August 2018

Ultra Races

Among the many ultra races I did this year, I tried my first race in the Cirque Series. Although it doesn't have the distance of an ultra run (27+ miles), it is a ridiculous challenge. The course is basically up and down the mountain at a ski resort. So in a little over 3 miles, there is a elevation gain of over 2,300 feet. Then once you're at the top, it's a little over 3 miles down and a drop of over 2,300 feet.

When we started it was about 45 degrees with some slight rain. At the top of the mountain it was around 30 with snow flurries in the air. It made for a very chilly run.

Pictures

At the start:

Looking down part way through:

At the top:

Finishing downhill:

the group:

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

It's Unique

The festival is a mix of music, biking, craft brews, food trucks, and local artists. --> https://www.veloramafestival.com/festival-experience/

A last minute decision had me checking out the action on the last of the three day event. Saw some live music and some incredibly talented bikers doing races and aerial tricks galore. Check out some of the photo evidence:

Pictures

See more of these and pictures from all the events that I attend on the Facebook Murk Travels photos page - Events album.

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen

Longs Peak overview

I completed the Longs Peak hike/run on July 28th, 2018. It was the 8th 14,000+ foot elevation peak I've done since moving to Colorado. This excursion took me about 8 hours for the 18 mile round trip out and back hike that has about 5,000 feet of elevation gain.

The hike started around 5 am, where the parking lot was already packed and I had to park over a mile from the official starting trailhead. With such a long trek, there were many sections to this hike. The first was through some wooded sections (in the dark, so bring a headlamp) and then through some open fields. The trail is wide, well marked and mostly gently sloping up. After several miles of that, you reach the boulder field area. While mostly flat until the end, it's slow going as you have to make your way across huge rock piles. There's occasional markings, but you generally see the end point and head that direction. At the end of this section is the climb up and through the keyhole. It's windy and some tough bouldering climbing.
The third section involves walking on some narrow ledges and doing some minor bouldering. You then get to the trench area, which is a tough uphill bouldering climb with huge rocks and little rocks that can easy start sliding down. Once through that is another narrow ledge section and a final push up a very long and steep incline of a cliff face. There are hand and foot holds here naturally in the rock, but it is still challenging.

Recommend:

• Go on a weekday to avoid crowds
• Save energy, eat food and drink water often
• Decide to turn back if you need to, because every section is tougher than the previous on the way up
• Be prepared for high winds, slippery climbing conditions

Relive video of the hike

link: watch a video and map tour of my hike

Trip Map

Pictures

See this and all the 14er hike pictures on the Facebook Murk Travels photos page - 14ers album.

Previous 14er hikes:

• Democrat, Lincoln, Cameron, Bross
• Quandary
• Mt Evans
• Mt Bierstadt

Links

MurkTravels Vimeo - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Youtube - videos of my trips & entertainment
MurkTravels Facebook page - pictures, posts, and regular updates
MurkTravels Facebook photo albums
MurkTravels Instagram - my attempted at artistic travel images
MurkTravels Travel Map - all the places that I've been and the things that I've seen