Yesterdays' "run" was a grind, 18 miles but felt more like 40 when I was done 
The loop goes off trail for about 8 miles with lots of climbing, some stretches climbing literally. When we finally dropped down towards Edith Lake (and hit the trail) we hit major depths of snow, sometimes staying on top of it, other times laboriously post holing through it. The lower section is mostly runnable, but requires a major climb out of the lake studded basin- total of 15 long switch backs (we somehow managed to run 7 of them). We had several mountain goat sightings, one we got within 25 yards of in a really rough section. I've got several tough mountain races that I'm training for and this was exactly the tough type of training that's called for. The vistas all day were gorgeous and made it all very worthwhile.
Had my new favorite pack w/- Osprey Rev 1.5- replete with extra clothing, survival bits, food and water
Here's the route:
elevation profile:
headed towards Mt Baldy
we weren't the only ones up high yesterday
the ascent to Baldy is a grind, lots of scrambling and rock climbing
looking down towards Upper Baldy lake
we had several tough grinds up high and got within 25 yards of this goat, I know he was thinking what the f... are these guys doing here
he blends in pretty well, look at the center of the pic
finally a peek at Edith Lake where we'll drop down to and pick up a trail
as we dropped down, we hit some major snow lower where it was shaded
but vistas like this made it all very worthwhile!
thanks for looking
The loop goes off trail for about 8 miles with lots of climbing, some stretches climbing literally. When we finally dropped down towards Edith Lake (and hit the trail) we hit major depths of snow, sometimes staying on top of it, other times laboriously post holing through it. The lower section is mostly runnable, but requires a major climb out of the lake studded basin- total of 15 long switch backs (we somehow managed to run 7 of them). We had several mountain goat sightings, one we got within 25 yards of in a really rough section. I've got several tough mountain races that I'm training for and this was exactly the tough type of training that's called for. The vistas all day were gorgeous and made it all very worthwhile.Had my new favorite pack w/- Osprey Rev 1.5- replete with extra clothing, survival bits, food and water
Here's the route:
elevation profile:
headed towards Mt Baldy
we weren't the only ones up high yesterday
the ascent to Baldy is a grind, lots of scrambling and rock climbing
looking down towards Upper Baldy lake
we had several tough grinds up high and got within 25 yards of this goat, I know he was thinking what the f... are these guys doing here
he blends in pretty well, look at the center of the pic
finally a peek at Edith Lake where we'll drop down to and pick up a trail
as we dropped down, we hit some major snow lower where it was shaded
but vistas like this made it all very worthwhile!
thanks for looking
