Romero Canyon- RIDICULOUS!!!

Romero Canyon
(Romero Canyon-Buena Vista Trail)
(5.13 miles)

Duuuuuuuude.

(I can say that-- I'm from Southern California. From Santa Barbara, in fact, which is where this run is.)

So two years ago, I DNF'd at Santa Barbara 9 Trails. This race is legendary in Santa Barbara and holds a large amount of charm for me because it's on trails I hiked with my parents while I was growing up. I DNF'd because of my knee issues relating to my weak posterior, and then last year a) I broke my foot in September and b) the Tea Fire caused the race to be relocated to Ojai, which I have passing but not deep affection for. This year, the Jesusita Fire destroyed much of the Santa Barbara front country trails, and I was terrifically sad to think that I would be shut out from revenging myself on 2007's DNF yet AGAIN.

Fortunately, the RD Luis Escobar has created a new race, the Red Rock 40, that adds miles to the trails AND will be run on some of the more remote Santa Barbara back country trails. I managed to get myself entered (it's sold out already), and as I was down in SB for my father's inaugural wine bottling extravaganza (yes, he's making wine!!! and it's really good!!!), I decided to warm up the wine bottling by starting at the 1/2 way point and running along part of the trail to get myself used to it.

Now, in 2007 when my knee was an issue, I remember thinking this part of the race was very tiring, but I chalked it up to being exhausted mid-race.

Ha ha.

Ha ha ha ha ha!!!

No. The reason I remember this being tiring is because the trail is RIDICULOUS. I couldn't believe how long it took me to do 5 miles. There was absolutely no flat or rolling on this section of trail. It was either grueling up or "I-need-to-walk-this" downhill. I seriously slid (yes, even in my fabulous Wildcats!) trying to WALK down a couple of sections. I decided I needed to do every single one of my long runs going up and down Eagle Peak on Mt. Diablo. Not just running Mt. Diablo--running ONLY Eagle Peak (Or walking and then trying not to slide downhill, which is how one "runs" Eagle Peak).

Over and over in my head I kept thinking, "You're doing 40 MILES of this in November. What on earth possessed you to do that?"

Fortunately, the trail affords plenty of gorgeous views while one is gasping for air, and I suppose that will be my consolation for spending a large number of hours running Red Rock 40.

Because, dude-- this race is going to kick my slowly-gaining-strength glutes.

Ultra-date Land: Sonoma County thrills

Austin State Creek Recreation Area
(Gilliam Creek Trail-East Austin Creek Fire Road- Park Road)
(~8.o miles)

Ok, all you running peeps. I think I have figured out the best plan for an ultra-fabulous date.

You must enter the park through Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve. (They're two different parks but they use the same entrance.) Park outside in the free parking lot if you get there early enough, or you will have to park 3 miles up the road, as I did. If you start from the parking lot outside the Ranger station, you could probably get in a good 16 miles, and at least a bit of it would be running through the very, very tall redwood grove that, while smaller than the groves in Yosemite, for example, are quite stunning on their own.

I missed the free parking though, so I drove up a tiny one-lane road to the Gilliam Creek Trailhead. From there I took the Gilliam Creek trail for almost 4 miles. The trail starts out on the ridge and you get many sweeping views before the trail drops steeply down to Gilliam Creek. Once the trail hits Gilliam Creek, it has to get my vote for one of the best "secret" trails I've been on. I saw only two hikers on the trail the whole time I ran, and I can't for the life of me figure out why more people weren't on the trail, except for the significant climbing in and out of the creek's canyon. Seriously though-- the trail hops over the creek several times, keeping the trail much cooler than the ridge above.

There was even a beautifully perfect swimming hole along the trail-- I was tempted but had a barbecue that I was already going to be late for, so I kept running. For variety's sake, I decided to take the East Austin Creek Fire Road back. This led up to Bullfrog Pond Campground, and I had heard that this was a great vista spot. I was not disappointed! It was!

It should also be noted that the East Austin Creek Fire Road was hot, exposed and very steep. It is a good moment to practice hills and, in the summer, heat training. I was not sure if variety was the spice of life I should have been looking for. I should have perhaps looked for a shadier option.

Anyway, I was highly impressed with this hitherto unknown trail area. It's not a vast network of trails like Marin, but one could easily run a 20 miler without repeating any trails at all. Plus, (here's why it's an ultra-date suggestion) this is right up the road from Guerneville and the Russian River. I was rather perturbed that I had scheduled a barbecue in Sebastopol and had to hurry to avoid being late. It would be entirely possible (and indeed, suggested) to take a long run, then a long swim (with picnic supplies gathered somewhere in Guerneville) and then some wine tasting, because this is smack dab in the middle of the Russian River Valley Wine Country, which means it is FAR less touristed than the famous Sonoma County wineries.

Honestly, could you have a better day?

(No pups on this run, however...)

Getting back on the runnin' horse...

Friday: Shaver Grade/Yolanda
Saturday: Mezue Trail
Sunday: Volunteering at Pacifica

Ok peeps. I think I'm back in the saddle. It took a minute, but I'm feeling the strength build up around my knees from all the exercises/elliptical work I've been doing, and it's starting to show on my runs. This weekend in particular was a great one for running/running related activities, and I'm looking forward to the rest of July and August.

