Greyrock

Almost a little embarrasing to admit that I had never climbed Greyrock until yesterday.  I guess with only 6 miles of total trails and being one of the more popular trails around, I never considered it worth the short drive up the Poudre Canyon.  Boy, was I wrong.  Pete reported some nice trail conditions last week as he was officially kicking off his Hardrock training.  He also has a nice trail description here.  With 2 routes to the top, the run (hike) can be done in a looping fashion covering 7.5 miles with over 2500 feet of vertical.  Yes, I believe this is the best place right now (unless you're snowshoeing) to get some serious vertical.  I did a double loop, reversing directions for the 2nd loop.  I also had to skip the summit on the 2nd loop since I was short on time, so I was just short of an official Greyrock 2-pack.  There is talk of a Greyrock 6-pack attempt coming this Spring.  Yeah, we are talking 45 miles with over 15,000 feet of vertical.  I plan to get back for a legit 2-pack, or maybe 3-pack very soon.  Trail conditions on these predominantly south-facing slopes are just about perfect right now, as long as you don't mind rocky, rugged, and steep.  I also didn't see another person until I finished and 2 hikers were just heading out from the trailhead.

A big shout out to America's top trail running town for showing up big at the Moab races this weekend.  If we can claim temporary resident and race winner Dakota Jones, then Fort Collins trail runners took 4 of the top 9 in the 55K.  Great job everyone and I hope you all got home safe over the stormy passes.

Great stuff in Boulder Friday night at the "Running Wild" benefit for CEES.  It was great to hear the first-hand adventures of running in the Copper Canyons with the Tarahumara from "Born to Run" author Christopher McDougall and ultra-running legend Scott Jurek.  Anton Krupicka also gave a nice talk, and I really enjoyed meeting and chatting with Luis Escobar whose photography is just spectacular.  His photo credits include the cover of "Born to Run".  It turns out that he is a pretty accomplished ultra runner himself.  Good luck at Badwater this year Luis!

Greyrock run stats:
13.3 miles with 4226 feet of climbing (GPS data here)

Sunrise viewed from just below Greyrock summit.

Another view from the summit.

Some typical trail climbing toward Greyrock.

Distances are a little short in the description, but you get the picture.