As everyone knows by this point, I had the privilege of spending a week in the magical and majestic San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado.
The trip was incredible and everything I ever expected. I plan on writing a full write up of the trip, but until then I want to share a post I made over on EnduranceBuzz.com. If you want to check out the article CLICK HERE.
I'm in the process of writing a much more detailed "Pacing Report", if for nothing else other than my own memories. It will probably be annoyingly long, but that's how I do my reports!
I did take A LOT of photos, so if you'd like to check them out just head over to my "Photo Page" and check them out.
On a side note, not associated to Hardrock or racing, but some really big life stuff has been going on over the past few months and it's going to affect the rest my "racing" this year. I'll post more details here soon, along with what's going to be affected.
Regardless, I'll still be out at the EnduranceBuzz 36K trail race next weekend at Cedar Ridge Preserve. I've been putting in some good training the last few days in hopes of coming away with a great race.
Well, the week of the HR100 is upon us and I'm departing for Silverton, Colorado early Wednesday morning for a full day of driving through the gorgeous Texas panhandle.
My responsibilites for the HR100 have shifted a little bit and I'm now responsible for pacing Joe P. from Grouse Gulch to Cunningham. It's a beautiful 32.8 miles with 10,438ft of climbing and 10,840ft of descent.
I originally was going to sweep/clean from Sherman to finish but I just could not pass up the opportunity to pace someone like Joe P. on a course like HR. I'll be in Silverton for a few days after the race and available to do any further course sweep/cleaning that's required.
I'm driving up with my brother (who's not known for his camping skills) and we're camping pretty much IN Silverton. There's a campground just southeast of town that's a .8 mile jog to the HR start line. The plan is to head out of the DFW area round 8AM Wednesday morning and drive straight to Silverton hopefully arriving around midnight. (all pending stops along the way)
I'll be brutally honest here and say I'm slightly concerned about bringing my brother along. He's not a runner AT ALL, so I'm not really sure what he's gonna do while I'm out playing in the San Juans everyday. He doesn't have any of his own camping gear so he's borrowing a lot of stuff. I'm just hoping he doesn't become a liability/hinderance. I don't think he really knows what he's about to experience. The HR100 is difficult explaining to a regular ultra runner, much less a non runner.
The plans while I'm up there have shifted a little bit since I'm gonna be pacing Joe now. I want to be as prepared as possible for Joe. Which means trying to limit doing anything too stupid before my pacing responsibilities. No matter what, I'm going to be mentally prepared to take Joe all the way to Silverton if the need be. If I'm gonna be hiking up 13-14K peaks in the San Juans, I couldn't imagine a better person to "show me around."
I hate to be so dramatic, but this is what all my athletic ambitions so far in my life have led to. Me spending my first week in Silverton (of hopefully many). I love the way everything comes around, and my path has led me here.
I think my biggest fear for this week is that I'm going to fall in love with the San Juans. I'm gonna get exposed to some of the most majestic mountains in all of the world and then have to come back to Dallas. (Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE the state of Texas)
I'm such a n00b when it comes to races like this. This whole HR experience is something I know very little about. I know that I'm probably pretty naive in my plans for my week in Silverton, but I'm gonna give it my best shot. (which probably means sucking air at 13,000ft with Joe hard on my heels, one step from disaster)
Day 0/Wed: Drive to Silverton
Day 1/Thur: Run from Cunningham to Silverton (Suck air on Little Giant)
Day 2/Fri: Grouse to Ouray (EASY, nothing stupid)
Day 3/Sat: Pace Joe Grouse to Cunningham
Day 4/Sun: Grant Swamp?
Day 5/Mon: Hamitite Lake?
Day 6/Tues: Up in the air... Drive home around 2pm?
That's a pretty rough draft still depending on how well I acclimate, but you get the idea. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are up in the air depending on a bunch of stuff.
To everyone that's given me advice for this trip I appreciate it! Now let's just hope I make it back in one piece.