Friday morning we had a Trail Tart run of power, as I introduced Suz to one of my favorite sections of Marin--all the trails out of Phoenix Lake. Well, we didn't do ALL the trails out of Phoenix Lake-- we just did this one. It was rather a crazy run, as both of us thought we were trying to run hard to not slow the other one down, so we charged up Shaver Grade and then barreled down Yolanda. However, it was a gorgeous day for running and prepped us perfectly for a Marin Brew Co lunch.

Saturday morning was rather cold and dreary, as see in the above photograph, but I did a quick 6 on the Mezue Loop with Neko before prepping myself for a day of BBQing and salsa-- one of the best days EVER!

Sunday found me volunteering at PCTR's Pacifica run. I started the day somewhat envious of the people running-- the weather was perfect for running, and the Pacifica course is quite lovely. However, I was volunteering with some other fabulously fun runners (Leigh, Kathy, Andy and Lori), and the day was looking pretty good.

When runners started coming back complaining of stings, I quickly changed my tune, and I became quite happy that I was not running. Last year's Skyline to the Sea left me totally nonplussed by days with multiple stings. There was one runner who won the "Friendly to All Experience" award, though. (Well, he won it in my head, even if I didn't tell him.) He came in and said, "Man, that was awesome! It made the run so exciting to spend the rest of the time wondering if those wasps would be around each corner!" Talk about embracing your experience! He truly wins the award for Most Positive Runner Ever, in my book. I know now that no matter how much I try to look on the bright side, there will always be something to aim for.

The other highlight of my day was finally meeting someone who I "met" through my blog, but finally met in person! Luciano has been reading and commenting on my blog for quite some time, but I had never actually met him until yesterday! He and his wife come to California for the summers, and he brought me a gift of Nutella! I am currently trying to ration it out and not eat it all in 24 hours. So far it looks like we'll at least make it to 48, but Nutella is soooooooooo delicious!!!

Ok. Expect to hear some more running stories in the next couple of months. This blog has been sadly neglected for the past couple of months. Time to remedy the situation!

The Rodney Dangerfield Run

PCTR Mt. Diablo 8K

I am about to go into a doctoratin' frenzy, trying to finish up papers and classes by June 28th. As a result, it's likely that I won't be doing much racing for the next few weekends-- maybe not even so much long running! (Gasp!) I was not excited about this turn of events-- I haven't been at a PCTR event since I volunteered at Diablo 6 weeks ago-- I was going through withdrawal!

I had a bunch of other social events planned for the rest of the day, so I had originally written off the possibility of doing any kind of a race on Saturday, but then Sarah suggested I run the 8K. The 8K???? Who runs an 8K? (Ok, so I've run lots of 5Ks, and quite a few 10Ks, so plenty of people run both of them, but lately? Not so much...) Plus, now I hang out with people who wouldn't even bother changing into their running shoes to do an 8K-- let alone drive for 30 minutes to do one.

BUT the race was going to be on Mt. Diablo, and as we all know, I'm in love with the big devil. AND I'd heard a rumor that the t-shirt design was going to be very cool, with RED in it. I love red and really don't have enough in my running wardrobe with that color, so I signed myself up and even talked a friend into running his first trail race with me!

We got to the start early so I could see all my trail peeps (yes, that IS how I think of them!). They were all running the longer races though (25 and 50K), and when they heard I was running the 8K, I got some interesting reactions. One person asked me why I was running the 25 and not the 50, and when I said "I'm running the 8K" she said "Oh. I don't know what to say to that." I did see Cynthia just before the longer races took off, and ran into Jo Lynn in the parking lot-- here is the pink trail brigade!

It was Jo Lynn who delivered the final insult as she headed toward the start line-- "Have fun on the baby race!!!" she yelled back at me. Um, thanks. As my friend pointed out later, the 8K was the Rodney Dangerfield of trail runs-- it didn't get no respect!

The 8K at Diablo is not a super-easy 8K. It's almost 3 miles of up and then around 2.5 straight down. Given that my knees weren't totally happy from last weekend, I probably shouldn't have been running on them, but I thought oh well, it's less than 6 miles, I'll be fine. The uphill was great-- my knees were doing fine and I was having a good time not worrying about saving myself, which I usually think about while on the beginning climbs of a longer race. As you can see from this picture, even though the trail never got up to the top of Diablo, you still ran surrounded by beautiful views.

Unfortunately, my knees were complaining on the downhill and I had to slow down a few times to stretch out and walk a few feet when it was too steep, but I had a great time running hard and was very happy I managed to get out and run a quick race before jetting off to a social-event filled weekend.

I missed not seeing everyone else finish though....

An Edifying Run for Nerds...

Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve/Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve
(Skyline Gate- Skyline- Huckleberry Path- Skyline Boulevard (whoops)- Round Top- Quarry Trail- Pond Trail- Volcanic Trail- Round Top Loop- Bay Area Ridge Trail- Skyline)
(8.6 miles)

While neither Huckleberry nor Sibley have enough trails individually to warrant a run, this was an exquisite combination of trails, and includes plenty of learning opportunities for the inner nerd in you.

