2009 03 29 a rest day spent exploring

Susan Donnelly Ultramarathon Trail Runner. Motivational Speaker. http://www.susanruns100s.com

A Rest Day, Spent Exploring Date : March 29, 2009

Thank goodness we had a weekend off. From racing, that is.

It was a much-needed break to re-organize and take care of household stuff (cats got their shots), plus spend a day exploring potential trail for the 50k.

The exploratory run on Saturday turned out to be a surprise. It had rained for the previous two days so driving around on dirt roads was going to be an adventure, as is. Unfortunately, my Subaru wasn’t ready to pick up from the shop so we drove Rob’s sports car with one inch of ground clearance instead. Great car, but not as trail-worthy as we would have liked.

The plan was to drive most of the way up this dirt road, run a half mile or so to the trail and return, then go around the bend and check out a few more connecting options farther down the trail. All in one day.

We arrived at the first dirt road a little later than planned and didn’t make it far before encountering a water crossing that would have washed Rob’s car downstream. We parked nearby, loaded up the gear (thunderstorms were predicted) and headed out on foot with GPS, camera, etc.

Couldn’t be that bad, could it? Up a nice dirt road. We heard hunters working on their turkey calls (I was soooo disappointed) and ran by a couple who had driven down this mucky road to let their little girls ride their streamer-decorated pink bikes in the mud. Sooner than planned, there was the first fork in the road and it was staked out by a wide-spread encampment full of camouflage-attired guys. We kept our distance and quickly chose to bear left.

1/5

About a mile later, uphill when we should have been low, we decided it was wrong. This was unfriendly territory. We got glared down by a rat snake and saw the chilling remains of a Singer (now Stinger?) vacuum cleaner.

2/5

Back at the fork again, we took the correct turn and walked down to the water. Yikes. It was about 25 yards across a fast-flowing creek to the road on the other side. The Subaru couldn’t have crossed this anyway. The camouflage guys were already lined smirking up in lawn chairs under one of several tarps strung next to their camper, and we were clearly their bonus entertainment for the afternoon. After a few required pleasantries, Rob and I started across.

Thankfully, it was only about knee high and not as cold as the recent waist-high crossing at 3 Days of Syllamo. We made it just fine, no falling in, only to immediately encounter another fork in the road. This time, we opted to stay low near the water.

It was the right course, but not close to what I’d envisioned.

3/5

Five more ridiculously wide crossings, two sections where the road has been overtaken by the creek, and many more debated intersections later, we actually managed to find our way along the intended road all the way the trail. Technically, that made it a success but it took us a sad 5 hours to cover 8 miles round-trip. We didn’t have time to run the other connections, as planned.

4/5

On the bright side, the road was surprisingly scenic. It stuck near the admittedly pretty creek the whole way and ran past hemlocks, plenty of wildflowers, and rhododendrons. We spotted an owl and there was even an acceptable amount of rocks along the way.

On the way back, we stopped and talked with the Camo Clan. They confirmed a few road details we guessed but weren’t sure about and seemed well-informed about the trail.

Thankfully, they said the water level was extremely unusual and it’s typically much lower. I’m hoping they’re right and that it would be very low in October.

The water was certainly a surprise but the main surprise of the day was that this option, the least desirable on paper, may turn out to be the best on foot. Our shoes aren’t dry yet, but the day was a real success.

5/5 Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)