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March 19, 2007
Tweaked Muscles, Road Biking, White Coyotes, And Other Notes From The Field
All's well that ends well, yes?
I wrote in my weekly log that I was feeling my juju on Wednesday's run, which included a tough, switchbacking uphill climb followed by a screaming descent. Somewhere during that run, I tweaked my right lower calf/Achilles. I didn't realize it until the soreness set in a few hours afterwards.
Much ice and massage later, I decided it best to take the day off on Thursday, so as to let this very important area of the body heal. It felt mo' betta' on Friday, so I took to the trail again. The lingering whatever in my calf/Achilles never actually hurt during this run, but I recall a hot sensation in my lower calf while on an extended uphill climb. However, it was never sore after the fact, so I wasn't too worried.
My sweetie visited this weekend with his road bike in tow and a request to ride some of the still-closed-from-tourist-traffic but non-snowy Yellowstone National Park roads. I agreed quickly, figuring a road bike ride would give my calf/Achilles another day of rest before our Sunday Big Plans.
On Saturday morning, we took off from my house for a 40 mile or so ride. I cannot possibly explain with fairness the loveliness of this weekend's weather. For Saturday's ride, it was probably 55 degrees at my house (though cooler at higher elevations) and perfectly sunny. I rode in various combinations of a jersey, a long sleeve polypro shirt, a vest, and shorts.
From my house, we climbed uphill to the closed gate for the road to the interior of the national park. In the summer, from mid-April to mid-October, this road is open to all kinds of wheeled vehicles. In the winter, from mid-December to mid-March, this road is traveled by oversnow vehicles like snowmobiles. In the 2 shoulder seasons, the road is closed so that snow may accumulate in the fall and melt in the spring. Well, the spring melt has occurred and the road was completely clear. Even more, the road was closed to all vehicle traffic. There were probably 10 cyclists up there riding, each with the same great idea to enjoy such a beautiful day on a closed road.
Can I just mention here that the road bike climb from my house to Golden Gate Pass is so easy now? This climb has always been a bit of a challenge for me. But this time, on my first outdoor ride of the year, it was a breeze. I was a happy girl. And my calf/Achilles felt fine the whole time.
On to Sunday. If you can believe it, we ran on a trail at 6,000 feet elevation that was clear of snow most of the way? We began at the Hellroaring Trailhead, which is near the Tower developed area inside Yellowstone. We loaded up with water, some snacks, an extra layer of clothes, and bear spray for a long run. The first portion of the trail was an 800-foot descent down a north-facing slope. Unfortunately, the switchbacking, exposed trail was still snowpacked, so we had to pick our way down carefully.
Once at the bottom, we encountered a white coyote. The fur of many mammals around here turns white in the winter, this coyote included. I think someone forgot to tell him or her that most of the snow is melted, though. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the otherwise green and brown terrain. Even without the white coat, we wouldn't have missed the little bugger since it walked by about 15 feet away from us. Pretty sweet close-up view.
Shortly down the trail, we crossed the infamous Yellowstone River via a suspension bridge with gushing water beneath it. From there, it's an over-hill-and-yonder jaunt to the banks of Hellroaring Creek. At this point, when the creek conditions are right, you can ford the creek here. We correctly predicted that Hellroaring Creek would be roaring with icy snowmelt water and uncrossable. Thus, we took a 3.5-ish mile detour up the creek, across a footbridge, and then back down the creek to continue our run.
Here, the Hellroaring Trail meets with the Yellowstone River Trail, and we headed down the Yellowstone River Trail. Before you're allowed to run along the banks of the river, the trail requires you to navigate another over-hill-and-yonder jaunt until finally, finally, it makes a plunging nose-dive into the Black Canyon of the Yellowstone. This often-mentioned, infrequently-visited canyon is appropriately named as the river shoots for miles through black volcanic rock.
The trail itself was never flat. I begged and prayed for just one flat section, but never found it. Sometimes the trail would climb up over a canyon cliff, other times it would take a giant flying leap right back down to the river. Whatever the terrtain, it was just beautiful. And the weather held first in the 40's, then in the 50's, and by the end at the lowest elevations, into the lower 60's. Heaven on earth by Yellowstone weather standards.
We wound ourselves along the river until the trail finally ran into the town of Gardiner, MT, just outside the northern park border. We'd parked another car here, 23-ish miles away, and ended our run there. First things first, I'd been craving a Coca Cola and I satiated myself on sugar and caffeine straightaway. It's crazy what one craves while running out on the trails.
I never felt superstellar while on this trail run, mostly just tired legs. Because we're smart, we'd spent 2 hours soaking in a hot springs the night before. I blame the hot water for my heavy-feeling legs. Something about delicately dancing on snow, and sloshing though ankle deep mud, and climbing incessant canyon cliffs might have contributed to the fatigue process as well. I didn't much care, though, as it was a beautiful training run and I held tough through challenging terrain, even with tired legs underfoot.
As a side note, my calf/Achilles felt great for the entire journey. All's well that ends well.
Posted by Meghan at March 19, 2007 7:07 AM
Comments
Sounds absolutely wonderful...
Posted by: backofpack at March 19, 2007 1:47 PM
Great Trail Running ... cool that the trails were mostly clear of snow.. nice description of the white coyote and nice photos ... your writing reminds me of Dick Proenneke as he describes his days in AK!
Posted by: Mary at March 19, 2007 9:00 PM