Two runs into my Swarthmore trip, and I haven't touched the Crum Woods. How can this be? For four years, The Crum served as a place to play, a place to compete, and a place to escape the rigors of academic life. In subsequent years, running in the Crum had served more for rejuvenation than reminiscence. As the cross country course includes less and less and finally no running in the Crum, it is important for me to get there when I can.
After brunch at Coach Ehmer's, Kay and I were going to remedy this with a leisurely hike in the woods. The trail is rocky enough that we put Claudia in the back pack rather than the stroller. She likes the pack better, but if she gets sleepy, it is harder to sleep.
We parked at the Field House and headed out. When we got to the stadium hill, construction was blocking this entrance into the woods. I suppose this is what caused the excision of the last remaining trail section on the course. I couldn't determine what is being built. Construction seems to be the primary mission of higher education.
We headed to the gravel road, and walked down towards the creek. At the base of the hill, did we go around the holly garden and Crum Meadow? Nay. We headed right, past the railroad trestle onto the trails. It looks like Floyd dealt these trails quite a beating. The first two descents look worse than they did since back in the early 80's when I ran them regularly.
After this roller coaster section, the trail stays at creek level for a while. After the horribly dry summer, the creek must have been very low. Thanks to Floyd, and to a lesser extent Denis, the creek is now very high. It had overflowed its banks considerably. All the impermeable ground cover that has been added to campus in the past 15 years probably contributed to the flooding.
We come to a tree blocking the trail. With precious cargo strapped to my back, I need to pick my way through very carefully. Soon we come to the legendary Moose. Upon returning to old courses, legendary hills often disappoint. The Moose is still a pretty good hill. Kay's faulty memory had placed benches midway up the Moose. Had they been there, many cross country runs would have gone uncompleted.
We turn right like the courses from the 1970s and 1980s did. In earlier years they ran all the way up this hill to upper campus where the Dupont science building now sits. This right turn, after climbing the Moose the second time is where racing really began. It doesn't matter how many runners you pass going up the Moose, it matters how many you stay ahead of. We come to a steep downhill S curve that is worse than I had ever seen it. After this, the course takes a series of dips, rises and bends. This is where I would do my most serious racing. Returning for alumni meets, the current varsity runners would think I was nuts for they way I would run these downhills. There was nothing nuts about it. On a rigorous cross country course, you have to run what the course gives you.
We go off course sometime after the amphitheater, and end up on the road. That's OK; we've seen The Crum. There is plenty of campus left to explore.
Steven Cangemi
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