We started Easter morning from Redwood's Skyline Gate around 9:30, and barely got parking. If you are trying this hike on a weekend, come early or be prepared to be creative in your parking search. (Alternatively, if you wanted to do a little less mileage, it's possible to start from the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve trailhead, just up Skyline Boulevard-- far less cars will be parked there, I'm sure.)

We started out on the East Ridge Trail (take the big fire road to the left) but very quickly turned off on Skyline Trail. This leads to Huckleberry, a great little botanic wonder that I have covered here. This morning, the views were outstanding, as can be seen from this vista of Mt. Diablo.

We took the upper path through Huckleberry, planning on coming back on the lower loop on our return. This was a great plan, but it meant we accidentally missed the turn off to the Bay Area Ridge Trail, and we ended up on Skyline Boulevard for a short moment (1/4 mile?) until we reached the entrance to Sibley. Getting on to the Bay Area Ridge Trail would have added another 1/2 a mile and a very steep section of trail.

However, if we had done that, we would have missed the informational kiosk at the entrance to Sibley. Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve was, to quote the informational brochure, "a complex volcanic center that was the source, 10 million years ago, of most of the lavas that underlie the ridges from Inspiration Point in Tilden Regional Park to Moraga." Perhaps you are not as nerdy as me, but I love learning different historical facts about the trails I am running on. Plus, there was a John McPhee quote included in the park information. John McPhee is one of my favorite writers-- I was convinced, simply through the strength of his writing--that geology is a fascinating subject. I will read anything John McPhee writes.

The trails in Sibley are very flat, so do not come expecting huge elevation gain/loss. However, Sibley has a high ratio of gorgeous-views-to-miles of trail. It was possible to see the Bay on one side and Mt. Diablo on the other. Mining practices have carved out hillsides in dramatic relief, exposing layers of geologic history (nerds, get out your natural history books!). Finally, Sibley is an explosion of color at the moment-- hillsides are covered with lupine, accented with California Poppies. I highly recommend running here in the next couple of weeks. Sibley will be beautiful even with the characteristic East Bay golden-brown hills of summer, but it's stunning at the moment.

We took Round Top to Quarry, and then decided to take the tiny Pond Trail loop. By itself, the little pond is quite beguiling-- a little spot of peacefulness tucked away on the hill. As we started around the pond though, frogs started jumping off the side of the pond into the water--lots of frogs! Jen took a video to try and capture the noise the frogs made as they jumped in- it sounded like a partial duck-quack, only shorter and quieter. Dogs aren't supposed to be at the pond, and while I'm clearly a dogs-on-trail kind of person, I was happy Neko wasn't there to scare the frogs. Some of them were quite large, too.

After the thrilling frog-sighting, we took Volcanic Trail back to Round Top. Volcanic Trail winds through a huge basalt lava flow--the brochure for the self-guided tour drops names like "chalcedony" and "zeolites" in its description-- how's THAT for nerdy?

Once past Round Top, we took the Bay Area Ridge Trail back towards Huckleberry. This is a great stretch of trail as well-- it drops very steeply down off the ridge, winding through shady oak trees and lots of poison oak, crossing an unnamed creek and then climbing back up the canyon to Huckleberry.

In short, a great option for a meandering run on a Sunday morning. This run has too many beautiful corners to rush. It would also be possible to start at Joaquin Miller or another gate in Redwood to add some more mileage on, if 8.6 were feeling short.

No dogs at Huckleberry, and dogs only at parts of Sibley, so I wouldn't recommend taking the pooches on this run.

Spring has sprung!

Pine Mountain Rd-Kent Lake Loop
(Pine Mountain Rd- Oat Hill Rd- Old Vee- Alpine Kent Pump Rd- Little Carson- Unnamed trail- Oat Hill- Pine Mountain Rd)
(8.7 miles)

I almost didn't run this trail this morning. I had to be somewhere at noon, and I had a moment of thinking, "Well, you will be back at the house much faster and you'll have less of a carbon footprint (because it's the Bay Area and we think like this) if you run at Wildcat." And then I thought, naw-- I really wanted to run someplace new, so I threw the dog in the car (metaphorically speaking) and headed for Marin.

This trail starts off the side of the Bolinas-Fairfax road, but goes the opposite direction from this trail. I'd read about this area from the literarily luminescent Gambolin' Man, and I'd ran the Kent Lake portion of the trail before, but the rest was completely new. Pine Mountain Road is a well-traveled fire road, popular with bikers and hikers alike. I hit the trail around 8:45 in the morning, and apparently, this is a good hour to get started if you want to avoid the crowds. I saw exactly one other person on the Pine Mountain Rd section, with an off-leash (gasp!) dog. (Dogs are supposed to be leashed in this area, but I decided not to make a citizen's arrest. Whether I decided to unleash Neko or not is classified information.)

Anyway, Pine Mountain Road is definitely not singletrack, but it is a beautiful section of trail. The trail follows the ridge, and I could see both Mount Tamalpais and Mount Diablo when I turned around. Unfortunately, the light did not cooperate and the pictures I took of the view did not do it justice. You'll have to run this for yourself to see what I mean.

