Well, I have been  thinking about Joseph Allen Skinner State Park in the Hadley, South Hadley, Amherst, and Granby area of western Massachusetts.  I've been thinking about it because my friend Hill-Billage participated in the 7 Sisters Trail Race this year, and wrote a fantastic article about the race, himself, and the route.  The article made it sound "fun" and "worthwhile".  It made me remember that once upon a time, I also had challenged those hills.

I ran the race from 1992 through 2001, and then one more time in '02 or '03 (just can't remember).  The first time I raced it, in '92, it was also my first "trail race".  I wore a complete gore-tex outer shell (top and bottom), and vasque gore-tex hiking boots.  There were only about 60 or so participants in the race that year, and I was pretty close to the end of the line.  As a matter of fact, on the way back from the turn-around, I stepped off the trail to take a leak, and when I returned to the trail I could not remember which way to go.  It was foggy, so I couldn't see the sun in the sky, and I was exhausted.  This was somewhere around mile 8 or 9.  I had to wait for the next runner to come by before I could re-start. 

The great news was despite feeling pretty defeated by those hills, I decided to keep with it.  During my 10 or 11 finishes, I twice ran 2:12 at this race, which for a 200 lbs man, is pretty good (I think).

Not only did I stop going to the race about 15-years ago, I also stopped visiting the area, other than one trip in 2009.  So, with a day of predicted rain and high temps and humidity, I took the drive to the Notch Visitor Center, and would attempt the Mt. Holyoke side of the range (not as rocky and constant up and down, which would be helpful after the rain).

The section is 5.2-miles, but I thought that I'd like to make it to Long Mountain at 4-miles, before turning back.  This was a good call, because it was really humid and by the end I was worn out.

The section of trail is fantastic, with climbs up Norwottuck, Rattlesnake Knob, and Long Mountain.  The route also passes the Horse Caves, which are impressive as well.  There are also decently lengthy sections of old roads through flat or rolling sections, where running is actually easy.

I made it to Long, saw that the trail started to drop off and decided to head back.  I was at 4.0-miles, in 1:11:00.  I knew I was breaking off the Metacomet onto the Robert Frost Trail on the way back, and that would give me a break regarding an additional climb up Norwottuck.  I decided I would like to run the return in an even hour, and see how that went.

Once finished, I stopped the gps at 7.8-miles and 2:03:00.  The second half (3.8-miles) was done much better than an hour, it was completed in 52 minutes!  I was gassed, mostly due to the heat and humidity, but the climbing was starting to take its toll as well.  Excellent section that I plan on coming back to in the fall, as the colors arrive in the trees and the humidity leaves New England.

A view off Norwottuck

 A view off Norwottuck

 A view off Norwottuck

 A view off Norwottuck

Coming down from Norwottuck towards the Horse Caves

Horse Caves

 Horse Caves

 Off Rattlesnake Knob

 On top of Long Mountain, looking back at Norwottuck

I visited as quiet a place as I know, Catamount State Forest in Colrain, Massachusetts.  I spent a decent amount of time hiking and running in this location during June & July of 2015, but haven't been back since.  It was as rewarding as I remember it.

I had a route picked out, and it ended up at 6.2-miles.  The stonewalls are many, as are the cellar holes.  There are many "features" throughout this forest.  I'll attempt to sort it all out as the summer rolls forward, but for now, here are a few special pictures to tie us over.

Marker on Stone from Earl H. McLeod

 View north of  McLeod Pond

 Large Foundation along the route

 Balanced Rock

 Another View of Balanced Rock

Yet Another View of Balanced Rock

 Site of First Flag raised over a school

Cave, from the outside

 Cave, inside looking out

 Roadside Memorial along Route 2

This was going to be a fantastic day weather wise, especially for July.  I wanted to run a ten-miler, without driving too far.  It came down to Shenipsit, Tunxis, Metacomet, or McLean.  No offense to the other spots, but Mclean has the best maintained trails and it isn't even close.

I parked on Canton Road, and ran a pretty large loop with only a little over 1/2-mile repeated.  In the repeat section's defense, it is one of my favorite trails anywhere.

