I started at the Dunnefield Creek area. It was somewhat fun at the start. However, it was super hot. I was struggling with my breathing. This is a nice section of trail. It climbs gradually along a ridge. It goes up and up and up, but does so over several miles.I managed to make it about a mile out and almost 500 elevation gain before it became too much. I had to hike at that point. The trail levels out every now and then, but it doesn't last long. I had to hike some of the rocky sections.
It was a mix of hiking and running. It did seem like I did a lot more running. I actually climbed a few times and then walked the flats to recover.
Last week, it was rainy and almost no one was on the AT. Today, it was busy. A lot of people hike to Sunfish Pond. I passed plenty of them. One of them had two dogs, which I didn't think were allowed. I startled some hikers too.
The first two miles were the steepest. Mile 1 was a 10:36 and mile 2 was an 11:48. I continued to climb and climb and climb. Mile 3 was a 12:28. Near the top of the climb it is super rocky. Some of them were flat and I flew through that section. Then, it got even more ridiculous and I almost had to walk. However, I was going uphill, so I ran slowly over these rocks. They really hurt my feet.
Near mile 4, I was finally to Sunfish Pond. I took a photo and continued on. The plan was to loop around. I took the Sunfish Pond Fire Road. My feet hurt, so I hiked some more here.
It was kind of flat though by this point. Therefore, I began to run again. This road was supposed to go past Sunfish Pond and then turn into the Mt. Tammany Fire Road. After mile 5, I came to a reservoir. I thought that was quite odd. Mile 4 was a 10:38 and mile 5 was a 10:00.
The fire road went uphill. Then, it was blocked by a fence around the reservoir. I tried to walk around that, but not knowing how far it was, I headed back. I would've turned around earlier in this muddy section, if I knew the trail would end. I headed back at 5.5 miles.I got to another trail and it was rocky and began to drop. I thought it connected to the Mt. Tammany Fire Road and I was correct. However, I didn't want to go down and back up. It doesn't go down too much, so next time, I'll take it.
I couldn't believe how much I was hurting. My feet and quads were sore and my back was surprisingly sore too. After Sunfish Pond, it was mostly downhill. Mile 6 was a 10:09 and mile 7 was a 10:12.
I cruised downhill. The very rocky part was tough and kind of slow. I was happy to not fall. Mile 8 was a 10:00. I passed a few more people going downhill. Some of them were the same people I passed on the way up.
The run got faster as I got farther along. It was smoother, although steeper. Mile 9 was an 11:34. The rocks had slowed me a bit in this part. It was good to be nearing the end.Mile 10 was a 10:39. This worked out perfectly because I came to mile 11 right in the parking lot. That mile was under 11 minutes too. I was hot in the early going of this run, but felt better from that standpoint as the run went along.
I enjoyed the run so much. It was very challenging and taxing, but also very runnable. I'll be back there again and again and again. The fall colors just added to the awesome run. I'm still amazed at how much it beat me up. It was over 1600 feet of elevation gain. This might be my new favorite place to run.
I don't know where I'm running next. I think I might run tomorrow, but I also may ride my bike instead. I need a good balance.
10.99 miles - 1:58:42 (10:48)
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