Another Trail Run: Joseph D. Grant County Park

Today I went on another trail run with the husband.This time we journeyed to Joseph D. Grant County Park, a large regional park just east of San Jose in the foothills. To get there, you have to drive for 8 miles on a really windy mountain road that is popular with cyclists.

I was pretty shocked at how _abandoned_ the park was. I guess it’s a bit of a pain to get to, but there are some absolutely fantastic trails with amazing views! It was our first time going, but we are carless and there isn’t a public transportation option to the park (we are currently dog/car sitting for a friend), otherwise we would definitely be up there more often.

There are a few different trail options, so we asked a park ranger which trail was her favorite. She recommended we check out the Dutch Flat trail. The highest point of the trail is at 2457 feet, which affords some spectacular views of Santa Clara Valley.

We saw a few deer, a mama turkey with her babies, and this rude snake that wouldn’t get off of the trail. I’m not going to lie, he freaked me out:

It was my first time using my spiffy new Camelbak. I’m really happy I settled on the discontinued 70 oz Charge model – it’s the perfect size and has just the right amount of pockets for me (I had my cell, some pretzels, and a Clif bar, as well as room for a few other small things if needed). Check out what a nerdy running couple we are now with our matching packs:

Anyhoo, by the time we were done we had gone a total of 9.18 miles. I think if you just did the Dutch Flat trail you would be finished after 7.5 miles or so, but we did a couple of extra loops on other trails toward the end.

This was only my second trail run, but I think I’m hooked! Do you go on trail runs very often? Or do you prefer ‘regular’ running?