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August 29, 2006
The Veritable Joy of Being Alone
When I embarked upon this summer's running endeavor, one of my fears was spending a lot of time alone. There are many runners out there who run in an almost exclusively social context, running many days with partners, meeting a running group for a weekend long run, and so forth. I haven't been fortunate to live close to many other runners for years now. While my current home yields me closer access to runners and a running scene than my last home located somewhere near the end of the earth in west Texas, I still am mostly a running loner out here in the wilderness. In general, I find this satisfying, perhaps because I'm simply used to running alone. However, in light of my dad dying so recently, I feared what might happen if I spent too much time out there alone, letting my mind mull over the not-so-pleasant elements of life for too many minutes every day.
In the end, I've had a fair bit of running company this summer. My company has been entertaining, helpful, and inspiring. I've run with a few people who could school me up and down the mountains, twice and three times over. I've run with people who are just beginning their running careers. And, I've run with folks who are just about like me. I'm confident that all of them have contributed to my summer's running endeavor in a positive way.
I've also learned this summer that there is a certain veritable joy in running out there, all alone. I think that I have known this before, but this summer has reminded me of it even more:
1) I can feel free to think (or not think) without worrying about talking or fulfilling my end of a conversation.
2) I can run the specific pace and the specific distance that I wish to run. I don't have to stop for someone else to duck in the bushes or to stretch their hamstrings.
3) I can run where I want to run, and change my plans at the spur of the moment should I decide to do something different.
4) I can listen to music as I run, and not feel bad about being antisocial with those around me.
5) I can wear the same running clothes days in a row, and no one else will know. I can even wear a pink sports bra and red shorts and there's no one there to laugh at the color combination resulting from my inability to do my laundry at a regular rate.
As I write, I realize that my writing has a certain finality and conclusiveness to it. That's kind of funny, because I'm no where near finishing this current running endeavor. There is much more running to be done after this weekend, after I regain feeling in my quad and hamstring muscles, after completing (exceling in?) my first trail marathon. Besides, there is much more running to be done beyond the near future, hopefully a lifetime of more running.
Yeah, I really need to run more and think less. When does this tapering end?
Posted by Meghan at 6:55 PM | Comments (2)
August 26, 2006
Things that Snort in the Woods
I'm pretty sure that discovering something that snorts in the woods is much akin to learning about that which goes bump in the night. In this case, moderately alarming at first, then vastly entertaining by the end.
My friend and I were out on a trail run this afternoon, on a well-traveled trail not too far out in the wilderness. I hadn't seen her in several days, so as we ran along at a steady pace, we were chatting, laughing, and generally enjoying ourselves. Perhaps this meant that we weren't paying much attention to our surroundings? You might think that she and I would proceed with caution and attentiveness as it was her and I who had had an untimely meeting with a grizzly bear and her cub on a trail run last week.
It was a gorgeously, cool day, by the way. Some weird weather front came through yesterday, cooled things off, and even brought some light rain. For the first time since spring, the winds and weather are blowing from the north (I'm afraid to admit that weather from the north signals the approach of fall, which I'm not at all prepared for.). It was probably 65 or 70 degrees and with a cool breeze. I can't ask for better running weather.
We were rounding a bend in the trail and we heard 2 voices shouting. We wheeled around the corner, and then came to a grinding halt. There, around the corner, was a man and woman, standing at attention, looking into the woods nearby, holding pepper spray, and shouting. They yelled to us that there was a bear in the woods. Sure enough, as soon as we stopped and listened, we heard loud crashing noises in the brush and a series of snorts. We added our voices to the caucophony of animal noises in the wilderness, thinking that we had just stumbled upon one of those situations that can only be identified as not good.
The brush-crunching noises soon stopped, so we knew the animal wasn't moving towards us at least. However, the snorting persisted. We moved back and forth along the trail, still shouting, looking for an animal camouflaged in the woods. All through this, the animal continued to snort. Finally, we eased around a small curve in the trail and an elk became visible. A snorting elk in the woods. It seemed that this elk was having a bad day, allergy-wise. It sure scared the other hikers, as well as us.
The four of us all had a good laugh, and then we went on our merry way.
