Ride the Roller Coaster, Dave

So Dave wants to do a little trail running this weekend?

No roads. Dirt. Rocks. Streams. Mud. Twenty miles maybe. Start at 6:30 AM. How about a Roller Coaster, Dave?

After our 23 miler a few weekends back on dirt roads around Crazy Craig's house, Dave's feet screamed NO MORE HARD SURFACES. Wuss. How about a little rock-stubbing, toe-ripping stretch for those gentle toelets, eh?

Always thinking of combining wildilfe watching with running as a perfect if potentially dangerous combo, I've come up with a challenge for us. We'll stay on the Appalachian Trail in Loudoun County, Virginia and if we survive our first 14+ miles, we'll take a final 6 miles north of Rt 7 on the AT.

Snicker's Gap is the hole in the Blue Ridge that permits Rt 7 to pass west from the Washington DC suburbs to Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley. During the fall, an intrepid band of volunteer hawk watchers enjoy fall weather (or not) for months on end. From the earliest sharpies and kestrels through the clouds of South American-bound broad-winged hawks in mid to late September and late November's possible golden eagles and rough-winged hawks, Snicker's Gap is Virginia's Hawk Mountain. Want to visit? Bring a lawn chair and pull off Rt 7 on the south side of the gap. For a great description of this place from a birder's standpoint, click here.

If you want to go beyond the parking area Hawk Watch and scramble our trail, here's what we'll be doing, from a listing on Trails.com:

Appalachian Trail: Snickers Gap to Blackburn Trail Center

Preview: Hikers eager for, say, 4,800 feet of elevation change should try this one-way, 7.3-mile Appalachian Trail outing. Over half of it is on the aptly nicknamed Roller Coaster. It also provides seasonally diverse woodland landscapes and time on one of North Americas greatest hiking trails. Trees dominate the hike, helping anchor the mountain soil, shelter the areas bountiful wildlife, shade the trail, and make hikers appreciate the overlooks. Oaks and hickories are common, but youll also encounter maples, black tupelos, and pines. In the understory, dogwood blossoms-plus myriad wildflowers and migratory birds-brighten early spring; mountain-laurel leaves offset the pallor of winter, and poison ivy lurks year-round. The rocky trail can be slick when wet or icy, so be prudent when scheduling or doing the hike. Also, wear orange in the fall; the ATs no-hunting-allowed right-of-way is narrow. Try this hike in September, when the leaves are starting to turn and only migrating birds are in the air. Scenery: Mountain woodlands, steep slopes, boulder field, farmland views. Trail surface: Chiefly dirt and rocks (both loose and embedded); some grassy patches.

Someone will let you know if we make it back alive. With a wildlife list. And 10 toes each. Sorry you're missing this one, Andrew!

Crazy Craig

Night Time 20

Last night I ran one of my favorite 20 mile routes (online at gmaps pedometer) that would take me north out of DC to the Capital Crescent Trail, through Bethesda, the C&O Canal, Georgetown, Rock Creek Park and then home.

Running at twilight meant that I had a good chance to see deer. My goal was to see 5 or 6 during my run, but it took me until mile 11.5 before I saw the first deer, a 4-point buck with two of his antlered buddies along the Med/DC line. Just after mile 13, 4 un-antlered deer at a boat launch sipped water from the edge of the C&O Canal. The deer scattered for refuge as I passed, and a mystery bird silently flew up from the canal to my left and for the briefest moment its expansive dark wings were silhouetted by a distant street light.

A ½ mile later what looked like a family of 4 deer (mom, dad, baby and 1 year-old) stood just off the path undisturbed as I trotted by.

At mile 14 the darkness of an unrecognizable shape slipped into the canal in front of me, and slowly swam away on top of the water. Peculiar things happen to your mind when you run significant distances. After two hours of inner solitude you may begin to see the outside world in diverse ways. Continued running without thinking allows your logical mind to slip into hibernation and it can then become a challenge to make sense of, and give answers to simple questions like, for example, “What the heck is that swimming in the canal?”

60 seconds of observation and speculation later, a loud tail slap on the water broke both the silence and my deliberation. The first of two beavers I observed on my run disappeared under the cloudy canal surface.

After the beaver encounter, 3 of the next 5 deer seemed wholly unprepared for my approach. Deer 12 and 13 immediately jumped off the path into the thick cover while deer 14, 15 and 16 chose the path of least resistance and ran away from me down the towpath. I continued to run with these 3 first-year deer keeping the pace 10-15 yard ahead of me for almost 150 yards. When they finally quit the towpath I passed and heard one give out a bleat, to let momma know where they were.

Before entering the wilderness of nighttime Georgetown, I saw another deer that brought my total to 17. A lone Great Blue Heron stood motionless, shin-deep in the canal and it watched me run by.

AP