High Alpine Teaser

A Beautiful Day in the Sunshine!

What an incredible day to be running in the mountains. We enjoyed a perfect day of blue skys, warm temperatures and sunshine. We also got to venture to a little bit higher elevation, to check out some fantastic panoramic views. This high alpine teaser got me dreaming of future run possibilities, as the snow continues to melt and we welcome the return of summer with open arms.

The day started with a car drop, so we could enjoy a point-to-point run past some very special places. Our day started at Red Earth Creek and we climbed the fire road, taking care to make lots of noise as there was plenty of bear scat marking the way. We dove into the forest of the Pharoah Creek Trail and the bear scat was quickly replaced by some mutant moose prints. We followed the creek as it wound its way quite steeply through a mix of forest, canyon and rock. The creek was running pretty high and we got to stomp through our share of puddles! It was really pretty and quite noisy with the raging white water. When we finally broke away from the creek, the valley opened up in front of us to reveal some fantastic views.

Time to Get Your Feet Wet!

Pharoah Creek and.......

Pharoah Peak!!!

Mike in His Happy Place

Near Egypt Lake/Healy Pass Junction

Lilies!!

After the quick lunch stop we began the 3km climb to the top of Healy Pass. Normally, it is a tough climb, but it is quite runnable. Today, we got off the hook and got to enjoy a power-walk because the trail got a wee bit snowbound. The trail was punctuated with patches of deep snow and meadows full of Glacier Lilies. The flowers were amazing!! There are still only the two early season varieties out in full bloom, the Lilies and the Alpine Anenomes. The density that they carpeted the ground was unbelievable!

The water was running over this little bridge!!

Up, Up, UP!!

The top of Healy Pass on a clear day is quite a special place to be! There was still a fair amount of snow, but totally safe and totally passable. After hardly seeing any people for the last 20km's, we were greeted by a whole bunch of people up on the pass. This is a popular day hike from Sunshine Village. We made a new friend in the form of an adorable Border Collie. She was sooooo sweet! But she kept trying to look up my skirt.

The Healy Pass Juggling Festival!!

From the top of the pass, we flew down the other side. We snapped some more photos of the awesome scenery before we hit treeline and jumped back into the forest. We flew down the last 8km to the finish line, feeling strong, stoked and solar powered after another fine day on the trails. I love to run!

Down, Down, DOWN.

What HOT day is complete without a soak of the legs and back in an ice COLD creek? This is my cold creek face.