The air is different here.
As I sit in the parking lot on top of the Grand Mesa in western Colorado, I feel a bit lightheaded. Maybe it’s just the elevation – we are at 10,000 feet.
I chalk it up to nervous excitement. Normally an 11-mile trail run wouldn’t give me butterflies, but the Crag Crest is different. First of all, you never know how your body will respond to running for nearly two hours at this altitude. The entire 11 miles occurs between 9,800 and 11,100 feet. This includes a breathtaking stretch of about four or five miles that is relatively flat but hovers completely around 11,000 feet.
If you have ever run in the Rocky Mountains, you know that most trails either go up or down. Almost never do you get to be above tree line and run a relatively flat section, with unobstructed 360-degree views. (Usually you are scrambling up scree fields or slogging up an ultra-steep double track.) On typical high alpine trails, you slave for an hour in a lactic acid-induced fugue, crest a saddle, and are rewarded with ridge upon ridge of wispy-clouded views that you enjoy as your breathing returns to being classified as “ragged.” You soon begin the descent, which usually requires all of your attention, that is, if you value all of your joints.
The Crag Crest trail is much different. There is still a toll that needs to be paid – you have to slave up steep grades for a few miles, but that is where the similarities to other trails ends. After those initial few miles, something happens that occurs almost nowhere else. The trail levels out, well, roughly level, anyway and you find yourself on the top with great views as you run for the next 30 or 40 minutes. On a clear day the mountains around Moab, Telluride, and Aspen/Snowmass are within easy view.
The top of the trail is a knife-edge that falls dramatically, hundreds of feet to valley floors on your left and right. It can be quite narrow in spots, so you need to be careful, especially if you are taking children or dogs up with you for a hike. (I routinely see many dogs off-leash, despite the trail rules requiring them to be on. Most dogs I see up there are well behaved and stay on the trail, so it is not much of an issue. We have two dogs: Maggie, is a very well-behaved trail dog and stays only two or three feet from me at all times. The other dog, Met, tends to wander so she stays on the leash.) Once you complete the crest portion of the trail, it descends to your right and switchbacks down to the valley floor. On your return to the trailhead, you pass a series of lakes and there are a couple of bailouts, if you find that you can’t finish the run. Many hikers and runners turn around before the trail descends, making it an out-and-back. On their return trip, they get the beautiful views (in the opposite direction now) for another 30-minute stretch. While this is a prettier way to run it, completing the whole loop is much more challenging. Even though you head down to the valley, and lower elevation, the trail goes through two big ups-and-downs, that crisp your already fried legs.
Any time I have run this trail I am always amazed at how fatigued I am the rest of the day. There are few trails around of this length that will sap my energy like the Crag Crest. I would avoid it if the focus for your week is speed, because the elevation puts a great big governor on your heart and legs. If, however, you are trying to build strength or just want an amazing run with drop-dead views, you should definitely visit the Grand Mesa.
To get there, take I-70 to the Colorado Highway 65 exit to the Grand Mesa. Take Highway 65 about 35 miles all the way to the top of the Mesa until you see Island Lake on your right. The trailhead is a quarter mile further down on your left-hand side.
John Weirath is a (very slow) ultra-runner and cyclist in Grand Junction. A physical therapist and endurance coach, he can be reached at john@thresholdsport.com.