The Hope Pass Double crossing

I had TRIED to take it easy on (6/19) Saturday’s Pipeline to Twin Lakes to Mt Elbert to Pipeline loop. I really had. I tried to keep the effort low. But by the end of a 9.3 hour day of running and hiking up to 14,433 ft, with none of the 28.5 miles below 9000 ft, I was tired. My muscles had forgotten what glycogen looked like. I woke up in the middle of the night really hungry even though we had a big dinner. And a big snack before dinner. And a little snack before bed.I just hoped I'd recover enough to carry me over Hope Pass and back the next day.

Jean had found out from a friend that the high temperatures and voluminous snowpack this year had wiped out many of the bridges spanning the river between Twin lakes and Hope Pass. He directed us to one that was still crossable, just west of Willis Gulch. Out of curiosity, we stopped at Willis gulch, thinking maybe that bridge wouldn’t be underwater anymore. Instead, we found the bridge was split in two, and hanging off of the two banks.  The water raged and frothed itself to a creamy white above it in the narrow canyon. The amount of water flowing under the bridge we did cross was dizzying.

 Jean, mistress of trails for this Leadville weekend, quickly found the right trail, and then the right turn, and we were on the Colorado trail heading up to Hope Pass. Legs were tired, but not as bad as they were for the Caldera marathon! We caught the trail about 2 or 3 miles out from Twin Lakes, just at the bottom of the incline.  The trail is a pleasure to climb (in training), a little rocky, a little rooty, not steep enough to make you stop. I used my trekking poles all the way up. They gave me a rhythm to lose myself in. The trail is wide enough for two people to walk side by side, if they like each other.  In most places, one side was better footing than the other.  It’s wooded in lodgepole pines, spruce, and aspen. For some of it, a river was just off the path.  Before long, I was running across small meadows with wildflowers – reminded me of marsh marigolds and lupine from Wisconsin. The trail narrowed to one person wide up here, and was less rocky. Finally, I came to the last meadow, where Jean was waiting in the lee of a tree, and where the Llamas will be on race day. Oh, and the aid station, too. I sat and ate a bit.

Above us, we could see the trail between spotty snowfields leading up to Hope Pass through nothing but 0.7 miles of rocks. The wind whipped down the slope as we made our way to the pass. Jean borrowed a pole to get through the snowfields. It took 22 min to cross the distance to the pass.
Time to ascend Twin Lakes side: 1:53 (includes the rest break.)
Distance of climb = 2.7 miles
Elevation difference: 3270

The wind kept me from enjoying the view, and down the other side we ran. The first mile was totally runnable with my poles giving added purchase on the sandy surface in an open exposed terrain. After that, in the woods, the two or three rock slides slowed me to a walk with unstable rocks in all shapes and sizes. After 1.5 miles, the trail was so narrow that the undergrowth was grabbing my poles. For the last mile, the trail was so steep and slidy, that I couldn’t manage much of a run. This will be a challenge on race day, to give and get room on the trail to and from other runners. THIS side was not two people wide at any point. I found Jean at the bottom, and we ran to the road and turned around there (skipping the 2 miles to the race turn around at Winfield).
Time to descend Winfield side: 48 minutes
Distance: 2.6 miles
Elevation drop: 2675

On the way back up, the first mile was by far the hardest. The steep section here was steeper than the Twin Lakes side had been. I was trudging, and immediately lost sight of Jean.  I stopped for 7 minutes, sat on a rock, ate my potato chips and drank. Finally, though, I started up again, still appreciating the poles I was using.  My breathing was labored going up the Winfield side, something I hadn’t noticed on the twin lakes side. (I’m sure on race day, both sides will feel laborious.)  I plodded and plodded. I stopped to catch my breath several times, and on each occasion it eluded me. Finally, as the woods began to thin, the trail eased its pitch just slightly, and I was able to hike with purpose. I even ran across one or two switchbacks. Close to the top, the fierce wind tugged relentlessly at my light carbon poles as I tried to plant them. I gave up on using both poles, and focused on only one with better luck.
Time to ascend Winfield side: 1:44 (includes the rest break)

The first .7 miles of rocks, snow, wind and grief were not fun, but soon over. I caught Jean napping in the lee of a different tree. Before I could do more than take a drink, she was up and running downhill. The poles were fantastic for descending on this wide, slightly more level trail. There were only a couple of rocky sections that were difficult to plant a pole in. Everywhere else, I got a boost because of them. After 20 minutes, my triceps were crying from all of the exercise. I will need to work on that! We turned off of this trail early, but it seems that it would have taken me 45 minutes to get back to where we started.

So… race day estimates? Who knows. Here's a stab in the dark.

3 miles from Twin Lakes to bottom of hope pass = 42 minutes
Ascent = 2 hours
Descent = 1 hour
Road to Winfield = 35 minutes
Total OB = 4:17

Return on road = 28 minutes
Ascent = 2.25 hours
Descent = 1 hour
3 miles to Twin lakes = 45 minutes
Total IB = 4:28