Stack Rock!

Ladies,

If you didn't run this morning on the Milwaukee, too bad. You missed an all-time classic. Coach Jill revealed yesterday she'd never seen Stack Rock, and WELL! That just couldn't be allowed!

So Zoe, Joslyn, Carrie, Coach, and I ran down to the Rock on one of the finest fall mornings I can remember. The sky was a clear azure blue, the air crisp and cool, and the soft crunch of gravel and leaves echoed down the trail. It felt good to be out there, good to be alive.

So we ran past the entrance until around mile 1.5 or so, then turned back. On the way back we went into the trail, backtracking the quarter mile back to the Rock. As it is fall, the trails were very clear and easy to navigate with a bare minimum of underbrush. Seriously, this is the PERFECT time to make the trip.

Once there, Coach uttered what might be the first positive words I've heard her say about anything in Bedford - "Wow, that is amazingly beautiful!"

Of course we had to climb, and climb we did. Ordinarily I won't let a group go above halfway, but this time, with so few there and good conditions, we went all the way up. Zoe was the most adventurous of all, and scampered right up. Joslyn and Carrie were only slightly less enthusiastic and soon joined. Coach, well... that's another story.

What we didn't know was Coach is afraid of heights. Some people say that and don't really mean it. She says it and means it. Once she got to the top (the easy part), she looked down - and then had to carefully sit down. Now me, I'm not afraid of heights, but I know what it looks like when someone is. Coach wasn't faking it!

We took some photos and then started down. For the girls this wasn't too hard. Coach took a bit more coaxing, but finally she did make it. From there we finished our run and that was the day.

Funny thing... I got another chance to climb later. My lovely wife wanted to visit a fire tower, so we headed up 446 to Hoosier National. There's a fire tower up there about 5 miles or so off the highway. There is also an outstanding trail, and I know a place we're going to run next summer! Great place for a long run off-road!