Colorado Hardrock Report 2009

15JUL09 We just returned from our 11 day adventure to Colorado two days ago. Some of the highlights are as follows. Friday, the 2^nd of July, Trish and I drove through Safford and into the northeastern part of Arizona and camped overnight at Spider Rock Campground on the south rim of Canyon De Chelly. Uncannily, we ran into friends from Tucson, Doug and Jen camping in the site next to us. They were on a one week odyssey themselves which included a Durango to Silverton train ride the following week while we were in town and able to meet them again. Odd how these things happen when we live near each other everyday and then discover these similarities in ideas and planning. The next morning on Saturday, Trish and I jogged along a rim trail for 40 minutes. We took several pictures of cliffs and overhangs at sunrise. Later that morning on our way out of the area we stopped and hiked the White House ruins trail into the canyon. This trail is 3 miles round trip and travels to the bottom of Canyon De Chelly next to the White House Ruins left by Anasazi Indians.

Bob Bachani at 2009 Hardrock 100

Keep reading for the rest of Chase and Trish’s Hardrock Trip and check out his photos on Picasa

An Easy 100

This post was provided by Jerry R:

A wise man told me that if redemption could be found for only $225 , I should grab it. After a failed attempt at Leadville, this seemed to be good advice. So I wrote the check and sent it off to the Rio del Lag 100 miler held Sept 27/28  held outside of Auburn CA.
It is a small race with mainly local runners. The RD Norm Klein ( and wife Helen) are legends in their own right, so this should be well staged. And with an elevation gain/loss of  only 9,000 feet up and 9,000 feet down, this should be an easy 100.

How I Ran My 15th Old Pueblo and Got a Piece of the Rock

An Essay by gj

My morning started at about 3:45 am the morning of the run. A couple of hours later I was at the start nervously waiting to run 50 miles. Minutes before the run at about 5:55 am, Julie and Duane were presented with a memento for their efforts in putting on the most recent 8 of these Old Pueblo 50 mile runs. Theirs has been one of the best organized ultras in the nation. The course is well marked with 350 lbs. of flour and enough flagging tape to go to the moon and back. This tape is taken off of the course minutes behind the last runner, by Julie and her sweep crew. (In the months between the runs while Duane is out hiking in the mountain snow all Saturday night, Julie actually un-knots this tape and rolls it tightly back on the cardboard spools, making it ready for the next year.) In the past, we relied on the horse people to flag the course. This was always interesting because the front riders would often pull the flags to slow down their competition. But this of course would also send runners off in all directions. One year the run director, who was running (in those days 25 runners would be the norm, so the RD would join in to inflate the numbers), had to tear up his bandana to help mark the course for the runners who followed. Back then, if you were nice, the horse people would let you dip your head in the water troughs. Duane and Julie’s spread was incredible! They actually brought water in from melting glaciers in New Zealand.