After taking - and not passing - the second half of my PSIA Level 2 Ski Instructor exam, I came home to Lake Tahoe long enough to re-pack the car and get back on the road. Destination: Eureka, California. Patsy's working a clinical rotation on the Hoopa Reservation nearby. We had hoped to go climbing for the weekend on the granite at the Trinity Aretes or the limestone along the Lost Coast, but it rained like it only can in the Pacific Northwest. A light, constant, never-ending water from the sky that keeps everything - anything - from ever completely drying out. So no climbing.
But I did get to run for the first time this year! Knowing how my knees and feet dislike the pounding of pavement, Patsy showed me one of her regular runs in Blue Lake, a small community just east of Arcata. The route follows a little bit of asphalt before taking advantage of a trail system following number of old rail way lines and dikes between town and the Mad River. Of course, it was raining the entire time.
patsy stopped to check out the wildlife
watch it doesn't bite you!
in no time we were off the pavement
the run mostly followed a dike along the
north bank of the mad river
the route was a loop with an out-and-back
tail / we finished with coffee at Stardough's!
Statistics: First trail run of the year. Distance - not measured. Time - about 40 minutes. Elevation gained and lost - maybe 40 feet. Maybe.
