Boulder Trail Running Breakfast Club

Run to Lawn Lake and the Saddle in RMNP

Sat, Aug 22 · 6:30 AM MDT

Lawn Lake Trailhead, Estes Park, CO, US

For Saturday we will be heading to the Lawn Lake trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).

ROUTE
Our run will take us up the Lawn Lake trail to Lawn Lake and then on up to the saddle below Hagues Peak. On the return, those interested can take a short detour up to the Crystal Lakes. Total distance is 17.5 miles with 4000 ft of gain (est. 5+ hours), including Crystal Lakes. For anyone looking to go on a shorter run you can turn around at Lawn Lake (12.3 Miles RT), or skip the Crystal Lake side trip (16.4 Miles RT).

Views at the lake and from the saddle are excellent. The trail is runnable and not too steep.

CARPOOL/DIRECTIONS
This run starts inside RMNP. Permits are not needed for this trailhead as long as we are in the park before 9:00 AM. We'll plan to enter the park via the Fall River Entrance on Hwy 34. However, we will need people with Park passes to avoid paying the entrance fee. I request that anyone with a park pass going on the run let the group know in the comments. We will want to coordinate carpooling to include one person per car with a pass as well as minimize the total number of cars, if possible.

Also, the parking lot at Lawn Lake trailhead tends to fill up early. There is additional parking at both the horse trailer lot and where the road turns to one-way. The fewer cars we bring the better.

• North Foothills Trailhead (map) at 6:30am – At the intersection of Broadway and Hwy 36, head north on 36 a few hundred feet. Turn right onto the dirt road. Trailhead is a little ways down on your left.
• Moxie Bread Co in Lyons (map) at 6:50am - 442 High Street, Lyons, CO

Additionally, if getting to one of these carpool spots is inconvenient, you can meet at the Lawn Lake trailhead at roughly 7:30am.

CONSIDERATIONS
Unfortunately no dogs in RMNP.

WEATHER
Temps will be in the 50s at the start and climb slowly to the mid 70s, so perfect weather for the runnable sections. Afternoon storms are expected so we'll keep an eye out as we head up, but we should have enough time to get to the saddle and down safely.

BREAKFAST (READ ACTION REQUIRED)
We'll have breakfast at the trailhead. Please use this Breakfast Sign-Up to indicate what you intend to bring for breakfast as well as where you intend to meet us.
Note: Use the form for entry, the Google Sheet you can review is read-only.

Erich
682.330.4488
TrailAmbitions
Running Tips and Guidance: YouTube@TrailAmbitions

Pawnee-Buchanan Pass Loop

Sat, Aug 29 · 5:00 AM MDT

Long Lake Trailhead, Brainard Lake, Nederland, CO, US

PLEASE READ. ACTION REQUIRED BY AUGUST 14TH.

This run requires an entrance reservation into Brainard Lake Recreational Area. We can carpool, so we only need one vehicle for every 4-5 people or so. The reservations for August 29th open up on August 14th at 8:00a MDT. For those of you interested in attending, and have a car, please try to get a reservation. Here are the details...

• Recreation.gov
• Long Lake Trailhead - Day Use Parking
• Date: 8/29/2026
• Timeslot: 5:00am - 8:00am
• Tickets will be made available on August 14, 2026 at 08:00 am MDT.
• 1-Day Personal Vehicle: $16.00 ($2 w/ state parks pass)

Note: If you can't get one for Long Lake Trailhead, try Mitchell Lake Trailhead or any of the other parking lots in the park.

As soon as you get a reservation, please add a comment below.

ROUTE
We will be running the famous (or infamous, depending on your perspective) Pawnee-Buchanan loop, also known as the unofficial Indian Peaks Marathon. It is a 27.5 mile loop that takes you over Buchanan pass to the other side of the Continental Divide and then back over Pawnee pass on the return. It is truly an amazing run.
With that said it is very difficult. Besides the 27.5 miles, it also includes over 7000 ft of gain from 2 passes and a climb half way up Mt Audubon. It will take us around 10 hours to complete.

PREPARATION / WARNING
I encourage anybody who wants to do this run to join; however, you must be prepared. Please do not underestimate the effort it will take. You need to carry enough food and electrolytes for at least 10 hours. There will be plenty of water along the way please bring a water filter if you have one; we'll need to make sure we have several purification devices in the event there is a failure. On the return we will need to go over Pawnee pass, which is well above tree-line. We will be doing this in the late afternoon, so if there is weather, we may need to wait it out. If weather conditions turn wet and cold we need to be prepared with extra clothing (e.g. rain shell, gloves, etc.). If a delay becomes lengthy we need to be prepared to descend Pawnee pass in the dark, so bring a head light. If you have an extra to lend please bring in case someone forgets theirs. We'll be monitoring the weather forecast as we get closer.

ALTERNATIVE ROUTES
The shorter option is to start with the group and continues up Mt. Audubon, which is 13,223 ft. This route is less than 10 mile out/back. We'll split half way up at the Beaver Lake Trail. Mt. Audubon can be very windy and cold, so it is also advised to be prepared for various weather conditions. Alternatively, you could head towards or up Pawnee for an out/back. Please add a comment if you are interested in one of the shorter options to encourage others to join you.

CARPOOL
The carpool options are as follows:

• The North Foothills Trailhead at 5:00a – At the intersection of Broadway and Hwy 36, head north on 36 a few hundred feet. Turn right onto the dirt road. Trailhead is a little ways down on your left.

Anyone not meeting at the above carpool spot, please meet at the winter parking lot outside the Brainard Recreational Area fee station. From there we'll enter the park together. You can expect the group to be there at 5:45a. If you will not be meeting us at the carpool spots, please let us know in the comments.

If you have a pass please bring it; otherwise bring a few dollars to pitch in for the car entrance fee.

CONSIDERATIONS
Please no dogs on this run.

Regarding food afterwards, we may want to have a super late breakfast; however, we probably will be too tired. We can discuss in the comments what we'd like to do, based on who plans to attend.

Lastly, if we aren't able to get reservations or enough reservations, we can consider parking at the Winter (Gateway) Lot and running/biking in, although this will add 4 miles roundtrip.

SIGNUP
Signup to attend the event asap, you will be waitlisted. As we collect entrance passes we will let passholders and passengers in as there is room. Please comment as soon as you get a pass.

Really looking forward and excited for our big epic run of the year!!

Nathan & Erich
805.889.7697

Crested Butte Ultra

Sat, Sep 26 · 6:00 AM MDT

Crested Butte Community School, 818 Red Lady Avenue, Crested Butte, CO, US

Several group members are planning to participate in the Crested Butte Ultra event this year in Crested Butte, CO. The event includes 35K, 55K, and 50 Mile distances.

Website: Crested Butte Ultra

If you are one of those people, please RSVP and add a comment indicating the distance you have chosen.

If you are not planning to run, but will be traveling to Crested Butte to support our runners, feel free to RSVP as well and add a comment with your plans.