Since my spring slog, there's been lots of logging to get rid of beetle kill. Trees that were on the trail a few months ago are now cleared, all the way to Wheeler Pass.
And of course I could progress near treeline without postholing through snow. This is near my first water filter fill-up, a few hundred feet below the first ridge:
There was a huge patch of moss near a spring:
Although the bike ride was still in my legs from the prior day, I ran (slowly) most terrain that wasn't steep up until treeline. Then, the trail angles slowly up to the Pass allowing a couple of miles of high-altitude running, with short stretches of hiking:
Because of another outing, I now recognized (L-R) Crystal Peak (which I climbed), Pacific and Drift Peaks near Mayflower Gulch. Pacific in the middle has a notch near the top and sort of a couloir running along the west ridge:
The view up 91 towards Leadville:
Once I was on top of Wheeler Pass I decided to stretch it out a bit and did some ridge traversing. There was not a lot of running to be had over 12,000 feet on rocky tundra, but some. Easy jogging. I summited what looked like the highest points on either side of the pass, and it ended up being Peak 5 and 6.
Then began the fun descent to the Peaks/Miner's junction, and the tough effort back up to Gold Hill and then down to the car.
Distance was 20.34 miles, time 6:40 (moving 4:53), elevation gain/loss 4,800 feet, avg. pace 19:41 (moving 14:24), and best pace 6:59.
Partially powered by a ham and Swiss croissant from Clint's. Recovery by Backcountry Brewery.