After a mile on Pine Mountain Rd, I took Oat Hill Road. I did not see any more people for the next hour and 45 minutes (yes, I was running slow today!), which for a Sunday in Marin is shocking. Oat Hill Road has plenty of other gorgeous views of the Bay and of the green hills of Marin, but the real jewel of this run (à mon avis, if you will) was Old Vee trail.

Normally, I'm pretty happy on the trails, and I challenge anyone to maintain any level of bitterness when running with an aussie/border collie mix-- but every once in a while there are trails that surprise me so much that I'm freakin' overjoyed to be me and getting to run on that particular trail at that moment. Old Vee was one of those trails. Old Vee doesn't look like Marin-- it looks like you're running in the Sierra foothills (which I desperately miss right now, I admit), and it's gently sloping fire road with a stream next to it, AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL!! So beautiful that I didn't take any pictures. Nice, Victoria. I think the other thing is that it's not a trail I've ever heard anything about, so having a little slice of Sierra-looking goodness may have seemed more fabulous than it actually was. Either way, I was loving life and trails and Marin and Neko and all things Spring down Old Vee.

From Old Vee, I hit the flat Alpine Kent Pump Road for a couple of miles, then the Little Carson trail. Because I couldn't determine from the map if the trail intersected the Carson Falls trail, I ended up turning up an unnamed trail that was so deserted I was getting rid of spider webs as I climbed. This trail was beautiful but very steep-- not so much running here. Next time I will definitely try the Carson Falls trail, because Carson Falls is supposed to be lovely, but I had a fun afternoon to get back to, so couldn't explore too much.

The unnamed trail met up with Oat Hill at the amusingly-named Bathtub Gap, where I snapped this picture of Neko and me before I realized she had a bunch of ticks on her-- the not-so-exciting part of spring with a border collie. Then it was back by way of Pine Mountain Road, but by this time, the hordes had started to swarm-- tons more people on this route by 10:30.

All in all, I was extremely glad I had gone. Next time, I'm taking Little Carson all the way up to the falls, fording the stream to get back up to the main trail if necessary. I'm pretty curious too, about taking Pine Mountain Road in a big loop that I could not find the end of on my map-- I think one could cobble together a pretty good 15-16 mile loop, but I would probably do the loop either very early or on a weekday, given the number of people on the trail by 10:30.

Overall? Lovely! Yay Spring! A nice last "mini-long" run before next weekend's (gulp) 50 miler!!

Dogs are supposed to be on leash, but there are definitely stretches of deserted trail....

A last note: the ceanothus is out right now-- big swaths of lavender-blue flowers in bloom. Don't miss it!

Getting the Worm

Bald Hill
(Nathalie Coffin Greene-Phoenix Lake- Shaver Grade- Connector- Bald Hill Trail- Yolanda- Worn Springs Rd- Return to Phoenix Lake)
(6.0 miles)

This was supposed to be a much different run. The plan was to meet at Rodeo Beach at 7:00 this morning, but unfortunately my running companion called me at 6:40 to say that her car was broken into last night and she wouldn't be heading to Marin. As I was already in Marin, I decided to hit the trails a little closer to Richmond than Rodeo Beach, and headed for Nathalie Coffin Greene-- and at 7:oo in the morning, one can actually find parking!

When I woke up early this morning, it was pouring, but an hour later, the rain had stopped and amazing light was coming through the clouds. I decided that even if I wasn't going to Rodeo Beach and all the views from there, I still wanted a view, so I would run to the top of Bald Hill, which I hadn't done in a long, long time.

My run today started like this run, but then took the left-handed Yolanda trail instead of the right, to head up toward Bald Hill. Yolanda is a beautiful trail that follows the hillside, opening up to views of the hills of Marin. As you can see, the recent rains have prompted a proliferation of green growth.

Yolanda ends at Worn Springs Road--to get to the top of Bald Hill, you turn right, up the hill. I must confess that at this point, my running wasn't always um, running-- this hill is STEEP, and for some reason I felt sluggish (like a wet sponge) today.

However, once I finally got to the top of Bald Hill, the view made it completely worth it. The light shining through the clouds made me feel like I was in an inspirational Hallmark card, and from the top of Bald Hill, I could see most of the Bay.

After snapping a few pictures, I headed down Worn Springs Road and back to Phoenix Lake. This loop was less than we had planned to do from Rodeo Beach, but I think it's definitely a worthy little loop-- some rather difficult uphill and a screaming downhill as you come down Worn Springs Road.

Once again, I was glad to have gotten up much earlier than I would have on my own. I wish the car break-in had not happened, but we're thinking about making it a regular occurrence, so there will be more mid-week Marin runs!

Also, it's possible to take dogs on this trail. They are supposed to be on leash, but there were very few people on the trail at 7:00 am, and I saw a couple of dogs (gasp!) OFF-LEASH!

