Interview with Zach Miller, Ultrarunner and Future Barr Camp Caretaker

Barr Camp is approximately 6.5 miles from the trailhead in Manitou Springs. Elevation gain is 3,800 feet, and the camp elevation is at 10,200 feet. Pikes Peak is an additional 6 miles from Barr Camp, and the trail climbs another 3,900 feet to the summit at over 14,000 feet. Barr Camp has no potable water. 

Zach, you’re moving to Barr Camp. That’s wild!  I remember seeing the notices that they were seeking new caretakers, but tell me about your thought process in applying?  I mean, was it an immediate “hell yeah?”  What was the selection process like?  Did you have to beat out any other applicants? 

I heard about the opening through the grapevine and it intrigued me enough to investigate.  I sent an email to the caretakers at Barr Camp and they sent me the official job description.  I read it over and was still interested but figured I needed someone to apply with since they tend to hire a “couple.”  I thought to myself that it would be great if I just had the right person to apply with.  Then it hit me, I already knew the perfect person, my sister Ashley!  I half jokingly shot her an email about it and before I knew it we were putting together and application.

As for the selection process, it started out fairly normal.  We had to submit a resume and cover letter.  What some people don’t know is that Barr Camp is run by a board of directors.  The board looked through the applications and selected us and a few other applicants for further inspection.  They had us hike up to Barr Camp so we could see it in person and get a better feel for the job.  I’ve been to Barr Camp many times but my sister had never been.  She actually flew in from Massachusetts to do the hike.  The hike was followed by an interview and a short while after that we were offered the job!

How hard was it to convince your sister to join you in this?  

Not that hard at all!  Ashley and I are pretty similar in ways and we both have a love for the outdoors.  In fact, Ashley is just as qualified if not more qualified for the job than I am.  She studied social work in college and is really good with people.  She also has a minor in outdoor eduction and has worked as a guide in the Adirondacks where she led people on canoeing and hiking trips.  The biggest obstacle was that she has a boyfriend and she was concerned about how living six miles up a mountain would affect things.  That issue has been discussed though and I feel good about where we stand with it.

I never visited with the previous caretakers, but they’d been there a long time, no?  They were just ready to retire?  And you (and your sister), did you sign on for six months, a year, how long? 

The current caretakers, Renee and Anthony, have actually been there since 2013.  You might be thinking of Neil and Teresa Taylor, who were the caretakers from 2005-2013.  Renee and Anthony are getting married and moving on to their next adventure.  Neil and Teresa are still involved with Barr Camp in certain ways, but are no longer full time caretakers as Teresa now works at Colorado College.  Neil is prepping for Hardrock, a race which he has finished several times (I believe he has around 6 Hardrock finishes).

As for the time commitment, we will be there for at least a year.  Who knows, I may just fall in love with it and be there for quite some time!

What will this do to your running?  You won’t be able to run on flat terrain unless you run six miles to get there.  Will you still be able to travel internationally during the summer for races?

Good question!  This was one of my major concerns when considering the job as it is important that I still be able to train and race.  In terms of training I will need to figure out how to fit training into the day.  Sometimes that might mean running early in the morning or later in the day/night.  That’s all right though, who doesn’t love tagging Pikes Peak at sunrise and logging some headlamp miles would be good practice for those early morning/all night ultras.  With that said, I imagine there will be times when I am able to get away for an afternoon  workout.  I’m pretty big on adaptability.  I’ll find a way to make it work!

In terms of terrain, I will need to run down to town if I really want to run fast.  I’m a high mileage guy though, so I could see myself running down to Garden of the Gods, doing a workout, and then running back up.  We will also need to go to town for supply runs.  Hence, I might work it out so that I can do speed work on the days that we go to town for that.  Additionally, the Barr Trail isn’t the only thing up there.  The Elk Park trail actually rolls pretty nicely and I figure I can do fartlek type stuff on that.  I could also utilize the Mountain View trail for some high altitude repeats.  Overall I’ve got some good options and I’m excited to tackle the new training grounds.  And oh yeah, I get to do “bonus workouts” when the rescue calls come in!

As for international races, that will still be possible.  The board understands that I have races to do, but I need to make sure that Barr Camp has enough hands on deck to handle things while I am gone.  In fact, we are allotted a chunk of vacation time that we can use to get away from time to time.

Any fear of losing social connections – running with friends, dating, a night out at the pub, for instance?

I think this would be a big concern for a lot of people, but I actually feel pretty good about it.  I’m not a drinker, so a night out at the pub isn’t much of a concern.  As for running with friends, while I really enjoy running with people I’m also pretty good at being a lone wolf.  With that said, I have plenty of friends who like running up Barr Trail / Pikes Peak.  Hence, between them running up and me running down from time to time I figure we’ll still get to see each other.  Also, I love the incline, so I imagine I’ll be running down to do that and will hopefully see friends then.

Dating?  Did my Mom tell you to ask that?  In all seriousness it’s a valid question.  Some might view this as relationship suicide.  I’ll be destined to become the old man on the mountain who never marries and just sits in a rocking chair all day, right?  I don’t really view it that way though.  In my mind it’s kind of cool if I have to run 6 miles down a trail to go on a date.  After all, I’ve gotta find some way to use all those “power shower” wipes that I’ve acquired.

Having said all this, I probably won’t get to hang out with my core group of friends as much.  Given that pretty much all my friends like to run, I’ll probably get plenty of visitors.  I will, however, likely miss out on some pool parties, barbecues, and nights of hanging out.  That could be tough.  I also like to go to church on Sundays, so my sister and I will have to figure out how we want to handle that.

Pancake breakfasts look to be a requirement when living at Barr.  You like bananas.  I assume you’ll work on some special banana pancake recipe?  How hard is it going to be to get fresh bananas?

Banana pancakes!  That’s a great idea.  Having said that, I don’t want to step on the toes of Barr Camp traditions, so I may have to clear any such recipe alterations with the board first!  Plus, not everyone likes bananas, so even if we do it we’ll have to have a non-banana option as well.  As for fresh bananas, that depends on how often we do our supply runs.  Maybe I can freeze them and then smash them up in oatmeal or spread them on pancakes.  I like bananas in a variety of ways, so I can be flexible with it.

No internet at Barr, so what’s on your reading list?  What do you expect a typical day to be like?

That’s actually not true.  We have satellite internet.  So we have it, but it will probably be slow.  That’s fine though, I am actually looking forward to unplugging a bit.  A reading list?  I haven’t really made one but I do want to read “Wild” and I might give Christopher McDougall’s new book “Natural Born Heroes” a try.  I am yet to finish the Hunger Games series and haven’t even tried Divergent yet.  John Krakauer is one of my favorites so maybe I’ll read some of his books.  There is actually a pretty sizable book shelf at Barr Camp so I might just start making my way through it one book at a time.

I can’t tell you all the ins and outs of a typical day as I haven’t done it yet, but I think I can give you an idea.  I figure mornings will start with breakfast and dishes.  Afternoons will probably be occupied by chores around the camp and socializing with/serving visitors.  Evening will be for making dinner, serving dinner, and doing more dishes.  Rescues will likely be scattered throughout the day.  Training will be squeezed in somewhere, possibly early in the morning before breakfast and/or later in the day.  Finally, I hope to be able to retire to bed at a fairly reasonable hour as mornings start relatively early at Barr Camp.