The Horseshoe Trail

I'm a trail runner now, I know because I bought trail running shoes yesterday! To prove it I've put a video at the top of this weeks entry. That's me running on the Horseshoe Trail, which is a part of the Gateway Loop in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve outside Scottsdale. Last year I ran in this system of trails too, a little more to the south.

I knew the parking lot was a big one at the Gateway Trailhead. It's home to more than just parking, there is a new service building there too which the people there are quite proud of because of it's green innovations. Even the building itself is made of what could be called recycled material. Some walls were built from the dirt excavated from the building site.

There are always volunteers at McDowell trailheads to give the users, which have all levels of experience and ability, an idea of which trails are appropriate for them and those vols were busy because as Lynda and I pulled into the parking lot we saw something unexpected. The lot was completely full.

It wasn't long before a spot opened up and we headed toward the trails. Under the gathering area awning we found printed maps and one of those Plexiglas covered 3D relief maps. Since we didn't have a ton of time and we needed to get our trail feet under us, we decided to go for a short run along a flatter trail. Also the main trail was packed with the owners of the those cars out in the lot. I estimated from the relief map that the Horseshoe trail would give me most of the 3 miles I was after if I did an up and back.

The night before I had stopped at Sports Authority and bought a pair of trail shoes. I choose another pair of Nike's, a pair of Air Alvord VII. Hey, they have stoneguard technology!! Whatever that is. So I was anxious to see how they handled. BTW, I am so sorry to the Nike workers in Indonesia who work in slave like conditions for nearly no pay. I really am.

Down the Horseshoe trail I started, which begins close to the parking lot and away from the main trail. It started out gently and then headed for the hills. In the course of a just a mile I nearly rolled my ankles twice. Not the shoes fault but it scared the hell out of me. This area is much more rugged than the Dog Wash trail I ran on last year. Every step is loaded with rocks to negotiate and I had to pay attention the entire time.

Eventually I got to a section of more popular trail and had to share the it several times with hikers and few other runners. The trail is so narrow that I came to a walk while we passed each other. I kept thinking about the brochure I read earlier about the trail and how it was so negative about trail runners, saying they are generally rude and only being worried about their run time.

I got to the 1 and a half mile point on my watch and stopped for a moment before heading back down the same route. I made it back to the Trailhead Building before Lynda so I got a sip of water and waited for her while sitting on a bench in the shade. It was just a short run. But I do own the shoes now so... I must be a trail runner.