This loop meant a bit of a shaded road section along Firetown, but it is a nice climb, and I did not see one car during my journey along it.  Visited the waterfall along the Westledge/Eddy trail intersection as a bonus.  Once finished I had 10.1-miles in 2:09:00 for a 4.7 mph average.  That was great, as the loop had 1,900' of climb and I felt really comfortable throughout.

 Falls off the Westledge Trail

 View of the Western Barndoor Hills

 

An early trip to the airport at 5:00 a.m., a call-in to work at 6:30 a.m., some family visit time up to noon.  Got out to McLean around mid-afternoon to run an enjoyable 4-mile loop with 550' of climb.

Topo of the Route

A wonderful memorial marker along the trail

Today's route, another view

One day while running from Route 2 toward South County Road, along Whitcomb & Flat Rock Hill, I came across a man-made stone structure that left me confused towards it's origins.  This would have been back in the mid-1990's.

For a few years, whenever I would run from Whitcomb Summit to Windsor Jambs, I'd pass this structure and wonder.  It wasn't until Wuzzam and I pieced our way through the Dunbar, Whitcomb, Jambs Marathon in September of 2014 that I decided to get an answer to the mystery.

I asked Tim Z, a friend, who resides in the area.  He knew immediately what we were describing...  one of the alignment towers for the Hoosac Tunnel construction.  Best news, evidently, is that there are a few more alignment tower locations worth searching for.

http://www.hoosactunnel.net/alignment.php

http://www.jkrails.net/Towers.htm

I know I've been very close to the Spruce Hill and Rowe sites, but as of yet have not seen the remains.  The Notch Road site, despite supposedly being in the best condition, has been a complete mystery to me.  I've used the websites above (links provided) to gather gps points and map the locations for a late November / early December potential search (just before heavy snow fall).

The next couple days are going to very busy at work, and we have family staying with us through Saturday, so a few days off running will be necessary.  

At the beginning of 2017, I was hoping to run one-thousand total miles this year.  I know from 1990 through about 2014 I covered between 1200 and 1500 miles annually.  But, the last few years have been in the 500-700 mile range.  So I made up a spreadsheet with a rough guide to get me to 1032-miles during 2017.

I projected a high end for weekly mileage at 30, and low at only 10-miles.  The 10-mile weeks were scheduled for the four-weeks in January, and the last week in December.  In between those dates, miles would grow in spring toward summer, and begin to dip again from late July to fall.

Last week was roughly the half-way point of our calendar, Six-months completed.  On June 30th, I had completed 488.9-miles, which was a Friday.  If I looked at the end of my 26th week (half-way point of the year), which brings me through July 2nd, I hit 502.1-miles.

My projected mileage to the July 2nd date (26th-week) was 457-miles, which has me with a little bit of a buffer.  So far, I am on-track!

Phelps Road and the Metacomet heading south at 5:00 p.m.  Pretty awesome early evening to run.  I ended up signing the log, for the first time this year I believe.  My best year signing in was 2012, when I managed 104 visits to the logbook.  From 1993 to about 2008, I ran this section of trail 3 or 4 times a week, year round.  But...  there was no sign-in logbook.

What I have recorded, for a few years anyway:

2011 -   50 Visits

2012 - 104 Visits

2013 -   57 Visits

2014 -   47 Visits through October (... I am not sure what I did in November & December). 

I think I can piece together last year and this year (2016 & 2017).  That is something I'll work on.

Getting back to today's run, it went great and I felt fine.  This was my 8th straight day of running, which is really something.  My previous best consecutive day streak this year was 6-days.  Last year, I doubt I ever got over five consecutive days of running.  Slowly, I am getting in decent fitness.

I finally saw the birch growing around the old White Pine or Hemlock that had fallen over (I just can't recall which it was, but the area is populated by White Pine, and the Hemlock were all harvested about 15-years ago off this ridge, so I'm going with White Pine remains).  It is located right at the sharp right-turn heading south, about 6/10-mile out from Phelps Road.

Birch using old White Pine remains for support

The sky was washed out but the view from the chimney was still impressive

Traveled to Tunxis to complete the section I started on Sunday;  this time I'd work south to north, from Route 219 to Pine Mountain Road, and back again.

