Plotter Kill DID Kick My Butt!
3 Hour Trail Run/Hike in the Plotter Kill Preserve
Thursday, March 23, 2006
map of Plotter Kill
Plotter Kill Run Photo Slideshow
Ann and I visited Plotter Kill Nature Preserve in late December, 2004, after reading about it on some waterfall web-sites. (Plotter Kill has three reasonably large waterfalls.) We hiked in to the third falls, after which it was simply too cold and the trail was too icy for us to continue. Last summer various groups from the Albany Running Exchange ran the Plotter Kill trails on several occasions. So for a number of months I have been looking to get over there and run, and today I finally managed to do so! And on a gorgeous sunny day to boot!
In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I actually ran for about 2 hours, and spent the remaining hour hiking areas that were either too steep for me to run, or when trying to find relatively dry places to cross several streams. (Since I wasn't sure what the terrain would be like, I didn't want to soak my shoes... what a wimp. That won't be a problem in future Plotter Kill runs...)
The Plotter Kill trails are quite challenging... unlike the "tame" trails in the Pine Bush, they are loaded with rocks, roots, and mud. A lot of the latter was still frozen that day I was there - I suspect once warmer weather consistently hits the trails are going to be VERY muddy for a while. There were several steep uphills, including a long (3/4 mile) uphill stretch not long after crossing the stream at the far end of the preserve. At the same time, this is a beautiful area to run in... much of the time the trail follows the ridge line on either side of the main stream running through the preserve, and while I was there at least I saw no other people once I got away from the first mile or so.
Sometime in the future I hope to run not only the trails I ran today but also follow the stream bed and perhaps get a chance to see the waterfalls (which were still mostly iced over today.) There just aren't any good views of them from the top of the ridge.
So all in all, a good training run, albeit one where I hiked a good deal more than I'd have preferred. Next time - more running and less hiking!
As a side note - on my way home I was hit with a bad case of what I suspect was food poisoning that had me in bed with a rampaging fever for roughly two days (my digestive system wasn't too happy, either.) An excellent reminder of the basic frailty of human beings and how quickly things can go from being pretty darn good to pretty darn awful.
JMH
3 Hour Trail Run/Hike in the Plotter Kill Preserve
Thursday, March 23, 2006
map of Plotter Kill
Plotter Kill Run Photo Slideshow
Ann and I visited Plotter Kill Nature Preserve in late December, 2004, after reading about it on some waterfall web-sites. (Plotter Kill has three reasonably large waterfalls.) We hiked in to the third falls, after which it was simply too cold and the trail was too icy for us to continue. Last summer various groups from the Albany Running Exchange ran the Plotter Kill trails on several occasions. So for a number of months I have been looking to get over there and run, and today I finally managed to do so! And on a gorgeous sunny day to boot!
In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that I actually ran for about 2 hours, and spent the remaining hour hiking areas that were either too steep for me to run, or when trying to find relatively dry places to cross several streams. (Since I wasn't sure what the terrain would be like, I didn't want to soak my shoes... what a wimp. That won't be a problem in future Plotter Kill runs...)
The Plotter Kill trails are quite challenging... unlike the "tame" trails in the Pine Bush, they are loaded with rocks, roots, and mud. A lot of the latter was still frozen that day I was there - I suspect once warmer weather consistently hits the trails are going to be VERY muddy for a while. There were several steep uphills, including a long (3/4 mile) uphill stretch not long after crossing the stream at the far end of the preserve. At the same time, this is a beautiful area to run in... much of the time the trail follows the ridge line on either side of the main stream running through the preserve, and while I was there at least I saw no other people once I got away from the first mile or so.
Sometime in the future I hope to run not only the trails I ran today but also follow the stream bed and perhaps get a chance to see the waterfalls (which were still mostly iced over today.) There just aren't any good views of them from the top of the ridge.
So all in all, a good training run, albeit one where I hiked a good deal more than I'd have preferred. Next time - more running and less hiking!
As a side note - on my way home I was hit with a bad case of what I suspect was food poisoning that had me in bed with a rampaging fever for roughly two days (my digestive system wasn't too happy, either.) An excellent reminder of the basic frailty of human beings and how quickly things can go from being pretty darn good to pretty darn awful.
JMH
