Run Loop from NCAR

For Saturday, we'll start from the NCAR Mesa Laboratory parking lot at 8:00a and do a clockwise loop that will include Bear Canyon, Green Bear, Green Mountain West Ridge, Long Canyon, Gregory Canyon, Bluebell Baird, Flatirons Loop, and Mesa Trail.

We will plan to skip a Green Mountain summit, unless someone can't resist. The total distance will be about 13.4 miles, with roughly 2,800 ft of gain, at around 4 hours.

Dogs are not allowed on Long Canyon, so your alternate route options will be to head down Ranger and meet us at the base of Long Canyon or run the side of the road between the start of Long Canyon and Realization Point.

Shorter options will include cutting through on some inner loop trails where possible, for example, you can take Ranger to the base of Long Canyon, which will cut out the West Ridge and Long Canyon sections, or, you could cut over on EM Greenman and head down on Saddlerock or the 1st / 2nd Flatiron trail to skip Gregory.

The longer option could be to include Flagstaff then cut back over to Gregory Canyon trailhead (or start from your house and run to the trailhead - Ryan, looking at you :-)

It's looking like it may be a cold start, so make sure to dress appropriately. I recommend layers and zippers, so you can vent on the way up, and then zip up on the way down when you are using less energy. It could warm up by mid-day, so venting at that point will be helpful as well.

It's going to be a great year... Let's start 2025 strong!!

Scott Miller
(303) 885-9826
[TrailAmbitions.com](https://www.trailambitions.com/)
Running Tips and Guidance: [YouTube.com/@TrailAmbitions](https://www.youtube.com/@TrailAmbitions)