Easter Weekend, March 21, 2008

Wow, what a flurry of activity at the park this weekend! I met at least 9 runners including Kirk, Jason, Eric and friends, plus a new sniff that calls himself Cougar Bait. Ha! I'm telling you, don't worry about any cougars here, I've got you covered.
Larry and crew did some awesome work diverting water on HairPin hill, Rick and Mike cut up a pile of firewood for the totem pole aid station and Eric helped "speed" up the new route on Sheridan Hill.
I, and my people, were helped out a bunch by Rex. Rex is a cool guy that loves the park and the outdoors. Together, we dug a ditch to drain the mud pit, putting all the dug dirt on the low lying area on the trail. See photos - except that's Kirk in the photo, not Rex. Then, in a McNaughton hour, we filled in a trail washout on the west side. Rex came back for more to help cut firewood for the Heavens Gate aid station crew the next day. Finally, we got to get in a long hike, the whole trail, to flip off those little branch pieces that can twist an ankle or tangle your feet, trim the face slappers, besides pulling out the dams that widen the muck up those tiny creek crossings. Hey, the route is ready to run! Are you?

We will have camping for the race on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Please refer to the map for parking and camping locations.

March 16, 2008

Sure sign of Spring, race director Andy in McNaughton with yellow ribbon as he begins marking the race loop. Here, Andy is chatting with us girls as we inspect the work done on the bridge by Larry and Mike. This bridge was starting to erode into the ravine but those two guys have it shored up now. It really looks great! Larry is the chef for the race and Mike is signed up to run around the loop several times - too many for even a big dog like me to count!
The other picture is of a mighty oak from an angle most of you don't see - from the bottom of Picnic Hill, looking back up.

March 9, 2008

Today is my birthday! Happy Birthday to me! I got to run in the park twice this weekend - three times if you count Friday. What a great weekend. I got a new play toy to rip apart and lots of great tasting new snacks. I know a girl isn't supposed to tell her age but I'm 28 - in your years.

Spring is in the air and it looks like McNaughton is warming up a bit. It better or all my trail running friends will be wearing parkas to get around the course - just a month away. That's right, just 4 more weekends before the big race - better get those last long runs in soon!

Here are a couple of pics of what I call "One Dog Gaps". The trees are close enough here to rub off some close competitors or to get that gabby human out of your ear. One is in Heaven's Gate and the one with all the red marking is in the Butterfield lake trib section.

March 2, 2008

We made it back from the land of Toto a day early so my people brought me back to McNaughton to check on things. It was a beautiful day with warm temps and the snow you see in the photo is melting fast. Most of the ground was soft and wet - I love the way it squooses up between my toes! I sure hear a lot of grumbling about how cold it might get but I don't worry about that - I'll handle the weather as it comes.

Also, there were a lot of honkers flying around as in the other picture. They sure were flying low as there are many ponds nearby.

February 16, 2008

Plenty of variety on the trail this weekend - from this wonderful leaf covered trail in the Heaven's Gate loop to some "safety studs required" ice in the more "protected" areas. The photo of the locust tree is the reason everybody needs to be sure before they grab a nearby tree for support. My people sure whine when they get to close to these trees!
For all my fans, I will be visiting Toto for the next two weekends so the web master might add a note or two in my absence. I'll see you on the trails when we get back!

Feb 9, 2008

The trail sure was covered with snow and ice today, just enough to have good traction on one step and no traction on the next one! Only to toughest, most dedicated runners would risk life and limb out here today - must be why Jason was out spending 5 hours in training. Actually, it was plenty warm on Saturday making it a great run for the most part - just those steep hills that resemble toboggan runs that take your breath away. The creeks are running fast and cold with little chance of a dry crossing - but that only last a little while.
The photos this week are from the back side of Briar Hill - most of you have never seen this view. Briar Hill is near the shear cliff that you can see about a mile or so after Heaven's Gate aid station. The other photo is of my girl and I looking at the ice blocks in the tree. Amazing how those blocks get there!