Running the John Wayne Trail at Rock Lake

The Thanksgiving-week blizzard is history.  Warm(er) temperatures and rain have washed away most of the lower-elevation snow.  This is good for runners, but bad for skiers/snowboarders. 

I've been looking at the John Wayne Pioneer Trail for the past week.  This is the trail that I ended my Run Across Idaho on, and it crosses nearly 300 miles of abandoned railroad grade in Washington.  I'm brewing an idea that I might run the entire trail (plus some) during an upcoming summer. 

Anyway, while mapping out the route I noticed a section of the trail not too far from me (1 hour drive) that ran along a 7-mile stretch of a lake called Rock Lake.  Hadn't heard anything about this, but I'm always up for a new and interesting place to run.  And because the snow had melted dramatically over the past couple weeks, I thought it would be safe to give it a try. 

Day trip! 

Sadie leading the way along the abandoned railway grade
that's now the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

The lake and trail are spectacular!
Unbelievable that I've never heard anyone say,
"Hey Scott, you should go run that trail above Rock Lake - it's spectacular!"

Crossing an old bridge.

There were two tunnels along the section I ran.

It gets darker before it gets lighter.
(Thanks iPhone Flashlight app!)

Sadie above Rock Lake.

Sadie giving me a mini heart-attack on the cliff's edge.

Running through heavy, wet, icy snow (video):

Another amazing view from an old bridge.
This bridge challenged my fear of heights.

A couple miles past rock lake is the picturesque Pine Creek.
This was at 10 miles and my turnaround point.

Running back along the lake and across a rickety old bridge (video):



It was a fantastic run.  Again, I can't believe I hadn't heard of Rock Lake before.  I would have gone farther than I did, but the snow was getting dramatically deeper the farther away from Rock Lake that I got.  I'll definitely return again.  It was worth the hour drive.
I'm doing my weekly long runs in my weighted Chile training pack (only 82 days to go!).  It's quite a new experience to run several hours with a 15 pound pack.  It takes an extra toll on the body.  
I'm putting on a small, local 50k this weekend called the Pullman Winter 50k.  If you're in eastern Washington or North Idaho, come by and join us on Saturday.  It's super low-key and no-fee (think of it as a glorified training run).
Keep running!
-Scott