View Benchmark peak with Jun and Dorsimus: We decided to mix things up a bit and do VB starting at the Red Rock trailhead. The trail was pretty sloppy as we made our way up Potato Hill. Mud, slush and ice. It made the climb a lot harder than normal. Jun kind of pulled away and Dors and I stayed together. I was trying to stay on the crusty snow as much as possible because where there wasn't snow there was mud. Once we reached the VB trail the wind really picked up and we mostly stayed together, although Jun pulled away again. There was some post-holing to deal with, but I tried to push it where I could. It was windy on top and we didn't stay long. The run down was a lot better and we decided to take Ann's trail all the way down to avoid the slop. With about 2 miles to go I started feeling pretty tired. I struggled with energy most of the run. Maybe it was not bringing any water. I'm not sure, but I wasn't feeling great. Dors on the other hand pushed a very strong pace and went out of site meeting us back at the cars. Back at the Ann's trailhead we took the road back to our cars and Jun really put some distance on me as well. They both finished well before I did. It was a much tougher day for me than the mileage would indicate.
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