Devil on the Divide 50K

Cruising along the divide early in the race.

Fall is in the air. Soon the days will be cold and dark, trails will be snowed in and we’ll be well on our way to ski season. But not quite yet. At least not before it was time to head up for the 7th running of the Devil on the Divide trail race in Empire, Colorado this past Saturday.

This was my last carryover race from last year’s cancellations, and having never run it I was pretty excited to finally check it out. Zambo ended up joining for the 22K and Anna-Lisa came up and hung out with our friend Sarah Banks who was shooting race photos near Herman Lake.

50K course map with the aid stations marked. Click to enlarge.

Overall there’s a lot to like about the Devil on the Divide. Despite the elevation gain and sustained time up high the course felt more enjoyable than difficult. Lots of time in the alpine means it’s easily up there with the most scenic races I’ve done in the state. And the general vibe around the race is pretty easygoing without a ton of rules, which is always nice.

At the start line by the Henderson Mine after a short shuttle ride from Empire.

Zambo and I got rolling with everyone else as both race distances start at 7am. His day was to end at the Herman Gulch TH, so we got to run the first half of the race together and generally kept things pretty chill.

Heading towards Jones Pass on a fine morning to be up high.

Higher up on the divide beyond Jones Pass and aid 1.

Nice views of Pettingell Peak across the way.

Another cool aspect of the course is that both distances go over the summit of thirteener “Hassell Peak”, making the course highpoint 13,215 ft. From there things takes on a new character as one big climb turns into one big descent down through Herman Gulch. I had no idea the trail from Jones Pass to Herman Lake was as well-defined as it is. Even just making a training run out of Hassell from the Herman Gulch TH would be a super simple day out.

“The Citadel” and Snoopy’s Backside Chute seen from the trail.

Running down through Herman Gulch with Zambo, who hilariously enough was adorned with the 666 bib number. Photo by Sarah Banks.

From the Herman Gulch TH I said goodbye to Zambo, grabbed some bacon from Mel Bourassa who was working aid 2, and set off up the trail for the race’s second half. From there the course climbs to 11,500 ft and traverses out across the south slopes of Bard and Parnassus.

Aspens in Watrous Gulch. It’s getting to be about that time.

Climbing up into the drainage below Parnassus’ southeast face. The trail sort of disappears through here.

Eventually after a ton of small ups, downs and sidehills, I came to the final climb up and around the east shoulder of Bard Peak to the west of Silver Plume Mountain. From there the course wraps down back below treeline and intersects with the much better defined Bard Creek Trail.

Traversing below Bard’s east face with the course descending down to the right.

Past aid 4 now, the rest of the course is just a big descent down Bard Creek back to Empire. I had skied down this drainage once before but had never been on the trail in summer.

Mine ruins along the Bard Creek Road.

I swung through the last aid station with just 4 miles to go to the finish. The end of this race really is pleasant as it’s almost entirely downhill for the final 7 miles or so. The afternoon was hot out but the trail/road is also pretty shaded until the final flat mile into town.

I hung a right just past the fish hatchery and plodded across the finish line with Anna-Lisa and Jax waiting for a time of 6:20:43 (16th place). Full results can be found here.

A Tommyknocker Blood Orange IPA hit the spot.

I liked this race a lot. It’s a great course and makes for a nice sendoff to summer. Stacey has done a really good job with it. Thank you to all the volunteers out there, to Zambo for making the first half fly by, and to Anna-Lisa for hanging around the race with me and driving me home 🙂

Cheers to fall.