Heading out for a medium-ish run with my RC this morning.  Foggy today.  In other words, a typical summer day.

Just signed up for White River 50 on 8/5.  

QOTD: funny but my most useful piece of gear is probably a belt too, my amphipod belt.  Just big enough for stuff that I want on every run (for me, that's my phone, a gel or two, sometimes money, sometimes sunscreen) but small enough that I don't know I'm wearing it.

SRD. All due to working the weekend. At least this time it's just my normal hours.

Sitting here at work watching Mountain Men on the History Channel. One of them is in Montana.  Today he's running around with this dogs chasing off mountain lions.  Made me wonder what Warden and Tiny Elvis are actually up to out there .

QOTD:  The problem with running is you really don't need a lot of gear. But that being said the one item that I have that I'll miss when it's wore out is my Ultimate Direction pack. Not even sure what model it is but it's been discontinued.  Holds 100oz of fluid, has pouches on the chest straps that are good for several gels. Two nice pouches on the belt that can hold cell phone, food, electrolytes or other light objects. The main pouch on the back is big enough for any of those incidentals that you might want to carry like ankle brace, TP, survival gear etc.  Has a elastic cord on the outside that's really nice for holding a jacket.  The real kicker for me though, is the two extra water bottle holders on the back where the belt attaches. They really suck for holding water bottles although I've used them for that.  I find they are great for holding my camera, sticking a knit cap into them etc.  They really work well if I'm running with my pepper spray or pistol. It's easily accessible but unobtrusive and the weight rides nice there.  A few years ago when I was doing a few 20-25 mile runs in the middle of nowhere in 85-95 degree weather I would load it up with 148 oz of fluid and enough food for the day. Heavy as heck to start off but held everything I wanted.  Actually bought an extra one right after they discontinued them. I have that one laying around somewhere and should see if anyone still has some and pick up another one.

5-ish miles with Tiny Elvis this morning- no mountain lion sightings   (although lions are actually relatively common in this area- I see evidence of them throughout the winter)

We're (DW and I) are looking at a small lot that is literally on one of the local trails (the trail runs just on the edge of the lot).  The lot would need some work before building- there is a dry creek bed that runs through it that would need some leveling and some dead and dying cottonwoods (amongst other vegetation) that need clearing.  Not much in the way of grand views as it sits in a relatively steep draw- one pretty good mountain view towards the south.  Having a trail outside of the front door definitely has appeal, it's also walking distance to the old downtown where we like to hang out (restaurants, breweries, etc).   We know one of our potential neighbors, she runs with the local running group, he's a big mtn and road biker- they built about a year and a half ago.  We're going to contact their builder to get at least a rough estimate of what we would be looking at.

qotd: I've got numerous packs that I use (just bought a new UD Fastback 15 ), but the thing I use the very most is a Nathan handheld that has a small pocket on it- keep a little tp, blister care, my keys and some calories in the pocket.  This usually gets me into the 12-ish mile range and under which is the vast majority of my running.  Sometimes I'll tie a windshirt around my waist if it's cooler or weather is a little iffy.  My windshirts are probably my next most used piece of gear.

Finally back home in the Madison area, I think it's been almost 3 weeks.  Did a 12 mile road run today and it was taxing. I think I hit the wall at about mile 8 and struggled in. Maybe it was just being back in an urban area with all the citizens out biking, walking, running, etc. Trails for me tomorrow somewhere.

QOTD--Daydreamer touched it and I'll agree--the beauty of running is the simplicity, just lace 'em up and head out the door.  Just to give an answer though I would say two things--Superfeet insoles and I just love the Gaia app.

 

 

Northern:  Did you ever tell us about your Utah trip and I missed it?  If not hiw was the trip?

Well I pretty much suck at giving either a race or trip report. Like reading them but...

So a brief summary to take up space on a slow daily.  It really wasn't a Utah trip but only a stopover there as DD and now tiny baby live there. I say this as an upper midwestern guy who has been out to the mountain states a bunch of times but unless you are going to southern Utah to enjoy the unique desert canyons, arches, and other features I think the rest of the state can be avoided. I think I have been there roughly 15 times so certainly I have a lot to explore yet while she lives there but I think in the future I'll get my mountain fix in a couple adjacent states and then just visit. The Salt Lake City area is effin hot, millions of people, and while there are adjacent mountains they are nothing special and they are crowded. Almost every trailhead is packed even if you get out at the crack of dawn.

Anyway the main idea behind the trip was to do some epic runs in Colorado, visit DD, do some epic runs in Idaho, a short 3-4 day backpacking trip in Idaho and then do Beaverhead camping out of my car for most of the trip. So daughter gives birth a few weeks early and they decide to travel to Wisconsin during her last bit of her work leave so I dropped out of Beaverhead to head back to my cabin to spend the week up there with them.

I'm wondering when do you cross the line over from trail running/hiking to mountaneering? I think I was right there at times in both Colorado and Idaho. I had some great runs around Rocky Mt. park and the Indian Peaks but there was an awful lot of snow up high. It was July and yet I was wearing spikes and traversing some steep and extensive snowfields. Route finding was intense at times. The streams were overflowing and challenging to cross even with trekker poles. Just to do a short run up to Sky pond involved climbing up a waterfall and some awesome glissading coming down.  After Colorado I spent two nights in SLC, saw DD and her hubby for one night then they headed to Wi. while I stayed behind and relaxed. Did one 7 mile run that went straight up to a small mountain lake that had about 60 people there getting away from it all.   I then headed to the Sawtooths and the White Cloud mountains in Idaho. Love that area having been there several times in the past. My Alice/Toxaway loop couldn't be done as the snow was still too deep up high though I did do a long o & b  past Alice up to snowyside pass but it was too steep in the big snow w/o an ice ax and route finding was a bitch. Several stream crossings were also right on the edge too. Did a couple other runs there in the 14-18 mile range that were beautiful. Tried Backpacking over in the White Clouds in a spot that I had not seen before but one area the stream crossings were impossible and a steep, extensive snowfield at a pass stopped me at another one.

Spent my final night in Salmon at a motel looking out at the divide where the Beaverhead would be running in another day and briefly wishing I had stayed in (but only briefly). I think I'm good in the mountains up to about 20 miles and then I crash and burn even at my slow pace so not sure I could have done it anyway these days.

Despite the intense snow up high I had some great runs, hikes, and superb weather. Very epic.

Long canoe trip coming up in a couple days and then in August there will be another trip out west but this time to my favorite states of Wyoming and Montana. (imho the two best mountain states) Can't wait.

Sounds like you had a great time and lots of runs/hikes.   You sure are a loner!  It's a good thing your wife is cool with that.  Have fun at n your canoe trip which also sounds like an epic trip!!

Heading out for 2.5 to 3 hours this morning. I was a little late for my fishing guide appointment yesterday morning because I slipped in an extra mile or two on my run. We caught some fish. It was fun, but that sun was beating us down. My buddy caught one fish and got back in his truck with A/C running. I stayed out there and caught another 6 or 7.

I made it 3 hours, a little over 15 miles. It was slow, easy, and muggy.