#60HikesDenverChallenge – Mt. Sanitas

September 7, 2019 / racingthestates / Leave a comment

(In 2017, I had a goal of getting through all 60 trails in the book “60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Denver.” I didn’t make it through all 60 that year (I only got about 18) or even in 2018…and now were into 2019. I still want to get through all the hikes in the book – eventually. All the specific trail details can be found in the book or online, but I’ll highlight some things about each trail in addition to including my experience and opinion on the trail here. The numbers below are associated with how they are labeled in the book if you have it.)

I did this hike back in April when I was about six months pregnant (I just never got around to finishing this post).

Trail #3 – Mount Sanitas
Completed: 4/24/19 | Number Completed: 24/60
Mode: Hike with Ben, while pregnant
Location: Boulder
Distance: 3.3 miles
Difficulty: Hard
Type of trail: Round trip; hard-packed dirt for half and very rocky on the other half.
Exposure: Half shady
Facilities: Pit toilets (pretty gross ones) and picnic tables. No water.

My Experience:
I actually really loved this trail, except for the crowds. This trail is known to have a ton of people and there is barely any parking. Despite that, this trail is actually quite nice! It has just the right amount of difficulty without being a gut buster. Ben and I did this hike when I was about six months pregnant and it took us a really long time. I had to stop and rest often, but we made it the whole way. We did the loop counter-clockwise and after seeing the side we went down on, I’m glad we did it this way. When you go clockwise, the uphill part is slightly shorter but way steeper!

Pros:
-Close to town; this trail is just outside of Boulder.
-Doesn’t feel close to town. Once you get away from the road, you don’t realize you’re that close to town until you get to lookout points and can see the city.
-There are a ton of other trails nearby as well.

Cons:
-Very busy! Even during a weekday, midday.
-No facilities. There is no water and the pit toilets are some of the worst I’ve seen.
-Not much parking; the little bit that is there fills up fast!

Tips:
-Bring Water!
-Hiking poles come in use for the steep downhill.
-Bring some cash! If you do manage to get a parking spot, it does cost ($5 I believe)!

Overall:
I would love to go back to this trail now that I’m not pregnant! It was pretty hard while being six months pregnant, but manageable. It’s a short enough hike that you could add this into your week for a training run or hike like the locals do. I do recommend this as a good trail for out-of-towners as well as a great example of a Colorado trail. Plus, the views from the top are worth it. To the east, you overlook Boulder and to the west, you can see mountainous landscapes!

Park Info

Get the book!

1st Third Of 2019 – Updates

May 2, 2019May 1, 2019 / racingthestates / 1 Comment

Well, my monthly update posts didn’t continue from 2018, but I’d like to keep my blog as updated as possible….

While this blog is supposed to a focus on my lifestyle with racing (running in general) and wandering (travel), this year hasn’t brought much of either of these things. However, 2019 is bringing a lot of different type of adventures, one in particular! This July we are expecting a baby boy to join us in this crazy household – whether we’re ready or not. 😉

If you missed my announcement from my end of the year post, SURPRISE! Yes, I am pregnant! We know it’s a boy and his due date is July 4th! We are busy preparing for this little one while stressing about what life will become and the changes to our jobs, finances and more. It has been quite a stressful start to the year trying to figure things out, get the house ready (yes, it’s still a construction zone around here), all while balancing my many jobs. With all that, I haven’t been writing in my blog, barely have been posting to social media, and haven’t had time to hang out with many of my friends socially.

As for running…
While there are tons of strong women out there that run all through pregnancy, that has NOT been in the cards for me. Frankly, it just feels weird for me and kinda hurts, plus my heart rate goes from 65 to 130 instantly (which isn’t a great thing for pregnancy)! So, as much as I imagined being that super cute, running pregnant lady, alas, I am not. I see lots of happy running women on my Instagram feed and they make it look so easy! But for me, it is just not working.