From the blogosphere have I been absent in the Spring...*

*(With apologies to W. Shakespeare... and the spring, which has yet to come)

Jesusita Trail
(Stevens Park-Jesusita Trail- Inspiration Point-Tunnel Road)
(5.5 miles)

A blogging friend recently pointed out that I have been rather silent on this site as of late. He is right-- but not out of any particular reason. I've just been uber-busy the past few weeks, and then I was down in Santa Barbara this weekend, which means I have internet access but not on my own computer= no blogging. (It does, however, mean drinking wine with the parents and having tons of home-cooked meals and taking a homemade coffee cake home with me... yum.)

I did get a chance to spend some time on the trails. I am very familiar with this first trail. Growing up, Inspiration Point is one of the standard go-to trails for, oh, say, EVERYONE who hikes in Santa Barbara. I have no idea how many times I have hiked the Tunnel Road-Inspiration Point trail--less from the Jesusita side, but still quite a bit.

The Jesusita trail is also famous for being the start of the infamous 9 Trails race-- my nemesis! Seriously, this was my first and most irritating DNF. This race is 35 miles of straight up and down (tendonitis flare-up at mile 14 as a result led to the DNF). There is no flat in this race-- as there really isn't for any of the trails in Santa Barbara, come to think of it. The start of the race is no exception-- the Jesusita trail leads up and up and up... relentlessly.

The trail wanders alongside San Roque creek at first, through big oak trees overhanging the trail, but it soon leads through the meadow and then begins the climb to Inspiration Point. Eventually the trail climbs out of the oaks and into the rocky, chaparral-covered hills that characterize so much of Santa Barbara trails.

After hitting the ridge, the trail follows the fire road until Inspiration Point, then drops down steeply to cross Mission Creek and then back to Tunnel Road. I remember running this portion during 9 Trails in 2007 and enjoying the downhill, not realizing how much was still to come!

In case you were wondering, this is hard trail running. I would like to say that the whole party bounded up the hill like mountain goats, but really, the only bounding was done by the border collies. I knew I had another trail run lined up the next day, so I was hunkering under the cover of "must save legs for tomorrow," but truth be told-- this is some extremely hard trail running.

The rest of my trail companions--the brother and the pups.

DNF= Disappointing N' yet Fun...

PCTR Woodside
(17 of 35K)

You know what's really annoying? Thinking that you face one significant problem in your race, finding out that this is not a problem, feeling great about your progress in the race... and finding out a whole DIFFERENT issue is what brings you down.

I spent most of this week feeling rather crapola, and worrying that I would be too sick to run today's race. 35K felt long, and I was worried that I would die en route. I was vacillating between the 17 and 35K distances until Friday afternoon, but I started feeling much better on Friday and decided to do the 35K. I woke up this morning, saw some blue sky and was quite happy with my decision.

When I arrived at the start, there was so much good running energy (excuse the term-- remember, I'm from California and we're allowed to use phrases like "good energy"-- part of our constitution, I think) that I got happy thinking about the 35K. Mike was running the 35K as well, and I knew several people in the 50K group.

We took off in the last group-- 45 minutes after the 50K group and 15 minutes after the 10K group. I made a big effort to go out slow and steady, and I think I succeeded. I felt great up until the 1st aid station-- the first picture was taken just before the 1st aid station, and it shows the absolutely ideal running conditions of today. Running through the redwoods, cool temps (but not raining!), not too muddy despite yesterday's rain-- perfect! Until the 1st aid station, the trail leads pretty much relentlessly upward, and I kept a steady pace that felt neither too fast nor too slow. I was trying out one of the philosophies I have heard about running ultras-- think of the race as separate races between aid stations, and I was also trying to focus on my "run calm and relaxed" practice that worked so well (until the foot breakage) in Skyline to the Sea.

After the 1st aid station, the trail gently rolls up and down until the second. I had a second mental breakthrough on this section-- I started to feel tired and wanting to stop, and I could feel my thoughts turning negative, but I remembered something else that I read in a blog (or article) of wisdom about ultras-- someone said that the one piece of advice he had for newbie ultra runners was to remember that however they felt at a certain moment, it would change. It's amazing what mental comfort this gives, and I relaxed into the tiredness, had some food (key as well) and felt better within the next mile or so. Again, I was running very smoothly, and I was looking forward to the turn-around point, because I had told myself I would not let myself push it until I was done with 10 miles--and I was definitely feeling like I HAD something to push.

However, my knee had other ideas. Right about mile 9, my knee decided that it was not ok with my lack of attention to the exercises the PT told me to do last summer, and it decided to make its presence known. It shouldn't really be so much of a shock, as part of the reason my left knee has tendonitis has to do with the long-time weakness of my right leg from knee surgery 10 years ago, now compounded by being on crutches for a month in October. Have I been doing all the work to strengthen the right leg? No. Was the PT right? Yes. My knee HURT.

So I dropped at the turn-around, felt annoyed for a minute, but then came back and hung out/helped at the start/finish. It's hard to be bitter about not finishing a race when it seems like a big town-hall social hour at the finish line. People cheer others on as they come in, chat about running, upcoming races, where to go for sushi next weekend... Sarah and Wendell (RDs) are well on their way to developing not just a great race series (well, they've already done that), but a real community of runners--much harder, and in my opinion, when I think about the problems of the world, much more important and lasting.

