High on my list of dream runs is the Dipsea. I've been a little fixated ever since first reading about it and it's history and discouraged because it's extremely difficult to get into. 1500 people are allowed to run. A large number of runners from the previous year's race are pre-qualified for entry the following year. 500 entries are first come first serve, and the remaining slots are filled by auction, lottery, bribing and begging. The only way to enter is to download the application from the website the day it is released and mail it in, which means the closer you live to Mill Valley, the faster your application gets there. Also, more than double the number of people enter than there is room for. And here's the description of the course from the website, dipsea.org:
I've been wanting to get out on the actual course, so today we set out for Mill Valley with plans to end at Stinson Beach.
And then, the stairs. I've heard about the stairs, seen pictures of the stairs. I know stairs suck, they're hard, but how hard can stairs really be? REALLY HARD WHEN THERE ARE A MILLION OF THEM.
The first set of stairs shown here, were by far the best, as far as the rest of the stairs are concerned. They are spaced exactly evenly apart, the height from one stair to the next was small enough to make you think you could skip a step except the boards were extra wide, so you felt stable, comfortable, secure...and like your legs are about to fall off and your lungs are about to explode. The furthest up you can see in this picture, where the light is, is actually nowhere near the top of these stairs.
There were also stone steps of various heights, textures, and personalities that proved to need ultimate focus. The last thing you want to do is biff it and hit your shin. This is my ecstatic look while simultaneously trying to breathe.
Some of these steps were really high! Giant leg people will likely not have the same problems. I just kept thinking to myself, this is still the start of the damn race? How many more stairs can there be?
Lot's more! These are the fun railroad tie type stairs that are not evenly spaced apart or level and the top is neither wood nor stone. It's mud. And they go on forever. Again.
I love this kind of crap. 670-something stairs at the beginning of the race.
After the stairs we felt like champs! There were three different sets, and between each one there's a residential road that you take for a short distance. I loved that at times you have to look around to find the continuation of the trail, and most of the time, the direction was provided by a handmade sign or a stencil on pavement.
Finally, this beauty. That was ONLY A MILE?!
We crossed a road, rejoined the trail and had a big decision to make.
Dipsea thisaway,
Ascent to The Sun thattaway.
And this is the view. Six or so more miles to the ocean, through what you're looking at.
It begins in downtown Mill Valley with a sprint down Throckmorton to the Old Mill Park, then up three flights of stairs as tall as a fifty-story building, and up some more through an old horse ranch to Windy Gap. Then it plunges down into Muir Woods across Redwood Creek and begins a tough grind up through the trees over trails named "Dynamite" and "Cardiac." At the top of Cardiac, the course levels out before it plunges down through the "Swoop", over the rocks and roots of "Steep Ravine" and the discouragingly steep climb up "Insult Hill." Finally, as the course follows the relatively gentle slope of The Moors toward the ocean, Stinson Beach is in sight a mile ahead. This is where experienced racers resort to secret short cuts and where other racers will sprint the last quarter mile in an effort to move up a couple of places in the final results.
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| But first...BREAKFAST! |
I didn't really have any information other than Dipsea starts at Old Mill Park. Other than a playground underneath giant redwoods, the road inside the park splits and winds upward pretty steeply with almost vertical driveways branching off either side. Searching for the trail felt a little like that part in the Labyrinth where Sarah thinks there are aren't any turns or openings in the Labyrinth, and then she meets this guy
| Allo, you ain't lookin right! |
All of a sudden, there was this.
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| we passed the first test! |
The first set of stairs shown here, were by far the best, as far as the rest of the stairs are concerned. They are spaced exactly evenly apart, the height from one stair to the next was small enough to make you think you could skip a step except the boards were extra wide, so you felt stable, comfortable, secure...and like your legs are about to fall off and your lungs are about to explode. The furthest up you can see in this picture, where the light is, is actually nowhere near the top of these stairs.
There were also stone steps of various heights, textures, and personalities that proved to need ultimate focus. The last thing you want to do is biff it and hit your shin. This is my ecstatic look while simultaneously trying to breathe.
Some of these steps were really high! Giant leg people will likely not have the same problems. I just kept thinking to myself, this is still the start of the damn race? How many more stairs can there be?
Lot's more! These are the fun railroad tie type stairs that are not evenly spaced apart or level and the top is neither wood nor stone. It's mud. And they go on forever. Again.
I love this kind of crap. 670-something stairs at the beginning of the race.
After the stairs we felt like champs! There were three different sets, and between each one there's a residential road that you take for a short distance. I loved that at times you have to look around to find the continuation of the trail, and most of the time, the direction was provided by a handmade sign or a stencil on pavement.
Finally, this beauty. That was ONLY A MILE?!
We crossed a road, rejoined the trail and had a big decision to make.
Dipsea thisaway,
Ascent to The Sun thattaway.
And this is the view. Six or so more miles to the ocean, through what you're looking at.
But not for me, not today.
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| Dipsea Trail Fail |
I don't know the trail, the area, so to me, along with the whole Dangerous and Illegal parts...this might as well be
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| YOU SHALL NOT PASS |
We turned around and headed back to Mill Valley.
I found out later, you can pick up the trail about a half mile down the road. The winding mountain no shoulder where cars drive fast mountain road. The road didn't really seem like one where cars expected to see people, so even if I'd known this I'm not sure if we would have ventured out. Can anyone confirm the detour? I want to go back and experience the whole trail.
At this point, I'm thrilled to at least know the Dipsea Stairs, dammit.
That section of the Dipsea Trail has been closed for years, but even when it was open, ALL racers took the road, as it's a lot faster than the trail.
ReplyDeleteThat said, your biggest problem in hiking the trail will be the creek crossing in Muir Woods. There's a wooden footbridge that's removed during the rainy season, so you'll have to wade across the creek.
Thanks! I'll have to give it another go.
ReplyDeleteA good description of the route is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dipseabook.com/hike-dipsea.html