There were massive thunderstorms about 15 miles south around Highlands Ranch, which always seems to get pummeled with lightning in the summer. It's a minor high pass on the way to Colorado Springs, so I guess it catches bad weather. Anyway, I watched truly scary lightning bolts strike the horizon, over and over, while I was running. I'm glad I wasn't down there. Downright apocalyptic.
Mule deer are everywhere in Colorado, and they are a daily fixture of my trail running. However, I don't always see handsome fellows like this:
I once made the mistake of telling my sister's husband that elk seem smarter than deer, and he set me straight. He said he was hunting a buck (an impressive animal that he had pursued for several years running), when it got down on its knees and crawled across a meadow to escape undetected. What? I think I would have let that one go out of sheer respect. And in fact, it got away again.
I could hardly see when I came off the mountain. Time to break out the headlamp.
Distance was 3.40 miles, time 57:17 (moving 42:32), elevation gain/loss 531 feet, avg. pace 16:52 (moving 12:32), and best pace 8:03.
