New Jersey Pine Barrens

Today was certainly an interesting run.  Since I was going to a dirt track race at New Egypt in New Jersey, I decided to try to run around there.  When I was looking at the maps, I found that there was a Wildlife Management Area right by the track.  I didn't quite know what that meant, but I knew it was undeveloped and it looked like it had trails.

I assumed that the area (called Colliers Mill Wildlife Management Area) was a lot like the area that I ran farther south in New Jersey.  I was correct in that assumption.  They were both very similar.  Both are located in the Pine Barrens.  Both are a combination of dirt roads and unmarked trails, although by dirt roads it is really sand roads.  Everything in that area is made of sand.

I didn't realize how far of a drive it was, so I got there later than I had anticipated.  It was close to 4 PM when I started.  I wanted to run 15 to 20 miles, but it was so hot and humid that I wasn't even sure if I'd do more than 5 miles.  I figured I'd be thrilled if I could get to double figures.

I thought this area would be pretty remote, but I was wrong.  I saw quite a few people there.  That said, I was the only one crazy enough to run there.  Some people were walking.  I saw some horseback riders on the road as I was coming in.  I parked next to a small pond.  I figured no one would be there.  Luckily, I changed when I did because shortly after that, a whole group showed up.  They were kayaking in the pond.

I found a local group that maintains trails and their website showed a couple routes to take.  Really, they were more dirt (sand) roads than trails.  I figured that those would be safe to stick with.  When I ran the area in South Jersey, I nearly got lost with all of the crisscrossing trails.

I began by heading north.  I was relieved when I discovered early on that two of my biggest concerns weren't as bad as I thought.  First, it was definitely hot and humid, but with some shade and a breeze, it was manageable.  Second, the sand wasn't too bad to run on.  It was fairly solid in most spots.  It was really packed down on the roads.  At times, it was loose and a struggle to run through, but those sections were few and far between.

I ran up the road and it ended at a circle at the north end of the pond.  I thought there was supposed to be an office in this area, but I never did find it.  I did see a trail off of the main path.  I figured that I would take it north.  It was fairly clearly.  There was some higher brush here and there along the doubletrack, but it wasn't too bad.  It did get worse as I got farther from the road.

I was out about a mile and a half and I went over some short hills.  The trail started to get more overgrown, so I headed back and went onto a part where it had turned earlier on.  This was a good choice.  This section was more runnable than where I was heading.

This was a wildlife management area, but the first wildlife that I saw was a dead bluejay.  There wasn't much else out there, other than bugs.  They bothered me plenty.  There were trees, but the canopy wasn't very thick.  I was hoping to run through some soft pine tree sections, but there weren't a lot of those and I didn't see any clear trails when I did come across them.

I just kept running along.  At one point, I turned off and headed down another trail.  This quickly ended in what looked like a dried up lake.  I ran past a dog training area.  I guess that is where people train hunting dogs.  I was pretty sure that I was running parallel to the original trail and would be able to do a loop.  I wasn't 100% sure though.  I was slightly worried because as I got past 2 miles and near to mile 3, I was starting to get too far out to backtrack if I had to.  The heat would've really got to me at that point.

Eventually, I came out to a main road.  I'm amazed at how smooth and well maintained these sand roads were.  They must come through them with a grader or some type of equipment quite often. 

A short time later, I came to an intersection.  There was a sign pointing to the way I was coming from that said "ranger."  I figured that that meant that I if I ran to the right, I'd be looping back to my car.

I was correct, but for some time, I was concerned.  I couldn't see anything familiar (not that there was much familiar around).  The other issue is the trees were now gone from along the roadway.  I was in the blazing sun and headed uphill too.  I figured that by now I had to just try to keep going.  Eventually, I came out to the road by my car.  I was around 4 miles at that point.

I wanted to get to mile 5 before I rested.  I ran south on a stone path.  It went by a maintenance building and then along the edge of the pond.  The grass was cut in this area.  I came to a shooting range that I was glad was vacant.  I then turned around and headed back.  A woman was walking her daughter in this area.

I did some short out and back runs to finish up the first 5 miles.  It didn't feel too hot during the run, but when I stopped, I was dieing.  I dried myself as much as I could.  I ate a Clif Bar and drank some more water.  I felt slightly lightheaded, so I wanted to be cautious.  The route had be relatively flat, so I ran the whole thing.

It was already getting kind of late and I didn't want to overdo it in the heat, so by now I decided that I would run 5 more miles and get to 10 miles for the day.  That would be a solid outing in this weather, in an unfamiliar place.

This time, I figured that I would sort of do the same loop, but head in the opposite direction.  I wanted to go the other way when I got to the intersection.  I think if I could've stayed on that route long enough, I would've come to another pond.  I knew I wouldn't make it that far though.

Some guys drove by while I was running through the hot section with no shade.  They must've thought I was crazy.  By now, I was sweating a lot and soaked, but it didn't bother me.  I wasn't having chafing issues and I was very grateful for that.

I ran out the other direction for about half a mile.  I was getting hot and I was at 6.5 miles now.  I still had a tough 3.5 miles remaining.  I figured that I would head back and finish up the loop in the opposite direction as before.

As I was tiring, the footing was now becoming a little more difficult.  I thought about getting to mile 8 and then turning around and running back on the dirt road rather than the trail.  That would've put me in the sun though.  At least now I was enjoying the shade (somewhat).

I got to a turn and didn't think it was where I had to turn, so I kept going.  I was glad I did as the turn was just up ahead.  I added a little more distance.  I then was on my way back.  I was tiring and just focused on getting to mile 9 and then to mile 10.

I came off of the trail and back onto the dirt road.  I ran around a couple of the dead ends by the lake to add to my mileage.  I figured that I would be a little short of 10 miles.

I ran and couple short out and back segments around my car to finish up.  It was great be done.  This certainly wasn't the most scenic or enjoyable place I've run, but it wasn't bad.  It was easy and it was something different at least.  I've been getting tired of the same old thing.  I was also glad that I found that nice loop.  Some better weather would've been nice, but it is what it is.  If I'm in the area again, I'll definitely run there again.  I did enjoy running on my own.  Maybe I can explore more in the future.

It has been a solid last two days of running.  I wish I could've put in a few more miles, but I'll take it.  Back to back double digit mileage days is still solid.  I would like to get a longer run in of around 25 miles before my marathon and 50K.  Maybe I can do that next week.

Since I biked this morning and that was my first 10 miles of the week, I have to ride a lot tomorrow.  I'm hoping I can do 40-45 miles again to get me back on track.  I'll probably run again on Thursday.  I have no idea where at yet.

10 miles - 1:36:29 (9:39 pace)