Trip Report: Handies Peak

Three day weekend! To celebrate our country, we decided to climb some of it's highest peaks! The southern San Juan's are just a little too far for our typical weekend adventure, so we took advantage of the July 4th holiday weekend to drive the 5.5 hours to climb some mountains.

Thinking that 8:30pm on a Thursday would get us clear of traffic, we were disheartened to be stopped in a gridlock 20 minutes into the drive. We made it just past Gunnison by 1:30 am to a lake with no restrictions on overnight parking. We camped in the Element with a very content Cody pup and awoke to the sun over the mountains above us and a gorgeous, placid lake below us.

Lake City was only an hour away, so we had a short-ish, but very beautiful drive up a canyon to our trailhead campsite for the next night. We did have to drive on a 3mi stretch of one lane (barely) 2WD road, along a huge cliff with deadly dropoffs! Adventure indeed. But the Grizzly Gulch TH where were were setting up basecamp leads to three different 14ers, so it was totally worth it. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the trailhead was packed- and it was tent city. Tons of trailhead camping here.

View on the drive in (through the windshield)

Around 10am we packed up our ultralight running vests and Justin Case storm gear and blistered our way to the top of Handies Peak at 14,058', which is also the highest point on the Hardrock 100 course. I can't believe how hard that race course is! The views as we ran up the valley were simply incredible. Handies in front of us and Sunshine/Redcloud behind.

Gorgeous trail to Handies

Wildflowers on the way up to Handies

Redcloud and Sunshine behind us

The hike up from Grizzly Gulch was a bit steeper than we had expected, but the trail itself isn't too technical.

Creek Crossing!

As we get to the ridge line, here are some of the views:

The final approach to the top was a little tricky, but that was mostly because we lost the trail in the snow. Once on the summit, the views were some of the best we've seen. There is literally no sign of civilization for 360 degrees.

This is the Hardrock course- runners summit Handies from this trail

I am climbing up the first part of the descent on the Hardrock course

We met a couple guys at the top who had either done Hardrock or were doing it next weekend- Ryan was super jealous, obviously, while Alaina told them they were all nuts ;)

Cody had a blast the entire time. She just loves climbing these 14ers!

17th Fourteener for Cody the AdventureDog!

Running down from the peak was tons of fun, stopping only to take some vanity shots and video because that's how we roll.

Those clouds just kept getting darker and more foreboding as our day continued

Just as we got back to the car a storm came in so we sat in the car and had some beverages and read our books and listened to music while the little bear slept. When she woke up it was time for another hike, so we recce'd tomorrow's route and threw some sticks. Everyone crashed out before sunset in the back of the Element for a long night's sleep.

Sleeping Bear

Re-energized Bear!

Ryan approves of this view!

Summary:

Distance: 8.18 miles

Total Time: 3:13:49

Moving Time: 2:43:15 (20:09 min/mile)

Starting Elevation: 10,407 feet

Max Elevation: 14,027 feet

Total Climb: 3,619 feet

Adidas Adios Boost Shoe Review

Ryan's Review
I like lightweight shoes. I have toothpicks for ankles and a frame sometimes described as bird-like, so I appreciate shoes that cut the weight at the end of my slim leg pendulum. I also like shoes in the 8-10mm drop range, but unfortunately for me, most lightweight trail shoes gravitate toward the 4mm drop end. These make my calves explode.

So I tried an experiment with road shoes: Adidas Adizero Adios 2.0. These shoes are 8oz, 10mm drop, with a tough Continental rubber outsole. I loved them. I was running rugged mountain trails in the Golden, CO area and not feeling rock poke. My calves were singing praises. My only issue was the upper. I couldn't lock down my heel without tying the laces really tight, hurting my instep.

Adidas Adios 2.0

Enter the Adidas Adios Boost. Same specs (drop, weight, outsole) as the 2.0, but with two major improvements. First, the midsole: Boost technology does not use EVA foam; instead, it is made of thermoplastic beads that are fused together. This midsole is among the bounciest and most durable I have ever run on. It's like Hoka bounce without the stack height or extra give. Second, the upper has a stiffer lacing system that allows for heel lockdown that is so good I don't even run in my Adios 2.0 any more. It can't compare. 

Adidas Adios Boost. White Ranch Park, Colorado

This is a lightweight road shoe that you can use for running mountain trails. My first run in the Adios Boost was a 23 miler at White Ranch, featuring loads of steep, rocky terrain, cambered, snowy trail, and 4,000+ feet of vert gain. This shoe is up for the task. The next weekend I ran a 25 miler at White Ranch, again. I could bomb down the loose rock with confidence that the outsole and midsole would protect me, despite the fact that this road shoe has no rock plate. They're super snappy on the uphills and I've had some of my fastest mountain training runs in them.

Ride and Fit
The ride is firm on the Adios Boost, and it feels like an 8mm drop, but the claim is 10mm. Two drawbacks for trail running is they're not good in loose, dry rock/sand, and they're ice skates in mud. Compared to the Adios 2.0, they run slightly larger than size (maybe try 1/2 size down). The toe box is standard, and the heel is narrow. The low heel collar lets in a lot of debris, so you might want to use gaiters on dirty trail.

Pedigree
Hal Koerner won Hardrock 100 in Adios 2.0. Chris Vargo won Golden Gate Dirty 30 in Adios 2.0. Patrick Makau set a world record marathon 2:03:38 in Berlin in 2011 in Adios 2.0. Now with the Boost midsole technology -- both springy and durable -- if a touch heavier than EVA foam, this is a superb shoe.

Adios Boost sticking to rock on Beaver Brook Trail

Alaina's Review
Ever since I tried on the Adidas Boost shoes while working at Runners Roost, I couldn't wait to own a pair. The original Boost shoes are super comfy, but they are a lot bulkier than the majority of shoes I run in. When Adidas added the Boost technology to their lightweight Adios, I was sold. 

My first run in them was a 12 mile run on the Colorado trail. When I first put them on I was worried that they wouldn't have enough cushion to protect me from feeling every rock on the trail. I was quickly proven wrong. For how little cushioning there is, I was amazed at how much they protected my feet. I could still feel the ground really well, just not the jabbing rocks that I can sometimes feel in my Salomon Sense Ultra and La Sportiva Vertical K. They were very quick and responsive. I just love how the Boost technology feels.

Pros
Soft, yet springy and responsive
Good ground contact feeling, yet protective on all terrain
They just feel fast

Cons The only cons I have for these shoes are based on how they perform on trails, and obviously they were designed as a road shoe.
Very slippery on light, loose dirt/sand
Not great traction on ice/snow