A Humboldt Redwoods Saturday, 16 mi.

The sun was just about to burn through the remaining bit of marine layer when we began our long run on Saturday morning.  Temperatures were near perfect.  It was everything that last weekend's long run was not.  And sometimes that in itself can be nice.  Or at least it was nice for me.  When we collected our gear from the trunk of the car, both Matt and Danny realized they had forgotten their water packs and snacks.  For a moment, they eyed my backpack, wondering what extras they could convince me to carry.  Nice try boys.  This is where that emergency food/water kit in our trunk comes in handy.  A safety precaution still lingering from our winter-driving days, our trunk always contains a few bottles of water, a box of granola bars, a blanket, and some warm clothes.  Matt simply grabbed one of the plastic bottles and a few granola bars.  Danny opted to go without supplies, deciding he was going to train his fat-burning system.

Within the first half mile, we took a wrong turn.  The web of trails surrounding the Big Tree Area always confuse me.  Of course we've been here dozens of times, but it feels different when the run begins somewhere else.  When we looped around to where we started, we realized the error and had only added another half mile to our day.  And it was all flat, unlike last weekend.

The first two miles were flat and meandered through the towering giants of the Bull Creek drainage.  Sunshine broke through the canopy and filtered down into the valley.  The bright light was soft enough in this earlier hour that it only served to enhance the lush green understory of the forest floor.

As we do most long runs here, we included a bit of Grasshopper trail on our route.  The climbing began and I soon found myself power-hiking up the hill as I usually do.  This time, instead of working up the hillside slowly, I picked up my pace and focused on technique.  If I'm going to walk, I might as well get good and efficient at it.  Soon my heart rate climbed to the same rate it does on the track interval workouts.  Climbing 600 ft. in less than half a mile is always strenuous, but in a deep dark place within, I find myself enjoying it. 

It was here that we found ourselves on the race course of a 75 mile endurance horse ride.  We each placed bets as to how many horses we would see for the day.  All of the riders this day were courteous and we shared the trail peacefully.  It was a pleasant surprise after the our previous experience with horse races. We joked that Matt and Danny could drink from the horse troughs on the course if they got really thirsty.

Squaw Creek Ridge trail continued skyward but entertained us with several runnable sections that were just teaser enough to keep me from maintaining a solid rhythm.  Just as I found myself growing annoyed by this, the trail junction appeared. We sailed down to Baxter Camp on the meandering singletrack trail through the forest and dusty sand.  The spring had been especially dry and our first two stream crossings of the day didn't require wet feet at all.

We cruised alongside Bull Creek to the road of the same name.  After a momentary pause for berries alongside the road, we found ourselves climbing again, this time up the Pole Line trail.  When I plan our long run routes, I like to climb the fire roads and descend along the singletrack trails.  The fire roads are very steep, wide gravel roads.  In my mind, they serve to get the climbing over with as quickly (and painfully) as possible so we can sail gently down the other side.  This would be our second climb/descent of the day set up in precisely that manner.  Throughout the entire park, most of the trails are set up in a way that this works nearly every time.

The descent along the Indian Orchard trail was effortless.  Although this isn't my favorite descent with its cambered trail and unremarkable scenery, I reveled in the simplicity of my movements.  Recently, I've noticed that my running form has a pronounced twist, which eventually leads to sore and tight muscles in my lower back.  After carefully paying attention and experimenting (and with Matt's help), I've determined the issue: I don't swing my arms enough when I run.  These descents were perfect to help me practice my form.  It did, however, make my arms pretty sore by the end of the day.  This adjustment will definitely take some getting used to and won't be a focus on every run.

When we reached Cuneo camp, a race checkpoint was set up near the water source.  Matt refilled his water bottle and Danny drank straight from the tap.  The remainder of the run was along the Homestead Trail.  This trail, although much flatter than the others today, always surprises me with its hills.  One moment I'm running along a straight flat stretch and the next, there's a hairpin turn and I'm going uphill again.  We alternated stream crossings with soft sandy trail.

Whatever cleaning effect the creeks had on our shoes was quickly erased by the dusty trail.  I had to run a bit behind Danny to keep the dust from irritating my eyes.  After we reached Albee campground, Matt and Danny took off for a fast finish.

I hung back at my own pace with the camera.  The final section of Homestead trail was through once again through the Redwoods.  I smiled blissfully and found myself increasing the pace.  This park is my favorite part about Humboldt. 

16.5 mi.
3,111 ft. gain.
3:27:47
12:36/mi.

For me, that's a pretty decent pace.  Maybe that 31 mile run last weekend wasn't such a bad thing.  One more long run (12 mi) next weekend before the race!

What's the best part about living where you do?