Backpacking to Hell Roaring Lake

After the backcountry run we headed up north and went backpacking for one night. After 45 minutes of driving on the most rugged jeep trail I have ever experienced it was just a short 2-mile jaunt out to Hell Roaring Lake. 2 miles is all I could do after the race :)













It was GORGEOUS out there! We ended up bushwacking around the entire lake with Timber in the lead... literally, too. We followed Timber to find our way around the lake with all of the tributary crossings.



















The view from our camp site.
(Though beautiful, we did get eaten alive by bugs!)

The sun came up on the mountains and it looked it was on fire.









The sunrise was our cue, so we trekked back to the truck in the best morning sunlight.




...Great trip. Felt awesome to cruise around with everything we needed on our backs for the first time all summer. We took some books and read. Took naps. Ate salami and crackers for snacks and had a fabulous dinner of Top Ramen. I think everyone needs to get away entirely for at least 24 hours every few weeks.

Back Country Run

A few weekends back Daniel was off doing some manual labor for someone and I decided to jump in the Back Country Run. I had been wanting to actually train for the race so my body would feel good afterwards and during, but I just never got around to training for the run. A local shop in town puts this race on each year. There is a 10 mile option and a 16.5 mile option. Of course I'm not crazy enough to run 16.5 miles for fun (just yet at least!) so I opted for the 10 mile run. I've started to enjoy running trails since I moved here and I had never experienced and organized backcountry event, so I decided Why Not? So... the night before as Daniel ordered up some pizza, I fully comitted and made some spaghetti.

I won't lie... it wasn't easy... but it was fun! The first bit was OK, but when we started to climb up Griffin's Butte at the 5 mile mark, I was thinking "why the hell did I decide to do this???!" I made buds with this chick named Erin and we just powered through the climb of it together. Once we summited, I let 'er rip and cruised downhill. And, much to my surprise with the rough conditions of the trail, I didn't fall once! I had a close one, but managed to save myself. I feel good about finishing in 1:34. I was 9th for my age group. Great experience.

Ritter

Josh Ritter came to town a few weeks back to open for G Love. It was Daniel's first Ritter experience and I was SOOOO excited for that!

It was a great show and I think that Daniel fell in love with Ritter too :)