granite tors trail

I'll start writing about climate change soon, but here's one more trip report, or maybe two . . .
I wanted to do this one for a while. If you drive out Chena Hot Springs road most the way to the springs, there's a trail that runs 15 miles up a ridge and among the tors, which are big chunks of granite that were formed 60 to 80 million years ago when molten rock came up from below but cooled before hitting the surface, according to my guide book. When softer stuff eroded around the granite, the tors were left above the surface. Some are the size of a pickup. Others are hundreds of feet high.
I ran the route on a day that spit rain, shone sun, and did everything in between. Low clouds and somewhat cool air made the whole thing quite dramatic, as did bright pink fireweed sprouting in burnt-out, charred black spruce. (Hint to prospective visitors: the fireweed in June and July is amazing.) The spring that was supposed to "bubble out sweet and cold" was nothing more than a puddle, so I ate tart blueberries to wet my mouth. There were a few hikers, and a group climbing one of the tors with ropes and harnesses, but mostly it was me and the wet fireweed, roots, rocks, and soft, wet tundra.