Desert Running
My goal for last weekend was to run 40 miles – 20 on Saturday and 20 on Sunday. I ended up with more like 36 (19 and 17). Is it OK for me to say “only 36“?*
Elizabeth and I decided to take a little mini-vacation to the desert for the weekend. Coachella was going on and, even though we wouldn’t actually be going to the festival ourselves, friends were headed out there and we had a place to stay and invites to a few parties. My goal – other than to have a fun, relaxing weekend with my wife and friends – was to find two good, long routes to run. Preferably off-road. I found them.
Saturday, I got up and drove to Joshua Tree National Park. It’s a bit of a haul from Palm Springs, but you do get to drive through the windmill fields:
Mostly I was just excited to check out a National Park. I was also interested to see desert “trails” as opposed to the mountain trails I’m used to around here. I did my research and wanted to run the Boy Scout Trail – a 16 mile north-south there and back in the northwestern part of the Park. I entered the Park through the West Entrance and parked near the south trailhead.
The only snafu of the day was at this point. It was 9am by the time I got to the park. A smart runner would have started running with the sunrise to avoid the heat and sun. Oops. Whatever.
I was a little worried about getting lost out in the middle of the desert. Thankfully, the Boy Scout Trail is well worn and marked.
I only really went “off course” once. I took Billy‘s advice, and as soon as I thought I might be off the trail (evidenced by a point where my choice was a 12 foot jump from a rock or scrambling up a rocky hill), I back-tracked instead of forcing my way ahead further into the unknown!
From the south trailhead, the way “out” starts pretty innocently. The ground is pretty hard-packed dirt. But before long, the hard pack dirt trail becomes a fine, loose sand. And you’re running on that for a long time. It wasn’t long before I was looking for harder sand to run on and then I was looking for sections of rocks. And after about four miles of relatively flat running, the trail starts a long descent to the northern trail head. I got to the turn-around point at Indian Cove (the north trailhead), dumped the sand out of my shoes and sat for a couple minutes.
The way back (heading south) is much harder. Not only was I over an hour in, it was getting hotter and all the descending to the turn-around was now an ascent out of it. Climbing in the hot sun, without shade, on loose sand. Sweet!
That’s another Joshua Tree. Maybe my favorite one of the day. What made this one different? Probably nothing, but this was about 2.5 hours into my run and the heat was probably making me a little silly about these things. “THIS ONE IS MY FAVORITE EVER!!”
Since the Boy Scout Trail is only about 16 miles, I wanted to add on a few, so before I got back to the car, I took one of only two trail spurs I saw and headed off on the Willow Hole Trail.
Life seen on this run (in order of frequency): ants (millions, big ones), lizards (tons, all sizes), flying bugs (some), birds (a few), people (only 7), hare (1 with gigantic ears).
Running the Boy Scout Trail is a challenge, but not because it’s particularly technical or hilly. It’s mostly because of the loose sand and the heat. There’s no water, little shade and once you’re in, there’s not any option for getting out.
Saturday night we never even left the house. No Coachella parties. No Coachella live music. Just eating and relaxing. My kinda night.
My original plan for Sunday was to spend another morning on the trails. After Saturday’s run, I was feeling dehydrated and tired, but my legs felt fine. And after 3+ hours in the sand on Saturday, I was longing for a bit of pavement. I decided to run from the house to the local trails – the Goat Trails off Palm Canyon Drive. It was about 5 miles each way to my target trail entrance. I took off very slow and easy. Straight ahead here (what I wouldn’t have done for a little of the snow teasing me from the top of the mountain):
The Goat Trails I ran Sunday were somewhat similar to Joshua Tree, only without the Joshua Trees.
One big benefit though is that these trails are a lot closer to Palm Springs and have more wildflowers.
Being closer to civilization was a huge thing on a day when I wasn’t sure how much I had in me. I wanted to stay out there, but was happy to know that I wasn’t ever too far from “rescue”! About half-way through Sunday’s run, I found a little shady spot behind some rocks and rested for a few minutes.
The Goat Trails aren’t any more challenging than Joshua Tree, but they’re not as straightforward. I didn’t bring a map, figuring I would just wander. And that’s what I did. It wasn’t ever a case of being “lost” (because I always felt like I knew how to get “back”) but for most of the time in the trails on Sunday, I had no idea where I was. The trails are well worn, so it never felt dangerous, and it was exciting to just take whatever turn-off seemed “right”. One example was on my way back when I noticed this sign and decided to take the trail for a little bit:
I left the trails in a slightly different place than I entered and headed home on the roads. When I got to the house, I collapsed on some nice, damn grass in the shade under a grapefruit tree. Heaven.
On another note, I swam on Friday for the first time since Oceanside. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared it would be.
*That’s how crazy sh*t’s become around here now. “Only 36” for a weekend? I used to be psyched with 36 for a week. I blame you – you know who you are – for totally skewing my perception of reality.
Run #1 – Apr 15
Distance: 7 miles
Time: 1:03
Course: Westridge
Conditions: Beautiful morning! Sunny, 50’s
Run #2 – Apr 15
Distance: 4.25 miles
Time: 33 min
Course: Neighborhood
Conditions: Evening, clear, mid-50’s
Swim – April 16
Distance: 1,600 meters (1,750 yards)
Time: 32 min.
Run – Apr 17
Distance: 19 miles
Time: 3:18
Course: Joshua Tree National Park – Boy Scout Trail +
Conditions: Sunny and hot, high 70’s
Run – Apr 18
Distance: 17 miles
Time: 2:51
Course: Rancho Mirage streets, Goat Trails
Conditions: Sunny and hot, low 80’s
Strength – Apr 19
Nice! I love the desert runs, you should check out the Calico 50k for next year, high desert near Barstow
Awesome weekend Josh! Jealous that you got to mix it up a bit and run in new locale. JTree is on my list of places to run for sure.
Glad you got to get away and have some fun.
The pictures are beautiful! Huge weekend. Only 36 miles, come on:) Well done.
Nice job on the “only 36”. Sounds like an excellent weekend! Great pics too.