Less than a month ago, I went to Ramapo Mountain in New Jersey. That is a little closer, but the same general area. Ringwood is home to the Mountain Madness 50K. I was told it is a very tough race, so I was expecting a challenging run.It was quite warm, so I worn a light weight long sleeve shirt and shorts. That worked out great and I was even sweating. It did get slightly chilly toward the end when rain began to fall. I also had some issue with nipple chafing. Other than that, things worked out well.
I looked at a map briefly before leaving and was hoping to find one at the park, but I had no luck with that. I parked at Shepard Lake and found the red trail that I had been looking for. I began heading down it.
The beginning mile was super tricky. It was incredibly rocky and a leaf covered singletrack. There wasn't much underbrush, so following the actual trail was tough. It was marked pretty well, but the paths were hard to see.
This early part went along a creek and crossed it several times. The windiness of the trail combined with the rocks made it a very slow go. I almost considered trying another route. There was some elevation change, but most of it was downhill for me at this point.
After a mile, the trail crossed a road. Shortly after that, it went over to a pedestrian bridge that was closed. It was one that I had read about, but wasn't worried about, since I wasn't planning on going that way. Of course, I didn't realize this until later.
I crossed back over the road and went to the nearby white blazed trail. This was much more open, smoother and faster. I was cruising now. I then went on to the yellow blazed trail and that was more of the same as well. It was nice to be moving. I still had to watch and make sure I didn't lose the blazes. There were a lot of connector trails.
My plan was to go out 3.5 miles and turn around. At about 2.25 miles though, things weren't going well. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom, so I walked for a bit. It then calmed down and I was back on my way.
The yellow trail was a fun singletrack and not too challenging. I was wondering where all the hard running was at. I had some elevation change, but not too much. This was even easier than Ramapo Mountain.There was one section where the trail goes under these bushes like a tunnel. This must be very impressive when there are leaves on them. I had crossed a pipeline and a road too. At 3.5 miles, I turned around and headed back.
I heard some noise off to the side. I looked over and a bunch of wild turkeys were running. There must've been somewhere between 15 and 30 of them.
I figured that an out and back wouldn't be hard to do. I was wrong. Somehow, I missed a turn and was on an unmarked trail. I came to the powerline and couldn't find my way. I had to backtrack for a bit and then got on the yellow trail again. I still wasn't sure if I was heading the correct way until I went through a muddy section that I recalled from earlier.
It had been good to get through miles 4 and 5. Around mile 5, I felt the urge to go to the bathroom again and had to hike some more. That resolved the issue again.
Eventually, I made it from the yellow trail to the white trail again. I followed that for a bit, hoping I'd get back to the red trail. I saw the road nearby, so I knew I was close at least. Finally, near the road, I got to the red trail.
I was feeling good as I headed uphill. This was a fairly steep climb. I ran the first part and then it leveled off. I ran the second part and again it leveled off. I continued on to the third part and finally had to hike some of the top and then I hiked all of the steep fourth part.
At the top was a shelter. I assume it is probably used more often to party than to camp. It began to rain. I now had a rocky downhill. It was tough because I was back into the section where it was difficult to find the trail.
I ran all around the rocks and over the creek. It was getting cold and rainy. This section seemed to take awhile. I then saw a small waterfall and got some photos of it. I climbed up more rocks and came out on the smooth part of the trail.
I was now a bit over 7 miles. I ran back to my car and finished with just under 7.5 productive miles. The run wasn't as challenging as I expected. It was good to explore though.When I got home, I realized that I went the wrong direction on the red trail. That is why the run was so easy. The red trail continues behind the chapel that I parked in front of. That is where I should've started at. Now, I know for next time and can do the more challenging part of the course. I would like to do the Mountain Madness 50K next year.
Tomorrow and Thursday, I have quite a few orders at work. I might pack up my trail shoes and clothes and run in between them. Really, I'll just be running whenever I can. Obviously, I'll be staying local.
7.42 miles - 1:39:57 (13:29 pace) 1127 feet of elevation gain
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