WHITE DOG TRAIL RUN (West Branch - 2019 - 5K)

  White Dog Trail Run 2019 Photos

169 Mile Drive

2019 Inaugural White Dog Trail Run.

West Branch, MI.

YMCA Camp Timbers.

Where to start....I love inaugural runs!  I love TRITOFINISH. They are my favorite race company.  I don't get to do lot of their races because they are based out of Saginaw County and I am not a triathloner.  It was great to see the team of TRITOFINISH hard at work again.  Gaylord was the last time I ran a TRITOFINISH course.  I saw the TRITOFINISH trailer when we pulled into Camp Timbers and took a picture next to it just like I did in Gaylord before my first half marathon.

Luke and I checked in and got our super soft white performance t-shirts and bibs.  I got my favorite number 23 for the first time!  I’ve always wanted to be runner 23.  I use the number “23” for runs that don’t have bibs and chip timing when I make homemade bibs.  We got to the run early and used the spare time to admire the woods, lake and surrounding area by the finish line.  We saw a lot of cool plants but unfortunately no animals.  Jason, Ryan and Will got a great spot to watch us start.  Luke and I were first under the huge blow-up archway.  It was a tad cool and hadn't started to rain yet.  I was a little worried about Luke alone in the woods.  This was his first trail run.

The first and third mile of the course were some of the most beautiful trails segments of all time.  The first mile took us along shimmering pine needle carpet and thin trails on a small hilltop.  As we got deeper in the woods it flattened out and became a vast land of trees!  You could see for a great distance.  I kept hoping to spot a deer.  We saw the finish line from across Piper Lake on the last quarter mile stretch.  We passed a huge water slide that went into the lake.  They took our picture at the finish line and the announcer read our names as we crossed.  It was a very shaded course and one of the more flatter trails I have run on.   

The pavilion that ran parallel to the finish line where the boys were waiting for us had hula hoops and other games to play.  There was also a Gagaball Pit that Luke met friends at after he finished.  Lunch was free for Luke and I and $5.00 each for Jason, Ryan and Will.  It took place with age group awards at their lodge.  The lodge was very spacious with an amazing huge wood fireplace.  There were oversized kid games outside the lodge.  The food was great.  They had pop, Gatorade, hotdogs, cookies and salad.  They had beautiful wood age group awards and amazing white dog logo finisher medals!!!  I was a big fan of the wolf theme.

All of our after-run activities were free as part of our run registration.  After the race we spent the whole day in West Branch.  It rained lightly off and on all day but that didn't stop us from zip lining and rock climbing.

THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME ZIP LINING!!!

In 2011 when Camp Timbers built their 1,200 foot long zip line it was the longest in Michigan.  It has been since surpassed by Boyne City and Camp Dearborn.  That doesn't make it any less amazing.  I flew over a pond!!  I was terrified and stalled out for a minute on the take-off ledge.  Like roller coasters as a kid, once I was going down it, it was amazing and I wanted to go back 10 more times.  The kid's zipline was a terrifying climb up a telephone poll!!!  Ryan did it like a pro.  We were so impressed by his fearlessness.  Luke came back down on his first attempt but watching Ryan inspired him to try again.  He made it to the top the second time.  He wasn't too thrilled after his flight, but he still did it.  Ryan loved ziplining.  Will was too scared to zipline.  Everyone loved rock climbing.

Downtown West Branch is so cool.  I had no idea it was the sasquatch capital of Michigan!  In hindsight, I should have looked more carefully out on the trail for Bigfoot while running! 

I LOVE SMILEY WATER TOWER TOWNS!!!!  

…I have now run in two.  West Branch is pretty proud of being a smiley tower town. (I would be too :)  We found a lot of smiley references in town, mainly on business signs.

I got to see my cousin Andy's new off the grid house in St. Helen while we were up north.  Andy and his wife and son just moved back home from Florida.  I love the wood work and stellar details in their home. Their apple trees and property are our dream.  We checked out Lake Saint Helen just down the street from Andy before we left.  It was amazing.  West Branch, only 15 minutes down 75 from my cousin, has all the amenities they could need.

On the way home we found our favorite Saginaw rest stop/restaurant and had a delicious dinner.  We played the duck and quarter game in the gas station. I LOVE THAT GAS STATION. 

This was a once in a lifetime get-a-way run. A huge thank you to @CampTimbers and @TriToFinish for teaming up and putting this wonderful trail run on.  We love Camp Timbers now!!!  We would love to send the boys to summer camp at Camp Timbers in the future.  I've done almost 100 races in Michigan and for the first time at the White Dog Trail Run I got a race bib with my favorite number 23!!  I wish I could have 23 every time I run.

The Legend of the White Dog

Long before YMCA Camp Timbers, the forests surrounding Piper Lake were home to a small lumber town – the town of Piper.  From1882-1892, Piper was a bustling lumber town where the mighty White Pine were cut and shipped south to build the growing cities of the Michigan and the Midwest.  

According to legend, Piper Pete was the strongest of the town’s lumberjacks. A “topper,” Piper Pete had the dangerous job of climbing and cutting the top from the tall pines before they were felled.  When not working, Pete could be found walking the trails and tracks around Piper with his beloved companion, the White Dog.  Through a series of treacherous situations, colorful characters, and unusual encounters best shared around the glow of a summer campfire, Pete and the White Dog eventually met untimely ends.  However, the legend doesn’t stop here.

As a protector of the forests around Piper Lake, the White Dog has also become a protector of camp.  Whether through mysterious sounds in the woods, chance “out-of-the-corner-of-the-eye” sightings, or the wishful thinking of generations of campers, the Legend of the White Dog “howls on.”

-TRITOFINISH.COM

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