TALES FROM THE TRAIL (AND SOMETIMES THE ROAD TOO)

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The Longest Three and 1/2 Miles Ever!

With Winter Break over, the utter chaos gone, I wanted to get away for some trails today.  I didn’t care how many miles I “ran”.  I wanted quality.  And so, I drove two hours (round trip, an hour there and back), yes two hours to run up a little trail called Silverado Motorway (AKA Silverado Trail, Bedford).  (We by the way measure driving distance in minutes and hours here in Southern California – I know, pretty crazy). 

You may think it’s a tad bit crazier to drive two hours for a 3.5 mile trail.  Just wait.  I had the mountain completely to myself.  Seriously.  It was just me and the hawks.  On the other hand, the out trip was flipping hard.  A mile in, I was ready to give up.  But I couldn’t make that drive and turn back after only one mile.  I struggled onward, delighting in the cold breeze. The road was steep, rocky and with an edge I could easily fall off with a little trip on a stone.  Soon the gloves were off and after an hour and a half I finished the longest three and a half miles ever!  The trip back down was much, much quicker. Winking smile

Silverado Motorway out-and-back:Running Silverado Motorway out-and-back 1-8-2014, Elevation

Beginning that treacherous switch-back climb:

The mountain wall – looks like someone built it:

Still going up:

Heading back:

Running Silverado Motorway out-and-back 1-8-2014

4 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great workout/achievement. Thanks for the info. After reading your blog on Calico, I will running it for the first time.

    -- Chuck

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Chuck. Every time I go up this trail I think it's a good idea. Within the first mile I don't know what I was thinking. :) Have fun at Calico. Keep in mind the first seven miles have some pretty sandy parts -- run the sides of the trail. I will be running the 30k even though I am no where near in shape to do it. But I'm crazy enough to line up anyway.

      Delete
  2. This sounds like a great workout/achievement. Thanks for the info. After reading your blog on Calico, I will running it for the first time.

    -- Chuck

    ReplyDelete