Benefield: Runner’s quiet quest to log every single trail in Trione-Annadel

It started as a checklist last winter.

Santa Rosa High senior Emilie Cates, barred by the coronavirus pandemic from training with her cross country teammates, decided to mentally tick off the trails she ran alone in Trione-Annadel State Park as she completed them. Spring Creek. Check. Richardson. Check. South Burma. Check.

As the miles mounted and the tally grew, she was spurred by teammates to start writing them down. And then to see if she could run (or hike) every trail ― marked and unmarked ― in the 8-square-mile park.

It evolved into a user’s manual of sorts — poison oak in this area, loose rock on this trail and notes where runs turned to hikes because of terrain. She marked places of note — The Soldier Tree, filled with plastic soldiers until someone removed them; The Couch, an array of stones that offers a nice perch — and she logged unmarked trails and named others for which she could find no known moniker.

And as the weeks of the COVID-19 quarantine turned to months, Cates’ trail log became part diary, part love letter to the park and part message in a bottle to future runners, hikers, explorers and adventurers who she expects may come to Annadel looking for something but who might not always know where to begin.

“Some of those trails were very hard to get to, but it was worth it,” she said.

The book, and its body of knowledge, was a gift for her cross country team. She gave it to her coaches, Carrie Joseph and Doug Courtemarche, at the close of the season.

There are notes on well-loved spots. Lake Ilsanjo: “A lake very popular and well traveled in Annadel, great place to swim when not drained and gross,” and Schultz Trail: “A special trail that feels like it was created for the sole purpose of giving you a hard time, around 1.5 miles, continues from Pig Flat’s main trail down rocky hillside, watch for snakes!”

But also the obscure, named by Cates: Karen Trail: “Goes off Canyon at hairpin turn, leads to houses, always some brisk walking lady in a brightly colored sweater, sunglasses, and eagle eyes, watching,” and “Sneaky Trail: ... a shortcut often taken by extra tired runners sent on a cool down.”

Looking through the book, I have lots of questions about the original names, but let’s start with this: “The Murder Trail”?

Cates explains that she and fellow runner and Santa Rosa High senior Eliana Bruce named it more than two years ago. Here are the log notes: “... cuts up from start of Canyon up a very steep hill, drops you higher on Canyon saving you around a mile, my favorite shortcut, legend has it if you sacrifice someone off the hill it gets a little less steep each time, sorry Leah.”

When I asked Cates why Leah, she said, “She’s a sophomore,” by way of explanation.

And before we go any further, a reporter’s note: I hear what some of you are thinking, because truth be told, I hear it in my own head, too. What about those unmarked trails? Should folks be on them? Should I be on them? Is this rule breaking?

When I asked Cates about it, it’s hard not to be sold by her logic or her passion for the park. This is a person who treads respectfully.

“If there are trails there, it’s almost begging to be explored,” she said. “And most of them are way more strenuous than regular trails, so that weeds people out. I’m always very careful with wildlife and not stepping on plants. You have to be responsible when you go.”

When we hiked together last week to tick off some of Cates’ logged trails, we took clearly worn trails. This wasn’t bushwhacking or anything that felt like trespassing on nature.

With the goal of making it to Cates’ all-time favorite spot in the park, we set off Thursday afternoon. Over 2½ hours of hiking, we ticked off The Y, Canyon Trail, The Murder Trail and The Outpost. We saw The Ramp, The Belly Button, Full Cleavage and Break My Stride. But the goal was The Boob.

And there are rules for getting there. First, per the book, newbies are not allowed to take “The Uncool Trail” to the top: “It’s an alternative to get up to The Boob that’s not the steep way, not allowed to go this way your first time.”

So up the steep face we went. Another rule: You are not allowed to look at the view until you crest the top. Forgetting this, I accidentally glanced over my left shoulder and worried the rest of the way up that I’d be struck by lightning or slip into a crevasse.

But I lived. And good thing, because what a view. On this day, the gale-force winds made conversation nearly impossible, but no matter. The view is the prize.

There is Lake Ilsanjo just below, and farther on one can see a slice of Spring Lake. Santa Rosa sweeps west. Mount St. Helena looms to the north. Due east are Hood Mountain and Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. Cates tries to bounce an echo off of Hood Mountain but the buffeting wind makes it impossible.

I recall that notes in the trail log indicate extra points are given if the echoes make the dogs in east Santa Rosa howl.

But making it a goal to traverse every trail in the park precluded Cates from redoing a lot of her favorites in the final push to finish. And it also proved a time crunch as the COVID-adjusted cross country season wound down and Cates had more routes to mark. It was her goal to finish the book by the close of the season.

“Those last three weekends in a row, I was doing 10-mile runs to get all the trails because I was running out of time,” she said.

Then there was editing, double-checking with social media and aerial maps. Her book has 103 different trails and spots. She insists there is no way to tally the total number of miles she logged. Suffice it to say, it was a lot.

Did she feel confident she’d knocked them all off?

“Oh, I have. Yeah,” she said.

For the last one, in late March, she brought friends to mark the occasion. It was a celebration of sorts.

On March 27, Cates signed off. Fittingly, it was an entry about her run, but also a note to future runners, hikers — anyone who will love the park as she does.

“March 27, 2021: Today marks the day I’ve been to every trail in Annadel. Lael, Leah, Jasmine and I did a 10-mile run to Schultz. It’s our last race this Wednesday when I plan to give this to Carrie and Doug. These last four years I have met the greatest people and competed in the greatest sport. I hope this trail book helps many more aspiring adventurers like me. Good luck.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @benefield.