Wednesday, November 25 - Big Ivy - Pisgah National Forest

Run: FS Road 74 - Upper Corner Rock Trail - Elk Pen Trail

Time: 1:03

Distance: 6.69 miles

Effort: Easy

Body: Good

Weather: A Bit Chilly, Sunny

Since Pop had the kids paddling around his pond in a john boat, complete with life jackets and fishing poles, JP and I figured the time was ripe to make a quick sojourn back to the nearby Big Ivy area of the Pisgah National Forest. We drove to the end of Dillingham Road, where it enters the national forest and becomes Forest Road 74. FS74, like the road I ran on Tuesday, steadily climbs the flanks of the mountains, but this road ends at the Craggy Gardens area off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We parked just below the entrance to the Elk Pen Trail, which is cleverly named for Elk Pens erected to house said animals during the filming of "Last of the Mohicans." JP was hiking and I was running so we parted ways at the truck, promising to meet at the truck in an hour. We both headed uphill. Her plan was to climb the road to where it intersects with the Elk Pen trail and return via the singletrack. My plan was to run up 40 minutes and return.

Two miles up the road, Elk Pen and Upper Corner Rock trails meet the road. I hung a left and ran up Upper Corner Rock another mile and a half. The trail, which follows an old logging roadbed, was in good condition, albeit totally covered in multiple layers of crunchy brown leaves. The leaves provided a soft running surface, but also camouflaged rocks and frequent boggy areas. Still, the scenery was beautiful...such a change from the ponderosa and lodgepole pine forests of Colorado. Again, creeks, springs and seeps were everywhere, providing eye candy at every turn.

Had an interesting moment when I came around a blind corner and startled two hunters hiking out after a day in the woods. Both were carrying rifles and wearing blaze orange. To my surprise, neither had heard me coming, even with each of my running footfalls creating a loud leafy crunch. I scared them again on my return, even though I called out a friendly warning of my approach. With ears like that, no wonder they were walking out empty-handed.

Once back at FS74, I crossed the road and ran down the Elk Pen Trail. This trail snakes in and out of hollow after hollow as it drops back down the mountainside. I made good time down this 1.5 mile stretch, only slowing for rocky spots and creek crossings. Another great run in the oxygen-rich North Carolina mountains. Makes me want to run the Mount Mitchell Challenge.

Monday, November 23 - Pisgah National Forest - NC

Run: Big Ivy Area - Pisgah National Forest - North Carolina

Time: 49:13

Distance: 6.04 miles

Effort: Moderate - Uphill Tempo

Body: Good

Weather: Slightly chilly

From the deck at my father-in-law's place in western North Carolina, one is treated to a full-on view of the Appalachian Mountains ridge on whose shoulders runs the famous Blue Ridge Parkway. With the trees now bare of their leaves, one can just make out the thin, unnatural line of the road from his place, just 15 miles away.

To a trail runner, though, the hint of the parkway through the leafless trees is not the dominant lure. Where there's national forest and mountains, there's bound to be trails and dirt roads. The Big Ivy or Coleman Boundary part of North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest does not disappoint. This 10,000 acre (or so) area hosts several trails and two well-maintained dirt roads that climb from the valley below to the Blue Ridge Parkway above.

With dusk falling, I headed up Dillingham Road in Pop's truck and parked about eight miles away in a pull-off just inside the Forest Service boundary off Stony Brook Road. The two Forest Service roads off Dillingham Road in the Big Ivy area are perfect for running. They climb steadily, but not precipitously. The surface is firm, smooth packed dirt/gravel. What makes this area really remarkable (particularly to a Westerner more accustomed to water scarcity) is that one is rarely out of earshot of falling water. Creeks,springs and seeps flow down from the hills above seemingly everywhere. This time of year, the abundant waters are visible through the leafless trees.

Today's run was meant to be a modest uphill tempo run. With little (if any) warm-up, the plan was to run up three miles and turn around in order to get back in time for dinner. I averaged about a 10 minutes pace on the ups and just under 6 minutes on the return. Elevation gain on the run was 2,400 feet. The most welcome surprise, though, was how easy that elevation gain felt. There's so much oxygen in North Carolina!