There is nothing wrong with the trails there actually. They are really nice and a lot of fun. It is just a far drive for me and the trail system doesn't have a lot of miles. It is mostly best for shorter runs, which I was planning on today. I had not run there since I organized a group run there last year. That was almost a year ago.The weather was nice, around 75 degree and a little humid. However, that was still too warm for me. Even going slow in the early going, I was breathing heavy. I had on a short sleeve shirt. I actually had some chafing issues when I was done.
I ran along the flat stone section first. This provides a good warmup before doing some climbing. I passed a group of school students with their teacher. The school day was likely over by that point.
I was then on to the Orange Trail. This is a fun singletrack. It is mostly smooth with some rocks and climbing here and there. I ran pretty much all of this part.
When I organized the run here last year, I couldn't find the Red Trail for some reason. I now knew it was near the giant boulders. I found it this time and headed out on the singletrack. I was breathing heavy and tried to keep a slow pace. I couldn't go much slower though, unless I just started hiking.
Eventually, I came out to a powerline and a view. I've always had trouble finding the other trails in this area. There's another powerline and I ran past it. I then found the Purple Trail that I was looking for.
This trail was tough as it was singletrack in the woods, but basically the same grade as the powerline parallel to it. I wasn't sure how long the steep climb would go, so I hiked a bit of it.
I then came out to the powerline. I crossed over and found the continuation of the Purple Trail. I followed that for a bit. I was really enjoying this trail and appreciating how much fun it was. I should definitely run these trails more often. The were pretty on a lovely spring day too.
I then came out on the Red Trail again. I was now at a different part of it. I can't quite remember, but I think I climbed a little bit. Then I came out to what I guess was the Blue Trail. It almost looked purple. I ran on this for awhile and came to the powerline again. I thought this was the same Purple Trail from earlier, but it wasn't. I headed back to where I came from and found the other loop of the Blue Trail.
I was around 4 miles at this point. I was going to run the Yellow Trail for a bit, but I wasn't quite sure how long the loop was and how to get back down the mountain. Therefore, I simply went back and followed the Blue Trail. This was fun now that I was descending most of the time. Eventually, I was back into the Red Trail. There were some quite steep and rocky parts. I went pretty fast now. I then rejoined the Orange Trail to finish this loop. There were a couple small stream crossings and a lot of fun downhills.
I was finally on the flat at the bottom. I ran back on the connector trail and finished up the run. I was over 6 miles when I was done. It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.
I really enjoyed the run. No doubt that I would come here more if it was closer. Still, I should at least get there a couple times a year. They are good trails and probably awesome trails for speedwork too. I could really push it on this singletrack.
I have a party to go to tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping to run some in the morning. If I do that, I'll be beating the heat too. Maybe I can run at Lehigh Gap. That could be fun. I haven't been there since the winter. I might run with Destrie on Sunday.
6.21 miles - 1:11:11 (11:28 pace) 657 feet of elevation gain
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