Historic Route 66 Devil Dog Trail

Watch more videos on Flotrail



11 NATRA runners headed west to Williams, Arizona to run the Historic Route 66 Devil Dog Mountain Bike trail. In 1992 (thanks to Kaibab National Forest historian Teri Cleeland's love of all things Route 66), Forest staff turned these two abandoned sections of Route 66 into a wonderful Mountain Biking (and Trail Running) loop.
While we knew the history of Route 66, we debated the derivation of "Devil Dog". Steve said it originated when German soldiers in World War I described the Marines as fighting like "Teufel Hunden" or "Hounds from Hell". No one, however had the answer to why the I-40 exit is called "Devil Dog".

Today's run was filled with newcomers - we initiated Natron and Ali visiting from California, Liz from New Mexico, and Jessica, Wyatt, Martie, and Ben from Williams.

The lead group decided to take a detour from Historic Route 66 and challenge themselves up the old Bixler Saddle Road. The remainder took their time, followed the correct route, and enjoyed their kicks on Route 66, retracing the footsteps of the 1928 Bunion Derby runners who passed in the same direction on March 16, 1928. Near the junction of the 1922 and 1932 alignments, Neil and Martie discovered a pair of fresh Mountain Lion tracks alongside a turkey track. Luckily we had Ben to protect us from any felines eyeing us.

The 5 mile loop (or 5.8 for those who took their own path) made for a most pleasant morning. Baby Wyatt was already looking forward to the next run on August 18th, up the Bill Williams Mountain Trail! For more information about trail running in Northern Arizona, visit http://www.natra.org