Garin, or Why I Love The Internet

Garin/Dry Creek Regional Parks

(Meyer's Ranch- Dry Creek Trail- Old Homestead- Ridge Loop Trail)

(6.99 miles)

When I first started this blog, I had no preconceived notions about what would happen with or because of it. I just wanted to write about the trails I ran on, and give myself a kick in the seat of the pants to try new ones. To borrow from Toni Morrison, who once said, "If the book you want to read has not yet been written, you must write it yourself," I started writing because I wanted a website that would cover as many Bay Area trails as possible. Like Jane Huber's site, only with more long trails for runners. (Yes, I realize I have not been taking advantage of these long trails recently...) The blog/website I wanted to exist had not been created yet, so I decided to start on it myself. (And no, I do not have the compilation of trails yet that I want....)

At first, I thought only my best friend and a couple of other select people were reading it, not having discovered Google Analytics. Imagine my surprise when I was at the PCTR Sequoia event in July and while I was checking in, the person behind the desk said, "Hey-- aren't you Victoria from the flirty n' dirty blog?" Wow! Such celebrity! Being recognized from my blog! Suddenly I had a public!

Besides giving me the illusion of one moment of fame (kidding, people), Jo Lynn has become one of my trail running friends, and when we were running in Garin/Dry Creek Regional Parks this morning, I had a moment of thinking about how much the internet can do to create community amongst and between people.

Take today, for example. We met up at the Dry Creek Staging Area, and then ran the Meyer's Ranch Trail until just past what used to be Meyer's Ranch. Jo Lynn told me it used to be a working ranch, and you can still see old farm equipment under the trees.

This picture also shows the amazing color Garin has right now. Fall leaves still cover the ground, but because of the recent rains, green has started to fill in the dry areas, adding even more color to the trails.

Garin also has adorable little bridges--just big enough for one person to run through at a time. The bridges confused Neko, who kept trying to go around them. I have never seen bridges so narrow on local trails.

We also ran by Jordan Pond, pictured in the first photo. We finally ended up on the Ridge Loop Trail that runs along the side of the ridge with the hills spreading out to your left. Great views.

In short, Garin/Dry Creek is a lovely park whose existence I would have been completely unaware of had I not started this blog. Well, perhaps I would have looked at a map and thought, "There's Garin," but I would not have thought to make the trek to Hayward (much the way I wouldn't have ended up at Las Trampas, and we know how I feel about THAT!).

Beyond that though, without starting this blog, it's doubtful I would have met Jo Lynn and had such a good time running and chatting today, watching our dogs run around in circles with each other. I had a fabulous time today, and it never would have happened without this sooooper cool thing called the internet. Yay internet-- you are my friend. (The pups, in case anyone was wondering, were very happy to meet and play with each other like crazy dogs today.)

I felt very thankful today for this-- and for all the people I have met, whether in person or virtually, because of the internet. If I haven't let you know before, you are all great. Love you mucho.

p.s. The saccharine will stop tomorrow. Promise.

Ticked Off

Knapp's Castle(Snyder Trail- Knapp's Castle- Snyder Trail)

(6.4 miles-if the run is completed)

Knapp's Castle is a little bit of Santa Barbara County history. Built in 1916 by George Owen Knapp, legend has it was the site of many extravagant parties. When I was growing up, rumor said the mansion belonged to Charlie Chaplin, but I have since learned that he was a guest at some of the parties, not the owner. As you can see in this picture, it was an impressive place. Unfortunately, just after the property changed hands in 1940, it burned to the ground, and the ruins are what you see in these pictures and this picture, a great aerial shot. While Knapp's Castle is well-known to Santa Barbara locals (particularly the high schoolers), it's not something many tourists see, as it's a few miles outside of town off of East Camino

 Cielo Road. I had been here many times but I had never done the trail from the bottom of the valley up. As we had biked and hiked already, Jen and I needed to do some trail running. Tough little trail with a great destination at the top? Sign us up.

We started off at the Snyder trail head, near the Los Prietos Ranger Station, on Paradise Road. (Just to warn you- parking passes are supposedly required but we couldn't find anyone around to sell us a pass at the ranger station.) The trail climbs out of stands of oak trees fairly typical for the Santa Ynez Valley to dry scrub with little shelter. And it climbs. And climbs. 

The good (or not so good) thing about this trail: you can see where you are going from start to finish.

 Just to the right of Jen and Neko, the top of the valley (where we were climbing) is faintly visible. 

And yet, the silver lining for such steep trails? In back of us, the views kept getting better and better as we climbed. The Santa Ynez Valley is one of my favorite places. I am definitely a Santa Barbara "town local" (straight out of suburbia, I am), but the Santa Ynez Valley is a little bit of wildness in the backyard. It's hotter here than on the coast and trails are pretty brutal-- either straight up or straight down. Many more people know the trails on the other side of the mountains or the valley's wineries--but few come to the Santa Ynez Valley for the trails.

As we stopped to take this picture however, I looked at the dog. She was covered with ticks. Absolutely covered with them. I had forgotten the recent rains just before Thanksgiving would increase the tick appearance. Even with Frontline, an aussie's fur attracts them like a magnet. As far as I was concerned, it was not worth it to run for another few miles and pick twice the number of ticks off the dog so they didn't get in the car. Or on us. Eew. Ticks gross me out.

