Dan and I spent six days in Northern California to attend his younger brother Aaron's wedding and hang out with family. We got a good dose of family-time, beach-time, and redwoods-time.
Old Growth Trail Running
It was easy to find a long trail to run down south. There are multiple state parks and a national park nearby Trinidad, the town we were staying in and childhood home of Lauren, my new sister-in-law. Dan spent seven days in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park with a group of teens a few years back, and raved about the place. We decided to run a trail that started at the edge of the park and ended at the ocean.
Fern Canyon
I would happily spend weeks running and hiking the trails in this park. The air is fresh, the trails are soft, and the old-growth redwoods are absolutely amazing. We ran ten miles out the coast and back through fern canyon, a spectacular place overgrowing with ferns. Running through the redwoods is different than running on trails here in the foothills of the cascades. It's almost totally quiet. Hardly any bird song. Very little movement. At times I felt like I was running through a photograph. Crazy.
Runner's High
During the last three miles of the 10-mile run I got jolted with the good stuff: endorphins. I felt invincible, energetic, and overwhelmed with happiness: the runner's high. I managed to avoid getting Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) last winter for the first time in seven years, which I attribute to my new long-distance running habit. For me, the high that I experience running can last hours, or even days. When people complained about the dark, cold, and wet Pacific NW winter and spring this year, I didn't understand. I felt completely okay with the weather the seasons brought.
So, the last three miles of my run felt phenomenal. I flew up the remaining hills with a smile on my face and felt like a superhero. Thank you Prairie Creek!
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