A couple of days ago, Kendall and I were winding our way back home through the northeast corner of Boulder. As the car turned a corner I realized we were near the north trailhead for the Teller Farms trail - which my Satboys running buddies and I had run darned near a kabillion times in our heyday of running. I asked Kendall if he would mind letting me out of the car so I could hop on the trail while he ran errands then come back to pick me up at the south end in an hour or so. Kendall, being the fine fellow he is, said sure.
This was a much needed run. The senior statesman of the Satboys passed away this week. Patrick was wickedly funny, full of stories, had an opinion on most everything and loved sharing those opinions. A mighty fine running buddy indeed. I had not been on the northern stretch of the trail since the 2013 flood had washed out a chunk of the trail and a rather necessary bridge. This day's run would very much be a run down memory lane.
The highest point of the trail offers stunning views. In fact, the moment I crested this hill during a run in the late 1990s with the Satboys and feasted my eyes upon the magnificent Continental Divide with hot air balloons drifting along above the flatirons I came to the realization that I would be turning down the offer I had just received for a job in New York City. On this 2021 summer day's version of the run, the western view was shrouded in smoke and haze...a rather fitting loss of brightness given my mood.
Continuing my run, I noticed a few changes.
A bench had been added near the top! I wondered how fast each of the Satboys would sprint to get first dibs at the bench given the strenuousness of the climb they had just completed - and never failed to whine about (after racing each other to the top).
And a microwave/cell phone/communications/whatever tower now stands above the water tower that had always marked our high point - with a fence all the way around both of the towers. This would have posed a serious dilemma for the male members of the Satboys (i.e., usually all but me) who had what one might refer to as a ritual of taking a bit of a pee break behind the water tower. Not only is there a fence guarding the area, hawks were also keeping a close eye on the activity below them.
The temperature marked a distinct difference for this day's run. Teller had earned a reputation as our coldest running venue. In fact, it was Schaef, the leader of the Satboys, who introduced me to the term "carmometer" when he described how he watched the temperature dropping as he drove from Boulder to Teller. We had many a Satboys run at Teller with zero degrees in the air - but never a run with 92 degrees like I was currently sweating through.
Continuing south, the familiarity of the trail began to wrap itself around me - lots of hills (maybe longer?), lots of single track ruts (maybe deeper?), prairie flora,
It was good to be back on an old familiar trail - but the laughter, trash talk, and camaraderie of the Satboys was sorely missed. I was lucky to be brought into the gang - and very lucky to have been the beneficiary of Patrick's friendship.
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| Satboys and families - a pre-Boston gathering at the trailhead |
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| Satboys AndyE, me, Patrick & Joe after my 60k 60th bday run |
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