Posted by Meghan at 10:42 PM | Comments (1)
August 25, 2006
Relatively Quiet
It's been a relatively quiet week on all fronts. I've spent a good portion of this week not doing much, resting, and generally enjoying this fine piece of real estate that I call home. I'm pleased to report that I don't have any wild and crazy stories about grizzly bears or misplacing friends in the mountains. Instead, life is proceeding as per normal, which is fine, just fine.
The biggest deal of the week was that I turned 28 on August 23rd. My birthday was pleasantly uneventful. I did some running and did some hiking. My friend and I spent the day successfully navigating a difficult and poorly marked route that was supposed to be a 14 mile long developed trail. The result of our efforts was well worthwhile, though: sitting on the edge of a clear blue high alpine lake, in the shadow of a tall mountain still laced with persistent snowfields. In all, a perfect birthday in my book, even if I ate leftovers at 10:30 pm.
I'm "tapering" this week, running a bit less than normal. This weekend's runs will only be 2:15 and 1:15, all on trails. I did another 1:40 run on trails yesterday. Aside from these 3 runs, the rest of the week have been 45 minutes or less of running each day.
I miss running. Seriously.
Posted by Meghan at 6:57 PM | Comments (5)
August 21, 2006
The Test: Passed
Well, The Test is over, and I passed. I think I'm exhausted. I deem myself prepared to run my first trail marathon in, oh, say, 13 days. Now I get to taper (Incidentally, I don't like tapering. I get all giddy and stiff and stuff. But, I'm treating myself to a massage after this weekend because I worked hard and it is my birthday this week.).
Here is the rest of the story:
Day 2
On Friday evening, I found myself camping at a forest service campground near the trailhead for Saturday's hike. It was a cold evening, and my bold self wanted to sleep out, without a tent. The temperatures were below freezing and my sleeping bag was covered with a delicate layer of frost when our alarm clock went off at 5:15 am (5:15 am, by the way, is an ungodly hour for those of us night-shifters who are usually going to bed around that time.).
We were packed up, well fed, and on trail by 6:15 am. It was a cold morning, but I underdressed myself, preparing for the heat later in the day. Right away we saw fresh bear tracks, imprinted only in the last few hours in dust on the trail. Then, two piles of some hella-fresh bear scat. However, we never saw the bear who left his or her mark, nor any other bear for that matter.
Simply said, the entirety of the hike was beautiful. From tall, grassy meadows to thick spruce forests, from high point sweeping views of the mountain range to close-up interactions (think: swimming) in high alpine lakes with c-c-c-o-l-d water. The whole day was truly remarkable.
I felt great in the beginning of the hike, and I continued to feel good beyond the halfway point. I even felt good climbing over 2 tall mountain passes, way up there in the sky. I felt fatigue coming on in the middle of the afternoon, but I caught a 20-minute cat nap on the side of the trail while my two friends went out for a little while on a side trail. This nap made all the difference.
We finished the hike in the late afternoon, and I spent about 15 minutes soaking my lower legs in a creek at the trailhead. The water was icy cold, nature's ice bath. All in all, we think this hike was 21.5 miles total.
Day 3
If you think my weekend is a little bit wild, please consider the fact that an acquaintance of mine ran/hiked the entire length of the Teton Crest Trail, which traverses the length of the Teton Mountains, in one day. The trail is 38.6 miles in length, crosses 3 tall mountain passes, and descends into canyons between each pass. What he did is amazing.
I was only present to "pace" him for the last portion of the hike, which never actually worked out. He ended up running alone for the entire day, and I ran alone as well. The goal was for me to run about 8 miles out on the Teton Crest Trail, to the top of the last and tallest mountain pass, to pace him to the ending trailhead. I ran this trail out, nearly to the pass, but gave up on going to the highest point as dark clouds were threatening things in tall places. Instead, I perched myself at a place on the trail about 500 vertical feet below the pass, waiting for him to come down. When our designated meeting time plus 30 minutes came and went, and I began to get cold in my sweaty running clothes at over 10,000 feet elevation, I began running up and down the trail to stay warm. An hour passed, then 90 minutes. After 1 hour and 45 minutes, I gave up and ran back to the trailhead. By that point, I figured something had gone wrong. I decided I needed to get back to my phone so that I could be more useful should he be in real trouble. Besides, there is only so much time that you can hang out at 10,000 feet and not get cold wearing sweaty running clothes.
