johnnyg wrote:Anyone have the skinny on Bruno's Run? I am going up to Seney from July 5-9 with some newbies, including my 8 year old son who has ridden before and loves it.
Will Bruno's Run be too much for them?
I've an 11-year-old who gets discouraged rather quickly at hills and bugs. I would not take him to Bruno's Run. I would be cautious about taking someone new on that trail. Depends on the person though. My wife? No way. The high-school football player from across the street? Sure.
Bruno's Run does intersect highways at several points. You could, as a test run, begin from the roadside parking area off of H-13 by whatever lake it's by. From there, ride two miles or so on the trail and it loops back to H-13 at a point south from where you parked. You can bail out there and take the road back to the car. And at least one of the longest and hardest hills is on that stretch. Actually, there's probably more than one climb on that stretch, and there are some good bumpy sections too. You'd probably get a good feel after those first two miles as to whether everyone in the group was up to the remaining eight.
There are at least two other highway crossings that you may be able to take advantage of.
johnnyg wrote:Is Bruno's Run marked or is it impossible to find one's way around without a local?
It is reasonably well-marked. I rode it for the first time a few weeks ago. There are three places where I had trouble finding my way:
* There's a point where the trail crosses H-13, which is the highway that you'll take to get to the trailhead. You'll come out to the highway one one side of a bridge over a small river, and there will be no signs telling you what to do next. My first time through had me wandering around quite stumped for several minutes. If you are headed Eastish on the trail, you'll want to go up to the road, cross the bridge, and look down until you see some steps going down on the north side of the stream. They aren't too hard to find, but it helps to know to look for them. Walk your bikes down those steps. Keep on riding. (You can take roads to bypass those steps, but I wouldn't bother without having someone to show you. It's easy enough to just walk down the steps).
* There is another point where you will come out into the Pete's Lake campground. The trail there follows the road that campers use to drive cars in on. Follow the road. Go out the campground gates. Pass near by a parking area. You should see signs again where the trail continues into the woods. The road is actually signed too, so have faith -- those signs really are correct.
* Lastly, there is a place way out somewhere on the trail where you'll be flying downhill from a ridge, and there will be a really obvious and well-traveled trail going straight down towards some water. But Bruno's Run veers off to the right partway down that hill, and you may be too busy avoiding going over the bars to notice the turn. Twice I've flown down that hill only to realize that I'd missed my turn and had to climb back uphill again. If I recall correctly, the intersection there is with McKeever Hills trail. Not sure though. Just watch for the signs. The intersection is marked. It's just that the markings may not leap out at you while you're going down the hill.
Hope all this helps. Have fun!