Pear Lake Pain, or I Hate Steps

I don't know who thought it was a good idea to put steps in a trail, but I want to meet this person...and punch him or her right in the face.  Trails are hard enough to run as it is, inviting disaster at every turn.  Tree roots, rocks, nothing at all, pygmy mountain lions...any of these things can cause a fall.  But steps???  Come on.  Don't tell me it's for erosion control or to minimize the grade or scare off trolls; it's all a pack of lies.  Trails still erode, the grade is still steep, and trolls are still EVERYWHERE!  Steps turn a nice trail run into a knee-shattering, pace-destroying slice of hell.  I hate them, I hate them, I hate them.

Yesterday, after deciding against running the Pawnee Pass-Buchanan Pass loop in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, I decided instead to head to Pear Lake via the Finch Lake Trailhead.  Fall colors are in full swing, and the Finch Lake Trailhead is a great place to soak in the color.

         

Doesn't quite capture the beauty, but you get the idea.  Just go see for yourself and stop yelling at me!

The run itself is a 14-mile out-and-back frolic with about 2700 ft. of gain over the course of the run, and almost all of that comes in the first 7 miles.  It's certainly not super steep, but it'll get the legs and lungs burning.  It's a tough one to start because well over 400 ft. is gained in the first 0.75 mile, so there's not really a chance to warm-up.  Once you top the first hill, though, it's a smooth ride through aspen meadows for a good little stretch.  About two miles in, the steps begin.  Truthfully, the uphill portion isn't that bad.  I made it the five miles to Finch Lake in 1:01:49 (8:30 better than my previous best) and made it the full seven miles to Pear in 1:34:43 (about 11 minutes better than my PR).  I didn't fly, but I made decent time.

The northern edge of Pear Lake, with part of Mount Copeland in the background.

On the way down, I don't know what happens, but something changes.  I think the steps portion of the descent goes on for somewhere in the vicinity of 4000 miles.  Let me just check the GPS...yep, 4000 miles.  Oh, and on this portion of the trail, all of the tree branches are lined with razor blades.  And Peach Cobbler Vi Fuel tastes like burning tires mixed with dirty diapers.  And all of the love in your heart turns into hatred for puppies and everything beautiful.  And your praying turns into wailing and teeth-gnashing.  And your skin falls off.  I'm pretty sure that's accurate.  It's just...it's just awful.  I can't even sustain 10-minute miles on descents like that.  I run on this stuff all the time, but when you come back from a Leadville or an Imogene Pass and see just how fast you can actually move on a race course descent, it can be so frustrating to look down at your watch and realize you're moving at a 12-minute mile pace despite all your efforts to the contrary.  Anyway, I finished up the run with a time of 2:51 and then proceeded to splash all of my troubles away in the river.