Oldham to Rocky Ridge

15 runners, Skylar and Anika headed up the Oldham Steps to Rocky Ridge on a beautifully chilly May Day. 15 anonymous runners agreed that since last winter's snows, Oldham got much steeper! The trail was surprisingly dry, however there were still several patches of snow clinging to the base of Mount Elden. At the end of the run we were able to watch the start of the Girls on the Run event in Buffalo Park. We returned to the Seasoned Kitchen for coffee and tea.

Walnut Canyon, Arizona Trail

14 runners headed south towards Fisher Point (including visitors Lauren, Jill and Eli). Both Bob and Eric went on exceptionally long runs joining the group at the trailhead. After several cold, wet days, the warm morning temperatures were a welcome change. Most runners went to the 4 mile overlook trail where David unsuccessfully searched for the brigadoon Sinagua pot sherd that we found 5 years ago. At the end of the run, we made our inaugural trip to the Flagstaff Coffee Company where Tim served us up some fine coffees. By noon, the patio filled with many locals enjoying an early beer on a warm, wind free spring day. As we walked away, David just couldn't help himself by making a bold prediction about more snow in store in the near future. Looking like another May with snow! No one cared to hear this information. Next week our scheduled Saturday runs will return to 8 AM until late fall.

I Heart Huckaby

11 runners and Skylar headed south for the last Sedona trail run of the year. When we arrived, the Huckaby parking lot was nearly full and there were as many hikers on the trail as there were runners. Huckaby, one of our shorter runs, is more challenging than most as it drops several hundred feet to Oak Creek. The return trip from the river is quite a climb and few can run it without stopping (of course the view is always a good excuse). At the end of the run we sat outside the coffee shops in West Sedona enjoying the warm April sun and nobody seemed to want to return to Flagstaff. Anyone who spoke of the impending return to winter next week was told to hush up. View photos from last year's Huckaby run.

Somewhere on Observatory Mesa...

It was a warm and breezy spring day as 11 runners (Chris,
Clare, Shea, Sabrina, Rhiannon, Mackenzie, Heather, Susan,
David, Bruce, Mike) and six dogs (Petzl, Josie, Wyatt, Annika,
Bob, Dharma) headed up into the snow & the slop on of Observatory Mesa. Breaking into 3 groups at the top, only Chris and Mike braved the entire 11-mile route. Bruce and Sabrina ran to the base of the loop and Bruce got them lost coming back, coming out at Westridge! (You had to be there.) The rest of the crew went south from the gate a ways.

Mars Hill Trail from Thorpe Park to the top of Observatory Mesa was in pretty good shape considering the amount of snow received this winter. A few patches of snow remained but these were easily dealt with either bypassing them altogether or
running on top of the still firm morning snow.

At the west end of the trail, the group split with some heading west onto FR515/FR506 and the others heading south along Tunnel Springs Trail and then back to Thorpe Park. The forest roads along the mesa top were wet and muddy and there was even an
abandoned and deeply-mired-in-the-mud truck. Tunnel Springs Trail, on the other hand, was mostly dry.

The groups rejoined at Thorpe Park and made a beeline for coffee at Late for the Train. (Thanks to Bruce and David B for the combined report!)

Wet Beaver Creek Run

20 runners and 6 dogs headed up the Wet Beaver Creek trail to the pools. It was a beautiful spring day and quite warm. Jamil and Brian took the leap of faith into the icy Beaver Creek waters. I re-created the scene from exactly 4 months ago where I tore my calf. Finally, no pain! As we returned to the cars Chris and Sara headed up the trail for the second time as they begin their march towards Trans Rockies. Once returning to Flag we hit the Seasoned Kitchen where Rhiannon became fascinated with the push me button on Tony's coffee maker. See the video above to see what happened when Rhiannon pressed the button!
View Bruce Higgins' photos from today's run.

Campbell Mesa Trails

16 runners braved the blustery, cold and howling winds this morning. The Campbell Mesa trails were in great shape as most of the snow has melted in this area. David mentioned that the east side of town had 2 fewer feet of snow and it really showed. Except for a few drifts covering the trail, it was basically dry. We warmed up with double shot of Espresso at the Seasoned Kitchen before calling it a morning.

Keyhole Sink Hike, Chicken Point, Hog Wash

While I did not attend the run in Sedona, I have posted the hike I led to the Keyhole Sink petroglyph panels. Enjoy. We will repeat this wonderful hike next Saturday!

Saturday Update thanks to David Blanchard!

Always looking for new routes and variety in our runs, Susan and
David decided to start at the Broken Arrow trailhead on Morgan
Road rather than the Margs Draw TH on Schnebly Hill Road.
Starting up Broken Arrow Trail, we took a quick right onto the
unmarked "Hog Wash" trail (see map) that would take us around
the north and west sides of the mountain. We then took "High on
the Hog" which brought us over the saddle and back to Broken
Arrow trail just as the main group of NATRA runners were heading
back down. We fell in behind the group and ended our run at the
Broken Arrow trailhead. Estimated distance on this run was
about 4 to 5 miles with some challenging sections and some
amazing terrain.




The rest of the group did the standard run on Margs Draw Trail
and then onto Broken Arrow to the turnaround at Chicken Point.

As has become our custom, we had an apres run get together at
Ravenheart coffee in West Sedona.

On Thursday, Susan and David also biked in Sedona and encountered a swollen "not so" Dry Creek!