_Jacob_
This video (series) makes me laugh everytime. I can only hope I'm as tough in the San Juans as the "guy on a buffalo" is!
Man, I can hardly contain myself anymore. I've spent so many hours on google maps and the HR website the past few weeks, that I'm ashamed to even tell anyone.
I mean, I'm not even racing and I'm so excited I can't see straight! I've been attempting to plan out every day. I've made lists of every possible piece of equipment I could even imagine needing.
While I do have experience in the mountains, I don't have a lot of experience with "these" kinds of mountains. I know that weather can and will change in the blink of an eye, and I know that mother nature is not forgiving.
I've been assigned course sweep from Sherman to Silverton. Just around 28 miles of glorious San Juan night running... wait... I mean hiking. Since then I've been diving into different maps and studying my section as much as possible. One: because I've never run any of the HR course before, and Two: because it's going to be almost ALL at night.
The great part about my sweep is that it's possible I'll have to be 100% self reliant for fuel, etc. So this should be some great "fastpacking" practice. Since the final cut-off for Sherman is ~5:00pm and the race doesn't end till 6:00am the next morning I'm planning on at least being out there for 13-15 hours.
As I study the area and plan my first (of hopefully many) adventure to the San Juans I can't help but hope that others in the world are able to find something that they can become this excited about. Spending time in nature and covering large distances on foot brings me such joy and fulfillment.
So, I'll stop being all emotional and share some of my plans for my adventure.
Day 1: Up to Handies from Grouch and back (~10 miles) Day 2: Grouse to Ouray (~15 miles / Mexican Food and hot springs in Ouray) Of course after watching the race start that morning. Day 3: Island Lake/Grant Swamp (~5-8 miles) -> Sleep -> Start sweeping from Sherman around 5PM. Day 4: Finish sweeping in Silverton around 6-8AM. (~28 miles) Day 5: Up in the air. Either Kendall Mtn or Ouray to Krogers/Virginous and back... or nothing depending on how I feel! ;) Day 6: Hamitite Lake Hike (~5-10 miles)
Totals: ~60-80 Miles and who knows how many thousands of feet of climbing.
Now I know that this is insanely ambitious for my first trip to the San Juans, and I'm 100% ready to alter this plan depending on how I feel and how well I acclimate. Also, keep in mind I'm probably going to be doing more hiking than running, so I'm hoping that my legs hold up pretty well. I don't want to do anything too stupid before my sweep duties.
I'm camping just outside Silverton at Molas Campground which is just around 10,500ft. I cannot wait to poke my head out of my tent every morning to see the San Juans at my disposal.
If anyone has and more recommendations on some good hikes or places to see while I'm up there let me know! My current plans definitely aren't set in stone and will probably change daily.
_Jacob_
Please enjoy the beauty I'm posting below.
(None of these photos are mine, If there's no credit, I don't know the source)
I have officially committed to sweeping and tear down for the Hardrock 100 this year.
Ever since I first hear of HR (Hardrock) I knew that I was not only going to go there, but someday I'd race HR.
This will not be the year I run HR, but I will finally get to see the course in person. I've seen too many photos of this course than one could count. I've read more race reports from HR than all the other race reports I've read combined.
I've made my reservations at Molas Campground which resides just around 10,500ft. The plan is to leave north Texas on Wed July 11th, head up to Albuquerque, spend the night there, then finis up the last four hours or so the next morning. When I arrived I plan on heading up the biggest most epic climb I can find and hanging out around 13-14,000ft as long as possible. I'll hang out till Tuesday the 17th, then head back to Texas.
I've already started my bucket list of things to do while I'm there, and it just keeps getting longer.
For those seasoned Hardrockers out there, what should I add to my bucket list?
I may not be running HR, but I plan on jumping in headfirst to the Hardrock community and soaking in as much as I can while I'm up there.
If anyone is interested in tagging along shoot me an email and let me know. As of right now, it's just me.