In the end, he was fine, just running very, very late. Apparently, he decided to take a short nap, and woke up a significant time later. He arrived at the trailhead after 10 1/2 total hours, including rest breaks and a nap of an unknown length of time. I'm rather impressed.
As for me, I had a great trail run. I'm guestimating about 16 miles total in a place called Paintbrush Canyon. Paintbrush Canyon is a narrow u-shaped, glacier-carved valley complete with hanging glaciers. It's truly fabulous up there. I think I started at 6,800 feet elevation, and topped out just over 10,000, still below the mountain pass at the top of the canyon.
I predicted that I would be slow-moving, easily-winded, and just plain fatigued on this third day of hard work. I felt great, though. Up high, I could feel the elevation in my lungs. Down low, at the end of the run, I really slowed down as I started to get tired. However, I aqcuired a second wind in the last 1.5 miles, and I flew back to the trailhead.
Thus, I have completed The Test and I'm feeling really good about it.
Posted by Meghan at 6:33 PM | Comments (5)
August 19, 2006
Day 1 of 3
As of now, I've successfully completed 2 of the 3 days of this weekend. Here's the low-down on Day 1.
We were on-trail by 7:20 am, and it was a cold, crisp morning. My friend and I could see our breath as we ran. We stood at the trailhead for minutes debating the proper attire. It was 40-ish degrees at the trailhead, but it would warm up significantly as soon as the sun came over the hills, but we were also climbing to 10,900 feet. We finally agreed on clothes: shorts, tank tops, and a long sleeve top layer. We shouldered Camelbaks with water and snacks, and took off at a moderate jog.
The first two miles were absolutely flat, and the view of the sun rising on the surrounding mountains was outstanding. This portion of the trail was all in the shade, and we were running through waist-high grasses covered in frost. It was so cold! My thighs and fingers were numb!
After 2 miles, we began a mild climb of 700 feet over 4 miles, following a creek called Glen Creek uphill. These next 4-ish miles rolled along and gently uphill, proceeding through alternating forests and open meadows. We figured this was the perfect time to see wildlife, so we took turns yelling "Hey Bear!" every now and again. We didn't see any wildlife, at this point, at least (Yes, that would be the obvious foreshadowing inserted here.).
After about 6 miles total, we diverged onto the Electric Peak Trail. From this point, the trail, which later degrades into a poorly marked route to the peak, climbs from 8,000 feet to 10,900 feet in 4-ish miles. The first 2 miles were still runable, and we climbed uphill, still feeling great. By now, we were starting to be warmed by the sun, as we were beginning to emerge from the forests and into the open meadows of the high mountains.
Once the trail degrades to nothingness, it becomes impossible to run, as you simply follow a steep ridge up towards the summit. From here, we could spot 2 other people ahead of us on the ridge, and we quickly caught them. This climb was a slog, but we kept moving slowly but continuously. The last 500 vertical feet or so is a series of dicey scrambling pitches, filled with loose rock. There were 4 of us now approaching the summit. Slowly but surely each of us began to stop, when the pitch or the broken rocks became too much. I stopped about 50 or so vertical feet from the summit, as the last pitch was too much for me. Only one of the other 2 hikers made it to the actual summit. From there, we crawled carefully off of the tough portion, and sat down for a rest break, refueling with snacks and Gatorade.
The world near the top of Electric Peak is rather a moonscape. The peak and its surrounding ridges are fin-like, as if they've been pushed upon their ends and into the air. The rock is various shades of red and orange. The treeline is about 10,000 feet or so here, and not much grows atop this mountain. The wind howls and it bites at your exposed skin. In all, the environment is foreign and not entirely welcoming, more like you feel as if you should be a short guest instead.
