Memo to the dude at Cedar Hill S.P.

Hey, I'm really glad you're there.  I love the state parks, and love the commitment that state parks employees like you have for keeping these strongholds of nature and recreation up and running for regular city people like me. 

Last night when I stopped in to visit Cedar Hill State Park, you were very friendly and efficient in renewing my state park pass.  Then when I told you this was my first visit to CHSP, and asked directions to the trail head for the DORBA trails, you gave clear, efficient directions. 

Image stolen from DallasHiker.com

So I drove the 2 1/2 miles or so to the trail head, only to discover that the trails were closed!  Couldn't you have told me that when I told you I was there for the trails?  Maybe you could have mentioned that the trails were closed when I asked directions to the trail head? 

It's not that big a deal.  I drove over to Cedar Ridge, thinking I might still get a run in.  But Cedar Ridge closes at 8:30, so I would only have had time to run for 20-25 minutes.  So I went to Chipotle instead.

I'll go back to Cedar Ridge sometime.  It looks lovely, with views of Joe Pool Lake, the hills, and of course the DORBA trails.  Now that my state park pass is renewed, I'll definitely pay you a visit. And maybe next time I'll call the automated line, (972) 291-3900, for trail conditions first!

See you then!

Water bottle etiquette on the trail

The other day when I was running at Cedar Ridge Preserve, my hands got really cold, so I left my water bottle, which was full of ice and water, next to the trail.  I figured I would circle back to my car to get my gloves, then on my next loop on the trail I'd pick up my bottle.

With my hands warmer, and with a pretty good thirst worked up an hour or so later, I came back to that section of trail.  My bottle had disappeared.  Did I forget where I had left it?  Did some other thirsty runner pick it up?  Did the trail patrol throw it in the trash?  I didn't figure there was any way I had missed it, so detoured by the visitor center near the parking area and found it perched on the donation box.

The bottle and I were happily reunited, but it made me wonder about bottle etiquette.

Litter. Throw it away.

If I find a personal item like car keys or a wallet by the side of the trail, I think the best thing to do would be to take it back to the trail head.  Surely someone wouldn't leave something like that out on the trail intentionally.

Not litter.  Leave it there.

If I see an empty, disposable water bottle by the trail, especially if it's empty, picking it up and tossing it in a trash or recycling bin would be the reasonable choice.

But a nearly full, non-disposable bottle, with ice still in it, in a hand-held carrier?  I would not think someone dropped it and didn't notice.  I would not think that someone tossed it as trash.  The only reasonable explanation would seem to be that someone left it there intending to come back for it.  I detest trail litter as much as the next guy, but when something is clearly not litter, I leave it alone.

Am I right or am I wrong?  What do you think?

Shoe Failure at Cedar Ridge

For the second Saturday in a row, I headed to Cedar Ridge Preserve for a morning run.  This time, I got there before all the hikers and walkers, so for the first hour or so, I had the whole place to myself (except for--what was that figure I saw?--maybe a raccoon).  Greeting the new day on the trails, quiet and alone, I ran and enjoyed the great weather and fantastic trails.

Sunrise over Cattail Pond

I can't say enough about this place.  Maybe because I've gotten so bored with running on the streets in my neighborhood, or maybe because I have been able to run so little the last few weeks, but I have really enjoyed these last 2 runs.  Winding, hilly single track, with a good sprinkling of rocks and roots, make this a great place to run.

This morning I planned to run 18-20 miles.  After 7 or so, I started feeling like I was getting a hot spot, which surprised me, because I very rarely get blisters while wearing my VFFs.  I stopped at the picnic tables and looked at my foot.  My shoe's seam was splitting along the big toe!  That's so very frustrating.  That lets trail grit get in the toes, creating abrasion in all the wrong places.

Then I looked at my other foot, and saw this lovely sight.  Dirt had gotten in there and rubbed me raw (That's blood between my toes).  Ouch.  I'm not saying trail running should be pain free, and dirt in the shoes is certainly part of trail running, but I would like to avoid this kind of unnecessary pain when possible, especially due to a simple shoe failure.

For a little background, I bought my first pair of VFF Trek Sports last fall.  I wore them on a short training trail run (5-6 miles), then at Palo Duro Canyon.  After about 17 miles at PD, that same seam split, letting in dirt, dust, and pebbles with every step.  That's not the whole reason I DNFed that day, but it was a contributing factor.  Vibram has a 90-day warranty on their shoes, and Luke's Locker was generous in taking them back and giving me store credit for them.

