Escarpment Trail Run 2013

North Mountain in the morning before the start

Ross and I at start

For years I have longed to do the Escarpment Trail Run.  I consider this part of a trifecta of competitions that I wish to complete.  The other two are S.O.S. (a triathlon in the Gunks) and the Boston Marathon.  Each of them requires qualification times.  By far, the Escarpment Trail has the easiest qualifications.  Still, one must have to run a marathon or a 20 mile trail run.  That’s no joke. 

In February I ran a 20 mile trail run under icy and rainy conditions.  One of the few times I completely exhausted myself.  After deciding not to run Escarpment in early June, my friend Ross asked, “Did you do Febapple for nothing?”  I thought about the effort that run took and sent out my application the next day. 

The Escarpment Trail runs for approximately 18 miles from Route 23 (about 3 miles east of the Village of Windham) to North Lake.  The run is listed as a 30k, but is closer to 18 (NYNJ Trail Conference maps state 18.25 and many runners’ GPS units have measured less than 18). The trail is quite rugged with many sections requiring hand-holds.  There are three climbs of 1,000 feet or greater (the climb to Windham High Peak is 1,700 feet).  So to complete this would be a great accomplishment.

A complete downpour welcomed me upon pulling into North Lake.  The temperature seemed to have dropped a few degrees.  It didn’t even occur to me to pack some raingear.  My worries would vanish a couple minutes into the run. 

With over 200 runners on a single track trail, the start was quite slow.  But it took only about 7 minutes before the clogged trail cleared up.  It rained on and off on the ascent to Windham high Peak.  Originally I planned to walk to the summit, the adrenaline had me run most of the way in 55 minutes.  I couldn’t believe I made it up that quick.

The descent down Windham is quite steep.  Early on I realized this would be unlike any other that I’ve done.  Running down this trail seemed very strange.  It’s a hiking trail!  Fortunately, running from Windham to Blackhead went rather well.  I ran up Burnt Knob and walked up most of Acra.  When I reached the bottom of Blackhead I loaded up on some goodies at the aide station for the climb ahead.  I walked the whole way up to Blackhead and made it to the “half way point” in 2:42.  Two weeks ago it took me almost 3-and-a-half hours to reach this point. 

This had to be one of the most sociable runs I’ve been on.  Probably for good reason.  Chatting with someone focuses the mind on other things besides the pain setting in from the relentless climbing.  While running I heard my name called.  As far as I knew, Ross was the only one that knew me.  It definitely wasn’t him.  It happened to be the woman I was talking with for a bit.  I guess the Escarpment Run allows for quick friendships to be made.  Also while running I learned that someone in the past few years had fallen off one of the ledges which are near the finish.  He had to be helicoptered out and his face bones had fractured.   

The run down Blackhead went very fast.  I watched a few people take a spill.  Despite the rain, I found my Asics Trail shoes kept pretty good traction.  Once to the bottom, the climb to Stoppel Point would be the last climb.  The ascent is done in three sections totaling 1,000 feet.  The first climb went by fairly quickly.  Amazingly, nobody passed me.  The second climb really beat the crap out of me and half the entrants passed me.  The third ascent I pushed really hard, knowing it would be the last climb.  It was no wonder I would hit the wall shortly after. 

Somewhere in the mist is North Lake

Runners fuel up on North Point.  One of eight aide stations.  The volunteers are hardcore.

A look back

A runner makes his way along the ledge

I made the summit of Stoppel in just over 4 hours.  With only 4 miles left, I had a chance to complete this thing in less than 5 hours.  After about 10 minutes, it became increasingly difficult to lift either of my legs over the numerous rocks, roots and trees.  I hit the wall.  After a brief second wind on the descent of North Point, I crashed once again.  The last two miles were mostly done walking with a very dazed and confused type of running and carefully negotiating the ledges.   Finally I made my way out of the trees and to the finish line in 5 hours and 17 minutes.  I had completed the Escarpment Trail Run!  

