Lake Bixhoma--one of NE Oklahoma's best kept secrets--and I'm spilling the beans.

I needed a decent run--some quality time on my feet moving in some sort of forward motion. Since it rained a half a foot on Friday, running at Turkey Mountain seemed like a squishy idea. So I decided to go to my favorite place to run in spite of wet conditions--Lake Bixhoma. I had put out the word to a few friends and about six of us expressed an interest in coming, but life as it often does had other plans and three of us showed up to play.

Picture by Johnna Ellison

A gravel road runs around 2/3 of the lake. I always park at the point where it's around halfway in either direction and it is truly relatively-to-actually flat. A nice bonus was a freshly delivered porta-potty to replace the recently demolished bathrooms. I have no problems using a tree, but there are times when a clean porta-pot is just the bee's knees. Johnna and Bryan-formerly-known-as-Mitch (BfkaM from henceforth) wee about 15 minutes behind me. I took that time to take a few pictures and run what would turn into some hill repeats. The road leading down to the lake is a steep descent, and it's a great place to do hill training.

[I have a hard and fast rule about hill repeats. If you only go up and own one time--folks--it's not a repeat. It's just a Peat. Do it twice and you've done a repeat. But do not make the mistake of saying you did hill repeats--you have not. Repeats is plural, and you must do a =third one to claim repeats status. Three or more = repeats. Two = a repeat. One is just a peat.]

I also managed to take a few pictures of waterfalls before my buddies got here. Bixhoma had received a ton of rain--more than Tulsa I bet. These falls were awesome, but I knew the falls below the lake would be amazing. You could hear them a quarter mile away.

On the west side of the lake--years ago, some boy scouts had begun cutting the Ichabod Crane Trail. It went from the gravel road up a steep ascent and just dead-ended. It remained that way for years, but today there was a new sign at the trailhead. We were up for some semi-muddy climbing and were surprised to find a lollipop loop trail about a half mile in distance with 113 feet of ascent.

With the west out and back done, we went for the east side. This side takes you across the dam and to a locked gate which we ran around. at the end of what remains of a gravel-turned-double track trail, the beginnings of some single track was started a few years ago. Last winter (13-14 months ago) Johnna and I plowed our way through some newly flagged trails and made it maybe as much as a half mile before we lost sight of any further ribbons. Today, it did not look like anyone had dome any more work on it. The tall grass (weeds and briars) kept us from venturing out. As cold and wet as it was, Johnna had collected a tick already. I am usually a tick magnet and had not sprayed or anything. we'd just get our miles in some other way.

On the way back, we took a road that went u a nice hill through the woods to a Fred-Flinstone sort of campground. Someone had made a couple of chairs out of huge rocks. Since we were here last, it looked like a second chair was forthcoming as there was a huge pile of newly acquired large flat rocks. A, so a massive firepit was constructed, and had well-contained a few campfires recently. I have always thought the rock chair looked like an altar. I always look to see if I ee any remains of spilled blood on it. To play out my fantasy, BfkaM holds a dagger (which looks very much like a water bottle) high in the air before plunging it into the sacrificial redhead. Oh--it was just acting folks!

From there, we hit the falls. It was a muddy descent to the edge of the stream at the base f the falls--steep enough that I wondered if we were making a good decision going all the way down to the water's edge. But we did make it and it was worth the trip. There was much picture taking, and I could hardly hear our conversation over the roar of the falls.

A  nice cloud of fog rose from the white water cascading over the 30n foot drop. We talked about tubing down this, kayaking, hamster balling. Of course, these falls are non-existent unless the lake is full from a heavy rain.

Mitch had to get home so Johnna and I headed back up the big hill and continued on north down a long gentle descent about two miles from where we parked. From three, we tackled what looked like an interesting hill to the east. A narrow paved road appeared to just go straight up into the clouds. There was a locked gate but an obvious trail where foot traffic and ATV traffic skirted around the gate--and there weren't any NO TRESPASSING or POSTED signs. That's like saying "Yall come on in, ya hear?" This climb was 173' in a quarter mile.and was possibly the steepest paved road I've ever been on. I don't see how a car could even climb the route when the road was wet. The trip back down was not a run at all. It would have been easy to have your feet slip out from under you resulting it a face or butt plant.

I'm not the biggest fan of running on the road, but these roads weren' all that bad. We did flip sides several times to cars coming u behind us and such. Then there's the paparazzi that pulls up and starts taking our pictures. Turns out it was friendly fire--none other that Clint Green who evidently saw my Facebook posts of the waterfalls and decided to come see for himself. We chatted with him for a few minutes both times whe passed us.

