High Country, Part One

Summer is by far my favorite season. It's a little hard to pick, as they all have their own charm: winter really is a white wonderland-a quiet beauty that just doesn't exist the other months; spring brings new life and oh so much green; fall has a wonderful crispness to the air, lovely colors and sounds of rustling tree leaves before they shed themselves; but summer! Summer brings the big mountains. While it can become quite hot, making training a bit more of a timing game, being able to get into the high mountains makes up for it. We are still enjoying pleasant temperatures in the valley, but the higher trails are melting out early this year, creating a little sweet spot in the calendar where you can frolick up high and enjoy the myriad of trails out the door down low.

Last weekend was a perfect combination and example of why I love living here so much. Saturday I met a friend early and we went up Robinson Creek, at the end of Lost River Road. I wasn't sure how far we would be able to go, given snow levels, but it turned out perfectly and we were able to go all the way to Robinson pass, at the Pacific Crest Trail. The aptly-named Robinson Creek trail follows the creek up ten miles to the pass. Given the season, we had several cold creek crossings to boost our circulation, and Nikki traipsed all around, loving the cool temperatures and snow as we ascended.

 

at the top!

Looking down the drainage. All downhill from here!

Sunday Sam and I went to his parents' house early for breakfast, so I decided to run home, over the rendezvous. I love the varied landscape of the Methow, and running to Mazama would give me a range of that landscape. Plus, it's always fun to run home.

starting through the Gunn Ranch saddle.

Gunn Ranch. Time to start climbing...

Looking across to Lucky Jim.

Off the singletrack and almost to Edelweiss.

Heading down to the 10k course.

Nikki becomes a water dog if it's hot enough.

The final stretch. We are a couple of tired beings. Hence the disproportionate amount of pictures in the last 3k.

Looking up to Goat Peak.

A great weekend of training! Doing a second long run was great practice for running on tired legs. Mission accomplished, as I spent a good portion of the afternoon in a horizontal state.