The first time I ran on my current backyard trail was April 2017. RK and I went to central Oregon hoping to mountain bike and instead we went running in sideways rain/sleet/snow. There are two loops, stacked. Or you might visualize it as a big loop bisected into a small loop and a medium-sized loop. I guesstimated the small loop was maybe 5 miles and convinced RK it would be great! Back then RK had one bum knee and wasn’t …
Tag: trails
Most of us remember connect-the-dot puzzles, moving a pencil around a piece of partially printed newsprint from numbered dot to numbered dot until a composition is revealed. I guess this is a way of teaching kids how to count because as we all know, in real life dots can be connected any which way and the connection does not always reveal anything sensical. My friend Lisa visited us in Central Oregon recently and after painting a mural so pretty it …
I never really wanted to live in Utah. For at least 6 years I claimed to be on the “one year plan.” My problem was with Utah’s urban areas, but the surrounding landscapes turned out to be a huge exploration opportunity. We made a loose household rule to not spend more than 2 weekends in a row in SLC. This was one of the smarter things we have ever done. Salt Lake City is an excellent pivot point for the …
I am three weeks into a head cold that just won’t quit. I am well enough to go to work but, as I told my co-worker, I feel like half of my energy is going towards snot production. If I was bleeding as much as I am snotting I would be in the hospital for blood loss. I have two aching shoulders that keep me awake in the night, four months after a mountain bike crash. Only one was injured, …
I am being reminded of the challenges of winter running. Glare ice under a thin layer of snow fluff that requires a short stride and careful steps. Snow packed into dirt, filling in the texture and making for slick descents. The curious duality of ice and goopy mud, side by side on narrow singletrack. Hand warmers shoved into my gloves to keep the backs of my hands from being stubbornly cold. It’s all just a little more work, a little …
I don’t think I know anyone who isn’t see-sawing between despair, rage, frustration, and helplessness these days. On all things political, environmental, and social, it really is a heaping pile of bad news. How to manage heartache in crazy times? When even our carefully constructed social bubbles are collapsing in? When natural and political disasters compete for the headlines? I listen to music more than the news. I read headlines but only go deep on stories of unexpected awesomeness, such …
The other morning I was out for a walk with the dogs, it was just barely not dark. Two or three coyotes were barking and howling very close by, maybe right above us. Mack and I instantly slowed down to keep pace with the slower, older and smaller dog. Emma barely noticed them, just kept moving her snout around the bushes and bits of grass while she slowly sniffed and sauntered along the trail. Mindfulness, meditation, being present… all of …
There is a system of trails in the foothills near where I live. Really, I’m pretty sure there is just one official trail, but there are countless spurs, social trails, old double-tracks and jeep roads that lead up and over ridges, down steep gullies, traverse rocky hillsides and lead up and down the various peaks. Most of these are the most direct route, very steep, often loose and, if they get well used, sometimes closer to trenches than trails. The …
If you work at a job, in an office, you know the general refrain about Mondays being the worst days. And if you had an especially excellent weekend doing your favorite things, it is rarely easy to get back to work. When you spend your weekend doing all of your favorite things, how long does it take for that glow-y feeling to wear off once you sit down at your desk on Monday morning? I’m sure it depends on the …
There are some very good reasons to creep around in the woods: mushroom hunting, bird watching, berry picking… or maybe just looking for a private spot to pee. It can be very unnerving, however, to be on a trail and see someone poking around the in the bushes nearby. Trails provide clear direction, a path to follow and a destination (even if that is simply a flat spot to stretch and turn around). Mountain bikers, hikers, runners… we tend to …
My dog Mack is the official love dog, but the story of true love in our house starts with the scrappy Catahoula, Emma. I never wanted a dog (you can’t leave town! They are so dirty! They eat poo!) but I worked at a dog-friendly company and all the employees with dogs took lots of breaks, and I thought it was either get a dog or take up smoking. We went to the Super Adoption, just to look, where all …
We all know people who view the world in a very black and white fashion, but I am all about gray. I once infuriated an Austrian who I went wine tasting with. “Do you love it?” he would ask. “I don’t love it, but it is interesting.” “So you hate it,” he said. “No, I don’t hate it.” He didn’t understand the vast possibilities of the middle. I spend a lot less time loving winter than I do the other seasons, but …
My first real office job, the kind where you sit at a desk for 40 hours a week, every week, month after month, was at a company with a deep commitment to outdoor activity and culture. There was always someone to run with at lunch, dawn patrols to bike/ski before work were normal, and weekends were almost always spent in the pursuit of being outside. Monday morning was a flurry of stories of climbing, mountain biking, skiing, adventuring and generally …