Out my front door and to the left, I cross Mountain Sage
Drive and begin running on the cement path that welcomes me to the open
space. About half a mile from my home
the path intersects a crushed gravel utility road. That road runs southwest through Highlands
Ranch and I follow it for about four miles as it knifes through several
developments. At its western end I go
left, which leads me south towards the 8,200 acre Backcountry Wilderness Area. In about half a
mile from there the gravel road peters out and becomes a single track
trail. The trail meanders through the Backcountry
for the next five miles. The terrain is
rolling hills, punctuated by 18 inch high dirt moguls spaced about ten yards
apart. Those moguls are man-made to
prevent soil erosion. The result is a
fun, undulating trail that disrupts runner’s rhythm. This is hard running.
There is a hill that I skirt at about mile 5.5. Once past that point I am out of sight of houses. I pass the remains of an abandoned out
building which looks like it was built about 100 years ago. On either side of the trail there are fence
posts, strung together with smooth wire.
My mind wanders and I am running from Virginia City to see
Hoss, Adam and Little Joe Cartwright out on the Ponderosa. The high forehead crowd will remember the
classic TV show Bonanza which ran from 1959 until 1973. Today I feel like I am running with Xi and
other Kalahari bushman trying to give the Coke bottle back to the Gods. The temperature is already in the mid 80s by
7:00 a.m., on its way to 104 degrees.
When I am in this world, life is simple; just the trail and
a man alone with his thoughts. At the
hour of the day that I run, I see few humans.
I see coyotes, foxes, owls, rabbits and prairie dogs. Sometimes I see coyotes, foxes and owls
eating rabbits and prairie dogs. I see
deer scat and in the winter I have seen herds of elk.
At mile nine civilization creeps back into my dream
world. I crest a long rise just south of
the Mountain Vista High School track. At
the next intersection I turn right and start climbing and about 800 steps later
I am at the Compass Rose at the Highlands Point.
The Highlands Point’s life-size compass offers incredible
views of various Colorado landmarks. The
Highlands Point Compass Rose sits atop a hill overlooking Highlands Ranch and
the surrounding area. At an elevation of
6310 ft, this lookout affords a tremendous view of the Front Range from
Colorado Springs to Boulder. I make a
slow pirouette, do a quick calf stretch and then head back down the hill
towards my home.
The trail quickly opens up to a gravel, then cement
path. It is all cement and asphalt from
that point on. The surface is jarring
and it saps the strength from my legs.
Within a half mile I cross Wildcat Reserve Parkway and in a few minutes
I am on Venneford Ranch Road. From there
I look down upon the original ranch. There
are cows grazing in the rolling meadows. At that point I am about a quarter of a mile
from the Highlands Ranch Mansion. The 22,000
square foot Tudor castle was used as the setting of the fictional Venneford
Ranch in the miniseries Centennial which was written by James Michener. The town I call home was originally called
"Highland Ranch" after the Highland Hereford cattle on the
ranch.
I follow Venneford Ranch Road for another mile and a half,
take a left onto Mountain Sage Drive and slow to a walk. My work is done. Altogether I cover 14 miles which usually takes
me about an hour and 47 minutes; long enough for me to contemplate ruling the
world but not long enough to make real plans.
Living in Highlands Ranch makes running so easy and
inviting. The Highlands Ranch Metro
District preserves more than 2,200 acres of open space areas. These areas are undeveloped natural areas
recognized by their mixed grass prairie environment. It is home to a variety of wildlife, birds and
native plants. These natural areas also
serve as an important drainage system. In
addition, there are over 70 miles of trails in Highlands Ranch. Who could ask for anything more?
No comments:
Post a Comment