5 Days in Ourey

I spent the last few days in Ourey, Colorado on a trail running trip with some friends.  After the success of our Grand Canyon Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim trip last November, we were eager for our next adventure.  

We nicknamed the trip "Belmont Track Club High Altitude Training Camp."  For me, this was a nice test to spend some time at altitude before heading out to California for the Tahoe 200 next June.  

Travel

I left Boston on a 5:45 flight last Thursday and had a layover in Phoenix before landing in Grand Junction, CO.  From there, I met up with Doug and Donal (who had flown in to Denver the previous day) and we made the 2 hour drive down to Ourey.  All and all a pretty long day (~12 hours) with driving + layover.  

Ourey

Ourey, known as the Switzerland of America, sits a 7700' and is quaint little town surrounded by mountainous ledges on all sides.  There really isn't a bad view anywhere in town.  There is one main road that goes through the center and is the only road that is paved.  

Our Air B & B was just off the main road and boarded the Uncompahgre River.  The view from the back porch coupled with the white noise of the river was incredible.  Many recovery beers were shared there.

Day 1

Shortly after arriving, I headed out for a short run (the burden of keeping a nearly 9 year run streak alive).  The Ouray Perimeter trail is ~6 mile loop that surrounds the town going up and down the ledges.  For my first run, I immediately jumped on the trail took it up to Cascade falls before descending back into town.  My lungs screamed at me during that first climb.  Looking back down into the town from 500' above was breath taking.  

Post run we hit up the Ouray brewery for a beer and bite to eat before planning out our next adventure.  

Day 2

For the second day, we decided we would start with a run up to the Burn Hut.  Similar to the White

Mountains (NH), the San Juan Mountains have a hut system where you can stay at the various huts (between Telluride and Ourey).  The Burn hut is last the of 4 and is about 7 miles outside Ourey.  

After a leisure breakfast, we took off directly from our Air B & B. We started off with a nice 3 mile jog on a dirt road along the river.  At mile 4, we reached the Dallas trail head and started climbing through a series of switch backs.  About 2.5 miles later, we had climbed up to just past 10k'.  While most of the trail was run-able, putting in back to back 600+' miles of climbing convinced us hiking was a better idea.  The weather was great and the views were even better.  

Shortly after we reached the hut, we took a quick break and ate our sandwiches before descending back into town.  It felt great to just let it rip and being moving at sub 10 minute pace again.  While the altitude was definitely slowing us down, we were feeling pretty good.  

Nothing like being done with a 14.5 mile run with 3100' of climbing before 11am. 

After lunch and trip to the hot springs (yes there is a hot springs in Ourey), we decided we had enough in us to go tackle the full Perimeter Loop.  Having read a little bit about the loop and thought, "we'll see if we have time," I am really glad we decided to tackle this route.  As mentioned above, Ourey sits in the valley between some really steep terrain.  The Perimeter loop takes you up and down some of that terrain with amazing views of the town and the surrounding area.  From waterfalls to tunnels, there literally is something around every corner to stop and stare in awe at.  The loop is about 6 miles and climbs and descends about 1500'.   

Day 3

Day 3 was the big day, my first 14k'er, Mnt Sneffels.  The day started with a 4am wake up (not horrible for someone coming from Eastern Time) with a 45 minute drive (with the last 4 being a total mine field) out to the trail head.  We decided to take the Blue Lakes trail up as it was the more scenic route which included a 6.5 mile climb to the summit.

We did the first two miles in the dark and were greeted with over 1000' of climbing and ~30 degree temps.  Once the sun started to rise, we got amazing views and awesome fall colors. 

 

By mile 4 we had reached the lakes and the color with the sun on it was absolutely stunning.  Miles 5

and 6 were a real grind as we climbed the switch backs up to Blue Lakes Pass.  From the pass is where it got interesting.  There are two paths to the summit: 1) via a technical class 3 climb or 2) up loose rock.  

We chose to take the technical route up and the loose rock path down.  There really isn't anything like scrambling on all fours with 1000'+  descents on either side of.  The final chunk goes along ridge which is down right terrifying.  At one point, I told my friends I wasn't sure I was going to continue.  

An hour / 0.6 miles later we reached the summit, 14,155', full of adrenaline.    

After snack break and taking in the views, we scampered down the other side.  The first quarter mile went great and then I got a bit ahead of myself on some scree and took a nice 10' slide on my ass.  With my pants and my hands a bit torn up, I completely loss that feeling of flow that I had.  

I continued descending via loose rocky terrain for the next 30 minutes before finally finding stable ground.  I went from feeling incredible to exhausted all at once.  

Next we made the climb back up to Blue Lakes pass before a long descent back down to the lakes.  Nothing like 18 switch backs in a row to make the legs feel like jelly.  

After a break at the lakes, we began our descent back down to the trail head.  About an hour later we made it back to the car.  What a day.  

Day 4

On our last full day, we had a leisurely morning before heading out to do the Ice Lakes trail, and if we

felt good, maybe summit Ulysses S Grant Peak.  This trail is part of the Hardrock 100 course and were eager to see just how gnarly it really was.  

Once again we were treated to near perfect weather and amazing views.  One of the things that was so amazing on this route was just how much you could see at any point in time.  After climbing 2000' up from the parking lot, we could still see down to the trail head.  Each of the lakes were an incredible blue with the sun reflecting off them.  

After making great time up to see both Ice an Island lakes, we decided we would climb a bit higher to get a better view down from the ridge.  The climb from Island Lake to

Grant Swamp Pass is about half a mile with 400' of climbing.  We then continued east for another 1/3rd of a mile making up to 13,200'.  With more loose rocky terrain, we didn't dare go any further.  The phrase "you can't beat this view" must have been said 100 times.  

The descent down back off the ridge was pretty nerve wracking.  After yesterday's slip I was overly cautious and even slid on my butt for bunch of sections.  After making it back to the lakes, we once again began our 2500' descent back to the car.  

About half way down, I found the zone again and just let the hammer drop.  As I zoomed around switch backs, I felt like I could fly.  As I passed hikers, I could see how some of them were impressed while others were terrified.  As we reached the trail head, we really couldn't believe just how amazing this area really was.  

After the run, we stopped in Silverton, where the Hardrock 100 starts / ends for lunch.  It was pretty cool seeing a place I have heard described by so many ultrarunners. 

Day 5 

For the last day, I got up early ran back over to Box Canyon / Perimeter trail.  I descended down to the base of the falls and just took a moment enjoy what an amazing little town this was.  Over the past four days, I got in over 45 miles with over 15k' climbing.  I climbed to an elevation higher than I had ever
been at, twice. 

After a car ride, two flights, another car ride, and roughly 12 hours later I made it home.  All and all an amazing trip. 

Summary

One of the main goals of this trip, other then see, run, and climb as much as possible, was to get a little more used to doing things at elevation.  The Tahoe 200 peaks at 9,700.  It felt good to know that I can still run at high altitude. Something that I haven't really tried since doing the Leadville 50 back in 2014.  

Probably the biggest draw back to the trip was just poor sleeping.  Not sure if was just the altitude, the dry air, or something else, but it really felt good to sleep in my own bed last night.  

Until our next adventure. 

 - Scot