Distance: 6.59 miles
Max reported HR: 173
Average reported HR: 142
Calories Burned: 659
Average reported HR: 142
Calories Burned: 659
Narrative Review
This is perhaps one of the most unique runs I have done in the recent past.
The conditions seemed less than favorable - it had been raining for 24+ hours straight. The sections of the run that covered snowmobile trails were especially wet and my feet were drenched within
five minutes. In fact, there were several times that I would have lost a shoe altogether had they not been tied snugly.
We proceeded along the snowmobile trail that was the NMTC fall series path for the following day. Thought the weather was probably far more favorable for their race, I have little doubt that the trail conditions were equally soggy with areas you couldn't avoid taking an ankle deep puddle plunge.
As we plodded back up the paved road, we veered off after spotting a single-track trail southeast of the road. Although it seemed to initially follow the road, it quickly doubled back down the hill. We chose a circuitous route that seemed like a switchback and provided a number of unbelievable views of the lake and river. I have to admit that there were some sections made me slow down as well as you could tell there had been some washouts immediately adjacent to a sizable drop off. When we reached a section of road not far from a local hockey rink, we returned to an alternate route that eventually became a snowmobile trail and exited in a Lakeside development. Oops, that was not where I had hoped we would land as I looked up, up, up at the distant Hawk's Ridge.
We continued for a few blocks in the development and older portions of Lakeside and found a trail near the Rockridge Elementary.
The trail had multiple forks and, about halfway up the ascent to Hawk's Ridge, I realized that it had completely disappeared. Not averse to adventure and exploration, we followed a drainage path up the hill (with some bushwhacking) which eventually exited on the street we had originally started.
Not wanting to be done yet, we tried some of the Hawks Ridge Nature Preserve trails.
Taking a peek at the online map, it would appear that we covered Ole's Trail, Middle Trail, and the Ridge Loop. I had never been on these before and going on them for the first time with headlamps made it that much more challenging. I think my favorite part of the whole night was when I finally asked Greg if he might know where the trail ended up and his
surprised but very polite response was something like, "You don't know where we are going?" Maybe my adventurous spirit had come across as confidence and planning;) This trail system is nestled in a small area of Duluth bounded by two major roads and so neither of us was truly nervous about getting lost. I would, however, like to see these trails in the daylight sometime as they were challenging to run on with the uneven, rocky terrain.
Run Highlights
- Unbelievable views of Lakeside, Lake Superior, trees, and river overlooks
- Single track trail on the lake side of Hawks Ridge
- The headlamp section on the Hawks Ridge Nature Reserve Trails
- The two minutes we spent trying to tell whether the owl in a tree was a decoy or real...it is really quite difficult when there is nearly no sunlight!
Be ready for next week as we are likely to have
better weather and will try something a little fun & different with the route. Also, watch for either a black or gray Honda Element with the H12 stickers in the back window as the gathering point.
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