Ballwin, Mo. – With everything pointing towards a hot and humid evening this Thursday, this week’s run will feature just one major climb – up the back side of the Lone Wolf Trail, the same way we came down last week.
While we’ll start at our usual spot by the pavilion, we’ve added some wide open, flat space at the start of the run to help alleviate some of the logjam that happened on the Fern Glen Connector last week. The course will cross Kiefer Creek Rd. and head into the pasture that used to hold the Start/Finish line until this year. From there, you’ll take a left turn at the Park Office parking lot down to Grotpeter, a left again onto the trail and double back to the bridge on Kiefer Creek Rd. Once you’re over the bridge, you’ll complete the bottom of the big “S” turn and follow the South side of the creek all the way until the course heads up the switchbacks of the Lone Wolf Trail.
Once we join with the River Scene Trail at the top of the bluff, you’ll get a great view of the Meramec River below, but you might not have much of a chance to enjoy it as you head to the top of the bluff before you head down a steep, treacherous section of trail back to the valley. We cannot stress enough the importance of taking this stretch of trail carefully.
You’ll make a right turn at the bottom of the trail and head towards the train tunnel. You’re climbs and descents are done for the day. Now, you have a little more than two miles of flats along the Meramec River. You’ll head down the trail towards the infamous Castlewood stairs but we’re going to save those until later in the series. Instead, you’ll loop back into a meadow and then duck into the trees for much of the rest of the run. When you emerge from the shade, you’ll just need to pass back under the tunnel and make a mad dash for the Start/Finish line.
Approximate distance is 4.4 miles. Lowest elevation: 427 ft above sea level. Highest elevation: 643 ft.
