The weather wasn't great here and was even worse up there. It was in the 20s, cloudy and a biting wind. I went with tights, my shell and a long sleeve shirt. I had the gloves and headband. The headband went off and on.I was hoping that I wouldn't see any ATVs. I didn't want to be in their way or have them flying everywhere really fast. At least I was wearing yellow. I was disappointed to see 3 vehicles in the lot. A short time later, 4 ATVs came out. Two left and two went back out. I was trying to change into running clothes while they were around. That was kind of annoying.
I had planned on going through the hiking trails the other direction from them. This just confirmed that. I followed what I thought was the trail. I came out to a house. I turned and headed back. I realized that I missed a turn. This was mostly grassy with some branches. It wasn't fun.
I went uphill through a section that must've seen a lot of rain. Then, I came to the ATV trail. A short time later, I found the hiking trail. I followed it. It wasn't bad, except for low branches. After some time I came to a few signs. I went to these boulders. That trail was a little overgrown. So was the trail to the view. Clearly these trails aren't hiked much.
I wasted a lot of time in this area and wasn't even at mile 2 yet. I decided to go on the ATV trails and be careful. There was some interesting dirt and rocky downhill. I was thinking ATVs could not go very fast in this part. It was a little muddy, but not too bad.I wanted to follow the creek hiking trail, but like all the other hiking trails, it was a little overgrown. I stuck to the ATV trails. There were so many intersections. It was very confusing. I had a map and spent a lot of time figuring out where I was. Finally, I did get my bearings.
I saw the Old Farm Road Trail cut through a lot of the property. I decided to follow that. After having come out of some cool green sections, I was back to everything being dead. This trail was like a wide woods road. Stone was put down everywhere. While that wasn't fun, it was runnable. I ran along. I was happy to finally make it to mile 3 and then 3.5.
I knew I needed to add some distance yet. I saw the trail above me had some views. I ran to that trail. It turns out it either had no views or weak views. It was kind of a cool rolling section though. I didn't go out too far.I turned and headed back. I was mostly going downhill now. I passed mile 5. I kept checking my map at intersections. I finally found the Slutter Trail. This was the one the ATVs were on at the start.
This trail was much better than I expected. It had a few curved hills. It was really pretty. Most importantly, I didn't see any ATVs.
There was a nearby firetower that I had to check out. That meant a short hiking trail. It was near where I was, so I followed it up. I was running most of the time today, but I hiked a little here.
I got to the firetower and there was a cool view from there. I could see mountains off in the distance. I couldn't see the racetrack though. It was off to the side.
I decided to run down the firetower road. I was over 6 miles now, as I cruised down it. That was kind of fun, although it was stone. I was back to my car with about half a mile to go. I ran a bunch near my car and the parking area to finish up.This was a much better run than I expected. I thought it would be flat and boring. For ATV trails, it was pretty cool. I stayed away from the riders, so I was happy about that too. I wouldn't go here specifically to run, but I would come back if I was at the track or in the area.
Kristin and I are planning to run on the D&L tomorrow. We'll go to the Farmersville Trailhead early in the morning. I need 5 miles and I have to get it done before wrestling starts. It will be tough getting up early, but nice to have company for once. I hope it isn't too cold, as I only have clean shorts right now.
7.17 miles - 1:40:02 (13:58 pace) 504 feet of elevation gain
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