La Plata mountains

One of the trails I ran a lot when I was in college was a trail in the La Plata Mountains outside of Durango Colorado. It's a trail without a particular name mostly because it is on private property and not supposed to be hiked or run. But when you want a killer workout off the beaten [and beautiful] path [which we did] then this was it.
The trail doesn't have a name that I know of but it may be Eagle Pass according to my perusing through Google Earth.

I did this run in June 2010.

The start of the trail crosses a creek.

After about 30 minutes of running you look back and get this view.

Just cruising along.

Spectacular view. The area has an old mine. This building is a relic of its past.

Near the top.

At the top.

Distance: 9 miles [?]
Time: 3 hours

Montaña de Oro

A few miles outside of San Luis Obisbo along the Pacific coast lies Montaña de Oro State Park. There are a good many trails to explore. I took the most obvious one, which is up Valencia Peak. It's not a very long run but it is challenging and you get a nice variety from sand to rock. Plus, the view of the surround region is amazing.

On the way up looking out toward the ocean.

Looking down from the top.

Hard to keep one's eyes on the trail with such a view.

After all the steep running I chose to run by the bluffs.

Looking back up where I ran. Valencia Peak is to the left.
Had I wanted to do a longer run I could have gone to the other peak to the right, which is Oats Peak.

Distance: 5 miles
Total Time 45 minutes

Kitchen Mesa

Ghost Ranch, New Mexico has a few trails that offer a beautiful view of the high desert terrain. One of the best is Kitchen Mesa. Seen from the front in the photo above. The trail goes to the top of the rock.

Seen from the back side.

After run / hiking about 20 minutes this is the view you get looking back from where you have hiked.

Then the trail gets crazy. All rocks and hard to find an actual trail. You need to grab the rope [tough to see] that is available.

 The top goes along for a bit.

Once at the very top - after 40 minutes running - you get this view of the ranch.

Looking to the left you get this view. The flat top mountain in the distance is Pedernal.

Kitchen Mesa is a good hike with great views. Running all of it is not possible but that won't prevent you from a good workout in part because it is above 7000 feet altitude.

Distance: 6 miles [?]
Total Time: 80 minutes [the hike apparently takes 3 hours]

Mt Tam trails

Each spring I take a trip to the Bay Area to see relatives and I make it a point to take a run on the trails around Mt Tamalpais. The trail I frequent is the Matt Davis trail. This stretch of it starts near the Throckmorton Fire Station.

[I ran this trail in May 2011.]

Heading along the Matt Davis Trail in the first mile.

After the steep Nora trail the trail comes out at a place called The West Point Inn, which offers a nice view of the bay.

Then I head along another trail to the Mountain Theater, where they are often prepping for a Spring show.

Coming down from the Mountain Theater is a steep section with a lot of switchbacks. Toward the bottom are some steps.

Then I loop back onto the Matt Davis Trail.

And then I finish the last mile going through nicely shaded areas and narrow trees.

Distance: 6 to 7 miles
Total Time: 65 to 70 minutes

Jesusita trail

I went up to Santa Barbara for the day and ran the Jesusita trail up to Inspiration point.

It was a foggy day, which was perfect.

After running alongside a creek for the first mile there is a cool old sign.

It has been a good rainy winter and spring as was evident by all the green along the trail.

Here is the top. A good amount of fog blocked any view. But it was fine with me since it kept me cool.

Coming back down the foliage seems to overtake the trail.

Distance: 6 to 7 miles.
Total Time: 80 minutes

Topanga trail run

Here is a run I did last year on the Musch trail in Topanga State Park on July 24th as part of YouTube's 'Life In A Day'.



Distance: 5 1/2 miles [Only 2 1/2 to the rock]
Total Time: 55 minutes

Kearsarge Pass

I went for a long day trail run / hike in July 2005 up in the John Muir Wilderness on a trail that leads up to Kearsarge Pass. Along the 4-and-a-half mile trail are five lakes on the way up and two lakes on the other side of the pass. Below are a few photos.

 Running along I pass a large lake.

 After an hour and 40 minutes of hiking and running I get to the pass.

Two hours of hiking yields this spectacular lake called Kearsarge Lake.

I headed back to the car and along the way encountered sleet, mosquitos and a lot of people. I also notice this fine old tree.

Total Time: Around 4 hours

Stinson trails

One of the pleasures of going to the Bay Area is to visit the trails on and around Mount Tamalpais.

One such set of trails is to drive [the very] windy road to Stinson Beach and then from there run up the Matt Davis Trail to Pantoll Station and then cruise down the [famous] Dipsea trail.

On the Matt Davis trail there are a good number of stairs on the trail. [As there are on Dipsea].

Almost at the top section of the Matt Davis trail looking back toward Stinson Beach.

On the top section of the Dipsea trail. Beautiful.

More stairs on the downhill section.

 

The view on the finishing mile is really something else. Classic.


Distance: 7 to 8 miles.
Total Time: 85 minutes

Will Rogers

One of my favorite trail runs, close to where I live, is in Will Rogers State Park. The trail is the start of the 45 mile [or so] backbone trail, which extends all the way to Pt Mugu. I usually just run for 40 minutes up and then turn around at a particular spot.

The first section of the trail leads to a bridge, which you can see off to your right. This is the high spot of the first section. About 17 to 20 minutes of running.

The trail rolls along and has a lot of different green flora. Note the yucca [cactus] at the far end of the trail.

The toughest stretch is between the yucca and the oak tree. It's is about 7 minutes of punishing uphill that, fortunately has pretty good brush and tree coverage.

Once past the oak tree [not pictured] the trail gets flat for a while and has really nice shade. This is usually my cool down spot before the next section.

This is coming back from the top section. Other than the occasional mountain biker this section is usually very quiet. Hikers take too long to get here. There is no real high point on the trail but the views are still terrific all around.

Total Time: 73 minutes

Arroyo Sequit

The Smallest State Park in California. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Macchiarini Art

Pieces by Peter Macchiarini [my grandfather].

Mt San Jacinto

A terrific hike / trail run is the main trail up to Mt San Jacinto, which is located just outside of Palm Springs.
You take a tram a few miles up the side of the mountain.
It took me from the 90 degree April heat to a cool 55 degrees and snow!

I went about a quarter mile and snow covered the trail. A couple coming down the trail told me the trail disappeared and that I had little chance of getting to the top. I nodded and continued on. I figured even if I didn't make it I was where I wanted to be and ready to keep going. Although, I then realizes that I had forgotten my long sleeve shirt, jacket and cap. Whoops! Was in too much of a hurry to catch the tram, which only runs every 20 minutes. Oh well, glad I had bought a long sleeve San Jacinto t-shirt at the gift shop before I hit the trail.

Oh yes, there is snow. Where is the trail?

Love it!
The snow pack was hard enough that I didn't fall in.
I met a guy along the way who told me the peak was to the left. I take his word for it. But, alas, the peak really was to the right.

After a long traverse I got into a small cul-de-sac valley and the trail completely disappears. I decide to head straight up a snow slope.
I get to a saddle and go left.

Beautiful. I'm made it. What a view. Wait. What is that peak over there? It's higher than the one I am on. I'm on the wrong peak!

I headed back down to saddle and through large boulders and snow. I finally reached the true summit of Mt San Jacinto.

I looked back at the first peak I climbed. Okay, I was definitely on the higher peak now.
Beautiful.

Way, way down in the valley below [back and to the right] it was 95 degrees and Coachella was going on.

I'm sure it was cool but I was hearing the music of the mountains.

Total Time: Around 4 hours