Greenie Meanie trail run

It's that time of year when I need to start getting some elevation trail runs in to get ready for Deuces Wild. On a whim on Friday I decided to pick a new trial I had never done before, which was the Green Mountain trail. Kind of last-minute planning, but I had maps, so I was good to go. I offered to shuttle Zac up to the trailhead so that he could ride his Norco down it and Bug Springs and Molino Basin without wasting much of the day climbing the road. We also had to be done with enough time to run home and clean up before heading out to the fair to see my dad at the tractor pulls.

We parked at the trailhead that is just south of San Pedro vista. I changed my running shoes while Zac got his bike ready. "See you later" he said and took off on the trail. What? Does he seriously think he'll stay in front of me? I started walking to warm up, which was good timing as the trail went straight up from the parking lot. I passed Zac since he was pushing the bike, and started the run.

The trail started downhill, so I let Zac pass so that he could ride it.
Although it was short-lived. There were some logs down and some areas that were pretty sketchy.

When the trail went back to climbing, I went ahead of Zac. I ran about 2.5 miles in and turned around at the 50 minute mark. The climb out was going to take longer. About 5 minutes later I ran into Zac as he continued downhill towards the south trailhead. He would continue straight and do Bug Springs while I headed back to the car.

The climb out took forever! I really couldn't run in several spots, so it was more of a fast hike. The last mile was brutal as that was the steepest part. I also stumbled onto a different trail. The surroundings looked different and I didn't see Zac's tire track anywhere. I used the "Back to Start" feature on my Forerunner 305 to get to the turn. It doesn't have the best navigation feature, but it's enough to get back to the start. Sure enough, my little map showed where I missed the turn and headed down a different trail. I got back to the turn and saw why I missed it. The side trail was much more defined, whereas the trail I was supposed to be on was after a turn on a hillside.

I hiked back to my Jeep, changed my shoes, and drove down to the Molino Basin parking lot. I was only there 20 minutes before Zac showed up. I asked him about the trail after I had turned, and it sounds like next time I should start at the south end and head up before turning around. Or I could just do an easier trail to run, like Bug Springs. Either way, I think Zac is going to become a fan of my elevation trail runs as he can go along for a free shuttle ride with his 40 lb downhill bike.

Cool rocks on the trail:

The trial at the saddle before heading down:

Rock formations on the mountain side: