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| We started from the Trailhead around 6:10am. The sky was still dark and for the first 30minutes or so , we were a line of LED flashlight beams heading up the trail. The route was Tejas Trail to McKittrick Trail. The first 3miles were uphill. My camelbak felt heavy on my back with two full water bladders. But carrying the weight was good training. I had used this trip as justification to purchase a new Camelbak, one with more cargo space for toting a second bladder. After 2 trips to REI I decided upon the Day Star Camelbak , and it worked well. My only negative comment is that it lacks outside side pockets. (I plan to add a set of side pockets to the camelbak prior to Cascade in August). |
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| The trail snuck down below the ridgeline which blocked the morning sun. The ambient temperature suddenly dropped. I felt cold in this section , but I did not want to stop to put my wind jacket back on. Soon the trail would head up to the top of the ridge again. |
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| FRIDAY |
| Friday's run offered two choices: 1) Long Option: Pine Springs to McKittrick Canyon and back to Pine Springs 2) Short Option: Pine Springs to McKittrick Canyon . Those doing the long option would carry an extra water bladder to the top of the ridge, and leave it at the McKittrick Trail trail junction for use on the return trip in the afternoon. Initially I had planned to do the long option. But two weeks earlier, at Miwok 100km, I felt some signs of over-training and depletion. I did not run at all in the 12 days between Miwok and Guadalupe in order to recover. I decided to only do the short run on Friday. But in the event that I might feel more energetic than I expected, I decided to carry the extra bladder of water up to the trail junction. |
| Figure 1: Topo map showing Friday's route from Pine Springs to McKittrick Canyon: |
| McKittrick Canyon |
| Pine Springs |
| Figure 2: Elevation Profile of Friday's route from Pine Springs to McKittrick Canyon: |
| Photo 6: Sunrise. Flashlights were no longer needed |
| Photo 7: .Reaching the top, we were in a forested area but the trail was still rocky. We gradually dropped slightly in elevation over the next few miles. |
| Photo 8: Chris running down the trail |
| Photo 9: The trail crossed a dry rocky creek bed in this section |
| Photo 9: In the warmth of the sunlight again, this photo was taken looking back . |