Winter Dreams

 

It’s snowing.  It’s grey, dark and cold outside; the ground is frozen and uninviting.  The holiday gatherings are gone, spring has not yet arrived, and I’m irritated rather than impressed hearing of my friends in California doing 50 mile trail races wearing shorts and t-shirt.  Here, it’s January, aka, mid-winter.  I thus have two options:    

A) Take advantage of this time to: Increase my pathetic flexibility by starting a yoga routine; strengthen my weaknesses by a careful weight-training program; improve my diet by laying off the chocolate-covered almonds at bedtime; and keep running enough to stay in shape for a springtime buildup.  

Or,

B) Spend hours fantasizing about all the fun projects to do this summer.

Guess which option I’m choosing?  So here goes …

Point Reyes

Point Reyes National Seashore is located about an hour north of San Francisco. Here lies a stretch of road-free coastline that is virtually unimpacted by humans. Aside from natural forces, it largely looks the way it did hundreds of years ago. The southern portion of the park contains the majority of the 150 mile trail network with lush forested mountains meeting rugged coastline. Much of this section of the park is designated as the Philip Burton Wilderness under the Federal Wilderness Act which, among other things, precludes organized trail runs.

Arch Rock

I  studied the trail map and satellite in designing a long run that seemed to hit most of the highlights in the southern portion of the park. Reading hikers’ reports, it seemed improbable to cover the stretch of coastline from Sculptured Beach all the way to Alamere Falls in one day, but this is the beauty of adventure running!

Alamere Falls

The run ended up being around 22 miles with 4,000+ of elevation gain and is definitely one of my favorites (map of route). The contrast between the fir-covered mountains and rugged coastline is a treat. I found the views to be even more stunning that I had imagined and the quality of trail running superb.