OWL-DRAGON

Trail Run

I have said before that the magic of the trail run is the changing landscape. When I last did the trail much of the run was in the dark, on a wet trail. Today I had light almost from the beginning. The excuse machine was in overdrive. I had skipped last week’s run when I awoke to howling winds and sub zero temps. This morning wasn’t much better and when I walked Max around the block I seriously considered just nipping back to back for an hour. But I steeled myself and drove out to the trail. The jeep’s thermometer said 15 and I knew the northwest winds made the wind chill below zero. I felt the chill initially and seriously considered a shorten run but as the sky lightened and as I warmed with my effort I felt better and better about the run. The trail itself shown white with last Sunday’s snow now encrusted with ice that crunched underfoot. The trees were amazing in their texture and structure; the tallest seeming to hold up the blue vault of the sky. On some of the trail I saw only one other set of human prints (all of the trails appeared heavily use by four legged creatures) but other parts showed heavy traffic though why that should be I don’t know. Just past halfway I climbed up a steep hill. Running along the hill’s ridge, I looked across the valley and saw thru the trees on the far ridge the rising sun. Its rays lit the tops of the trees a gorgeous red golden color. I had to stop to take it all in the beauty it was that stunning. A little further on the sun seemed to suddenly jump up over the tree line a great red gold globe that bathed the tree tops in light. I was very glad I hadn’t wimped out for this turned out to be a favorite run. By trails end my only regret was that it was ending so soon.

On a side note: My wife gave me a hood for Christmas that has proven a godsend in this cold weather. I never feel the cold when wearing it (in fact it’s easy to feel too hot). However, if tightly closed you have no peripheral vision. I wondere how Muslim women who wear the abaya do it. I can’t imagine how it would be never to be outside without that constraint.