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Trail conditions continue to be mostly ideal as the rain and snow seems to be more off than on - which is a good thing. The 1 inch of snow over night is about all gone and the only rain in the forecast is for light amounts. Never give up on McNaughton! While the trail can be very slick during rain, it tends to pack down and dry out quickly once the rain stops. So, even though the forecasters can not seem to be sure what race weekend will bring, it looks like you will have a good surface on which to run. Yes, there are muddy places and there is water deep enough to get your feet wet - but that's what a wilderness race is about. If you are one that can not handle mud or water, perhaps a road race is more to your liking. My people and I spent a bunch of hours cleaning up the limbs and such getting ready for your run over the weekend and the trail was great. I expect conditions will be just soft enough to not jar your knees yet firm enough to have traction - over at least 90% of the course.
With Andy's announcement of "pulling the plug" after this year, the future of an ultra trail run in McNaughton is still up in the air. There will likely be races here again but this dog doesn't know the details. This web site's license is about to expire as well so this dogs' blog is near the end. I hope to see as many of you as possible this weekend and wish you all the best in your efforts. Thanks for the many head pats and tummy rubs. It has been a true pleasure interacting with all of you.
See you on the trails,
Trailrunner Courage
Just two weeks before the race and McNaughton Park got 4.5 inches of snow Saturday night. By Monday night, all of it had melted with temps in the 40's and 50's. Several trees couldn't stand the weight with such soft footing so there is some trail clearing to do but that won't take very long. The first creek crossing is the deepest with somewhere between knee high and crotch high water rushing toward the river. Everybody hopes it won't be that high on race day but it is crossable - with care.
The whole crew is working hard to get everything ready for the race, packets and food and shirts and food and course markings and food and aid stations and food and awards and dog biscuits. If we can just get a few days of dry just ahead of the race, the trail will dry out and be really fun.
Kirk Edwards has been marking the race course already so anyone wishing to give it a loop or two might not get lost. As you can see with this photo, there is a right turn coming. Kirk is putting extra yellow/lime ribbon on the side of the trail that you will be turning toward as you approach those turns. It's "intuitive", as my photographer always proclaims. This really works great when you leave the single track and pop out into an open area - the extra flags let's you set up for the corner before you get there and know where to look for the next flag. Great job Kirk, even I can follow this trail!
The conditions as of 3/26 were pretty darn good. There are still areas of mud and water but it is so much better than it was a couple of weeks ago. Sorry to say the forecast is for more rain but if you live by forecast, you'd never get out of the house to chase away the squirrels!
Some say March comes in like a Lion but the weekend at McNaughton wasn't bad. I had guessed the mud would cause problems but the temps fell far enough that the ground was frozen. So, the biggest problem was the rough footing as all the old footprints turned into frozen moonscape. That and the fact that once you ran through the creeks, your feet were pretty cold for a while.
My people and I joined up with Mike S and his boys to clear a major tree fall on the west side. Everything worked out fine as we got the job done and nobody got hurt, except me as I turned an ankle chasing a deer. I'm okay, it was just a minor sprain.
On Sunday, my people and I spent a couple of hours milling around lick creek near Heaven's Gate. This photo is of me looking across the cold water.
Conditions should be warmer next weekend so I expect lots of folks out training and enjoying the park.
My people and I have visited the park the last couple of evenings. It sure is great to play with the deer and squirrels. The ground is wet and soft. That makes it easy on my feet but good thing I have 4 wheel drive! My people are slipping all over the place. Guess there is about 2 or 3 inches of mud on top of frozen subsoil. With the forecast of rain today and tonight, any chances of a relaxing run in McNaughton this weekend are slip sliding away.
The trails really vary this week as some places are still frozen while others have about 4 inches of mud on top of the frozen ground. Tough to navigate the hills, not knowing if you are going to slide on the ice or the mud, just know you will slide!
Mike Siltman and Marvin were out clearing some fallen trees on Saturday with the assistance of his two hard working boys. They got at least 5 locations cleared before they ran out of gas. Odd how the chain saws ran out of gas at about the same time.
There are a few places that are not perfectly clear but still, no problem completing the route due to trees. The ice was just strong enough to cross the creeks but that will not last until next weekend - promise!
Hard to make a call on trail conditions when I'm using all my toenails trying to keep traction on the ice covered snow one day and clipping along over the soft grass the next. My people broke out those new "Kahtoola" microspikes to handle the glacier and cascading ice falls that dominated the trails on Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning. This is the first time my people could keep up with me as those Kahtoola's make walking and running in those conditions so easy. We usually only walk the flat meadows when it is icy but my kahtoola clad people hit every slope and hill in the park - laughing at the slippery slopes. Every dogs people need them - unless they are treadmill dwellers!
The weekend after Christmas, the snow and ice was pretty much gone as the temps hit the lower to mid 60's. Kind of muddy but that's McNaughton! At least the old mud pit was pretty solid with the new drainage control.
The photos show me at swollen Lick creek's first crossing and the third creek crossing at near flood stage.
