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North Waldo Trail Area

August 10, 2008 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: Sunny; 40-60+F

Comments:
Woke up atw 0515, made some tea, and packed up. I was on the road shortly before 6, feeling a TON better than yesterday. I slept A LOT Saturday. On the ride up I figured I slept eight hours...DURING THE DAY, ALONE. I then got in another 6+ over night. Not bad.

Drove a lot slower up to Waldo this week. I wasn't in a hurry. I was a bit low on gas, but I wanted to also get air in my tires so I dieted from gassing up in Oakridge. Bad decision. About 20 miles later -- and 3,000' climb -- it was evident that I *might* not make it if I try to drive all the way to Waldo and then back to Oakridge. Annoyed, I passed the Waldo access road and drove clear over to Crescent Lake Junction for fuel.

Back on track with enough gas to at least get me to Oakridge again, I reversed course and headed for North Waldo CG. I assembled my gear and was on the trail by 0800.

The plan for today was to explore the North Waldo area (http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/willamette/recreation/tripplanning/trails/northwaldo/index.html), which is of interest because of the extensive wildfire area. I ran the Lake Trail (#3590) to the headwaters of the Willamette and looked for the Six Lakes Trail (#3597). I crossed over the river and passed "a" trailhead but saw no signage for 3597, so I kept running. After about a half mile, I figured I way overran it (especially since I was toting a map this time, which indicated it should've been present shortly after the Willamette). Just as I was about to turn back, I BIFFED IT. HARD. Hard enough that I actually did a "protective roll" to keep from skidding on my limbs! Despite the sweet maneuver, I banged up my left hand and, for fuck's sake, the right knee. It has already been through enough -- here's more shit. It really hurt for about a half mile, and to be honest, I limped (though slightly) for several miles afterwards.

Upon turning back, I did happen upon a sign for the trail...hidden on the other side of the trail, sharing its junction status with another trail. I cannot stress how incredibly easy it is to get lost in these trail networks, even with a map, compass, and half a clue of where you want to go. I proceeded northwest on the Six Lakes Trail (#3597).

This trail was immediately shittier as I descended away from the lake, steadily downhill, over the next couple miles. Not a ton of logs, but tons of leafy overgrowth, as if I was back on the Lutzen and Cleary hadn't mowed in several weeks. Annoying.

After a couple miles -- and about 800' of elevation loss -- the trail leveled out, but I soon found myself with another 1-2 miles of even shittier trail, this time with several large logs over the trail, so many, in fact, that several times I had to give in, stop my watch, and walk over many of them. I ran into three forest service "sawyers", who told me the trail would be clear "in a mile or two". That's a long-ass time when you're dragging ass over logs every 50m!

The trail did clean up and become runnable, though the remainder of the Six Lakes Trail would be most remembered not for the lakes -- though they were cool, when you could see them -- but for the overgrowth. Compared to the PCT or the well-manicured #3590, it was a major annoyance.

Mid-way through this trail I hit the one hour mark. I walked for a bit along Lower Eddeeleo Lake and chomped on a Clif Bar before continuing. At 1:20 I reached the terminus of Six Lakes and hit the Blair Lake Trail (#3553), which would take me due east.

This trail was in better shape but by far the toughest of the day: it was a rough downhill run for the first 1-2 miles 'til I hit a series of "streams". The first was a smaller one that I crossed using downed logs. No big deal. About 50m later, I came to a much larger one; not especially big across (maybe 15m), but fast-moving. Not sure if I was supposed to even cross it (I couldn't see the trail on the other side, nor a clearly-defined trail leading up the damn river!), I busted out my map. It was my friend, the Willamette! And sure as shit, I had to cross it.

No such luck from downed logs this time. There was nothing but icy cold water moving at about 29498 feet/second. Despite the danger, I was not going to run the next hour+ in soaking wet shoes. I took 'em off, tied them together and threw'em around my neck and, in a stroke of "forethought" sought and quickly found a walking stick to help me across.