So we turned back and ran down to the car, but then took the road up to East Camino Cielo so we could at least see the ruins and take a bunch of pictures before heading back to Santa Barbara on Painted Cave Road (the site of yet another Santa Barbara fire's start).

I would definitely come back and do this trail again--just not after a rainstorm or perhaps not with the dog. 

Plus, then I could stop by Cold Springs Tavern for a cold one and perhaps some live music on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon...just to experience some more Santa Barbara history, of course...

Tramping (Tramps?) around Las Trampas

Las Trampas Regional Wilderness

(Elderberry- Rocky Ridge- Devil's Hole- Sycamore- Rocky Ridge)

(6.0 miles)

And lo, didst a miracle occur. A new trail was explored today!

I have sung the praises of the East Bay Regional Parks before, so I will not enumerate their virtues, except to say that I am continually amazed at the good fortune I have to live near so many miles of trails.

We were actually going to run at Garin this morning, but unfortunately La SingleTrackJunkie was sick yesterday so the two of us who remained decided to run a little closer to where my friend was staying, and thus Las Trampas became our destination.

I have a confession to make. I'm somewhat of an urban snob. I tend to avoid suburban enclaves oh, say, like the plague. I would take the grittiness of 23rd Street in Richmond over a strip-mall in Tracy any day (No offense to Tracy meant at all). I like either being in the heart of concrete and grime with tons of people and huge varieties of food to eat or out on a mountain somewhere. (Yes, I am a woman of intense extremes. Or an extremely intense woman. But that's probably a different blog posting.) What this has meant is I tend to run places that are close to cities, like Tilden, Wildcat, Redwood and, of course, all over Marin County (usually not north of San Rafael, though). Add to that the intense bitterness I feel for the 680 due to a year of commuting to San Jose twice a week, and poor Las Trampas didn't have much chance to make it on the radar.

Today, I humbly apologize to you, Las Trampas, for my short-sightedness. You are a worthy park, and indeed, your views are better than the much-trafficked Tilden. Plus, you have some behind-kicking trails.

We started out at the Staging Area, and took Elderberry trail (wide fire road) up, up, and more up until we were on top of Rocky Ridge. From the map, it looks like there is about 1,000 feet of climbing in less than 2 miles. Rather steep. The trail winds up through some oak groves and then climbs up open hills to reach the top of the ridge.

The view from the top of the ridge is well-worth the climb. We could see Diablo (as evidenced by the first picture), but views also stretched all the way to San Francisco and I think we also saw Mt. Tam peeking through the clouds.

Our original plan was to continue along the ridge, but we were intrigued by the "Devil's Hole" trail and so decided to make a detour. While this detour was a mere 2.5 extra miles, we dropped over 800 feet in 1.3 miles and then had to climb all the way back up. Steep, steep trails. Presumably at the bottom of "Devil's Hole," we met up with the single-track Sycamore trail and climbed, through Santa Barbara-esque scrub back to Rocky Ridge. This trail was what I would call rather technical. For such a low-profile park, Las Trampas has some intense running opportunities. Those who are trying to improve their downhill technique (or uphill strength!) should come straight here.

Once back on the ridge, we continued on the loop back to the parking lot, stopping only to observe this group of turkey vultures taking care of a dead calf. While I am sorry the calf had such a short life, I think turkey vultures are the coolest creatures ever. What a brilliant balance, that a being would exist who finds rotting flesh a delicacy. It makes me feel like I should go home and recycle more--the turkey vultures are out there, decreasing the waste matter--guess I better do a better job of attempting to keep up...

In short, Las Trampas= worth visiting. Perhaps not every weekend, but absolutely worth the time, and a guaranteed hill workout. Looking at the map, I would guess one could cobble together a good 12-14 mile loop, and maybe an extra 5 if you wanted to do an out-and-back along Las Trampas Ridge trail, so there is some mileage to be had as well. As Las Trampas is an EBRP, you can bring the pups and have them off-leash. (side note: the little dog in the above picture is my friend's new dog and she went running off-leash for her first time EVER today! Very, very happy dogs.) Additionally, since it's an EBRP, cows are a part of the landscape, but apparently the cows at Las Trampas are more mellow than the cows at Wildcat or Briones (or, from what I've heard, Mission Peak) and one actually moved AWAY from us.

Next posting: not running, but about my extreme productivity this weekend!

Point Isabel

Point Isabel Regional Shoreline

(2 miles?)

Well, this is not technically a "trail" per se, and it's not the place to get your long run on, but it's been a long time since I reviewed any trail in here, and Point Isabel is such an old favorite, it deserves mention here.

Point Isabel is, to put it bluntly, dog mecca. If you don't like dogs, this is definitely not the place for you-- but if you are a dog owner and you have not yet visited Point Isabel-- throw Fido in the car and head over posthaste!