For the first half of pregnancy, I didn’t have much “morning sickness,” just a lot of nausea, and was trying to exercise regularly between walking, the elliptical and weight training, but as pregnancy progressed (and my work schedule got 100x more busy with the start of track season) I have not been exercising as much and it has been hard to start back up. Nevermind the fact that I am SO TIRED and UNCOMFORTABLE! In the past few weeks I have been trying to walk more and get some hikes in to stay somewhat healthy and as to not have to start from ground zero after the baby comes (because I do want to get back to running as soon as I can – I miss it).

As for the travel part of this blog…
That has also not been in the cards for us for a while; since last year really. We haven’t been able to take much time off with all our jobs, and with home renovations, pregnancy, and finances, it’s been pretty tough to get in any type of travel, even small local trips. We did get a chance to go to Florida for a wedding (thanks to Ben’s family) and snuck in a trip to Epcot, Disney World.

And for the rest….
Yes, I am still working three jobs (helping Ben with our own business, Golden Mountain Guides, marketing and race directing for 3W Races, and coaching high school track and cross country.). It was a tough end of the year in 2018 and into 2019 for Golden Mountain Guides as we try some new pricing and marketing things, but we’re figuring it out. My other main job has some troubles I won’t get into on this blog and track has been a little more stressful this year than it should be….but we’re making it through! We still have our priorities in sight and our minds on our goals and are working every day to keep positive! No matter how stressful homelife is and finances are, we know that it will get better as long as we keep working on it and wont give up.

The first third of the year was not how we expected 2019 to start, but we’re working through!

January:
-I worked every weekend day this month.
-Between timing and race directing (sometimes both on the same day!), that was 9 separate running events I worked. Woof! That was tiring.
-Pre-Season Track also started this month.
-I also got to attend the CHSCA (Colorado High School Coaches Association) clinic and listen to some cool speakers.

And a lot of those races were FREEZING cold to work!

February:
-The weekend working streak keeps going through February until the last weekend.
-We do get to go to Florida! Ben’s family helped us travel so we could attend his cousin’s wedding!
-While we’re there, we get to sneak a day at Disney World and we went to Epcot! We also visited the beach, Disney Springs, the town of Celebration and play some putt-putt golf. It was a much need break after working so much the previous two months.
-The end of February marks the official start of the Track season!

March:
-The running job scene starts to slow down this month, and I only work four events this month.
-Track season is well under swing and the meets start to ramp up!
-I get to hang out with some of my family members that involve dinners and maternity clothes shopping!

Sometimes this is want coaching looks like

April:
-We like to call this “angry April” in track because there are a TON of track meets.
-I race direct one event this month.
-And have lots of Golden Mountain Guides meetings.
-We celebrate both my birthday and Ben’s birthday
-And we also get to celebrate Ben’s sister new addition with her baby shower!
-Then, right at the end, Ben and I are both a part of our friend’s wedding celebration. We get to be part of bachelorette and bachelor parties, a bridal hike, rehearsal dinner and a wedding ceremony in the snow!

As we get into May, I’m a little over two months from baby boy being born and growing more and more nervous (as well as literally growing more and more). We are working on finishing up the nursery and getting prepared at work for maternity leave.

As for the blog, for now, you can probably expect random, sporadic posts, info on how pregnancy, work, and our house is going and probably posts that I have started and never finished as I go through my drafts folder of this blog! I hope you all stay along for the ride, even as Racing and Wandering turns into Less Racing and Wandering and adventures with a kiddo!

#60HikesDenverChallenge – Meyer Ranch Open Space

June 11, 2018June 10, 2018 / racingthestates / Leave a comment

(For 2017, I had a goal of getting through all 60 trails in the book “60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Denver” While I didn’t make it through all 60 that year, I have carried this goal into 2018. All the specific trail details can be found in the book or online, but I’ll highlight some things about each trail in addition to including my experience and opinion on the trail here. The numbers below are associated with how they are labeled in the book if you have it.)

