Grouse Mountain to Mountain Highway to Grouse Skyride (and down)
Well this was a remarkable day for many reasons. We had about 30 brave souls show up to do one of our more challenging runs of the season albeit one of the shortest runs. The run from Grouse to Mountain Highway is just fine and dandy, but, it's the part after that is interesting. Being a long weekend (Victoria Day), I suspected our numbers would be lower today. But we had lots of familiar faces including Terry Lewis. Terry is a long-time runner of the Knee Knacker and a tough competitor (but a nice guy). Take a look at results and statistics from previous years for some interesting reading. For our run today, the Old Grouse Mountain Highway gravel road section up to the Skyride is about 12 Km. The entire route was about 20 Km. We encountered very cold temperatures and snow as we approached the ski areas. I am sure glad I had an extra shirt with long sleeves, gloves, and a hat. I needed them all to try to stay warm. I think all of us were in shorts but many had nothing else more than their short sleeve shirt to stay warm. All this was following a week of very odd weather leaving a dusting of snow all over the mountains. As promised, we saw several of the Mountain Highway Madness runners coming down Old Grouse Mountain Highway on their second loop (gate to quarry and back). I counted about 7 people. They seemed happy enough. I wonder how many went for a third of fourth loop? At least 2 of our group did an extended version of this. Once Colin Freeland and Glen Pace got to the top at the Skyride they headed back down to the gate and then returned via the BP Trail I believe. Actually, there was another person that had to do make his way back over our same footsteps as well. Jeff Trigg had misplaced his dog Casper and so headed back to find her. Along the way, other concerned and familiar bikers and runners helped out. One biker brought Casper up while a runner said, "no, I better take her down". Hmmm. In the end, Kelsy Trigg took Casper back up the BP from the parking lot to meet Jeff in the middle somewhere. I gave a bit more food to Kelsy on the way up and wasn't too worried as Jeff is a very strong runner. Apparently Casper isn't too shabby either. I had run into Kelsy at the bottom of the BCMC trail after Don Golob and I had just finished our trip down the mountain on foot. Our run down the BCMC trail started with snow at the top and was very muddy but a great way to end a tough run. I was surprised by how many people we saw coming up that way (at least 2 dozen) and also surprised by how many cars were parked in the lots at the bottom. Everyone was out to see the fresh snow I guess. Others of our group today took the Skyride down after sitting inside the chalet and pretending to warm themselves by the fire that wasn't lit. What was that about? Another notable event: first time Knee Knacker runner Debbie Schmidt decided to treat a couple of us to a four-point tumble on the BP as we were coming off the high point on Grouse at the beginning of our run. This was right after she told us that this section had caused her grief before. We'll collect our beers later Debbie ;-) I wonder if next week will be as interesting? We will be meeting in Deep Cove to then carpool back to the half way point at Cleveland Dam. From there we will do an official half Knee Knacker. The expected time is 3 to 4 hours and we likely won't encounter snow this time. Although mud is a distinct possibility. I would consider this run a nice interlude before getting back to some serious hill training the next weekend. Please remember that June 7 is our trail work party and that we are still looking for more volunteers for race day. And as always, if you have any questions, send them along to Curb and Me by e-mail or just show up to the runs and ask. If you have a question it's likely someone else wants to know the answer too. good luck with training and happy trails, |
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