James Peak Dreams

With Boulder smashing several heat records in the past few days, and a large portion of the state on fire, it seemed like a good weekend to get up high. This being Colorado, everybody had the same idea, and the high country was packed with people of all ages, and abilities, all weekend. 

After an excellent day on Saturday (finally) experiencing the Georgetown Loop narrow gauge railroad (picture above), I decided to head up to the James Peak Wilderness Area on Sunday. In July, I will have lived in Boulder for a full 7 years, and yet somehow I have never been up to the James Peak area. I can only claim ignorance on my part, and possibly I was deterred by the 8 mile dirt road to the trailhead. I had naturally assumed this might be a road similar to the road to the Fourth of July trailhead, but I could average 45 on this road without worrying about my car. 

Once there, I had no idea what trail to take. I only knew I did not want to go too crazy with the marathon coming up in under a week now. Luckily I ran into a couple friendly former trail runners (I did not ask about the "former" designation), who directed me up Rogers Pass trail to Heart Lake. 

The runners had warned me that this was a steep trail, but I found it to be a very relaxed grade, rising only 2000 feet or so in the 4 miles to the lake. The run itself is gorgeous, crossing South Boulder Creek and its tributaries numerous times as it winds its way up towards Rogers Lake and the (eventual) path. At no point did the grade feel steep to the point that it would be more efficient to walk. 

About a mile (rough estimate: I didn't wear a watch) from Heart Lake, the trail takes a marked turn upwards, alongside a many-channeled cascade, which at the time I ran it was full of wildflowers. 

As you can see, it was actually cloudy. I was not complaining.

Half a mile later, it came alongside Rogers (Pass?) Lake, through a boggy patch, reminiscent of Minnesota, and I noticed something surprising: several miles in, and almost 2000 feet up, my legs felt fresh. There was no feeling of effort the entire way up, and I crushed the last half mile or so up to Heart Lake (startling a couple unsuspecting hikers along the way).

From Heart Lake, the trail continues up the side of a mountain up to the Divide. 

The clouds don't look bad, but they were rumbling.

I opted out of running to the ridge this particular day. Between the marathon next Saturday, and the rumbling clouds, I decided it wasn't a good idea. Either on its own might not have deterred me, but the last thing I wanted to do was race down the side of a mountain in a thunderstorm and risk messing up my ankle this week. So instead, I stopped, took a few pictures of the area, and the peaks I want to tag next time, and turned around for a leisurely run back to the car. 

The view around Heart Lake.

Unidentified "to be tagged" peak #1

Unidentified "to be tagged" peak #2

Unidentified "to be tagged" peak #3 and 4

 I actually felt a few drops of rain on my way down, good news for a state that seems to be on fire.

Round trip, this run took me about 2 hours, but as I said, I was not pushing it. Now that I've seen James Peak Wilderness, I am astounded that I have not been up there before. Between Leadville and Pikes, I fully plan to grab a map, take off early some Sunday morning, and tag James Peak and several of these other peaks. They are just begging for it.

Meanwhile, the taper for Leadville is in full force. I think I might be able to throw down a bit on Saturday.