M.O.R.E.: Oh Deer!

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Oh Deer!

Some of the best things are never planned. My son's games were cancelled for this weekend, which left me with extra time to run. My husband wanted to run with me somewhere we don't normally run and so he suggested East Canyon. East Canyon is just past the entrance to Towsley, which we have been to many times and it connects to O'Melveny Park in Granada Hills. I've heard that East Canyon is actually prettier and better to run than Towsley or Mentryville so I was willing to try it. Just as we parked the car and walked into the parking lot, a deer ran across the meadow to greet us. We started a little later so it was already warm, but there were plenty of shade along the way. The first mile on the trail is a gradual climb so we were able to run without stopping for the first mile, but then the trail got a little steeper and we had to run/walk the next mile. It is really pretty and green there right now and the trail is much better and wider than Towsley. Due to the recent rains, there were tons of wildflowers out too. I would say the second half of the trail was about as steep as the Beast, but with less chances to recover. At times the trail leveled off a bit, but it was only for maybe 25-50 feet and then you were back to climbing again, which was a little tough on the calves and the lower back. There were plenty of people out hiking and some mountain bikers. I would definitely do it again and I think my friends would like it too. The only downside is that there are no bathrooms so we would need to make sure we stopped before getting to the trail. All in all it was a beautiful run and a great way to start the weekend.

2 comments:

Patty said...: We do need to go somewhere different while the weather is nice enough to enjoy it. I am getting so tired of deciding between the same three trails on our weekly runs. I am going to need to step up the running to make up for lost time this past week, and to counteract all the eating! I hope the wind is gone, I have had enough to last all year.; May 2, 2010 at 9:46 AM
marathon mom said...: I ran this morning again with the hubby up the river trail toward Copperhill and through the dirt trail by the power lines down McBean towards our local Starbucks. This has been our Sunday morning routine and I'm kind of liking it because it's short, right outside my door, and there's coffee at the end of it. It was windy on our run again this morning though.; May 2, 2010 at 11:49 AM

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Favorite Trails

South Fork 3.1: Start from dirt parking lot on Magic Mtn Pkway and run to the loop at Wiley Bridge and return the same way.

Tesoro 3.25: Start in Albertson parking lot and take sidewalk/trail until it ends and then enter the water tower road to the top two towers where the ends. Return the same way.

Chesebrough 3.25/4.60: From Chesebrough Park, N. to Copperhill, So. on Bike Trail, turn around at Decoro, back up trail to power lines to bridge at park. Turn around at Heritage will give you 4.6 miles.

Chesebrough 3.5: Chesebrough Park down to McBean, south to Northpark Dr., the paseo trailhead. Take the paseo to Helmers and back. Very hilly.

Bridgeport 4.0: Fairly flat, run toward Lowes and under Bouquet bridge to RiverPark community until you reach the closed gates and return. For a hilly run, go north into Helmers and run up the paseo switchbacks into Northpark where the paseo ends and return the same way.

Chesebrough 4.0: N. to Copperhill to west side of river trail, run S. on Bike Trail past Decoro bridge, across Decoro to the east side of river trail, up back to power lines trail, back to park.

Chesebrough 4.0: From park down power line trail to Heritage Park and back same way.

Bridgeport 4.0: From School, cross McBean via bridge or street and head into industrial center on Ave. Scott Bridge and enter bike trail going south toward the train bridge. Turn around at train bridge and return same way or cross the bridge and head toward Peet's after crossing train bridge and back onto the Lowes Trail.

Heritage 4.0: From park, run up bike trail to Decoro, over McBean Bridge into Helmers, and into Bridgeport through lake trail back to park. Can be done in reverse. Moderately hilly.

Chesebrough 4.25: Chesebrough north to Copperhill, left to Albertson side of bike trail. Run south on trail to Decoro and cross over bridge and head north all the way to Copperhill on east side of river trail and back to the park the same way as started.

Cheese/Decoro/Helmers 4.25: From the park, down dirt trail to bike path, south to Decoro. Leave bike path at Decoro and cross paseo bridge at McBean. Stay on paseo up hill towards Helmers. Run up water tower trail once then continue on to switchbacks and paseos back to park.

Heritage/Bridgeport 3.3: Heritage Park south to McBean Bridge @ Panera. Cross and head toward Lowes bike trail and head east toward Bridgeport Park. Halfway mark is at park bathroom, head back by entering trail along the lake and back onto the bridge.

Lowes 4.25: Lowe's parking lot to McBean, cross the bridge and to South Fork. At Valencia Bridge, enter trail behind Hart Baseball diamonds. Continue on trail to Bouquet and across the bridge on the east side and back under the bridge again towards Lowes.

Peet's & Decoro 5.2: Peet's Coffee to train bridge path; to Decoro and across bridge; back down McBean side of bike trail back to Peete's.

Peet's & Wiley 6.0: Start at Peet's Coffee and head east toward South Fork trail and past the Wiley Bridge. Keep running another 200 yards to where the trail forks left and right. Turn back same way.

Peet's & Copperhill 6.0: From Peet's to bike trail heading north to Copperhill and back.

Albertson 7.0: From the Albertson parking lot on Copperhill, enter the westside bike trail and head south until the train bridge. Return the same way.

Peet's 8.5: Run to Copperhill on east side of river trail and return via train bridge on other side.

Lowes 10: Start in the Lowes parking lot. Enter the bike trail heading west. At McBean, cross the bridge and head east toward SouthFork trail. Continue on trail until you come to the Wiley bridge and head back the same way.

McBean 14: This route can be done from anywhere along the trail route. Starting from McDonald's across the post office, run to the end of the South Fork trail and return the same way, cross the McBean bridge and run on the Lowes trail until you hit Bridgeport Elementary and then cross Newhall Ranch via the bridge or street and run back towards McBean. Continue north on McBean until you hit Copperhill. At Copperhill, cross McBean and enter San Francisquito bike trail and run south on the trail until you are back at McDonalds.