As you may know, the Mountain Mist 'Trail' is really a system of trails covering 50 kilometers, and is the site for the ultramarathon billed as 'Alabama's toughest trail race'. It is held each January, and this year will be its 10th year. More information about the race can be found at this link.

Having lived near Monte Sano for what is coming up on 30 years now, (okay, 28.5), I'm kind of surprised I didn't get involved in this activity earlier, but so be it. Last year's fun with plantar fasciitis got me almost completely off the pavement and out into the wild woods, so MMT sounded like a good choice. After all, you can only run the White Trail so many times... A trail system with more than 30 miles of different terrain had a certain appeal. Couple that with the fact that I can take Miles for a run on at least some of the trails, and the MMT is a natural fit.

Well, at least when run in small doses.. This idea to enter this year's race was a rather late one, and in fact I'm only in my 6th week of training, with only 7 weeks to go! But the Fall cross-country season started me from a good base, so even though my longest runs were only around 8 miles, I'd been consistently doing 35 miles a week or so. Nonetheless, the 20+ miler I ran last Sunday was a reality check - 10 miles to go, and my pace had slipped to something like 13 minutes per mile. But I digress...

At least part of my involvement is purely selfish - knowing how sore I will be in the later stages of the race, I intend to remove as much of the difficulty as possible by clearing out downed trees, branches, and loose rock. Since I tend to sweat out in a long run, the last thing I need is unnecessary hazards to trip me along the way. It occurred to me one time during a run in which there were a large amount of branches down, "I wonder who cleans up these trails? They really have let this section run down...". So now I clean trails...

Actually, after long runs, when I am too sore to run, it turns out that hiking and clearing trails is a pretty good cross-training activity. Strap a chainsaw, gasoline, bar oil, wrenches, pliers, and an axe (don't ever go out without an axe :), and you end up with a 25+ lb pack to hike with. Combine that with all the lifting of branches and logs, and you end up with a pretty strenuous workout... So that's how I ended up on trail duty.

The trail signs are a different matter. Just seems that more and more disappear, so I figured on filling in the holes on the course. One thing led to another, and now I've invested some $400+ in tools and materials, with the intention of replacing all of the signs, and moving them to their proper locations. Seems that folks steal them from time to time, and the ones that are out there aren't made of pressure treated lumber, so they continue to rot. I decided on pressure treated 2x8s, and I've got galvanized lag screws; the combination should hold up for years to come. To make them a little harder to swipe, I'll plug the holes over the screws, and try to hang them a bit higher in the trees.

Trail sign status:

• For a picture of some of the new signs, click here..
• Created 40 'blanks' with routed edges, the mountain, and the 'mmt' logo routed in.
• Finished the routing of the mile numbers on the first 8 signs;
• Safety orange rustoleum awaits the finished signs.

Trail cleanup status: This is proving to be a major amount of effort. Areas worked so far (in separate trips) include:

• The connector trail down the hill from the Blue Trail (North Plateau Loop) to the Bankhead Parkway crossing;
• The New Bike Trail;
• From O'Shaugnessy Point on Warpath Ridge down to the start of Red Lizard;
• The entrance to Powerline from the junction of Red Lizard and Warpath Ridge;
• The section of Flat Rock Trail leading to the K2 trail (a.k.a Flatrock Connector);
• The K2 trail (whew!);
• The Stone Cuts Trail;
• The Sinks Trail;
• The Cold Springs Trail, from the Bankhead Parkway crossing to the red gate on Fearn;
• The section from Fearn down the Tollgate Trail to the start of the High Trail;
• The High Trail in the Landtrust area, from Tollgate to Bluffline;
• The Bluffline Trail, from the base of the big hill to the Land Trust Parking Lot;
• The Railroad Bed Trail;
• The Alm's House Trail;
• The Waterline Trail, from the base of Dry Falls to the top;
• The Natural Well Trail, from mile 25 to mile 26;
• The Natural Well Trail, from the Panorama entrance (above the Natural Well), to its junction with the McKay Hollow Trail;
• The McKay Hollow Trail, from the Natural Well Trail to mile 28;
• The McKay Hollow Trail, from mile 28 to mile 29;
• The McKay Hollow Trail, from about mile 29 to the top;
• The portion of the South Plateau Trail from the McKay Hollow Trail to the cutoff to the Hiker's Parking Lot.

Trail cleanup plans:

• The Goat Trail;
• Keith's Trail (maybe).

If you're interested in helping, or taking a section, send me an e-mail, and let me know where/when!