Bushwhacking with John

Sunday December 28th, it was 40 degrees, overcast, and just a little windy. Perfect weather for hitting the trails. John and I compromised and started at 7:30 AM. John being the adventurist suggested we look for the old blue flower trail. This is an old trail at SAR used "back in the day" when SAR was a close kept secret among trail runners and mountain bikers. "Sure, Let's go look for it" I said. The trail head was easy to find, but soon we were walking and looking for cairns (stacks of rocks serving as trail markers). We found them here and there and were on the right track (sometimes). At times we were ducking trees and fighting the brush. It has been very dry and the brush was bare, exposing their stickers and thorns. The Texas hill country is beautiful but there are plants that bite, sting and scratch. We were getting our lower legs cut, scratched and bit! I even suffered a big scratch on my neck! We found a couple of cairns John remembers putting up and we set up one or two also. John apologized for walking more than running, but I assured him it was OK with me. Hey, time on your feet is what counts. After about an hour of searching, and two miles, we found our way out to the main trail leading down to the creek and up the hill to familiar trails. Now we were running. Trail running offers a chance to leave the real world behind if only for a few hours. And running with a trusted friend only adds to the joy. The trails will take your worries away and a friend will too if you ask. What a great way to relieve stress and enjoy the company of a good friend. 8+ miles and 2 1/2 hours of time on our feet and weight off our minds.