Flat Rock Loop

Yesterday, we were scheduled to run 15, but we decided to run 13 on trails instead.  I wouldn't want to do all of my long runs on trails since the race is on the road, but the run that we call the "Flat Rock Loop" is hard to resist.  There are only a couple of times per year that you can run all of the Flat Rock Trail on Monte Sano.  The "flat rock" part of the trail is actually on private land and is closed to the public Nov-Jan, because the landowner hunts on it during that time.  It's open the rest of the year, but the trails aren't frequently traveled, so they are grown up in warm weather, so you're likely to run into snakes and poison oak.

It was the second time that I've ran this loop.  We drop one car at the Land Trust parking lot and then drive up to the hiker's parking lot in the state park and leave from there.  We take the Bucca Family Trail, Warpath Ridge trail, Power Line trail, and then the Flat Rock trail around the mountain.  The Flat Rock trail winds along the northern side of the mountain and stays mostly flat, with gently rolling hills.  It was pretty muddy out there, which was actually pretty fun once I got used to having wet feet.

There are alot of things that make this a neat run.  About 2.5 miles in, you reach O'Shaughnessy point, which has a nice southern view of Huntsville.  Going down Warpath Ridge trail, you run through a boulder field with a few sinkholes scattered around.  Around 5 miles into the run, you go up Power Line trail which has been cleared, and you get a view looking down in the valley east of the mountain.  The final 8 miles of the run is on the Flat Rock trail which crosses several small creeks and streams, runs along several steep rock walls, and takes you out to the ~2 acre flat rock on the northeastern point of the mountain, which also has a nice view.