(2022-02-06, 03:10 PM)Candace66 Wrote: IIRC, they hang plenty of signs around the area (including the dirt roads and trails that are involved) with the race dates, I'm surprised you didn't see any.
The race outbound goes over the Hope/Quail pass and down Sheep Gulch, but then turns west not too far from the bottom and heads over to Winfield, following the CDT I believe. I came up to it from the direct trail up Sheep Gulch. The trailhead is just a bit west of the Missouri Gulch TH (Missouri, Belford, Oxford), which was packed as I drove by even quite early. I thought I'd been clever when I pulled into a totally empty, but decent sized, parking area. There was nothing at all posted about the race, even though anyone going up that trail would be on the race route in .25 miles. At that junction, there was some sort of marking but no signage either, and the rest of the trail up Sheep Gulch had no tape either (it didn't need it; the trail is quite obvious with no branches).
At the time I was a bit miffed that the race had not posted anything at that TH, as clearly race-related people would have driven in to Winfield, the turnaround point just a bit further up the road, but when I started up it was probably at least 3 hours before any runners would have made it over there. I'm the kind of person who always checks signs on trails and roads in case it is wise to change plans.
Quail was nice though, peaceful after having been on busy Yale the day before, and I took my time chilling at the top. I had been thinking of going up Hope as well, but with the race traffic coming in I just chilled on the summit for a while, probably even got a nap in. Nice views from both peaks! When I get back to the area, I'd go back to Hope, and probably Missouri as well.
