the Way of the Turtle

NOT QUITE THE ORIGINAL INDIAN LADDER 15K COURSE...
10.6 Mile Run at Thacher Park
Wednesday, July 11, 2012

I started running trails in the fall of 1997 and ran my first trail race in July, 1998 - the Indian Ladder 15k. I suppose that's one of the reasons Indian Ladder holds a special place in my heart, and even though I can run those trail pretty much anytime I want for free, I still try to get to the race each year. I've run it 10 times in the last 14 years, and even ran it from 1999-2004, when it was practically the only race I ran each year.

The race was originally based out of the Glen Doone picnic area, but by 2000 had outgrown the space available there (particularly in regards to parking) and so was moved to the Haile's Cave area, which resulted in major changes to the course. Where the original course wound its way mostly along the escarpment and through the Paint Mine/Hop Field areas of the park, the current course covers a bit more than half the distance on those trails and then heads off into the old OSI property at the northern end of the park.

When I was cleaning last week I came across a copy of the map of the original course and decided I wanted to have a go at running it again... well, sort of. There are places where trails have been re-routed, and I was pretty sure I wanted to do more than 15k... but I still figured I'd include as much of the old course as possible. Which is exactly what I did this afternoon/evening.

I started out at the Hop Field picnic area and headed across the road to what used to be the finish of the 15k, in the parking lot for Glen Doone. Between two runnings of the original course and a visit Ann and I made here back in the spring of 2001, Glen Doone always makes me nostalgic. And the views from the escarpment north don't hurt... from there I made my way along the escarpment until I finally reached the old wastewater treatment plant above Haile's Cave picnic area.

One thing that became quickly clear is how much the lack of rain has affected the higher ground of the Helderbergs. The trails were bone-dry, the streams were almost the same (a few trickles of water here and there), and plants were wilting and dying all over the place. I hope this dry spell breaks soon... we really need the water.

I detoured onto the Long Path to get back down to the park office... they've re-routed another section to get clear of a boggy area, which will have a small effect on both the Indian Ladder and ARE races (the new section is probably 0.1 or 0.2 miles shorter than the old trail.) Then I headed back over the the Paint Mine area and up... and up... and up... I had forgotten that the old course went through the stream and UP the hill, rather than coming down to splash through the water. Nothing new, I've run these trails many times in recent years... until I made it back to Paint Mine road and crossed straight onto a trail that has clearly seen little use recently (it was very overgrown.) I briefly questioned if I was even on the correct trail until I hit a really steep climb, and then I knew I was on course - I had always wondered where that brief but incredibly tough hill was! After taking photos of a very chubby woodchuck, I circled back down to Paint Mine road on a dirt road that runs along the far side of the beaver pond - another spot I've only been to once or twice since I last ran this course in 1999.

From there it was all trails I run pretty regularly... parallel to Beaver Dam Road, down and around the Hop Field swamps (where a new bridge/boardwalk is being built - very cool!), past the park maintanence area, and then back to the Hop Field picnic area. Just another run on trails I know and love, with the added bonus of revisiting the memories of some of the first races I ran, 13-14 years ago...

JMH