Juliana Moves

Another summer weekend away from home! I am loving it. This season has been jam-packed with all kinds of travel and activities. I’m not complaining! This weekend’s edition was a slightly spontaneous trip to (my favorite place) West Virginia.

A few weeks back, Derek texted us asking if we all wanted to go to West Virginia since he was signed up for GRUSK (literally: Gravel Ride Up Spruce Knob). Patrick had been telling me about this race for years, the weekend was free on our calendar, and it sounded fun! Within 24 hours the Airbnb was booked.

Patrick and I had planned to drive out on Thursday night, but since I had just gotten back from OKC on Tuesday evening and we had life things to attend to, we decided to make the drive early on Friday.

Patrick and I both worked once we arrived, and then found the closest trail to get in my 6 mile run. We went to the North Fork Mountain southern trailhead!

This trail is 20+ miles all the way through and sounds like a really fun time to run point to point. Since it’s the thick of summer, the grass was decently high in the sunnier spots, but overall the trail was smooth and runnable and fun! The views were gorgeous.

It was hazy at times due to the cloud cover, which gave a slightly spooky vibe that I was into. I realized I hadn’t done much trail running since May, so I felt like Bambi. It’s always humbling but exciting to get your trail legs back! I kept commenting to Patrick that it felt harder than I would’ve liked, which was weird because it was only 300 feet of gain… I was wrong. It was 900 ft! That post-run realization made me feel better!

Towards the end of the run, I noticed something I had missed on the way out. Wild blueberries! Yes, I ate some. I had forgotten that this is peak blueberry time in WV! I will never not snack on foraged fruit.

Erica and Derek arrived later in the evening bearing Chipotle.

GRUSK was on Saturday, so we all drove up to the Spruce Mountain area. We took two cars and the plan was for Erica and I to run around the property while Patrick and Derek rode, and then we’d take Erica’s car back to the Airbnb. I had 16 miles on the docket, so we were going to run to Spruce Knob together for the first half, and then I’d finish the run on my own on a different trail. GRUSK starts at Spruce Knob Mountain Center, where Patrick and I had each raced in October! The trails there aren’t my fav, but I figured they’d work and the heat map was strong.

Folks, those races are the only reason why the heat map was so bright. In the summer, the trails basically cease to exist. Erica and I learned this the hard way.

Do you see the trail?

How about now?

It was a disaster. We trudged through stinging nettles and sawgrass and my legs look like I’ve been attacked my a cat. We also both developed a rash from the stinging nettles, which is really grand! Itchy, red, bumpy… what’s not to like? We barely made it 1.3 miles out before we decided to give up and turn back. I tried to salvage some mileage by running on a grassy area near the parking area, but it took us over an hour and half to go 4 miles. Lovely.

I did a horrible job hydrating over the weekend, so once we made it back to the Airbnb I ended up napping a bit before we ventured out to get burger fixings for dinner. Saturday ended up being pretty low key for Erica and I.

The rest of the evening was relaxing once Patrick and Derek got back! We brought Alaska along for the trip too (duh). She loves West Virginia.

To make up for our failed runs, we decided to drive a bit on Sunday to get to a trail we knew would work. The Allegheny Highlands trail! I love me a rail trail. We stayed in Elkins back in October and I ran on the trail quite a bit them, so I knew it would work. It was a lot of driving, but it was worth it. The area we were staying in (Franklin, WV) was pretty rainy and cool the whole weekend. Elkins was shockingly hot and humid in comparison!

On our way there, we stopped at Seneca Rocks for a quick view and to check out the visitor center. We tried to do this back in October, but it was during the government shutdown so we were thwarted! One of these days we will make the hike up there!

While Erica and I ran, Patrick and Derek went on another bike ride. Erica was only going to do 8 miles (4 out and back) and then I was going to do the same thing again. Fortunately, Erica decided to run 10 and I decided to finish my run by taking the trail directly into town! That meant I only had to do 6 by myself, and only had to double back on the AHT a short bit. Make not mistake, the trail is amazing but Erica is correct when she described it as a “prettier treadmill”.

The trail back into town was paved, so I wore Erica’s Asics Novablasts for that section instead of my Hoka Speedgoats. Thank god for that because I needed the extra cushioned boost to finish off those miles!

I ran into town to join the whole crew at Clementine Cafe for a burrito and then we journeyed over to one of our favorite WV coffee shops TipTop. It was a lovely day! I was tired and more sunburned than I expected to be.

Once we got back, Erica and Derek headed home and we chilled for the rest of the day. We had initially planned to leave Sunday, but didn’t want to lose an entire day of activity so we extended our stay one night and left early on Monday. The drive back was gorgeous, but it’s always a bummer to enter the concrete hellscape of NOVA after being in the woods. Is that too dramatic? LOL. What can I say, Monongahela is amazing!

All in all, it was a lovely weekend. I am tired in a great way! I can’t wait for the rest of adventures this summer will bring.

Love,

JN