Johnna and I both wanted 15 miles for the day so we had to tack on another couple out-and-backs at the lake.

I seized the opportunity to Storm the Dam (running down the steep embankment only to trudge back up) but not before taking a couple pictures to document the deed.

I ended up with 15.66 miles with multiple stops for bathroom breaks, Clint Green breaks, petting dog breaks, picture taking breaks, refilling water bottles, shedding clothes, putting clothes back on, etc. We conquered 2,156 feet of vertical--which looks good on an elevation profile. ;-)

The City of Bixby has recently been putting a bit of money into updating the facilities here. It seems like a new bathroom might be on the agenda. They have already added a few picnic tables and a huge gazebo on the SW corner of the lake perched on a raised knoll with a spectacular view of the lake and the evening sunset. The three of us talked about having an organized group outing here sometime and cooking some breakfast stuff for after the run. Let's do it before it gets too hot!!

An impromptu trip to Lake Bixhoma

On a cold Sunday morning, with thunder waking me at 7:00 am, I thought I would be cooped up in the house all day watching March Madness, or a golf tournament (read that NAP), but by 11:30 when I looked outside again and my drive way was dry, I decided I needed a last-minute run. I tossed the idea out on social network, and a few friends were eager to join  in!! Since Turkey and especially Chandler Wilds would be most likely muddy, I thought Lake Bixhoma would be a good plan.

Lisa, Johnna, Jenni, and Ella joined me, and I can't forget Jerico--Lisa's schnauzer.  We basically did out-and-backs on either side of the lake, and mixed in hill repeats up the steep road leading from the entrance gate to the lake. Lisa, Jerico, Johnna, and I dot a 169' climb under our belts first, and then headed west and then south on gravel roads around the lake.

This lake is a great fishing spot, and several anglers and bass boats were wetting their lines. I used to fish here years ago in another life. Caught a 25 lb channel cat back in the 80s--the biggest fish I ever landed.

Lisa, Jenni, Ella, and Jerico approach the turnaround. 

 Thanks Johnna for the pic. I planned on an easy 6-7 miles, and this cloudy cool day was perfect.

I set my phone up on a picnic table and the timer on 10 seconds to get a group pic. Either my phone was not working, or it just won't photograph zombies. After 4 tries, I gave up.

 When we got back to our cars, Lisa stopped because this was Jerico's first run in quite a while and she didn't want him to overdo it. Ella had 2.4 miles, and they took off with Johnna and I up the hill for another hellish hill repeat. They reached the top and called it good--getting probably 3 miles for the day.

Johnna and I climbed the 169 feet and decided to head down the long road towards Leonard. I thought it was only a mile to the bottom, but it turned out to be a little further. 219 down, then 219 back up.

We chatted with Lisa and Jenni back at our cars. Jenni's hubby Ryan had came out and brought a drone to try out. Cool stuff. Johnna and I then headed around the other side of the lake.

We ran to the end of the dirt road and onto a trail that I thought went maybe 200 yards into the woods. Someone, however, had tied yellow ribbon marking a future trail, and for a half mile, the trail was trodden enough to follow. But eventually, their trail clearing had screeched to a halt. We were in a dense old growth wood and no further ribbons were in sight.

There have been plans bantered about for cutting a trail completely around the lake--and it seems they are about halfway there. I'd love to get a group together to help finish this.

On the way back we took a trail that went along the top of a bluff. I knew of an old campsite from the stone age. 

 I found this a few years ago, and someone told me this "chair" looked like an altar. But I am pretty sure it's just a chair. The rocks were natural brown--no signs of past fires.

 We took a couple of other side trails on the way back. One trail just below the spillway of the lake led to a cascading waterfall. I had never seen water flowing here, but after our rain, it was amazing.

A bit of graffiti here and there.  So did they or didn't they?

 We tromped around on the shale-like falls. It looked to be super slick, but in fact was not at all. We ended up with clean shoes.

I think we need a Sunday run here. There's hill repeats to do, trailz to explore, it's very scenic, and we could cook out afterward.

Johnna and I ended up with 9.3 miles, and 919' of climb. A good day.

Wednesday at Lake Bixhoma

Kathy and I ran a flattish run at Lake Bixhoma, which included some bigtime hill work. How could this be so you ask? The gravel road circling the lake have a few minor ups and downs, but the road coming down to the lake is a beast!

This is one of my favorite places to run. There's not much in the way of single track, but its scenic and quiet. The gravel roads around the lake are ones you can zone out and put in the miles.Run as far as the road/trails go in each direction, and you end up with 3.6 miles. We added on some extra out and backs.