Trail #23 – Meyer Ranch Open Space – Lodgepole Loop
Completed: 5/30/18 | Number Completed: 21/60
Mode: Trail Run
Location: Conifer
Distance: 2 miles (I probably did ~3 with two laps around the loop)
Difficulty: Easy
Type of trail: Hard packed dirt, balloon configuration
Exposure: Lots of shade!
Facilities: Pit toilets and picnic tables. No water

My Experience:
With a free Wednesday (finally!) I decided to get another hike from my book done. With an easy 20 minute drive from my house, I reached the Meyer Ranch Open Space. This small park is right off the highway and offers a few miles of trail (about 5 miles in total). I have been working on building my fitness back up and after the Bolder Boulder, I was feeling pretty sore so I wanted to hike/run. The trail from the book is 2 miles in a balloon configuration. After I finished the first loop, I was feeling pretty good so I decided to do another loop and then head back to the car, doing 3 miles total.

The trail starts just be the highway and you hike by open meadows before entering a lush forest. The trail winds around and up as you pass through open clearings every so often. The trail is hard packed dirt with very minimal rocks or roots. I did encounter some people on horseback that I had to wait while for them to find a spot to pull over so I could go around without spooking the horses or going off trail. The whole time I could hear the highway noise and the trail kept winding under giant power lines; not very serene if you ask me. A friend of mine said if you add the Old Ski Run Trail, you lose some of the noise, but I didn’t take that trail this time.

Pros:
-Great for a trail run; there are some fun, small, rolling hills and it’s hard packed dirt with minimal large rocks or roots.
-Lots of shade!
-Close to town.

Cons
-Too easy for an actual hike.
-Short; not many miles.
-Not very serene; the highway noise is constant and there are power lines that run right through the middle.
-Pretty busy, even in the middle of the day on a weekday.
-Multi-use with bikers and horseback riders.

Tips:
-Bring water; there is no potable water here.
-If visiting from out of town, you’re not far from Tiny Town, a fun little tourist spot in Morrison.

Overall:
I’m sure this place is great for really, close living, local people, offering a great place to run some trails, however, I wouldn’t recommend coming all this way for a hike here. The trails are short and not serene, plus the views aren’t that great. Would I have included this trail in the book? No, probably not. I feel like there are way better trails to be included. Now, would I come back and get an easier trail run in? Probably! It’s a great place to do some laps.

Park info

Get the book!

#60HikesDenverChallenge – Rabbit Mountain

April 9, 2018April 5, 2018 / racingthestates / Leave a comment

Trail #39 – Rabbit Mountain: Eagle Wind Trail
Completed: 4/1/18 | Number Completed: 20/60 (One third done!)
Mode: Hiking
Location: 2 Miles north of Highway 66 and 53rd (north of Boulder and Longmont and just east of Lyons)
Distance: 3.9 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Type of trail: Hard packed dirt with larger rocks, balloon configuration
Exposure: Not much shade
Facilities: Toilets, Pavillion with picnic tables and a barbeque (no water)

My Experience:
We’re already in April of 2018 and I’ve only had a chance to do a few hikes. Easter Sunday arrived and I finally had a free moment and decided to check off a hike from my book. Since I was up in Longmont at my Mom’s house, I ventured to a trail not far from there. About a 10-minute drive led me to Rabbit Mountain. It wasn’t that busy and the temperature was perfect for a quick hike. I chose to do this trail this time of year because I have been warned by my family that there tends to be a ton of rattlesnakes in the summer.

Pros:
-Close to the city
-Great for families – there are a ton of benches and educational signs along the way
-Bathrooms and a pavilion with a barbeque at the trailhead

Cons:
-Not much shade
-Lots of rattlesnakes in the summer

Overall:
While I did enjoy my hike, I probably won’t be too eager to come back. Would I come here just to hike? No. Might I come here to get a run in? Yes. It’s a relatively easy trail and would be great for a trail run. I also don’t think I would come here in the warm months since I was warned multiple times of snakes and I’m terrified.

So, was it worth it the one time? Yes, but I’m not jumping at the opportunity to come back and wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for out of town guests.