Day 361 - Hagan Burke Trail

Holy frozen snot, Batman... the wind sure was cold today.

Oh, speaking of frozen snot... here's a little cold weather running tip: If you get a little nose-run running out of your nose while you're out, and who doesn't, wipe it high up on the back of your glove. The last thing you want, aside from frozen snot on your upper lip, is frozen snot on your gloves, because that will make for a cold spot on your hands. Depositing it as far up your wrist as you can will a) likely put it inside the cuff of your jacket, keeping it out of the wind and hopefully unfrozen, and b) on the more dense elastic portion of the glove, so even if the snot does freeze, it won't have soaked in and will be away from your skin.

Glad you stopped by?

For those who are still reading, here are some photos from a special little bit of multi-use path called the Hagan Burke Trail.

This not-quite-2-mile stretch of asphalt is a spur off of the ever-popular Monon Trail.

The Monon Trail, a wildly successful rail-to-trail project in Marion and Hamilton Counties here in Central Indiana, is to multi-use trails what the Interstate is to roads. It's popular, crowded, straight, and with the exception of a couple bridges, boring as hell. It's as close to being on a treadmill as one can get without actually being on a treadmill. Still, it serves it's purpose, and we are lucky to have it.

In contrast, the new Hagan Burke trail, which spurs off of the Monon just north of 136th street and terminates at the146th street multi-use path, itself was still unforgivably unplowed, has turns, both left and right, and even goes up and down a little.

This is not your typical multi-use trail, thankfully.

It goes under busy roads, not with massive concrete tunnels that act as highly efficient wind concentrators, but with gently curving, almost quaint, dips under the existing bridges.

We don't need no stinkin' tunnel.

For most of it's length, Hagan Burke hugs Cool Creek, which even at 24F was still babbling, as all good brooks should, reminding the runner that he was indeed outside and just a few feet from nature, though he is also on asphalt and glad for the mostly reasonable traction.

Look, that's Cool Creek.

The trail also has it's own charming little bridges and boardwalky bits.

Rustic steel bridge crossing the creek

Boardwalky bridge caked with evil ice and hard packed snow.

The budget for signage must have been pretty stout, because there are signs everywhere, especially here...

Take a look at these signs and you tell me which way to go.

(Click image to see a larger version.)

Given the scarcity of passable pedestrian paths around here, the Hagan Burke Trail is a delightful bit of asphalt.

Oh, and it's nice to see that the Carmel Dept. of Parks and Recreation has a sense of humor.

Mandee laughed so hard at this that she had to poop.

Good running,
Doug

P.S. If I manage to make it Friday without getting hit by a car or breaking my ankle on the ice, all readers are invited to join me for part or all of my 365th run and/or a pint after at Brockway Pub in Carmel sometime around noon. Please RSVP in comments, Facebook, or at dougrun365@gmail.com and let me know if you want to run or not and if so, how far. Hope to see all 3 of you above average looking readers there on Friday.

Numbers: 6.4 miles on asphalt, and occasionally packed snow and ice that was on top of said asphalt.