Indian Creek - Back Again...

While the snow stays away, it's off to Indian Creek to play...

That had been my motto during the last six weeks of fantastic trail running weather.  I ventured back over the first weekend in December to take advantage of a 68 degree day!  My partner in crime was Jim P, and we thoroughly enjoyed cruising the Roxborough and IC trails until we parted ways so I could suffer for a few more miles than he was planning.

I did almost the same loop as the previous week, but counter-clockwise.  That is definitely the way to go!  After knocking out the Roxborough SP road (sans traffic), you're immediately on fun singletrack.  By the time you start to fade late in the run, you're treated to long descents down the Ringtail & Sharptail trails.

Run Stats

Make no mistake, our early AM start was COLD!  We could have done without the blowing wind and clouds filtering the sun.

JP chomping some calories on Carpenter Peak

As we descended from Carpenter Peak towards Waterton Canyon, we kept looking up to spot some low-flying plane.  The roar was unmistakable   Well, we were mistaken, because the noise was simply the wind whipping through the powerlines overhead.

Thankfully, the wind died down as we cruised the Round Up trail.

At the top of Round Up, we said farewell as Jim made his way over to Ringtail and I started down Steven's Gulch.  At the bottom, I encountered more creepy cabins.

The most remote port-a-potty in CO.

Instead of heading south up the Indian Creek #800 trail, I took a new one over to the Colorado Trail.  Good move!

This new to me trail climbed up to a ridge with very nice views to the east and west.

This is how you know you've hit the CT.  While I would have liked to take Lenny's bench up on the offer, I didn't rest all that long.

The temps were climbing fast now.  I had to pinch myself a few times for a reality check that this was a December day!

I finally connected back to the Ringtail trail and welcomed the long, slow drop.

A comforting sight when you're tired and ready to wind things down.  I skipped the Swallowtail loops this time since I was already over my planned mileage.

Last shot of the rocks before the 4 mile stretch on Sharptail.

My take-aways this time around:

• I ate regularly the entire run and felt just fine.  A good reminder that 100-150 calories every 30 minutes or so makes all the difference.
• I brought plenty of water and only ran out when I arrived back at the parking lot.
• Run this loop counter-clockwise.
• My endurance is definitely coming around.  Funny how that coincides with eating.
• Jim P is a great running partner!