Dispatches From The Field 3-2-11 Wolf River - Memphis, TN

Wanted to do some trail running today to mix it up. I did a little research on the web before flying out to Memphis and one of the places mentioned on the web is the Wolf River. Stopped by a local running shop called Breakaway in Germantown to get the 411 on trails around the river. They were great and a huge help in my finding some parking and getting started. They had a group run on for the evening and invited me to come, but I was under a bit of time pressure and had to get going. The idea of a night run was exciting though as it is something I haven't done yet.

Directions were great and I was in the parking lot in no time. There was a mountain biker and another guy that looked like a runner in the parking lot. I got myself organized and headed over to the "runner" to get oriented. After saying hello and some brief small talk about the weather I got down to it asking where the trails were. He just smiled and pointed at the trees behind him. I smiled back.

"Just go?", I asked.
"Yep," he said.
I smiled, this guy is the master of compression.
"OK, thanks." Me too.

Fortunately the pavement gave out as soon as I entered the treeline. I had a simple choice at the start, right or left? Nature's very own Peace Maze. I go right.

Getting Started

As I begin moving down the trail I think of three things in this order:

1. This place is straight from a horror movie. Winter foliage on top with green undergrowth, everything is damp and grey and you can't see more than ten feet on either side. I'm somewhere in Blair Witch Project-land. I am half expecting to see an ash-grey bare foot poking out from under a bush.

2. The ground has a wonderful combination of being both soft but firm. I feel like I could run on this stuff for miles and miles. It's not going to be fast, but it is going to be forgiving.

3. The sommelier in me is thinking about Merlot. There is a lot of clay in the heavy soil here. While it is firm,
the soil is wet and has standing water in places two days after the rain. As the hikers, runners and mountain bikers have compacted the soil here over time, the tree roots are coming to the surface. Yes, I admit that thinking about this is silly. All I can say is that those studying for the Court of Master Sommeliers would understand...

Leftovers from the rain in the Blue Trail

About a mile in I come to a four-way intersection with a sign ahead (you'll see a picture of one like it later in the blog) warning me that anyone other than hikers will be prosecuted. I go right onto the White Trail.


The White Trail

The White Trail sits on a levee and is basically flat. I cruise along until I see a what looks like a firebreak to my left. I take that trail for about a quarter mile until I hit a bog that advertises itself as a shoe stealer. I turn around and head back to the White Trail. I continue the way I was going before I turned off White and after another quarter mile, I run out of trail again. I turn around again and head back the way I came. Passing the intersection where I originally turned I head down the trail another half mile until I hit both the Wolf River and the Yellow Trail.


The Wolf River from the Yellow Trail

I don't have any experience here, so I don't know if the river is normally brown or if the color is a product of the rains earlier in the week. As a desert boy, that much water is still exciting to me. As I head up the trail (I think I am going west...) the tree roots become more pronounced in sections. Still the trail is very runnable and because the underbrush is so dense, I can't see very far in any direction adding to my feeling of excitement and exploration about what is around the next corner. I am now thinking about the Snow White ride at Disneyland. This is just so much more fun than a treadmill.
  

Does this count as technical?

It is here that I encounter my first people of the day, or rather, a man and his dog. I smile and apologize as I scare him to death as I come up behind (he must be living the Blair Witch movie in his mind too). The dog seems to be in heaven though as I smile down at him. It appears that his name is not Cujo.

I cruise along enjoying the trail until I hit where I think I should turn around based on time to get back. Along the way, I pass one more runner coming the other way and two mountain bikers.

Turnaround on the Yellow Trail

 I cruise back, noticing that for some strange reason the trail appears more open to me in this direction than it did as I was heading out. I also notice that I am doing the same thing with my running that I often do in a car - I am faster on the way back because I now know where I am going.

T-Burke should be here for this; simply incredible. What a different environment from what I normally run. I love the desert, but this is just so different! The run back to the car was in many ways way too quick.

1:17:00 / 6.73 miles

Postscript:

There are two things outside the run today that I would like to note:

1. If you look at the picture I took of the Wolf River, you will notice trash that has collected behind a tree branch that has dipped into the river. While I'm not saying that the people using these trails did it, it was sad to see it and a reminder that we need to pack out what we take in. Please leave it for the next person the way you would have liked to have found it yourself.

2. I read this on the Internet as I was looking for trails in the area:

The Wolf River trails are the most politically sensitive in our area. These trails are used by
many other groups that would like to see bikes banned completely...

Complaints about bikes have increased. If this continues, Shelby Farms will take action
against us. The best was to improve our trail access is to peacefully coexist with the other
trail users...

Use policy from Lucius Burch Natural Area Management Plan, February 1999 prohibits jogging. The runners are due a wake up call.

When I used to rock climb access was always a major issue. I was always careful to treat the people I encountered with respect, packed out my trash and tried to keep noise levels down. It's a shame when people start to look on swimmers, cyclists or runners as a menace.

Let's all work together to keep that from happening. 



They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words...