Last spring we had be misled by a post on the PGSRA page saying that they had prepared a 12-mile dirt loop to go on. Naturally we assumed that we would keep following the trail to its end, and after our two teammates turned around at 6 miles, we kept pushing forward, confident that we would get back to the same spot. 6 miles turned into 7, then 8, then 10. We were starting to become fatigued, and we assisted ourselves by walking up the hills instead of running them. It was dawning on both of us that we were in for quite the run. Our suspicions were confirmed when we reached the end of the trail, 90 minutes into the run, and we were greeted by a sign letting us know that the trailhead was 7.5 miles down the road. Ryan and I gave each other the a forlorn, understanding look, took a short break, and started down the road. I said a little prayer in my mind, asking if we could be helped somehow. Sure enough, within a minute some ATV-ers came by (this is first and foremost an ATV trail, but hardly anyone uses it) and let us ride back to the parking lot with them. Such nice people.
This was on both of our minds today and we started plodding down the dirt trail into the Pembina River Valley. It's amazing, this area. The Red River Valley is a completely flat tract of land spreading east and west from the north-flowing Red River, but once out of the valley, the land can change magnificently. Thus the Pembina River Valley is a quite rugged, tree-covered area on both sides of the river, with some smaller cliff-faces hugging the scenic byways to drive through. The whole area is simply stunning, even now before the leaves begin to turn in for the fall.
As we begin our mile-long ascent early in the run, it dawns on both us that the first 15 minutes had literally flew by without our noticing. Much is to be said about how doing something you love with somebody else who loves the same thing can be one of the greatest joys in life, and this was no exception. In the trees the shade protected us and showed us great views of the surrounding area and trails ahead. When we peaked out of the trees, the breeze was there to greet us and the we could see the other side of the valley, protruding greatly from the North Dakota countryside- well, at least most of it is North Dakota countryside, because only a few miles north lies our friendly Canadian neighbors.
Miles 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 went without much trouble. Around mile 3 I was stung by a bee for the second time this week (I was stung in the arm 4 days ago, and today was my leg), and it was stinging because my sweat was 'washing' it out, or so that's how I reasoned it. Most of this running was downhill, so naturally when we turned around, it was back uphill for awhile. Ryan and I were starting to tire from all of this, and our focus increasingly became making it back to the vehicles. Late in the run we were passed by some ATV-ers, but for the most part it was just he and I bantering back and forth. The ATV-wide tracks made it easy for us to run side-by-side, highly motivating in this environment. The views were still spectacular, and the running still difficult.
About a mile from the end, we decided to take a quick break, because we had been going up and up and were about to die. So we relaxed (whatever that means after 13 hilly miles), and charged hard to the finish. There we chatted with the ATV-ers from Grand Forks we had earlier encountered. It seems in this huge area of wilderness we were the only people here. They took off for more riding, Ryan and I absorbed our food we brought along, and we got back into the car. We had been here for two hours, but as we pulled out of the parking lot onto the quiet gravel road, the wind blowing dust across the nearby sunflower field, we could see still the two pickups in the parking lot. Nobody was to be seen anywhere.
-Nate
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