After a few weeks of calling all the Luke's locations, waiting for them to get a pair in my size, I finally got a new pair, identical to the first.  I wore them last week at Cedar Ridge for the first time.  And today the seam went out.  In both cases, in less than 30 miles, the seam went out.  I will not buy VFF Trek Sports again!  The problem is, I LOVE running in them!  I don't know that I'd want to run in anything else!  I've ordered some VFF Treks, which have the same sole, but have a leather upper, rather than the fabric of the Trek Sport.  I'm sure hoping they will perform better.  Oh, and by the way, I wore a pair of VFF Sprints, decidedly not made for trail running, at the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler last year, and had no problems at all.

Nice Place to Run: Cedar Ridge Preserve (again)

For some reason, I waited over a year before returning to Cedar Ridge Preserve.  I ran there once last year, on New Years Day, as part of an NTTR club run (posted here).  This south Dallas park is about a 30-40 minute drive from home, so my only excuse for not going back is that it adds at least an hour to the time I schedule for a run.  I prefer to run out my front door, but the options there are limited.  I was reminded on Saturday why Cedar Ridge is worth the drive.

In the D/FW area, this is the only trail system I know of that offers hills, a variety of trail surfaces, easy access, and is closed to mountian bikes.  Now, I don't have anything against mountain bikes, but to have to dodge them and their ruts can take away from a trail running experience.

The parking lot was much more full than I thought it would be on a cold Saturday morning.  I saw some groups of ladies in an exercise class, several small groups of random hikers and/or birdwatchers (it is an Audobon park, after all), and a troop of Boy Scouts training for a Philmont trek.  I also saw 2 trail runners.  After passing a guy in black tights going the opposite direction several times, I saw him at a trail head and thought I'd catch up with him.  He was about 20-30 yards ahead of me at the time, and I never saw him again--he was going much too fast for me!

Then I ran into another guy I had passed a couple of times and stopped to chat.  His name was Mike, and it turns out we have run several races together without ever meeting.  We ran together for a couple of hours and had a great time talking about running and life.  We agreed that Black Tights was pretty fast--too fast for us!  We kept a nice pace, and with the company, I ended up going farther than I probably would have on my own.

Other than my 25 miles at Palo Duro, this was my longest run in the VFF Treks.  They did great, and this run convinced me to go ahead and run at Cross Timbers with them rather than shoes.  If memory serves, Cedar Ridge is a great triaing ground for Cross Timbers, with lots of short, steep climbs, and similar trail surfaces.  I'll need to get out here a couple more times before Cross Timbers, hopefully with Mike or some other good running company.

Nice Place to Run: Cedar Ridge Preserve

This morning I greeted 2010 with a bunch of new friends from the North Texas Trail Runners.  We met at Cedar Ridge Preserve, on the south side of Dallas, for a cold morning run.  This was my first time to run with a group from NTTR, and they're a great bunch of folks.  I ran with a couple of 67-year-old experienced trail runners who could probably outrun me on any given day, a woman who's run countless ultras, including the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, which consists of four of the toughest 100 mile races in the U.S, all run in one year (in the span of about 14 weeks!).  Plus there was a guy who rides a unicycle on mountain bike trails.  Nuts!  It's great to be with people who not only share my passion, but who have run the races and met the goals I aspire to.

The preserve, a park maintained by Audubon Dallas, has about 10 miles of loop trails of varying difficulty. My favorite, the Cedar Break Trail, has some steep, rugged climbs; my running partners today said that's one of the best trails in the area for practicing technical ascents and descents.  A couple of them ended up on their rears as testament to the toughness of the trail.  Today Cedar Break had the additional virtue of not being sloppy muddy.

When we started out, it was still in the high 20s, so the first hour or so we crunched over frozen mud.  But after a couple of hours, some of the trails in the low-lying areas were just nasty.  I guess running in that muck is the only way to learn how to run better in muck!  (Is there a good way to run in muck?)  I had considered running in my VFFs, but I was glad I didn't.  The trail had some very rocky sections, which I may be been able to navigate OK, but my feet would have been wet and cold in that mud.  I was happy to have on my Gore-Tex lined NB trail shoes.

I didn't take my camera today, so I lifted these photos from some other web sites.  I hope that's OK with them!

The trails are very well-maintained, with steps, logs, rocks, etc. to control erosion.

I'll have to go back in the spring to see it this green.  Not so green today.

There are several bridges throughout the park.  There is also an observation deck where you can take in a terrific view of the area.

I'll definitely be back here for some training runs, and may bring the kids for a hike in the woods.  It's a beautiful place!