2013 LLTH 50k

click on maps twice for a closer view:

profile:

For .tcx, .gpx or Google Earth (.kml) files of the course, send your request to: edibo@insightbb.com. The course has also been uploaded to Garmin Connect at http://connect.garmin.com/activity/255107517

Brief:

The course consists of three (3) "lollipops" (out and backs with a loop at the end). The 1st leg begins and ends at the Start area. The 2nd leg begins at the Start area & proceeds to the Yost loop and then to the Welcome Center. From here the 3rd leg follows the Siltstone Trail to the Scott's Gap Loop, then returns to the Welcome Center. From the Welcome Center, it's about 2 miles to the Finish atop the hill at the Horine (Conference) Center.

The following is a walk thru & a brief description of the trails & course for those who would like the details. The course will be well marked with flagging & signs.

1st Leg (5.7 miles):

Gravel Road (0.6 miles) - The race starts on this road as it 1st parallels & then enters the Red Trail after 0.6 miles.

Red Trail (3.6 miles) - Red circle blazed. Single track dirt along with some double track forest road. Some low areas on the dirt road hold water in wet weather. Has 1 small stream that you will cross twice & most of the time it's low enough to get by without getting your feet wet.

Orange Trail (1.3 miles) - Orange circle blazed. Single track dirt 1st half, double track dirt 2nd half. Has one stream crossing.

Gravel Road (0.2 miles) - After exiting the Orange Trail, turn right onto the gravel road & return to the Start area.

2nd Leg (6.4 miles)

YOST new course in yellow -- old course in red:

Blue Trail (1.0 mile) - From the end of the 1st leg, turn left onto another gravel road for a very short segment to the Blue Trail. Follow the single track trail downhill, across the dam and back up another hill to the new Yost Ridge Trail that angles in sharply from the left.

Yost Ridge Trail (1.4 mile) - (new double track trail) Turning left off the Blue Trail, continue about a quarter mile. At the next junction keep right and continue downhill to Holsclaw Hill Road. Watch for traffic & cross the road onto a new "connector" trail in the Yost section of the Forest.

New Yost Trails (0.25 mile) - Continue on the new connector trail approx. 1/4 mile and turn right onto an "unimproved" section of trail. Continue on this section until teeing into the Yellow Trail. New Yost Trails consist of 8 foot wide main trails and 4 foot wide connector trails.

Yellow Trail (1.35 miles) - Yellow rectangle blazed. Bear to the right and follow the Yellow trail until intersecting the 2nd new wide trail and then turn left. The Yellow Trail is the last of the old course in the Yost section. It is a narrow dirt trail that has one rock face crossing.

New Yost Trails (2.3 miles) - Continue on the main wide trail to the Yost aid station at milepoint 10.7 and then follow the new trails to the Yost Ridge Trail after crossing Holsclaw Hill Road.

Yost Ridge Trail (0.4 mile) - Climb the hill from Holsclaw Hill to the next trail junction at the top of the hill.

3rd Leg 50k (20.4 miles):

Yost Ridge Trail (1.0 mile)

Turn right & head downhill to the rear of the Welcome Center. Follow the sidewalk around to the front entrance of this white building. Take the mulch path to Mitchell Hill Road. Cross here very carefully as traffic can be traveling fast around a blind curve. The Siltstone Trail starts on the other side of the road.

Siltstone Trail (6.8) miles) - White diamond blazed. Just after crossing the road and entering the Siltstone Trail, the Tom Wallace aid station will be set up in a gravel parking lot. Continue 6+ miles to Scott's Gap Road. Along the way, the trail will cross Jefferson Hill Road and also Bearcamp Road (aid station). The Siltstone Trail is all single track & much of it runs on top of the ridgeline. Only a few small streams will be crossed.

Paved Road (.1 mile) - The Siltstone Trail ends at Scott's Gap Road, the only paved road on the course. Turn left onto this road & follow it a couple hundred feet to the Scott's Gap Parking Lot on the right where the aid station is located.

Scott's Gap Trail (3.3 miles) - Red rectangle blazed. The trail consists of a short out and back with a 3 mile loop. The single track dirt loop is run counterclockwise. A small stream is crossed several times on the backside of this loop:

Paved Road (.1 mile) - Leaving the Scott's Gap aid station in the parking lot, turn left onto Scott's Gap Road and after a couple hundred feet, turn right onto the Siltstone Trail.

Siltstone Trail (6.8 miles) - White diamond blazed. Return the same way you came before for the entire length of the Siltstone Trail -- crossing Bearcamp Road (aid station) and Jefferson Hill Road. Leaving the Tom Wallace aid station, cross over Mitchell Hill Road to the Welcome Center.

Yost Ridge Trail (1.3 miles) - Follow the mulch trail and sidewalk around the Welcome Center to the back side and start up the hill on the new double track trail. Follow the trail to the old 50k/15m split and turn right. After a quarter mile, the trail will intersect the Blue Trail which intersects at a sharp angle to the right.

Blue Trail (1.0 mile) - Take the Blue Trail down the hill, across the dam and back up the hill towards the Start area. Just prior to reaching the Start area at the top of the hill, turn sharply left onto the gravel road and finish at the Horine Center (Lodge).

Other notes:

There are several wood foot bridges on the course that become very slick after an early morning frost or when wet/frozen.

Mileage shown is according to GPS data from a Garmin 310 and is approximate.

This is not a closed course -- watch for traffic.

last update 1-17-13