Dave Clark Trail, Albany, Oregon.

Location: Starts on NE Front Street in Albany, OR, one block from the intersection of Front Street and Oak Street.  There is no parking at this end of the trail.  The trail ends in Monteith Park, where there is ample parking.
Map of Route on DailyMile.com:  http://www.dailymile.com/routes/1375582-running-route
Date run:  December 11, 2012, 11:00 am
Distance:  3.1 Miles, out and back
Pros:  Dry and stable ground, when all of my favorite, local runs are flooded. 
Cons:  In the past, on a summer day's run, I was harassed by someone who didn't seem entirely stable.  I didn't feel entirely safe.
Number of people encountered on run:  0.  It was pouring rain, and I was the only numnut out for the day.  Even my husky was miserable.

I used to love winter running, when I lived in Maryland.  The cold, crisp air smelled so clean and felt great on my asthmatic lungs.  The trails were deserted, and the cushion of fall leaves on the ground would long ago be trampled down from a beautiful mosaic of ankle-twisting leaf drifts, into a a safer layer of crushed organic matter.

But now, I live in Oregon.  I don't mind running in the cold.  I don't mind running in the rain.  I totally mind running in the cold rain.

My favorite trails have been flooded and are unpassable.  They'll likely stay that way until late spring.  Good running gear helps to insulate me against cold, rainy jogs, but the moment I stop running to walk a cool down block or two, the chills that had been lying in wait start to bite and attack.  Running on the roads is not only infinitely less relaxing than running on the trails ~ but Oregon's heavily slanted streets (to direct and manage storm water run-off) cause me to run on a constant tilt, which really hurts my hips.

Another reason that I hate running through neighborhood streets is because it seems that half of the households in Albany, OR burn wood for winter heat.  Or, they burn paper.  Or, they burn things that create thick clouds of ashy smoke that settle low on the street.  My lungs burn.  My inhaler prescriptions get refilled. 

I just can't take running on the streets, anymore.

So I decided to scout out Bowman Trail, just to see if the waters had started to recede ~ which they hadn't.  I could only get about a quarter mile down the trail before reaching the flooded meadow.  The video below was taken in January 2012 ~ but with a few good days of rain, the park can easily become this flooded.

Still needing a run for the day, I decided to hook up with the Dave Clark Trail.  This concrete trail follows the south side of the Willamette River, for 1.5 miles between Bowman Park and Monteith Park.  The City has plans to redevelop the Albany waterfront, and you can begin to see some of the early efforts along the trail.

Starting from Bowman Park, head east, towards the picnic shelter.  Don't cross the bridge to your right.  Instead, go towards the building and open area to your left.  You'll see a very short trail through the blackberry canes that will take you up into the neighborhood.  Take a right on Water Street, left on Pine Street, before taking and a left on Front Street.  Front street runs right into one end of the Dave Clark Trail.

The trail goes past the Willamette Community Garden.  You'll be able to smell the hoppy smell of freshly brewed beer at the Calapooia brewery, one block off of the trail, through an open field.  You'll pass under a railroad bridge (the same one you cross over, on the opposite side of the Willamette River, when running the Takena Park trail), before passing beneath the bridges that connect Albany with North Albany.  You'll skirt the downtown Albany area, before the running through Monteith Park, where the trail ends.

I had only run the Dave Clark trail, once before, and it wasn't the best experience.  During the summer, the trail seemed to be used by a number of homeless.  I actually come across a fair number of homeless on my trail runs, and they always leave me alone.  But, on this one summer day, this one dude didn't seem entirely stable, and I didn't feel entirely safe.  On my recent winter run, it was pouring rain, and I was the only person on the trail.

I think this might be one of my 'go to' runs during the winter, when I can't stand running the streets anymore.  Hopefully, it will help me kill the time until late spring, when the waters recede off of my favorite local running spots.