Up and Over the Katellen Trail

I put in two tough days this week.  I figured I'd still climb, but make it a little easier today.  It rained a few times in the afternoon, so I headed out in the evening.  I went to the Katellen Trail, near Wind Gap.

I went shirtless and was sure glad I did.  It was still incredibly humid and that kicked my ass.  I was soaked from head to toe.  My shoes didn't dry out from yesterday and now they were a mess.  I was just happy to be done.

This trail starts with a very slight uphill.  It gets pretty steep about 1/3 of a mile out.  Even before it got steeper, I was hiking.  My legs weren't sore sitting around today, but they sure felt dead once I started moving them.  Combined with the humidity, it just wasn't worth pushing too hard.

I was also careful because there are a lot of rocks and I figured they would be wet and slippery.  Luckily, I had no issues.  I ran some of the climb where it was sort of flat, but most of the way was just a hike.  It was good to make it to the top at about 580 feet of gain or so.

I then ran across the powerline and on to the AT briefly.  After that, it was back down the woods road on the other side of the mountain.  This is more desolate and I'd be shocked if I ever saw someone running or hiking here.  They must drive vehicles up there some times though.

I cruised on down the hill, but it was rocky and washed out in spots.  The rain didn't help.  It seemed like quite some time before the trail began to descend steeply.  Finally, it did just that.

The bottom was a mess.  I'm not sure what they are doing, but there has been some construction going on.  Some stones had been places over pipes.  That was annoying, but brief.  It was very muddy in this area.

I continued on down pretty far.  I went around a cornfield, once I was at the bottom.  I ran out a little farther than when I was here last year.  Eventually, I'll follow the road the entire way out.  Tonight, this was enough.

I was over 3 miles when I turned around.  I knew the climb up would be tough.  I started off by running, but that didn't last long.  Not only were the legs not feeling great, but it was muddy and took too much effort to run up through the construction area.

I just hiked a lot of the steep stuff.  I ran at times where it flattened out.  However, the humidity was getting to me and it was bothering me.

Near the top, it sounded like rain and looked cloudy.  I felt the temperature drop.  No rain ever hit though.

I got back on the AT and ran by 3 young ladies.  They looked like thru hikers and were kind of cute.  They said, "hi" and then "bye" as I flew on past.  Maybe I should've stopped.  I wanted to make sure I would beat the storm if one was coming.

I ran back on down the Katellen Trail.  I went comfortable, as I didn't want to fall.  I ran past a guy near the shelter and a hiker was later getting water.  Near the bottom, when I heard the spring, I decided to stop.  I was going to cool off, but the water wasn't too easy to get to, so I didn't.

I had to go up briefly.  Then, it was back down the trail.  I was careful over the steps, but cruised after that.  I was done a short time later.

It wasn't a great day, but I survived.  More humid days like this could kill me.  I sure hope they don't last, as I recently felt like I was actually being productive.

Tomorrow, I'm not sure what I'll do.  I might have to take it easier.  I don't think I'll go Jacobsburg easy, but maybe South Mountain.  That could still be a decent day.  It is supposed to storm.

6.15 miles - 1:23:29 (13:35 pace) 1349 feet of elevation gain