The "Thousand Steps"
Start: sign (40 23'29N, 77 51'47W):Finish: large door (40 23'48N, 77 54'41W)
Exacerbation: None
Beta: Turn left at top to reach finish.
Stats: 914 vertical feet; 0.63 miles (3,326 feet). All uphill.
Time: 16:50.
Start:
Finish:
Celebrate:
Celebrate:Notes:
1 - This was once the mineworkers' commute (and you thought YOU had a rough commute) on their way to and from a long day of busting and hauling rock. Take some time to enjoy the views and root around up and down the trails for other ruins, fossils, etc.
2 - According to this site and my GPS coordinates, the start and finish are 0.37 miles apart, the remaining 0.26 miles are accounted for in vertical gain, a few switchbacks, and the level sprint to the end at the top.
3 - Running down the steps was superfun, too (time: 7:56). Not very hard, but required concentration. I got going fast enough that I felt like I should have a helmet, then I throttled back a bit... this was day one of a five-day Raystown Lake mountain biking, kayaking, water skiing, water tubing, fishing, drinking, cliff-jumping camping trip (more on that later). I figured I had plenty of time to hurt myself.
4 - Hey, look, I know I'm not the first person (or the fastest!) to run this. I'm hoping to find the others. If you've run it, I'd love to hear your time because I'll be back to do it again. Next time, though, I hope to do it not just "faster," but "better". What's the difference? Well, to be "Better" you have to be "Faster" AND you have to have made it more difficult in some way. And for a short, fast, roadside challenge like this, there are ALOT of choices.
