Running Up That Road and Running Up That Hill.....

Ah, you have to love Kate Bush. I know, I know her music is kind of old now but sometimes you just have to admire a lyric.

Massey Draw
This is a small watercourse that runs from West Ranch (erm in the West) down through The Valley and eventually enters Chatfield Reservoir in it's North West corner. It's a small and spidery thing at best but a couple of times a year the water sluices through it and has carved a reasonable little gully in the earth. A couple of years ago it even did damage across C-470 near to Meadow Ranch golf club. It flooded out some basements and the County rebuilt the waterway with a more controlled (read concrete) channel. As the watercourse leaves The Valley it also takes a lot of the storm drain water with it.

The Valley trail system has a non-developed trail that runs from the circuit road up the gully to West Ranch. It starts off nice and tame. Mown back grasses reach side of the trail until you cross the Colorow Trail that run to the North and pretty much follows the contour line up the valley. From here the Massey Draw Trail begins to climb as you enter the brush oak and the few trees that line the upper banks of the waterway. At this intersection there is a red stone bench which gives a great view through the Dakota Hogback and out towards the buildings at Arapahoe and I-25 many miles away.

Now the trail climbs into the main tree line. The mix of oak, pines and aspens broaden and the trail is now in cool shade with a pleasant breeze. The watercourse is almost completely dry at the moment as it has been several days since our last good storm. As I entered the canopy three whitetail deer were grazing quietly on the other bank. The trail again climbed a little steeper and began to zigzag across the contours. In places there were definite signs of "work" but mostly the trail was pleasantly undeveloped. There was a small wooden bridge that crosses the dry bed and the trail then continues on the south bank. I passed one fellow trail user who was jogging down and we both continued on our ways. The trail became less distinct as fewer boot marks were to be seen, the mountain bike tracks had long since ended. The trail began to twist again this time to clear a group of large boulders. Here I met a couple also descending. Their dog was enjoying running on a head. We exchanged greetings and again I was alone on the trail. Eventually the trail comes to a very large boulder with a large fissure that is the continuation of the trail up to West Ranch. Light was failing and I decided I did not want to boulder. At that point, only 50 or so feet from the top. I turned to descend.

The descent took very little time. Once emerging from the brush into the open parkland I decided I need to add some distance. I turned North along Colorow Trail and followed it until I reached the Lost Canyon trail. This is a minor but more developed trail that the Rangers use to access this part of the open space. I followed it down to the houses and following it's descent met up with the main road in the valley and headed for home.

The Stats. I covered 3.76 miles in 1:09:16. Now this is not stellar for the distance BUT the trail climbs just over 1000 feet to the point I turned at in 1.5 linear miles. My average pace was 18.26 with a total energy expenditure of 754 Cal. My BGL was a nice 110 after the fact.