My first suggestion with Point Isabel is to head there early in the morning on weekends. By 10:00 a.m., the parking lot is packed. I went this morning, so it was fairly quiet. After picking up a coffee and pastry at the Sit and Stay Café (I kid you not-- this is the name, and you can get soup or sandwiches as well as your morning latté), Neko and I wandered along the path that borders the bay and has this absolutely stunning view of the city and the Golden Gate bridge. 

From there, we walked a little way up the path that follows the slough-- a major favorite for all the water dogs when the tide is in. (And a major favorite for Neko when the tide is out and she

 can get covered in mud...)

I didn't go much further than the paved path (trying not to overdo the foot!), but there is another section just on the other side of the slough where dogs and their owners have worn paths in the dirt--this is a great section to walk along as well, but be forewarned: in the winter, when it's muddy, this is a guaranteed dirty-dog area!

Fortunately, Point Isabel has a hose available for cleaning off your dog, AND they have a store/dog grooming facility on the other side of the café called "Mudpuppy's"-- you can pay a small amount to use their basins and soap to clean your own pup, or you can pay a little more to have them wash your dog.

If you are hankering to create a run from Point Isabel, the Bay Trail passes along the edge of Point Isabel, and leads all the way to the Richmond Marina. This is a beautiful stretch of trail as well-- and not super-well known. The trail follows the edge of the Bay, so every step has a sweeping, postcard-worthy, three-bridge view of San Francisco and the Bay. I don't run this trail too much simply because it's asphalt and I would have to put Neko back on a leash, but it's possible to create an 8 miler from Point Isabel to the Richmond Marina and back.

This is one of my favorite "Bay Area local" spots, and an absolute MUST for dog-lovers!

Pt. Reyes Magnificence

Tomales Point

(Pierce Point-Tomales Point trail)

(9.88 miles)

So if my previous Marin run cast aspersions on the general smugness Californians can have about their running conditions, this run put all those doubts to rest. This run was an advertisement for the Bay Area and its running trails. 

Embarrassingly, I have lived in the Bay Area for fourteen years, and I have never been to Pt. Reyes. Pt Reyes is actually an old piece of the Sierra Nevadas that, due to seismic drift, ended up 350 miles away. (I find this really amazing--how is it possible to move pieces of earth so far?) The peninsula that makes up Pt. Reyes is separated from the rest of the coast by the San Andreas fault-- one of our state's biggest movers and shakers. 

One important caution about Pt. Reyes: this is a very, very popular place to hike. We got started early in anticipation of possible crowds, and I'm glad we did. The parking lot at the Visitor's Center was already hopping when we took a pit-stop before heading out to Pierce Point, the trailhead for Tomales Point. Most Pt. Reyes hikers stay in the area around the Visitor's Center, and while I would love to go back (starting EARLY in the morning) and explore this area, Jen pushed for the more remote (yet still popular later on) Tomales Point trail. 

Pierce Point trailhead starts at an old dairy farm. The National Park Service has conserved the buildings and provided informational signage--we educated ourselves a bit before starting off towards Tomales Point.

Apparently, the trails near the Visitor's Center are much more wooded and sheltered--Tomales Point has very few trees, making for an exposed trail that provides stunning views every way you turn.  While this area can be foggy and cold, the weather for our run yesterday was just about perfect. Not a cloud in the sky (as you can see), and enough breeze to keep us nice and cool on our run. 

This is a pretty mellow trail-- not a lot of up and down. The one thing I found completely irritating was the last mile or so of the trail out to the point was on sand. I do not like running on sand. I feel like I'm expending a ton of effort to go a very short distance. However, that's not so much to complain about on such a brilliant run, because once we got to Tomales Point, the views all around were incredible. Two hikers told us they had just seen a seal eating an octopus, and the mouth of Tomales Bay, due to its warmer water temperature, is a major breeding ground for Great White Sharks. It's possible (although we didn't see any) to spot Great Whites from the point. 

The other wonderful part about this trail is that it runs through Tule elk habitat. The Tule elk used to be plentiful in California, but were almost rendered extinct until biologists took note and started trying to stop their demise. A few Tule elk (8 cows and two bulls) were restored to Point Reyes in 1978--today their herd numbers more than 400, and they are considered one of the environmental success stories of California. It is possible to run on this trail and not see a single elk, but we were fortunate enough to see the herd yesterday.

Most of the elk stayed together--we saw one all male group and another mostly female, with some young bucks. As we were getting near the trailhead, we saw this lone young buck. His antlers are still in the "velvet" stage-- meaning they have not lost the furry covering that will become exposed in time for mating season. The elk were calm and not overly afraid of humans, but they would also move away, which I attribute to a strong docent presence on the island, constantly reminding visitors to leave the elk alone. 

Overall, a run not to be missed. It's definitely a drive to the trailhead (probably 30 minutes or more from the Visitor's Center), but well-worth the effort on days like today. As Pt. Reyes is a national park, no dogs allowed except for the Bolinas Ridge trail leading out of the Visitor's Center. 

Plus, at the end of the run, you can head down to McClure's beach (short trail from Pierce Point trailhead as well) to soak your dirty tootsies in the chilly surf, then head back on the main road, stopping by Priscilla's Cafe for a much-appreciated sandwich and an IPA. Not that I know anyone who's done that lately...