More Trail Adventures!
I recently listened to this episode of the Florida Trail Runners podcast. The guest was Brenda Baader-Lips, who completed The Trident: Ridge to Nowhere– a 40 mile race which takes place here in Florida in July… and the best part is, the surface is almost all sugar sand (ack!!!). Brenda said that she prepared for the race by running on the trails in Yamato Scrub Natural Area in Boca Raton. Hey! I know that place! According to Florida Hikes, “A 217-acre natural area atop the Atlantic Coastal Ridge in Boca Raton, Yamato Scrub protects the largest chunk of native scrub habitat found this far south in Florida.” My kids and I went for a hike there years ago, and it’s about a twenty minute drive from my house. People are running on this trail? I must check it out! I had the opportunity to go on Wednesday, although unfortunately a little later than I would have liked. I dropped my daughter off at school and headed over. By the time I got there and was ready to run, it was almost 10 am… not ideal for a hot Florida day. But looking on the bright side, I had plenty of time to explore the area. As I was studying the map at the trail head, an enthusiastic older gentleman came up and offered to “help.” His best piece of advice was that part of the trail was closed for construction (or maintenance? It wasn’t really clear) but other than that he kept telling me what I would be experiencing. “It’s a hidden gem!” he exclaimed repeatedly. Okay, okay! Let me go see this hidden gem for myself! As promised, a significant part of the trail was sugar sand. Did you know that’s very hard to run on? Ha ha… just kidding. Everyone knows that! The outer loop was sugar sand, and there were inner trails that were packed dirt- which SOUNDS easier, but these trails were treacherous. There were a lot of exposed roots, and inevitably at one point I went down. No injuries, but I got up covered in dirt. Because I was so sweaty, the dirt clung to me for the rest of the run. I encountered two other runners out there. One was a man who warned me that part of the trail was closed (yes, I know!) Later another man and I passed each other on one of the sandy sections (he was coming the other way) and he said “This trail sucks!” In spite of the difficulties, I couldn’t agree that it “sucked” so I merely said “Yeah, it’s hard!” But as he ran in the other direction, I had to take a picture… let’s just look at what he was wearing. It was 90 degrees, and the trail was in the direct sun about 90% of the time. I can’t even fathom what he might have been thinking, dressed like that. I wanted to help him out. “Hey Mister! The trail doesn’t suck. It’s your wardrobe choices that need adjustment!” Ultimately, it didn’t matter to me that part of the trail was closed, because I got thoroughly lost on the parts that I ran. The heat and the sand had me exhausted and ready to stop after five miles… but I didn’t know where I was. So I ended up walking one more mile until I used a combination of a little skill and a LOT of luck to stumble upon the entrance to the trail. I was hot, tired and incredibly dirty… but I loved it. I will be back! I’m intrigued by this area and network of trails, and I would like to run it more until I can do it without getting lost. And I would love to do it when it’s 60 degrees instead of 90, but at this time of year I’ll take what I can get! I’m linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida for Fit Five Friday. Thanks, ladies! Do you have any “hidden gems” in your area?