As we sat there having snacks, my quads felt quite weak, from all the steeps, I believe. I was a little bit aprehensive as we had a lot of descending left to do. However, with a little rest and some food, they felt great again. Resultingly, the descent was a lovely piece of cake. We were able to actually run down the ridgeline, back to the trail. We proceeded down the Electric Peak Trail until we merged again with the Glen Creek Trail, which follows the creek's course back in the direction that we came from. These next 4 miles were rolling downhill and I was feeling fabulous during this time. I couldn't believe how amazing I felt after 15+ miles of running/climbing at altitude. It was during these moments of feel-good adrenaline rushing that we came upon a bigger, better reason for an adrenaline rush.
Grizzly bear. Mom and cub. I was leading the 2 of us when I spotted something hairy and blonde with its head down on the trail about 150 feet in front of us. I came to a dead stop so quickly that my friend ran into me. Instantly I knew it was a grizzly bear, and at the same moment I saw one little cub frolicking at her side. The bear caught wind of us just then, and she picked her head up, wagged it back and forth, and we could hear her snorting, trying to decipher our smell. We unholstered our bear spray, began yelling very loudly, and made a big semi-circle above her on the hillside. She eventually disappeared, she must have dropped into Glen Creek. The whole event (or non-event) was over in about 5 minutes, but it felt like much longer. We made our way back down to the trail, still yelling at the bear.
It took us a while to get our wits about us enough to run again. When we finally started running, about 4 miles from the trailhead, we spent the rest of the run analyzing the encounter, talking very loudly so as to alert whatever else might be out there. We decided that we did everything right: We came upon a grizzly and her cub close, too close for anyone's comfort, within the charging zone. As soon as we were made aware of this, we yelled to let her know who was out there, immediately backed off to give her space, made ready our bear spray, and gave her all the space she apparently needed. We never panicked, we never ran, and we never moved suddenly. By the time we'd mulled the encounter over about half a dozen times, we were arriving back at the trailhead. It was warm out, but I never noticed the heat or the sun as we talked.
In talking with others later that day, I learned that this route was actually remeasured to 22 miles roundtrip. I would say we ran 16 of those, hiked about 4 miles rountrip on the higher part of the mountain, and hiked about 1 mile in the vicinity of the grizzlies. We started at 7,300 feet elevation, made it close to 10,900 feet, and came back down again. I felt absolutely outstanding. Fatigued yes, hitting a wall, none of that.
Posted by Meghan at 10:04 PM | Comments (1)
August 17, 2006
I'm Tired of Eating
Seriously. This is true. Can someone just inject some calories into me intraveiniously (How do you spell that word, anyhow?)? Like, Puh-lease?
And now, I'm entering the weekend that is The Test. I think this weekend will be, as a collective 3 days, more challenging and more painful than running a marathon in a single day just 2 1/2 weeks from now.
Tomorrow: Approximately 20 miles trail running, starting at 7,300 feet, topping out about 10 miles later at 10,900 or so feet, and returning the same way. We will hopefully reach the summit of Electric Peak.
Saturday: Approximately 24 miles hiking, including an elevation gain and, later, loss of about 3,000 feet. I expect this hike to top out on some of the outstanding ridges of the Gallatin Mountains.
Sunday: Plans still somewhat vague. Trail running with a friend. My friend is running his own unsupported ultramarathon, 38+ miles along the length of the Teton Crest Trail. I'm going to "pace" him in the last portion of his run. I'm awaiting my assignment. I'm hoping only 15 miles or so of running, as I'm not sure if I'll be able to produce much more quality running than that at that point.
If I survive this weekend, a trail marathon will be a piece of cake. Chocolate cake, that is.
Posted by Meghan at 8:21 PM | Comments (2)
August 14, 2006
Oh To Be a Kid Again!
No, nevermind, just kidding. I'm pretty sure that I would die if you were to stuff me within the confines of teenager-hood and a high school. I barely made it through the first time! As I creep up upon my 28th birthday in several days, I sometimes wonder where the all those hours, days, years have gone. I mean, they are just, just.... GONE!
Cross-country practice started today. This is my second season of coaching the local middle school and high school cross-country team. As I interacted with this groups of kids today, I will admit that the teeniest, tiny-est part of me wondered what life would be like if it were again simplified to the level at which these kids live. Then again, perhaps the complications of being a pre-teen or a teenager are complex and crazy in their own right. I don't know, but stories of their simple, lovely, innocent summer vacations sounded ridiculously delightful.
