No, this isn't a trail running story about losing myself in the moment and being in tune with nature or anything like that. It's about literally getting lost, which I'm apparently very good at.
I went on my long run for this past week on Saturday. I decided to go to Clinton Nature Preserve for my 11 mile run because I prefer running on trails. I've been trying ever since I moved here to find the entire red trail. So far I have been able to follow parts of it and to run a route only to find that it isn't as long as the map says it's supposed to be so I know I've missed a turn off somewhere. Sometimes I'm content to just go out and explore the trails and other times I go out, map in hand, determined to find the marked routes. Saturday I thought that surely during the course of 11 miles I could find this trail that's supposed to be slightly over 4 miles. The problem is that there's a great deal of unmarked trails and roads throughout the Nature Preserve.
EDIT: Since writing this the Clinton Nature Preserve has marked their trails more clearly and put up maps and signage which has eliminated a lot of the guesswork.
I figured that it must be down one of these that the red trail is supposed to go and that I'd probably find where the marked trail picks up further on or at the very least I'd get more familiar with the unmarked trails. As it turns out, several of these unmarked trails lead out of the Nature Preserve and onto adjoining private property. When there are signs posted it's simple enough to turn around and run back the way you came, but when there are no signs well....you won't know you're on private property. On Saturday I came across a man, his wife, and his large doberman. He said "Hun, I think the trail doesn't go this way". I thought he was a fellow hiker so I just said hi to him and looked around the area trying to find where the trail was. He said again "Hun, I don't think the trail goes this way." So I said "Yeah, I don't see it anymore but I guess I just have to look around for another one or turn back." It was only then that he told me that I was on private property, his property, and that I had to go back the way I came. He wasn't mean about it, but it did make me wonder why he hadn't come out and said so first thing instead of making vague comments. I apologized and asked him where the trail leading out of his property was (as there had been a few unmarked trails all around that area), and he sounded like he wasn't even really sure. He said he had people coming onto his property accidentally from the Preserve almost every day. You're probably thinking what I was thinking at that time: why doesn't he post a sign or put up a fence?
So, I turned around and retraced my steps only to come across two women on horseback just a little ways up the trail. They had the same dilemma as me apparently because they asked me where the trail leads and if that is the trail marked on the map. I told them about my encounter with Mr. Vague and then one of the women said, "Well why doesn't he put up a sign to let people know that's his property?" It seems I wasn't the only one thinking that. At this point my desire to explore had pretty much gone away because I knew that the chance that I'd accidentally encroach on someone else's property was pretty great.
If that wasn't enough, I also tripped and fell. This is a common occurrence with me as I often run on trails and I'm uncoordinated. Luckily, this fall wasn't my most spectacular and there was no one around to see me, but the water bottle I was holding got ground into the dirt pretty good and I scrapped my knee. I did what I normally do in those situations which is to get angry with myself, cuss, dust myself off, and start running again. This time there was enough blood that it was dripping down my leg and that, along with the disheveled appearance, probably made it look like I was trying to escape an attacker. Suffice it to say, that wasn't one of my better runs. But, at least I was relieved when it was all over. I think next time I'll skip the trail exploration and stick to what I know.
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