The trails that I train on here in the Jefferson Memorial Forest (JMF) have all been pretty much impassable since the 27th. I tried hiking 5 days after the storm first hit, but turned back after 3 miles as it was just too hard & hazardous climbing & going thru & around all the fallen trees & branches in the slippery snow & ice, plus, there were still trees falling occasionally!
There's a concerted effort to make it possible to run the Louisville's Lovin' the Hills event as scheduled on Valentine's Day. The words "cancel" & "postpone" were brought up at one time, but I (& some determined JMF workers & volunteers) are putting forth every effort to see that the trails are cleared enough to make it runable! One thing for sure, we won't have control over the weather & the course conditions as it relates to snow & ice. The ice storm that hit here first started off with a couple inches of sleet, then we had a day of freezing rain, then 4 inches of snow on top of that. When it got colder, the layer of ice pellets turned into a thick sheet of ice! Even with a couple warmer days since, the rate of melt has been very slow because of this. With all this precip, it pretty much has guaranteed a less than ideal running surface for the event -- either wet or frozen, snowy or icy, or a combination!
With no electric at the house, the trails impossible and my reluctance to get on the roads, my training lately has been limited to a treadmill at the gym. A bit boring there, but they've had heat & have a nice shower! Shoveling snow & chopping on the ice to get out of the driveway has my back a bit sore -- I'll probably pay for that later down the road . . .
Right now I'm helping the crew that's clearing the Red Trail (1st loop of LLTH). With some warmer weather predicted this weekend, maybe more volunteers will show up & we can get more done.
Pictures taken 5 days after the storm first hit:
Holsclaw Hill Road near 2nd loop LLTH:
Turn left past the bench & before the picnic table here at Mitchell Hill Lake (part of LLTH course 15M & 50k ) -- remember this place J?
Tom Wallace Park Road (part of out & back portion LLTH course 50k):
Sidewalk in Tom Wallace Park (part of outbound portion of out & back LLTH course 50k):
2 comments:
Left past the bench, got it. They are predicting some pretty warm temps this weekend and through next week. After two years of ice I'm ready to give mud a try.
I was just joking . . .
I was helping mark the course today. The ground has thawed out and it's pretty muddy in spots already. With rain forecast this week, looks like mud will be a big factor in the race. I hope the wind that's forecast won't bring down too many of the remaining trees that survived the ice storm, but are leaning over the trails.
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