The day was clear, mild (low '80's), with pretty much no humidity at all.  Deer flies were missing in action with one exception...  the crossing at Roaring Brook was bad, and the suckers followed me for a good half-mile.  On the way back, I avoided the brook crossing and took the broken bridge, which was actually a big help with reducing the amount of biters attached to me.

This is a really great trail that I've enjoyed for over 25 years.  Unfortunately, timber harvest are pretty much a normal occurrence in Tunxis, and this season is no exception.  The worst reduction of woods is taking place on Pine Mountain, on the northwest side.  The trail is still obvious, but the infringement from the skid is pretty close, and that is a shame.  Buffers shouldn't be that hard to place and follow.

Despite the loss of big trees in the forest, it was still a great run.  I'd count the following sites as high points through this section...

• Top of the Indian Council Cave area.
• Bottom of the Indian Council Cave area.
• Old Cellar Holes.
• Multiple Stonewalls.
• Roberts Brook.
• Pine Mountain.
• The pool on the west side of Pine Mountain, along the road, where Liddy, Tippi and Sam refreshed so often. 

From Route 219 to Pine Mountain Road I registered 4.6-miles.  The Return via Pine Mountain Road and staying straight instead of climbing Indian Council Cave area was 4.1-miles, for a nice total of 8.7-miles and 2100' of climb.  To make things even better, I felt really good throughout the run, and we're having a cookout this afternoon!

Today's Route

 Approaching the top of Indian Council Cave

On top of Indian Council Cave, looking northeast

Boulders on the bottom of Indian Council Cave

One of the cellar holes

 Another cellar hole with the swamp behind it

 Another view of the foundation and swamp

 View northeast from the top of Pine Mountain

The Ten-Mile section from Route 20 to Route 219

Waited a bit after work, hoping it would cool down a little.  Rode out to Phelps Road and ran the Metacomet north for an easy 3-miler.  In the woods, it was cool enough.

I have started to feel pretty good, and my medication routine is over for the Lyme Disease Symptoms.  I wanted to get in something close to 10-miles, and I didn't want to drive too far.  I wouldn't be getting a really early start either, so I needed something on the cooler side of things (higher elevations).  I settled on the Tunxis Trail, in East Hartland.  

Picked a parking spot at the Route 20 Trail Crossing, which has long been a favorite of mine.  There may be one other car occasionally, but truthfully this is not a very busy trail.  I really like the solitude, and the lack of feeling as though civilization is really close at all times.

It seemed like Pine Mountain Road, or the summit of Pine Mountain would get me to half-way to 10-miles.  From there it would be to simply retrace all my steps, or use the side-path I know of, which adds in a great couple minute climb out of Roberts Brook.

Worked out very well;  the leaves kept the sun off me pretty well.  It was also somewhat mild up in the hills, I guess it stayed around 80 or a little above for the entire time I was running.  To top things off, there was really no humidity to speak of, which is a true blessing.

Went out to Pine Mountain Road, feeling darn good.  Registered 5.2-miles at that point, so on the return trip I did cut about a half-mile off and took the climb out of Roberts Brook to Pine Road crossing.  Ended the day with 9.8-miles, and avoided any leg pain in my hips that the Lyme Disease had brought on.

Rock prior to descent into the raven 1/2-mile before Roberts Brook

Balanced Rock along the Tunxis Trail

Our Dog Pool on Unnamed Brook

 

Up early and managed a humid 3.4-miles on the Metacomet Trail south.

Warmth, Humidity and Webs I

 Warmth, Humidity and Webs II

Fog starting to lift

 Off the Ledge

3-miles on the Metacomet running from Phelps north.  Hot and Humid today!

From the trail-head

Also, on this day in 2006, I completed my 33rd marathon, Tunxis II.  This was the second time in 5-weeks that I marathoned along the Tunxis Trail...  this time, I used the southern portion down to Satan's Kingdom.  My time was 6:06:30, and I had Tippi along for company.  It was her 9th completed marathon.

Tippi on top of  Indian Council Caves, along the Tunxis.

 

Just a mile from work is the southern end of the Windsor Locks Canal State Park Trail.  I didn't have a whole lot of time, so I picked up a little over 3-miles total.  Decent temperatures, but it was starting to feel humid.