Ok, here is Step #1 of The Plan, a trail marathon. This will be my first venture into a real (read: trail race of any significant distance) trail race. Who knows, there's a slight chance that I might kill myself out there. I hope it's hard, and I hope it hurts, but I also hope I like being out there, a lot.
I did a most magnificent run on Sunday: I started at the bottom of the Eagle Creek Road, a forest service road near my house. It climbed and climbed, switchbacking itself up the shoulder of a mountain whose name I don't know. A cool front had crossed through the night before, so the skies were cloudless and the temperatures were cool, perfect weather for a long run. June and I traced the road up the mountainside, and I was completely distracted by the view. I think I could actually see the roof of my house, way out there and way below me. We crossed several creeks along the way, and the dog went creek swimming at each of them. It was difficult to discern who was happier, her or I.
Today, a 1 hour trail run alongside the Gardner River and Lava Creek. These water courses were chock-filled will fly fisherman in waist-high waders, and presumably some trout as well. I didn't have the heart to tell them that now, during the middle of the summer, they really don't need waist-high waders to fly fish in these waters. Instead, I just chuckled and ran on. I also ran a few garbage miles with my cross-country team later on.
Posted by Meghan at 6:45 PM | Comments (6)
August 11, 2006
I Have Not Been Eaten by a Grizzly Bear
But I am back. It's been a most outstanding week. I could catalog it all in a travelogue-worthy write-up, but I don't want my small readership to die from boredom. How about I tell you about my runs?
I ran here. This mountainfront is laced with trails and roads in the summer. I started at a trailhead on the right side of this map, about 500 vertical feet above the lodges at the bottom, and ran all the way to the top on a dirt road-type surface that degraded as it climbed higher. Near the end, I was crossing scree fields and the road-thing was composed entirely of boulders and rocks. I don't know who would actually drive on this thing, perhaps a groomer in the winter? I think I ended up at the top somewhere above Bradley's Meadow on the right side of the map. It was a gorgeous, cloudless weekend morning. There were a few other people out, a mountain biker and a hiker with a dog. My dog went with me, but I fear she was pretty unhappy with me as we crossed the scree field. The rocks were rough and sharp and her poor little feet were bare!
I ran somewhere in this area. I actually don't know where I was, running on some flat county dirt road. I didn't have a stellar time in this run, as I was accosted with no less than 17 dogs over the course of less than 90 minutes. One house that I ran past had 7 unleashed dogs that chased June and I down the road. I did a lot of yelling, perhaps even more yelling than running. The scenery was outstanding, though, and it was another cool, sunny morning.
I ran in this area of the Custer National Forest. We were spending a couple days in the area of the Beartooth Mountains and Red Lodge, MT. As an aside, this part of the world is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen. I've visited the Beartooth Mountains only 2 brief times, but I continue to lose my breath over the scenery out there. I asked for directions to a forest service road to run, and found it to be partially paved when I got there. I ran for a while on the pavement before it petered into gravel. The road ran parellel to a creek with a name I never learned. The water descended fast and furious, and its noise filled the valley that I ran in. There were a few people out recreating on this road, one female runner in addition to me, and a family out for a walk with their doxen dog. Incidentally, who takes doxen dogs to the wilderness? Those things are like munchable snacks for just about everything out there in the wilderness. However, the doxen seemed to be enjoying itself, so who am I to judge?
I ran this trail starting from its southern end just outside of Bozeman, MT. I did this run in the heat of a Montana summer afternoon. It was probably only 85 or 90 out, but it was hot. I've taken to carrying water on these runs, but I ended up giving my water to my dog. I thought there would be creek crossings for her, but every draingage was bone dry. She was suffering more than I was, and she suffered for a few days afterwards as well. When she gets really hot, she'll go into an episode where she sheds hair for days afterwards. She's still shedding black and white border collie hair, in disgusting clumps all over my house. This run mostly overlooked the valley that is Bozeman. Rather than checking out Bozeman sprawl, I kept my eyes focused on the mountains across the valley, and how they seem to jut up into the sky with miraculous intention.
