This is kind of becoming a Columbus Day tradition. Last Columbus Day I hit this area in full autumn glory (and no snow). This time most of the aspens were past their prime colors, but still a gorgeous fall run. It's hard to beat the Buckhorn region for a trail run this time of year.
Except for a couple miles of singletrack on the north slope of the White Pine mountains, this run is all fire road/jeep trail. I did meet a couple of Jeeps but these roads are closed to ATVs. This time I made a clockwise loop of it (as Pete and Nick did last year) starting from the Buckhorn Ranger Station and running to Monument Gulch, Flowers Road, and then up over the pass of the White Pine Mountains and back down to the Ranger Station. Just under 17 miles with the added tag of the summit of West White Pine Mountain (elev 10,305 feet). It was quite the trudge getting up the mountains with probably 6 inches of snow left from Saturday's storm.
16.68 miles, 3917 feet climbed, GPS data here
Wow - six inches of snow. Thanks for the pics, wish I'd gone now.
ReplyDeleteThought of giving you a ring when I decided to go for it Monday. Sorry. You would have had like 15 minutes notice.
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