Mt Willard

Mt Willard (2,865’)

I’d only been up Mt Willard once before (summer of 2013) so when Ryan suggested we do a warm-up run on Willard before the Christmas day hike I was happy to join in.  We met up at 8am and it was windy and single-digit temps along with some snow squalls.  It was tough getting out of the nice warm car.  We trotted up the road and crossed the train tracks before plunging into the woods.  The grade was pretty even and not too steep.  Ryan set the pace and we chatted as we ran up the very well packed trail (we both wore kahtoolahs).  I was still feeling tired from my first 80 mile week after coming back from surgery and was also trying to shrug off the aftereffects of a migraine.  The cool air and running help clear things out.

 

We hit the top in 25:09, just as the sun came out giving us a pretty fantastic view.  After a couple of pictures we enjoyed the cruise back down.  As a bonus we added on a little extra trail at the bottom (with a bonus 150’) of climb for a total of 4.2 miles in 49:05.