• Home
  • About

A Runner's Story

A Runner's Story

Tag Archives: Pagosa Hot Springs

Coal Creek Trail

27 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

kid's mountain bike tours, Kip's Grill, Nipple Mountain, Pagosa Hot Springs, Pagosa Springs Hiking Trails

coal creek trailheadMost of the gang mountain biked Jackson Mountain Wednesday morning.  I went for a solo trail run on Coal Creek Trail.  The trail head is 4.4 miles down Fawn Gulch Road which sits at mile marker 148 on Hwy 160.  Fawn Gulch is another well maintain forest service road near Pagosa Springs.  Drive east and you cross a cattle guard at 1 mile.  Another at 1.8 miles, closely followed by a hairpin turn at 2 miles.  Stay right at an unmarked fork at 2.2 miles, cross a 3rd cattle guard at 3.6 miles and you’ll soon see the trailhead on your left.

coal creek trailThere were people milling about at the trailhead but the trail itself seems rarely used.  Plants were dense over the trail.  They ripped the flesh from my shins and ankles making me wish I’d have worn my gators.  Blow down was constant with small and large trees that appeared to have been there for years.  While the trail followed the creek, it crossed several times and rose up steep bluffs causing me to walk portions.  I ran mostly through trees but some sections opened up like in this picture.  Non-use made it difficult to spot the trail several times.  A few cairns kept me from getting lost.  I turned around though, earlier than I would have otherwise, when I got tired of looking for the trail.

logI assumed I might find the trail somewhere past this log, possibly on the other side of the creek, but constantly slowing to seek it became too frustrating after a couple of miles.  And I was getting hot.  I ran more on the return as it presented me with more downhill.  This video gives you a sense of the trail in the first mile near the trailhead.

family shotMy second workout came in the form of mountain biking down Nipple Mountain.  We thought this would be a good ride for the kids but I ended up biking hard with Amy and Dave on the final few miles.  We had a tour drop us off at the top so it was essentially a downhill ride.  The top was steeper and required constant braking.  This was a forest service road, Mill Creek Road off Hwy 84.  We started at the end of the road, shortly past the trailhead for Quartz Creek Trail.

riding down Nipple MountainFinished the day with dinner at Kip’s Grill and Cantina and a soak in the Hot Springs.  You know the food is going to be good when the chips and salsa are excellent.  This place has flavor.  More than a bit unpretentious with disposable plates and silverware, but really awesome food.  We sat outside enjoying the weather.  This was our third evening at the Hot Springs as we bought a week long pass.  The water temperature seemed hotter than usual – it’s not regulated so it can vary.  Nice way to melt away the memory of two-a-day workouts.

40.137598 -105.107652

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Email
  • Print

Like this:

Like Loading...

Search this blog

  • Boulder Marathon
  • Britt&Eric
  • Colorado Trail
  • Covid-19
  • covid-noir
  • cyber war
  • Ellie Rose
  • Geek Horror
  • Marathons
  • Margot
  • Medical Files
  • Novel
  • Other Stories
  • Politics
  • ReBlog
  • Running
  • Snowboard
  • Snowshoe
  • Storytelling
  • training plan
  • Victoria BC

Buy Full Spectrum Cyberwar at Amazon

Buy Cyber War I at Amazon

Buy on Amazon India for ₹99

Buy on Amazon U.K. for £2.27

English Edition on Amazon Germany

Buy on Amazon Brazil for R$11.29

Archives

Blog Stats

  • 134,558 hits

Girlfriend Cult

Recent Comments

Ed Mahoney on Adelsverein
Cynthia L Finney on Adelsverein
Ed Mahoney on Adelsverein
Ed Mahoney on Adelsverein
A lo Hawk on Adelsverein

Recent Posts

  • Adelsverein January 28, 2023
  • A Runner’s Day January 7, 2023
  • Last Run of the Year December 31, 2022
  • Christmas, for me… December 26, 2022
  • Craft Shopping for Christmas December 10, 2022
  • A Slow, Late Fall Run November 25, 2022
  • November Runs November 20, 2022
  • Tech Debt November 19, 2022
  • The Runner’s Field of Battle November 13, 2022
  • Stealin’ from God October 24, 2022
  • A New Start October 23, 2022
  • Baby Margot Birthday October 9, 2022
  • The City of Flowers September 24, 2022
  • Dog Park by the Sea September 19, 2022
  • The Lane of Pain September 17, 2022
  • Run Rabbit Run August 28, 2022
  • Wild Horses August 21, 2022
  • The Day Running Died August 17, 2022
  • Boulder Marathon Training – Week One August 7, 2022
  • Mount Sanitas July 30, 2022
  • The Trail and Me July 23, 2022
  • Mount Zirkel Wilderness July 13, 2022
  • Full Team Hike July 4, 2022
  • Village to Village July 3, 2022
  • Beaver Creek July 2, 2022
  • Summer is Here June 12, 2022
  • Birthdays May 22, 2022
  • Fall River Road March 25, 2022
  • A Tale of Two Gerasimov’s March 11, 2022
  • The Hero February 26, 2022
  • Full Spectrum Cyberwar February 24, 2022
  • Run Nan, Run February 20, 2022
  • Running Sunrise to Sunset February 13, 2022
  • Cyberpunk Runner February 5, 2022
  • A Winter’s Run January 15, 2022
  • Turkmenistan January 2, 2022
  • Counting Families at Christmas December 26, 2021
  • Austin Boardwalk December 23, 2021
  • Like Christmas for the First Time December 19, 2021
  • Restoration November 27, 2021
  • India Kinks November 15, 2021
  • Run a Little, Write a Little November 6, 2021
  • Horizons October 30, 2021
  • The Vitality Kick and other Abnormal Obsessive Behaviors October 19, 2021
  • The Ten Week Plan October 11, 2021
  • Pearl Street Marathon October 10, 2021
  • Confidence Builder October 2, 2021
  • Margot Faye September 25, 2021
  • Due Day September 12, 2021
  • Beats per Minute September 6, 2021

Colorado=Security

Blogroll

  • Alohawk's Blog
  • Barbie's Blog
  • Boggy Creek Lumpster
  • George Schools Blog
  • I, Cringely
  • Prostate Chronicles
  • Shut Up + Run
  • Sustainable Sunrise
  • The Rogue Botanist

Web Sites

  • Amazon Author Page
  • Austin Marathon
  • Bolder Boulder
  • Brit's YouTube Songs
  • Colorado Marathon
  • Colorado Runner Magazine
  • Colorado Trail
  • Girlfriend Cult
  • Lobo Media Ltd
  • My YouTube Site
  • Race Pace Calculator
  • Shoes & Brews
  • Trail Runner Magazine
  • Zaremba Graphic & Web Solutions

Goodreads

Top Posts & Pages

  • Day 1
  • Day 3
  • Winter Secret
  • Foot Fetish
  • Adelsverein

Top Clicks

  • prospectisart.wordpress.c…
  • amazon.com/gp/product/B07…

RSS Feed

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • A Runner's Story
    • Join 246 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • A Runner's Story
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: