When I turned 40 in 2016, I ran across the Grand Canyon (R2R2R) to kick off my midlife crisis.
Now with the half century birthday looming later this year I wanted another adventure, and since Darien is 18 years old, strong, and fit I was happy he could join me this time.
I’ve been trying to get into the Hardrock 100 run in Colorado since 2018, and it typically takes over a decade to get into this event via the lottery. We decided to hike the course over 4 days, called Softrock, in the counterclockwise direction (Silverton, Sherman, Ouray, Telluride, Silverton). The run alternates direction every year, so figured we should hike the harder direction (CCW) so when I eventually get into the event I’ll know what to expect.
On Saturday July 4th we flew to Denver, drove to Silverton, and enjoyed the US 250th Independence Day festivities. Silverton is at 2,840m (9,318 feet) above sea level to we spent the next day on Sunday trying to acclimatize to the elevation.
Monday July 6
At 8am we departed Silverton carrying our big packs and started hiking out of town towards the Kendall Mountain Ski Area. After an easy 5km on rolling trails through the forest we crossed Arrastra Creek to start our first big climb. With the low snow levels and minimal rain in the San Juan Mountains we were pleased to be able to rock hop all the river & creek crossings and keep our feet relatively dry.
The first 1,200m climb up Little Giant was great, expect we forgot that we were approaching 4,000m above sea level so we both almost had heart attacks near the top and had to slow down. Our typical uphill pace on Grouse Mountain at home doesn’t translate well to 4km up in the mountains.
After cresting the mountain pass there was a steep, rocky, and technical 4km / 800m descent to Cunningham Gulch where we had a snack and filtered water before staring our next 800m climb up Green Mountain. Luckily, we remembered to dial back the uphill effort to a more sustainable pace. We then descended to Maggie Gulch in the heat of the day and hiked back uphill into the beautiful Pole Creek valley.
The Pole Creek section is long and relatively flat with spectacular views in every direction. In the fading light we hiked up the final climb of the day to Cataract Pole Pass at 3,800m, filtered water at Cataract Lake, and slowly descended 800m by headlamp to our campsite at Cataract Gulch (Sherman Aid station during the event). By starting at 8am I thought day 1 would take us 12 hours, and we’d get into camp by 8pm with plenty of time to eat, relax, and get a good night sleep. However, with our slower pace at high elevation, heavy packs, and many breaks to filter water (and make emergency coffee) we got to camp exhausted at 11:30pm, ate dinner and setup the tent before passing out.
Day 1: 47km, 2,700m elevation gain, 15:30 elapsed time, 4,034m max elevation.
Tuesday July 7
After a restless sleep we had breakfast and packed up camp. For the rest of the trip we had hotel rooms booked and didn’t want to carry our cheap tent and sleeping bags for the next 3 days. We gave our gear to a hiker from Utah which significantly lightened the weight of our packs. We started day 2 just after 8:30am with a small hike up to Cinnamon Pass Road where we met Jeff Browning marking the Hardrock course. After a 5km mainly flat hike on a gravel road we reached Grizzly Gulch Trailhead and started the 1,200m hike up to Handies Peak which is the highest point on the Hardrock course at 4,285m (our first 14er at 14,058 feet above sea level).
The first half of the ascent of Handies was great, but the weather turned cold with rain and wind so we put on rain jackets, pants, and waterproof gloves to stay warm as the temperature dropped to around 5 degrees. As we approached the summit ridge the rain turned to hail in the roaring wind. We discussed whether to find shelter to wait out the storm but it was so cold that we both agree that it was better to keep moving to generate warmth. Summitting Handies Peak in a storm gave us the full Hardrock experience, and luckily the hail, rain, and wind mainly stopped as we started the descent to Sloan Lake. With lighter packs we were able to run most of the descent, in contrast to day 1 where we hiked every step from Silverton to Sherman.
Our next climb was a small 250m ascent of American Grouse Pass then a great, long run down to Grouse Gulch and Animas Forks ghost town. The mountain weather remained unpredictable with sun, clouds, intermittent rain, and constantly fluctuating conditions. The next 8km included a 600m ascent to Engineer Pass on a gravel road.
At the top of Engineer Pass at 3,800m we sat down, took pictures, and enjoyed a bag of candy before starting the 1,400m descent to Ouray. The first 10km and 1,000m of the descent was quite runnable with amazing singletrack and beautiful mountain views in the early evening. For the final hour we entered the rocky canyon with steep cliffs, narrow trail, and fantastic views in every direction. As the sun was starting to set, we reached the Bear Creek trail crossing over the highway and ran the final 3km on the road, getting into Ouray just after sunset.
Day 2: 43.5km, 2,170m elevation gain, 12:15 elapsed time, 4,285m max elevation.
Wednesday July 8
I realized near the end of our hike on Tuesday that the full 165km Hardrock route was too ambitious and aggressive despite our best efforts. So instead of going out for another punishing day in the mountains we took a rest day in the mountain resort town of Telluride, enjoyed the views from the top of the gondola, sat in the hot tub, and drank beers on the balcony: a perfect rest day!
Day 3: 0km, beers & hot tub
Thursday July 9
One of the famous parts of the Hardrock course is Island Lake, and even though we weren’t going to finish the full loop I wanted us to hike up to Island Lake. So, we drove towards Silverton to the South Mineral campground for a stunning loop route to Island Lake, Ice Lake, and Fuller Lake. Island Lake is certainly the Instagram destination in the San Juans; we saw more people that day that the rest of the week combined.
Day 4: 15km, 920m elevation gain, 4:45 elapsed time, 3,840m max elevation.
Friday July 10
The Hardrock 100 event began at 6am in Silverton so we got up early to cheer on the start. Elite athletes including Courtney Dauwalter, Ludo Pommeret, and Tom Evans were racing, and a “who’s who” of ultra running royalty including 4-time Barkley finisher Jared Campbell and Lucy Bartholomew were spectating the start of the run. There was even a large black bear about 15 feet up in a tree on the course about 300m from the start line.
Before heading home we wanted to summit a couple more 14,000 foot mountains so we drove back towards Denver to the town of Fairplay, Colorado. It was afternoon by the time we got to the Kite Lake Trailhead, but we had enough time to summit both Mount Cameron and Mount Lincoln, bringing our tally to three 14ers for the trip. We saw a mountain goat in the alpine, hundreds of marmots and pikas, and 2 foxes on the drive back to the hotel for a great wildlife viewing day.
Day 5: 13km, 925m elevating gain, 4:25 elapsed time, 4,346 max elevation (highest of the week)
It was a great hiking trip with Darien. After hiking & running almost 100km of the Hardrock course this week I have a good appreciation for the terrain, climbs, descents, and overall challenge of the course. When I eventually get into the event through the lottery I’ll hopefully understand what’s required to complete the loop. I’ve already told Darien that he must pace me over Handies Peak during the event!
