The ineffable joy of NW winter trail running (with pictures)

[stomper]

Humboldt-explorer wrote:I'm

I'm wondering if maybe their is enough room on side of trails where no crushed rock is layed.

See, you're already starting to work it out. With trail running you figure out ways to get your feet on the surface you want. That's why I've been so appreciative of leaf litter lately.

Not that crushed gravel is easy. Sometimes you just have to go over it and it sucks. But part of the fun of trail running is constantly adjusting to make things as comfortable as possible. Your body will make a lot of micro-adjustments without much thought being necessary. And when with bare feet you hit a nice springy patch of pine needles, or a butter-smooth bank of fine silt, you'll experience a pleasure you'd just never have with shoes.

[like homer simpson:] Mmm, silt.

 

[stomper]

migangelo wrote:where is this

where is this Leif Erickson trail head at?

One way is to get on to NW Thurman and head uphill until it stops at a park gate. At that point Thurman becomes Leif Erickson, which is a gravel road that parallels wildwood trail for a while. Some parts of Leif Erickson are pretty gnarly gravel; I have to admit I've avoided the road and stuck to the trail. But I suppose I should just buck up and see if it's really as bad as I fear. Any comments on exactly how horrible Leif Erickson is, paragnek?

 

[Danjo]

Yeah, gravel is still a pain.

Yeah, gravel is still a pain. But I find that gravel on trails is WAY easier to run on than gravel on a road. With trails the gravel is usually a little more spread out, plus the surface underneath has more give, so the gravel pushes into the ground some, instead of just stabbing your feet. Hopefully you find ways to avoid the gravel. Personally I wouldn't be totally against ditching the trail and just running through the woods, unless there are some rules against that.

 

[Chaserwilliams]

nature runner wrote:I am

I am with you on the trail running, the gravel trail in my avatar does like yours. It turns into dirt trails with a mix of just about everything, and it's only 10 min from home lol. I definetly love trail running more than road running. It is all I do now. The only thing is on my trails you gotta watch out for copperheads, for some reason I am being told it is loaded with them. I've only saw three so far?

I actually got bit by a copperhead at a cross country meet when I was a freshman in highschool. When I got back to school that next monday people kept coming up to me and saying "OMG! I heard you died!" I was never too sure exactly how to respond...



Ive have some nice trails about a mile from my house in a state park Ive been wanting to hit up, just havent dont it yet. I really like the idea of bringing a camera along and snapping pics, sounds like that could be an awesome thread in itself!

 

[paraganek]

stomper wrote:Some parts of

Some parts of Leif Erickson are pretty gnarly gravel; I have to admit I've avoided the road and stuck to the trail. But I suppose I should just buck up and see if it's really as bad as I fear. Any comments on exactly how horrible Leif Erickson is, paragnek?

I only run one mile on Leif Erikson (from the gate to Alder TH). On my first two runs I only did half a mile BF a than put VFF on (gravel and rocks still too painful) but on my third run (photo-reported here) I did the whole mile BF. Better conditioning and foot relaxation. So from now on - hopefully no VFF on Leif Erikson drive (I do not like running in them, I use them only as a really last resort).

http://beta.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/26419666