I had this idea for a sick run more than a year ago. It first sparked in my head after finishing a decent trail run with my friend Rad in Zoar Valley. If you've never been, and you're near Buffalo, check it out. Zoar Valley is a made up of two creeks that combine to form a slightly larger one, all while cutting a deep ravine into the earth. The sheer walls of shale along the gorge reach a height of 300 feet in some spots. And for Western New York, that is huge! Some of the banks in the gorge contain the oldest growth forests (never touched used for logging) around. I immediately fell in love with the place. I have returned several times to visit my favorite spot, the Knife's Edge, which is a sweet ridge that descends the 300 feet at a somewhat dangerous rate on the ever sliding shale beneath you. I've gone down this in every season and must say that peak colors in fall can't be seen from a better spot near Buffalo. I also happened to join the rafting company that runs the gorge, which is class 3 in spring and ankle deep by the end of August. This gave me a chance to be right beneath the massive tons of ice that are still clinging to the cliffs as you raft by and pray they don't decide to come crashing down at that exact moment.
But back to the idea! I decided, after staring at a map for quite some time, that I wanted to do a large trail run along the rim and somehow include the Knife's Edge as the finish, maybe dip into the creek a time or two. But rerouting was needed after finding out that the spot I wanted to cross the creek was heavily posted and the landlord was known to call the cops on rafters multiple times for simply pulling over on to his shore to wait for some trailing rafts. Probably not the smartest route to run through. It took me a while, but I finally came up with a new route. Better route! Well maybe not better, but definitely more dangerous, more difficult, more wet, and most importantly, more elevation change (hard to find round here). Only a small piece of the plan is still unknown, but that'll be part of the adventure. So I decided that if I get a chance, an afternoon to myself, I'd head out and go for the gold.
Luckily though, I won't have to run it by myself! I mentioned it to a friend who became pretty stoked on the idea quickly enough. Hard 7-8 mile run with lots of water, shale, and elevation. Who could resist. Apparently two other friends couldn't either. It's turning out to be quite the event.
Can't wait for tomorrow! Just keeping an eye on the ol' water level of the creek right now. Should be fine, but I've seen it jump over 5 feet in an hour with some pretty decent rain. Rather not cross that, or run in it (required for a good amount).