And today, I ran to the top of Mt. Washburn, back home in Yellowstone. This is the view from the top. Trails.com has a better description of this trail than I can write at the moment: "The Mount Washburn Trail from Dunraven Pass is one of three trails to the summit of Mount Washburn, the cone of an ancient volcano. The trail is a turn-of-the-century wagon road that approaches the summit from the southwest. The broad alpine slopes of the mountain are filled with a magnificent display of wildflowers, rivaling any display in the park. The upper slopes are a summer pasture for bighorn sheep. Perched on the 10,243-foot summit is the fire lookout tower and viewing platform. The incredible, sweeping 360-degree panoramic vistas include the Yellowstone Plateau and surrounding mountains, Yellowstone Lake, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Hayden Valley, the Grand Tetons, and several distant geyser basins. Below the tower is a glass-enclosed observation room with a telescope." This was my first attempt to do an even higher elevation run. I plan to do a higher elevation run at least once a week for the next few weeks. It was tough, no doubt. This was true grizzly country, nice and high and above treeline and cool, just where grizzlies like to spend their time in the heat of the summer. However, this is a popular hike, so I'm sure the trail traffic keeps the bears away.
Thus completes my review of the best-of-the-best runs I did in the last week.
Posted by Meghan at 9:32 PM | Comments (4)
August 4, 2006
The Crazy Things Tourists Do
In response to a request, here is a list of the (theoretically) crazy things that tourists do, which I have personally observed (and possibly made up). The parenthetical remarks are in respectful deference to the job I wish to keep; therefore, you will have to wonder whether these are true, or not.
The Crazy Things Tourists Do:
* Locking their keys in their car, which is still running and contains a toddler at large inside
* Approaching and touching a bison, which, in turn, flings them into a nearby tree
* Placing their young child on the back of a grizzly bear so as to set up a perfect photo shoot
* Going for an afternoon canoe or kayak on a large, cold, deep lake that has wind and waves without a life preserver
* Robbing a bank, coming to hide out in the wilderness, and blowing their cover by hitting an elderly gentleman's car
* Stepping over and subsequently falling from a wall built to protect them from a large cliff to get a better scenery picture
* Going for a hike without buying a map or knowing how to use the map they bought, and wondering why they got lost
* Parking in the middle of the road and blocking all traffic movement for a photo of a marmot
* Going on vacation to the wilderness when immanently pregnant
* Putting one's hand/leg/whole body into a thermal feature labeled with a sign that reads, "Boiling Water, Dangerous"
* Getting drunk, wandering aimlessly into the woods, getting briefly lost, passing out, waking up at daylight the next morning to walk back out safely
Need I say more? Alas, I've just finished 7 days and 89 hours of work, so I get a break from these silly people.
My running is going so well, I just can't stand it. There is nothing wrong with my calf muscle anymore. I can't recall the last time that I didn't run on either a trail or a dirt road. I've made concerted efforts to run at elevation, everything above 5300 feet and some runs above 8000. I'm spending more time-on-feet. Thus, my current state of running feels great, and the running horizon out there looks good as well.
My mother arrives tomorrow, and we're about to have a girls' week in the mountains. The last time my mom and I camped together (She'll kill me for tellling this story.), we were at a campground in Texas. My dad and I were cooking dinner and my mom went into the tent to put on warm clothes. She left the tent upzipped a bit, and a waddling skunk followed her in. Luckily, all parties remained calm and the skunk left as quick as he/she showed up. My mom came out of the tent and said, "Tomorrow night we're going to a hotel." Sure enough, that's the last time we camped as a family.
As we were planning this trip, my mother waned a bit on the idea of camping, but she came around after a while. We will compromise healthily, by staying also in cabins and hotels. While both of my parents were and are great adventurers, I think my dad liked the outdoors just a bit more than my mom. I suspect a part of why she wants to camp is to get close to the things that my dad loved. I can't wait to wander in the mountains together with her, and to feel my dad so close.
Posted by Meghan at 1:44 AM | Comments (6)