Snapshot of the ridge North of Mount Massive.
08/30/2011: After two days off and a week of nasty weather I decided to attempt the Massive Traverse along with a return by Colorado Trail/Highline - a run I dub the Massive Super Loop. I watched the weather forecasts waiting for a break in the cycle of raining/thunderstorms from late morning through the evening. On Sunday I saw a slight decrease in the chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday in several weather forecasts so I knew something had to change in the weather patterns. I gambled on the change and I timed it just right with the weather as it only sprinkled on me two or three times but never went to the next "level".
The Run:
I walked more of this than I would've preferred. At 4:40 am I shuffled up the Hagerman Road (CR4 or FS105) in a quasi-run. I was lacking motivation for sure and there was a little worry about my joints and the weather. You could say that I wasn't attacking the hills at all. At daybreak I hit the the pass and departed from the road to off-trail towards Massive. The alpine terrain was good traveling and for the first few bumps on the ridge I only had to work my way through the maze of Juniper and some Willow from time to time.
Mountain Goats on the ridge north of Massive.
Early morning North of Massive still.
The sun came up helping me warm a little and I continued ticking off the bumps on the ridge progressively climbing higher and higher as I got closer to Africa Bowl and the familiar territory between North Massive and Massive proper. I made one wrong turn and followed the east side of a fin (between Point 12,654 and Point 12875) instead of the west side and found some great 4th class scrambling which slowed me down dramatically. Upon looking back at the fin it was obvious that it would've been faster to take the west side 2nd class route that wasn't quite as obvious from the other side.
Still found some snow to kick steps into.
Bad runnout below but I am good at kicking steps with running shoes.
I didn't find water until just above Africa Bowl and even then it was only a trickle. I felt like I would find a better water source soon (I was wrong) so I half filled my bottles and continued on toward the five peaks above 14,000' that makes up the meat of the Massive ridge.
The 14,000' peaks all traveled easily. I was prepared for the 3rd class scrambling of the south side of North Massive and there was a great path being formed from the large amount of travel all the way over Massive Green to the Summit of Mount Massive.
Looking toward Champion. OB's cabin's up that basin.
Bouquet on the ridge.
There is no trail from the Main Massive Trail to any of the southern summits. The running became remote again and good off trail travel. It would have been runnable if I had been in a better shape for high altitude running (hence the reason I was there!). The last three summits (South Massive, Peak 13,630, Point 12,381) were pleasant with the temps warming. The clouds built but didn't threaten all that much.
After hitting treeline I descended through the beautifully spaced (for skiing) trees down South Willow until I hit the Colorado Trail at 10,800'. The run back to the truck was long. I ended up walking longer stretches than I had hoped. I was able to run the downhills pretty well but I was maxing my heart rate out quickly on the slightest of uphills.
Despite my disappointment with how much I walked, I did keep my heart rate high so it probably did a lot of good. All than time in oxygen debt above 14,000' must've done some good. We'll see at the Bear in about three weeks!
At this point I am done with the long runs in the 20 miles range. I feel I have done a good job of training this year and now I just need to maintain my fitness for these three weeks (and maybe work on preparing my knees for the extra pain of tendinitis). 10:36, 25.0 miles, 7,000' climb.
09/01/2011: Turquoise Lake Trail. 0:30 out and then a return. Stopped to go to the bathroom at Matchless Boat Ramp. Felt sluggish but pain wasn't huge or sharp indicating dire issues. 1:07, 6.0 miles, 100' vert.
09/03/2011: Turquoise Lake Trail again 0:35 out and back. Was hauling: 18 minutes 07 seconds to the Tabor Boat Ramp. I would recommend not running there on holiday weekends. Was snapped at by a dog that was tied to a tree on the trail. Only got my shorts and I thought it might've ripped them but apparently not. I don't like how dog owners are oblivious of their dogs capabilities and then tie them up on the main thoroughfare. 1:14, 7.0+ miles, 50' vert.
Weekly Summary: 38.0 miles, 7,150' vert.
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