Keith and I did a recovery run today in our backyard – which just happens to be Jackson Mountain.  I told him it was about 2.5 miles up but apparently the source I read was referring to the forest road rather than the trail.  Turns out the double track trail is 5.63 miles.  Up hill.  So we decided to make it a loop by running back down the gravel forest road for a total 7.31 miles.

Jackson Mountain road sits at mile marker 151 on Hwy 160, a mile up from where our cabin sits at mile marker 150.  We could have run over but we wanted to keep it short so we drove.  There was some room to park at the lower entrance to the double track at 738.  The lower third of this trail was a decent running trail.  The second third was a bit gnarly in terms of rocks.  There were some steeper parts here too but Keith and I were able to maintain a running pace all the way up.  The top third was smooth.

This is not a killer trail, but to be in our backyard makes it incredible.  It didn’t feel that long.  Dave and Amy biked that same area today and tomorrow Dave is going to take me on their trail because he thinks I’ll appreciate it for a trail run.  Tomorrow will be just another spectacular trail day.  I stopped by the Forest Service office today and got a map and advice for some killer trails that are unaffected by the fires.  Stay tuned for more trail reviews.