Dior and I ran Mullholland this morning after tagging off to Kris on Granny duties. The course has dried out nicely over the last few days. We ran into Iris Packman and Charlie. Charlie restored Dior‘s faith in the canine community. Five minutes prior she had a very scary run in with an unleashed golden retriever with a strong prey drive. Charlie was very sweet with her.
The trail has dried out nicely! I needed to take it easy today, but can see that these are much better conditions for those wanting to go fast.
Highlights were meeting Gillian Haines-Sharp and Dior of tiny dog legend, and Charlie finding yet another leg from the (same) deer??? (I chucked the last one in the creek last week).
I am so impressed that a chihuahua mix ran a half marathon! What a strong pup!
Kris and I hiked Mulholland this morning with our grandson, Julian
We enjoyed all the birds…Baltimore Orioles, Woodthrushes, Louisiana Waterthrushes, Carolina Wrens and many more. Julian especially liked the ducks and geese.
@Challengers A heads-up for all those who are running in Mulholland Wildflower Preserve with your dogs…
I just heard from the trail steward, who is thrilled that everyone is enjoying the park he cares for so much, but he also saw the pictures of our canine friends and wanted to reiterate that Mulholland, like all City of Ithaca parks, requires that dogs be leashed at all times. I know that can feel fussy, especially when no other people seem to be around, but he said that part of the reason is to protect the wildflowers from romping dogs—it really is a wildflower preserve. Plus, he said that some people stay away from the trails because they’re afraid of meeting off-leash dogs.
Sorry to be the wet blanket!
I headed out to this course for my second of this year’s Challenge. Although our place in Ithaca is only about a mile away, I had never been to this trail before! Beautiful and no longer soggy at all.
I took this picture from near the ‘dangerous overlook’:
Speaking of this spot, @adamengst the RunGo directions could be clearer about which one is the dangerous overlook and where to turn left to avoid it. My GPS position was not precise enough in this area to show me whether I was at vs just before vs after the intended turn, and I ended up going off the trail to make sure I didn’t go past it.
Yeah, it’s hard to know what will happen with GPS accuracy varying. I’m not really too worried about Challenge runners since I think the warning will come before anyone gets there, and it’s pretty obvious that the cliff is dangerous if you’re not an inebriated college student.
Signed up for the challenge this year… it’s been longer than I thought since I did the last one! I decided to start with this course since I was just thinking last week that I hadn’t been over to the trails since the snow melted. It wasn’t too busy when I went around 4:00pm, I saw a few walkers and one cute pup. I did manage to scare someone with a friendly “hello there” as I approached them from behind. I guess my huffing and puffing wasn’t as loud to others as it sounds in my own head. ha.
Kris and I took Dior for a walk here this afternoon. We were lucky and saw and heard a ruby throated hummingbird doing its mating dance, swooping back and forth making U shaped arcs in the air. We also spotted a cedar waxwing sitting on a branch.
Very muddy and wet on the course today with a few extra water hazards from streams coming off the hill after last night’s rain. The stream was rushing and the waterfall looked beautiful. Coal needed a swim despite the rushing waters. I should have put on his life jacket instead of his harness today.
Since we’ve finally had a few rain free(ish) days, I thought I’d do one of the trail courses this morning. I picked Mulholland Falls to ease into the trails and I’m very happy I did! Sure, there was some mud but it was more soft than sloppy if that makes sense? The creek was full and the various falls were going strong. I covered a little extra ground but that’s more my inability to follow directions than a reflection on RunGo. Overall, I really enjoyed this trail and will be back soon!
Last Cool Respite
On my way from Cayuga Cliffs to Abbot Ascents, I missed a turn and sometime thereafter realized I was close to Mulholland Waterfalls. So, there I stopped. Had to squeeze my car in at the end of a row. The climbs were a bit of work, but otherwise, cooler temps still prevailed along the creek.
After reaching the fine dam today, I left with only one question: “When?”
Gratuitous gorge photo:
“Cousin Itt” Grass:
I was told by a young girl waiting to take my parking spot that most people were probably on the other side of the road when I made a similar comment about not seeing many people. She was dressed to catch a lot of sun, so there must be a hangout spot over there.
Late to the game over here, but trying to stay in the loop via the forum (been tougher since my schedule’s made Tuesday runs impossible). I’m not exactly sure how the FLRC Challenge works, but since I did the Mullholland Waterfalls trail this morning (one of my favorites) I figured I’d share! Absolutely gorgeous. Not too muddy. But man, this view makes me dizzy. 
I guess I prefer “two a days” to an Ultra/Tough Challenge as after a couple of Sweetgum 1600s, I stopped at the Mulholland Waterfalls Course.
My morning technology/awareness challenges continued. Rachel directed me along the creek, but then she stopped. After I made the turn to avoid the pipes and dead end, I ran past some trails to the right thinking that I probably should be turning on one of those. I should have checked the map sooner because I was correct and had to backtrack. Rachel was done helping me.
The rushing water over the dam was like a siren’s call, and I had to backtrack yet again, although not too far. I ended up running the rest of the course phone in hand.
I was disappointed in my time on course, but hey, I covered the ground!
(I forgot to post this on Saturday so no gold star.) The kids and I did a run/hike on the first of their three courses for their personal Challenge. Joel seems to be a natural trail runner, stepping over rocks and roots with ease on the flat parts and power hiking efficiently on the steeper hills. Here’s a picture of “the tallest tree in the world”.