The stick was the key as I made my way, barefoot, through the rushing stream. I used it to steady me as I found safe footholds for my barefeet on the rocky stream bed. Mid-stream it got very tough; both my legs and the stick wanted to fly down river. But miraculously, I made it across, still bone dry from the knees, up! I put the kayanos back on and was on my way.

About 30m later there was another crossing -- presumably a Willamette side-channel -- but this had a semi-permanent log over it. Easy-peasy.

The map indicated, but tightly bunched contour lines and the zig-zag pattern of switchbacks, that I'd be rolling up hill. True to form, immediately after the river crossings I was hauling ass up hill. Though tough, the trail was thankfully clear enough to run continuously up it. The climbs persisted over maybe 2-2.5K before leveling out. Another K of trail and I had made it to Taylor Burn.

Taylor Burn is a Forest Service outpost (which I never saw) and a quasi-backcountry campground accessible only from a nice to run on but impossible-without-a-pick-up double-track forest service road. I walked around a bit looking for the trailhead and drinking from the camelbak. The double track was in great shape and I seriously considered running it back to North Waldo, such was the extent of my loathing of shitty trail at this point. But the next leg would take me through the burn zone, so I sought it out and found it: the Wahanna Trail (#3583).

The Wahanna Trail turned out to be the highlight of the run. After a half mile it opened up into the Charleton Burn area and it was spectacularly cool, especially with the series of pico-lakes interspersed every couple miles. I've always been fascinated by fire, but what it does to a forest -- both ecologically and asthetically -- is amazing. I stopped several times at a couple lakes to take some pics.

Midway through the Wahanna Trail was a short-cut back to camp, the Ridgon Lakes Trail (#3555). I did not want to "add on" another 2-3 miles, as I was now over 2:20 into my run. I hopped on this side trail and headed SSW back to Waldo.

The first mile of this trail was ASS. While the views were still terrific, with a few more sweet lakes alongside, there were about 200 downed logs on the trail. By now I was way too damn tired for this shit, but there was no way around it. The going was slow, climbing over logs every 10m.

The last half of the trail vastly improved; though many logs crossed the trail, the idea of being nearly done, and cresting the ridge to see Waldo Lake ahead gave me an energy boost to hop and hurdle most of them with some degree of coordination -- impressive at any time, let alone close to 3 hours into a run!

Once back on Waldo, I was relieved. The trail was goddamn Stokke compared to what I'd been running the past two hours (3+hours overall time). Moreover, my knee was bothering me. It was painful, but strikingly similar to my patellofemoral pain that vaporized my July. Fuck. I pray it's the bash it took on the fall earlier in the day.

I coursed my way back through 2-3K of burn area and a K of forest, and, just a shade under 3:00 run time, returned to the trail head. Besides my knee and my disdain for dead snags and overgrowth, I felt pretty damn good. I'm gonna call this 20, but it could be more. I'll have to check my maps...

Back at the car, I changed out of my clothes, grabbed a towel, and headed for the lake. They actually had a beach near the trailhead. I dropped my towel and waded in, spending the first ten minutes "icing"; it wasn't too cold, maybe 55-60F. It was still cold enough to dread the "lake bath" but I did it, anyway. It felt terrific!

Got back to the car, changed, and was on the road. Jammed to Audioslave and Soundgarden 'til I got into Oakridge. I ate "breakfast" at this sweet diner called "The Sportsman". SUPER townie and old-school. It was reasonably busy for 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon, and I was the youngest patron in there by probably 20 years. I basked in the glory of 2 eggs, toast, hashbrowns, and three huge "flapjacks"! With real maple syrup, too! KEYYY!

From Oakridge to Eugene I jammed to "early 2000s rap". Got back into town around 4:30. Quite a trip -- 10.5 hours, in all -- for a "long run"!

Good day. Cross your fingers for this knee, though...