Arizona Trail/Walnut Canyon

22 runners Anika and Bob ventured on the Arizona Trail - Tony showed up on his bike and we counted him as #23! Some went 5 miles to the first overlook while more went on to the second overlook covering 8. The reconstructed portion south of the deep canyon was incredible. The trail used to be so steep that it was barely runnable. Now it winds gently up the slope. Most impressive was that steep trail was barely visible! It was hard to believe that just last week we ran in a blizzard! Ah Flagstaff in the spring!

April Fort Tuthill Blizzard

Five runners braved this morning's April blizzard (David McKee ran the entire Soldiers Trail loop!). With 10 inches of fresh powder on the urban trail, Neil, Sara, Sabrina and Bruce ran to doggie dell and back, about 4.2 miles. Of course with the shin deep powder it felt like more and took over an hour to complete. Runners faced blinding snow squalls and dodged misguided snow balls. After having to push all cars out of the parking lot, we headed to a very empty Campus Coffee Bean where coffee quickly warmed our frozen bodies.

Soldiers Trail, Fort Tuthill

12 Runners headed out on a relatively dry Soldiers Trail. I had to bail early so am hoping that others on the run have more to add!

Jordan Road Exploration Trail

Ten runners ran in the cool and mostly cloudy conditions of Sedona.

Starting the run from the Jordan Road trailhead were Sabrina, Jennifer,
Heather, Charlie, Brett, Susan, and David (plus Bob and Daisy). Joining the
group later were Tony, Janie, and Margaret. The latter three had started much
earlier and had already completed the Brins Mesa Loop and were closing in on
the lead group.

At the intersection of the Jim Thompson Trail and the Wilson Canyon Trail
the group took a left to explore the section of trail that follows the canyon.

It's still a bit early in the season but some wildflowers are beginning to
make their appearance.

All in all, about 7.5 miles round trip, with overachievers Janie and Tony doing about 13.

Weather was ok, got a few spots of sunshine, but overall a little chilly. We had coffee at our table in Sedona and made fun of Tony's pastry, which looked like a cinnamon role topped with hamburger. It also had a very disappointing taste, but Tony said it looked good in the display case.

(Thanks to David Blanchard and Sabrina Blackledge for the posts!)

Fort Valley Trail System

22 runners, Gray, Anika, Josie, and Wyatt waded in and out of water filled drainages running the multitude of trails of Fort Valley. It was a great turnout for an early spring run. We then paid Tim a visit and packed the Kickstand for coffee and some pretty odd tasting electrolyte replacement drinks.

The video above was taken in May, 2010, but pretty resembles the stream crossings we made today.

Cathedral Rock in Every Which Way!

16 runners took various trails around, above and through Cathedral Rock! A few ran back into Oak Creek Village, up the Bell Rock Pathway, to Templeton, over the Highline (first time!) and back via Baldwin east. A few ran Baldwin west, along Templeton to the H-T junction & back, while others also ran over the Highline. Still others ran Baldwin east to Templeton to Hwy 89 & back on the Highline route.

Along the way, Tony kicked Bruce's butt (guess he's almost ready for a 50-miler) and several people came back bloody. Where is Mackenzie when you need her to add to that?

(Thanks to Bruce for the post).

I Heart Huckaby! (Water, Water everywhere)!

12 runners enjoyed Sedona's spring sunshine. The first challenge was staying dry across a small canyon flowing with water. Once along Oak Creek, a felled Sycamore created an unexpected obstacle and one runner simply could not hurdle the hazard. Finally, there was no way to cross the raging waters of Oak Creek. After returning to the trail head, we hoped we would not have to compete with the crowds at the Sedona St Patrick Day Parade in our search for coffee!