Tiger Mountain

So when attempting a run on an unknown path, particularly an unknown trail, it is always a good idea to plan for as many different unknowns as possible. For instance, forgetting your rain slicker on a day that where weather is predicted to be rainy is generally not a good idea. not bringing a towel or bandanna or something else to wipe glasses on when they become fogged up to the point of complete vision loss is also something to be avoided. Not sufficiently checking whether the trail you are traveling is covered in poison ivy is also something that never occurred to me beforehand (it fortunately was not, and the itchy stinging I felt on my legs while running through the brush was most likely the result of nettles, according to my father).

So to summarize: Saturday's inaugural trail run up on Tiger Mountain was wet, cold, itchy, confusing, and generally unpleasant. And I cannot wait to try it again.

Maybe it was when I reached the first plateau and came across the small pond by the trail's edge, or maybe it was when I burst into the first clearing and saw the mist covered hills that sloped off in either direction, but it was a soul soothing experience. I must admit that I spent much of it staring at my feet, but what I did see heartened me, and encouraged me to spend the extra traveling time to reach some trails again in the future. There is an inner peace found out in the quiet trees that even the loneliest city streets cannot provide. Plus it really helps with my hill work.

To be fair, as many things about this run went right as they did wrong. Both the trail running shoes and the special wool/bamboo socks that I had picked up for wet running performed above and beyond the call of duty, and even with my feet being completely drenched after the first five minutes I managed not to acquire a single blister. I also learned that a hydro pack is far superior to using a water bottle when you are trying to fight you way through undergrowth. I am going to have figure out a better way to get to my gel packs though.

So below is my performance review for the run. I didn't track the trail mostly because I wasn't running on streets, so mapping it would be next to impossible. I'm thinking about running the trail above Carbonado next Saturday, so I'll see about drafting a map for that run.

Tiger Mountain Test Run