ubaye trail

Today we started in Barcelonnette to run the Salomon Ubaye Trail race route. Following the course route made our day's planning easy, borrow the gpx tracks from the event, and signposts also along the way. The first five kilometers were flat along a river trail before beginning the runnable 1000m climb on soft pine covered trail.

  

As we exited the forest after the main climb, we couldn't resist a break to enjoy the view, the sunshine, and relax with a snack and some goofing off. I'm happy to have my partner back today in better health.

Then, back to the trail before resting again with a great view...we didn't want to make the descent too soon, and this is vacation after all.

We ran through snow, along empty trails, and some interesting changes in the landscape before a quick drop back town to town.

Cheers to another great day on the trails (24km, 1100m+), better health,  and a local treat.

tête de cuguret, 2912m

Today we started out for a nice high summit above the cabin, Tête de Cuguret, 2912M. Derek was still sick, but survived 800m climb before accepting it. I left him beside the ruins of a fortress so he could rest while I continued upward. 

And up I went. A quick climb at first, a long spine, and finally an exposed high scramble. An occasional wind gust blew the loose stones sideways off the mountain and dropped them to the abyss below. I felt alone and far away, 1000m above the next nearest person. My mind couldn't help but think that if I slipped...not because it was terribly technical, but just because there was no one nearby. It was strange and exciting to be so high all by myself. After enjoying the panorama and snapping lots of pictures, I was excited to start down and rejoin Derek.     

It was a quick trip down after I reached the spine, and soon I could see a small read dot, just where I left him. He had slept the three hours that I was gone, and was just starting to wonder when I was coming back. We sat a while in the grass, and shared our stories from the past few hours- him snoring on the side of a mountain and my feeling of isolation, accomplishment, and relief when I found him again. We still had a a descent run ahead of us to get back to the cabin, and I was finishing a steep 20km day with over 1800m+. Time for a cold treat on the patio before dinner and planning the next adventure.