Trails of Glory


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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Forest Closure

Conditions around Arizona are dry as a tinderbox. There are several major fires blazing right now around the state and mostly here in the southeast part of the state. After only one inch of rainfall this past winter and virtually no precipitation to speak of since early April we are facing the worst wildfire season in history. So far, all of the fires that are burning have been human caused which has prompted the Forest Service to shutdown the entire Coronado Forest encompassing 2 million acres of land. The first question everyone asks is, "How does this affect me?" Well, that's exactly what I wondered too.

I have a 100-mile race event planned at Angeles Crest in Wrightwood, California on July 23rd. This race has usually been held in late September and had been moved up a couple of months to avoid their wildfire season. There have been at least two cancellations of this run in the past 8 years due to fire and much of the course has been changed and rerouted due to previous burns. The forest closure here has drastically changed my training run plan as well as several other runners I know of that have mid to late summer 100-milers planned. It is not so much that I will have to train in the heat because there is no access to higher elevation trails; it is also the fact that most of the 100-mile race courses in the West are at altitude and have over 20,000 feet of elevation gain. And this is where the problem lies in not having access to all these wonderful mountainous trail climbs that we have here.

Other trail options are seemingly still available if you consider the Tucson Mountain trails and the trails of Saguaro West Monument. The Tortolitas have a somewhat newer trail system that is open also. The Arizona Trail from the southern boundary of SNP East all the way to Gardener Canyon, over 50 miles, is open as well.
So, these are where I will be spending my weekend mornings running double and triple loops, stashing gallon jugs of water at road crossings, and breathing the dusty smoky air of Southeast Arizona.
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