I was shot at the end

Windham High Peak

Windham High Peak from Route 23

With just a few days before running the Escarpment Trail, I headed for the start to do one more run through.
I made it to the summit in less than an hour.  This can mostly be attributed to the weather: low humidity, drop in temperature.  While on the summit my hands became a bit cold.

The walk up to Windham High Peak is one of the easiest and most accessible Catskill 3500 peaks.  The trailhead is located just east of the town of Windham and about 12 miles west of Cairo on route 23.  The trail that leads to the summit is 3.3 miles with 1500 feet elevation gained.  The ascent is mostly gradual with very few sections that are very rocky.  This makes for fairly decent running.  The path leads through an evergreen forest that always makes me think of "Where The Wild Things Are."  I don't know why this is.  Though it appears somebody came through and trimmed some of the growth, near the summit the brush was quite thick.  One of the reasons I'm not a big fan of summer hikes.      

The views from the top were the best that I could remember.  From the summit, looking north, Albany can be clearly spotted.  Also I could see Greenville (which affords tremendous views of the Escarpment and it's where I've been staying.  A little bit north of there, the Alcove Resevoir can be made out.  The towns that dot the Hudson can be viewed to the east.        

The trail is mostly friendly

The view north.  Even the Green Mountains could be seen.

Looking down towards the parking lot

Where The Wild things Are

Sunset

Lately I haven't had much interest in getting outside.  Today as I walked through town, I noticed the orange/red sun beginning to set.  A great desire to watch it from the tower at Ferncliff Forest overcame me. The mosquitoes bothered me the whole entire walk and they followed me almost to the top of the tower. Thankfully they left me alone inside the cabin.

Nearing a full moon

Sun setting over the Catskills

I always enjoy checking out the "graffiti" in the cabin.  Unfortunately someone put the real kind inside.  It wouldn't be so bad if they put a couple, but they had to leave their mark around all the walls.

This is the kind I usually look for

Escarpment Run Tune-Up

North Lake is a long, long way!

On one of the hottest days of the year, I decided to scout out the first half of the Escarpment Trail.  The previous week I ran up to Windham High Peak in an hour and then ran back down.  This week I planned to go to Blackhead which is essentially the half way point.

The Escarpment Trail has been run since the late 70s.  From Route 23, just east of the town of Windham, the Escarpment runs approximately 30km (18.6 miles) to North Lake.  Much of the trail is not particularly well-suited for running.  There are many climbs along the way, most notably, Windham High Peak, Burnt Knob, Acra Point, Blackhead, Stoppel Point and North Mountain.

I planned to walk up Windham High Peak to figure out the difference in times between walking and run/walking as I did the previous week.  As it turns out, I'm only 15 minutes slower when just walking.  This may be a strategy, to save energy for the latter stages of the run.

Once I ascended Windham, I started to really "run."  I found the running to be slightly better than the climb up to Windham, though there were many spots that I had to do some scrambling on the descent.  The climb up to Burnt Knob went quicker than expected.  The climb is helped by some of the best view points of the entire trail.  As bad as life has been lately, I stopped, had a sip of water, took in the views and thought, "Oh, how I love being alive right now!"  This would be somewhat offset by the climb up to Acra, which would be much slower and tougher than expected.

Windham High Peak from Burnt Knob

Blackhead Range: Blackhead, Black Dome, Thomas Cole

After Acra, I had to negotiate lots of rocks, roots, insects and brush before I made it to the bottom of Blackhead.  The ascent to Blackhead may be the least runnable part of the trail.  1,000 feet is ascended in less than a mile.  I chose to walk the entire way, taking a half an hour.

The ascent up Blackhead

Relieved to have finally made it!

I made it to Blackhead in 3 hrs and 25 minutes.  This puts me in position to finish in 6 hours.  Not in the best of shape, I will take that.