The road on the south side of the lake is gated off, and the weeds tall grass have enveloped the route--so much so we decided to not bushwhack through to the end. I have fed chiggers all summer long, and I've had enough.


Kathy agreed that cutting the south leg short was a good idea.


I ambled down the boat rand and drowned whatever chiggers that might have been dangling from my hairy legs.

From there, we climbed the hill out of the lake area and ran all the way to HWY 64.

We decided that if you had to live under a bridge--this would be a nice one.


Or if the bridge wasn't adequate housing--this might do in a pinch. If you click on the pic, you might see that my truck is already parked there!

We ended up with 10.67 miles, and over 750 feet of elevation gain. The hill out was 189 feet and steep. From the top down to HWY 64 was long and very runable down and not too bad running up.


Kathy was awarded the silver redneck award for completing the Bixhoma Challenge. I was jealous--I didn't get one. We got in some good Arkansas Traveller training.

One streak ends. Another streak ends. A new one begins.

My 58 day running streak was halted a couple of days ago. I had ran 51 miles over the weekend, and was a little tired, but not at all beat up. There was an insanely busy day at the office, and another stressful distraction to deal with, and before I knew it, the day and night was gone. A new streak was born--how many consecutive days could I go without running? Day one was a given, Day two was pretty easy too, what with the mud, cold, and wind. I just did not feel like running, and knocked out Day two with ease. But day three was tough. The sun was out, and I got off work at 3:30. I got home and Jake met me at the door, and that was the end of my non-running streak.

See, Jake never bought into the non-running streak thing. How could you say no to a face like this? To avoid all the mud on Turkey Mountain, we headed to Lake Bixhoma. The road/trail that goes about 2/3 of the way around the lake is mostly gravel, with a little pavement.

Jake was excited, eager to help me with my speed work. I had other plans though. I always take a lot of pictures here. This lake nestled deep in the hills of south Tulsa county is a hidden gem and a photographers playground.

We took the western route first, and ran the gravel road all the way to the end.

We had the route all to ourselves, or so I thought. A pick-up was parked at the turnaround and pulled out just as we came into sight. Oh well?

Jake got a drink, and before I knew it, he had plowed in. The water was clean, but he still got a bath when he got home. He was starting to smell like Stink Dog. On the way back, we climbed the Ichabod Crane Trail, and possibly it has been extended. We went maybe a 1/4 mile and hit a dead end. At this rate, in 20 years, it may actually go somewhere.

We ran back and crossed the dam. This is a great place for a sunset picture, but I was a little early.

Following the road and then the trail all the way around the east side, I was encouraged to see that someone had cut about 200 more feet of trail southward around the lake. Someday, there MIGHT be a trail all the way around.

Coming back, this gate is where the pavement starts. The whoile south side of the lake is off limits to vehicles, but the way I read it, foot traffic is ok.

Here's out route thanks to Map My Run. My Garmin was dead. iPhone agrees with the mileage. We took 64 minutes to finish the run--not exactly speed work, but a good start to a running streak!!

Dealing with tapering

The taper goes on. I have come to embrace short runs. four miles--no more than five, and mostly at a relaxed pace. Slow. Lotsa walking.

Jake has enjoyed my taper, as he specializes in short runs. We made a trip to Bixhoma Friday night. The lake was swarming with people, but we were the only runners. I have had him here before, but this time, after a text from an acquaintance who questioned the lake regulations pertaining to dogs, I read the signs and rules. "Pets must be on leashes." We were ok with that. "No Swimming." I did not intend to swim. "No animals allowed in lake." Hmmm. Tell that to the beavers.


The lake was beautiful, as it always is. I had dead legs, wearing my Asics 2160 Trail shoes. It seemed like I had lead weights on each foot. Our pace was never faster that 12 minute miles, and we averaged 16 minutes overall. I did stop my iPhone app when I took pictures.


Jake requires a dip every now and then, and I made my way around to the west side of the lake before turning him loose for a drink.


This little boat ramp was to Jake's liking. He lounged around in the water for about five minutes here.


We also went to the opposite side of the lake, crossing the dam, and along the bluffs  lining the south shore. We turned around at an old picnic shelter that had the concrete tables all busted out. Such a shame, and this side of the lake is seldom used--but I make it around there every now and then.

Sunday morning, I led a group of trail runners in a 4.75 mile scamper around the entire wilderness area.

Left to right: Russell, Bailey, TZ, Edward, Molly, Kristina, Chris, and Tim. I felt light and springy--and had one of the best trail runs I have had in a while. It's amazing how one bad run is always followed by a great one.

A side note, I have biked twice this past week. 12 miles, and 16 miles. Cross training makes the taper go bu easier.