4,259ft
- Running Time: 4:06:10
- Strava: Mount Elbert
Day 5 (mon, sep 23) - Pikes Peak, Manitou Springs CO
The last run was to go up the Manitou Incline and to Pikes Peak via Barr trail. It was no joke. That incline was just under 2000ft in .88 miles. Took me 41min to reach the top and I was still had 21 more miles to go. Luckily the trails were actually runnable at the lower elevation so I was able to run a little before reaching tree line. After that, I just paced myself and hiked as fast and I could to the top.
After few pictures at the top of Pikes Peak, I started jogging back down. As I got closer to the parking lot, I picked up my pace since I knew the running would be over once I reach the car (weird to say because the entire trip is about running).
Made it back to the parking lot just after 3pm. Ate 2 bananas and started my 2 hour drive to Robyn’s place for the night.
We went to this restaurant 3 blocks from her place. I mentioned to her that the restaurant had the vibes and feels of one I went to the last time I was in Colorado. We ordered brussel sprouts for appetizer and I ordered half of a chicken with veggies. I was the second good meal I had the entire trip (although the fish lunch in Buena Vista) was good too.
- Distance: 22 miles
- Elevation Gain: 7,156ft
- Running Time: 7:02:57
- Strava: Pikes Peak
Day 6 (tue, sep 24) - Denver CO
My flight was at 6am so I decided to wake up really early since I had to get gas for the car before dropping it off and head to the airport and check my bag in. By the time I woke up at 3am, I got a text from United that flight was delayed … until 9:45am. Oh well. I decided to kinna stick with my schedule and get to the airport anway.
As I was flying back to SFO, I decided to look up the restaurant I went to the last time I was in Colorado. Turned out, it was the same freaking restaurant!!! I am pretty sure I ordered the same dish as well… crazy!!!