Barkley Bypass

Report:
Went out to inspect the @friendsdrht trail to see all the new changes after last weekend's work party came through. Saw a ton of new benches up and the new signs/cross-bucks at the road crossing were up too. Outside of that, I didn't see many changes. Oh, except for the new gun range bypass, but I'll get to that in a moment.

As I started my run I headed from the parking lot to the 8.5 mile marker and came across two other runners out with their three dogs. All was good, we exchanged pleasantries, the dogs barked, etc. I turned around and passed them again after they turned around too. Then it was off to the 6.0 mile marker. I shortly debated turning around at the 6.5 mile marker but kept on going. I knew I had left a DailyMile sticker in that area between mile 6.5 and mile 6.0 the week before. I had forgotten to mention it to Michele S. but wanted to check on it before I mentioned it again. Turns out, it was gone. I looked to see if it was on the ground or had blown away but it was nowhere to be seen. I have no idea where it went. Maybe somebody else is playing the game?

The big change was the gun range bypass. Our volunteer group has hacked and slashed a new bypass but it is not even close to being runnable. It's passable on foot but isn't clearly marked and has quite a few logs and undergrowth to tread through and over. It was a bit easier on the elevation gains but was a bit longer too.

Weather:
Temps started out around 40F but quickly warmed up to 55F. Sky was clear with a few wispy clouds. There was a light breeze but not very noticeable in the trees.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was breakfast burritos, a little iced latte, and water. The burritos were downed right before the run and they did pretty good in my gut. During the run I had a bottle of Hammer Fizz and a bottle of plain water. I finished the Fizz but had half a bottle of plain water left. Recovery was Hammer Recoverite and the rest of my iced latte.

Aches and Pains:
Nothing really hurt but my back has been stiff lately. I think I'm not stretching enough after my runs.

Gear:
Wore my Saucony jacket today over top of my UnderArmour thermal shirt. Also wore long pants, winter hat, and gloves. Hat and gloves came off and went back on several times. Also took my cell phone and took a lot of pictures of the new work projects.


Codename - Barkley Bypass
Today's run went through the new bypass around the gun range. The idea, from what I understand, is to make the climb easier. For those in the know, one section of the bypass is the gravel access road. That hasn't changed. The other section is single-track trail. Only about half of this section has changed. Between the gravel road and the bridge over the creek is the area where the new bypass trail is located. It is not bike or runner friendly at the moment but it looks like it's been started and blazed. It's also not clearly marked in some sections, so just look for the cleared brush, hacked trees, and white ribbon. It's not as steep as the original bypass but it is longer (about a tenth of a mile longer). Here's the original bypass. And here's the new bypass. Note that on the original bypass I went from west to east while I went east to west on the new bypass. You'll also see that the new bypass isn't as straight as the original but does have a much more gradual elevation change.

Splits:
My splits were all jacked up so I'm just posting the total time (which is much slower than normal because I stopped to take pictures of a lot of stuff.
Finish - 1:17:57