On September 28, I ran the Three Ts with Dave and Matt. I did it again, solo, on November 16. Those two runs were similar, cold but no snow. Marshall and I ran the same route again on December 21, and it was a completely different course, almost entirely covered in snow.
We reached the snow a mile or two up Ice House Canyon. We put on our micro spikes there, and kept them on until we reached the Notch five hours later.
We lost the trail almost immediately after leaving the saddle at about mile 4.5, reaching Timber by way of our own private route. From there on, we kept losing the trail under the snow, and we did almost no running until we reached Thunder and headed down the fire road. At times, our feet fell through the snow up to our knees.
At one point, before Telegraph, we ended up climbing directly up the side of the mountain on all fours. It was noon, we were at least 3.5 hours into the run, and we were only about half way done. I have to admit that I was a bit scared. But, we found the trail again at the ridge line (and we were never truly lost).
The rickety old ski lift was running when we reached Thunder, and skiers passed us as we ran down the fire road back to the Notch.
In all, we spent 6.5 hours tramping through the snow on a beautiful day. Exhausting, to say the least, but worth it.
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