Tuesday, October 4th, 2022
Start/End: Ira Springs trailhead
Miles: 6.62
Elevation gain/loss: 2890′
I started from the trailhead just shy of 2pm. My legs were exhausted, and I decided to aim for a more moderate pace. The first few miles were very smooth and I was able to make very good time. The last mile or so to the summit was steep and rocky, so I was slowed down a little bit. At the summit, I checked the GPS track to be sure I’d gone to the top of the track, and then headed back down. I took time to take some pictures and then began running as soon as the terrain allowed. A few hikers descending wouldn’t move out of my way despite repeated ‘on your left please!’, and they weren’t happy about me going around them. But we’re all sharing the trail and enjoying it for different purposes. I made it back to the trailhead 2 hours 14 minutes and 52 seconds after I left, only 2 minutes shy of the fastest posted ascent (with descent time included). I entered this for the nonbinary fastest known time for car-to-car on Bandera!
