Adventures in East Bay MUD

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Adventures in East Bay MUD

October 10, 2012 by troyrahmig

We got up early this morning, ready for a long drive and a long run. The drive through Orinda was surprisingly beautiful. I would have been happy just spending the morning in the car driving around, but that’s not what we went out there to do. We parked on the side of the road, ate our vegan donuts, and watched as a few bikers were celebrating the end of their ride. After signing in at the East Bay Municipal Utilities District (EBMUD) kiosk, we headed out. The trail started off up hill next to a firebreak. Within a few hundred feet, the trail was the firebreak. It had been recently disked, so our pace slowed to a tentative walk. We picked our way through the chunks of dirt for a half-mile or so, but then decided to hop the fence and run on the road parallel to the trail.

When the trail veered off from the firebreak, we rejoined the trail and headed away from the road. The trail was pretty rugged – alternating between roads and grass-covered lumpy single track. It made for some slow going at times. Since very few people stray this direction, we enjoyed following fresh coyote, deer, raccoon, and turkey tracks along the road, complete with some very large and interesting scat along the way.

Several miles into our run and at a high point in the watershed, we left the EBMUD land and headed into Fernandez Ranch. It was a relief to run on some nicely maintained trails – I enjoyed letting my mind wander a bit instead of thinking about every step. We ran on the Woodrat Trail down to the Windmill Trail, which led us past cows down to the main park entrance. Here we saw our first people (besides bikers on the road) of the day, getting ready for a hike. After a quick pit-stop, we headed back out, deciding to take the long way back to see more of the park. We ran up the Black Phoebe Trail to the Whipsnake Trail, and back to the Woodrat Trail. These trails offered some nice views of the area that we enjoyed before heading back onto the uneven trails of the EBMUD watershed.

Back in the Pinole Watershed, we ran on the Goat Road (though sadly we didn’t see any goats) up and down a few hills here and there until we finally made it back down to Alhambra Road where we crossed the road and kept on running. I was excited to try a new nutrition product, developed by Brendon Brazier, a vegan athlete. Though I really wanted to like the gel, I have to admit, I ended up feeding it to the ants and eating my vegan bar instead. Back up a hill and through a gate, we entered Sobrante Ridge Regional Park. This is where all the people were! We enjoyed some tasty bars while admiring the view of the Carquinez Straight and then continued on around to the south end of the park. At the end of the single track trail, we unceremoniously turned around and retraced our steps through the park. Though the Ridge Trail signs tried to coax us onto the connector trail up to Pinole Valley Park, we stayed focused and ran back up the hill and through the gate into EBMUD land once again. This little section adjacent to Sobrante Ridge Regional Park is a pretty wide (though gopher hole laden) road, so we ran back down it quickly.

Our mileage by this time was adding up, and our legs were slowing down, so we decided not to retrace our steps back through the Pinole Watershed. We really appreciate the trails being there and how easy it is to gain access into EBMUD land ($10 for an annual permit that can be purchased and printed online), but the trails aren’t the most fun for running. Instead, we headed back on Alhambra Road and decided to spend the mileage saved on finishing another section of the Ridge Trail.

After putting up with several miles of some hot running on the road, we were happy to be back at the car eating more vegan donuts, which by this time were pleasantly warm.