Thursday January 11th
After too much coffee and pancakes, it was time to run. After looking at the weather and the trails in Amarillo (there are none!) I decided to do a quick out and back on the paved Soncy Rail Trail. Winds were a constant 25-35 mph with gusts 45-55mph! The wind is real powerful when there is nothing to stop it. The out 2 miles felt like somebody was lifting me and pushing me with every step It almost felt effortless. The back 2 miles was a boxing match and the wind won. Every step felt like I was working twice as hard for half the reward. The run got done and I was ready for Albuquerque.
First thing I did when I got to albuquerque was head to REI. I knew I wanted a small solar generator/battery pack for a small light in the van at night and to use the heat blanket in an emergency if I needed it. They were super helpful and even let me charge it up at the store while I went out and took care of some other things.
(Other things:
Went to Planet Fitness to get a membership. This allowed me showers, treadmill, and somewhere indoors no matter where in the country I was at. It also allows me to bring a guest everytime I go, aka Catalina can shower too! I took a shower and walked out.
Stopped by the Fleet Feet in Albuquerque and asked for some advice about running La Luz trail and what to expect as far as conditions go.
Stopped at walmart and Lowes in order to make a privacy curtain for sleeping in the van. Ended up using industrial strength velcro and a blackout curtain.
I returned to REI to pick up the Goal Zero Yeti 150 generator and proceeded to take a nap.
I woke up past 10pm confused.
Friday January 12th
Today's mission: run La Luz to the top and back down. Unfortunately that did not happen today. My heart rate was all over the place. I tried switching off between hiking and running and couldn't get my breathing to slow. This left me with two choices: quit and walk back down after only 2 miles in or swallow my pride and hike. I chose hike!
La Luz is such a magical trail. You see so much cacti and dirt to start off with. Then the trail starts with the switchbacks which force you to turn around and see Albuquerque from afar. Then the next minute you are in ice and snow in the shadows of the mountains. It has a wonderful mystic about it.
At about mile 4ish of hiking I lost the trail. The snow had covered all traces of where the trail should've been. I spent about 20 minutes looking around trying to find it, but couldn't. These things happen, Well, I guess this is when I turn around and start flying downhill. A couple miles later, I took a misstep and fell. it was easily one of the worst falls I've taken while running in a very long time and definitely the most dangerous. I recovered and finish the run up, although at a slower pace.
Next stop: Flagstaff!
Saturday January 13th
What a fantastic day this ended up being! I woke up, started driving and realized if I was willing to change my plans I could hit the Grand Canyon by sunrise. Lets do it! I was stiff and sore so I thought it best to do some stretching before I even attempt a run. When I arrived it was still dark, so i took a quick nap and ended up doing about an hour's worth of stretching on the edge of the canyon wall at sunrise. That was exactly what my body and head needed! I decided I would take it easier today. This means slower pace, less elevation gains and no long runs. With that in mind and a hydration vest prepped, I was out and running.
The Grand Canyon is my favorite spot I have ever ran. I have only ran there once before in 2014 as a training run on my way to Burning Man and Black Rock City 50k, but I instantly fell in love. There is something about that place that humbles you and makes you realize how small and insignificant we all are and how powerful of an existence nature is.
After my run I headed into flagstaff to get some advice from the local running store, Run Flagstaff. I wanted to run some flat trails and figured they would know better than anyone. I was instantly shown a giant topographical map of greater flagstaff and all the trails in the area. I was recommended a few loop trails in the coconino forest and how to get there. It was a short 15 minute drive from the running store. I ate a can of green beans and took a quick power nap in order to guarantee I would be running at the hottest part of the day. My right knee started talking to me for a bit, so no matter how much I wanted to go fast down this flat single track trails, I thought better of it. After the run I loaded back in and headed off to my next destination: Salt Lake City!
Sunday January 14th
After waking up after a few more hours of sleep it was finally light outside! I got back on Interstate towards my destination, the mountains!!! But first, let's figure out this winter tire situation! One of the major draws of my previous van was that it had some new hefty studded snow tires. It managed a pretty bad storm in New Hampshire near the end of December that required me to drive through a few inches of unplowed slush. It handled it with no problem. I know Montana and Colorado can be unpredictable at times and they will be an absolute necessity when I get back to Maine for more snowboard trips. I stopped at a few shops that were open (Sunday in Utah), and got a couple of estimates, and should be set to get that taken care of at 7:30 tomorrow morning (still early enough to get to the mountains before first chair). Now, I just have to find a buyer for the tires currently on my van.
I got up to the mountains around noon. My pass includes both Brighton and Solitude in Salt Lake City, literally right next to each other. I naturally looked up which mountain had a higher price for a daily lift ticket (Brighton) and headed that way. Well, it is a holiday weekend and everyone decided a sunny day with a high of 42 would be a great day to go skiing. There were no parking spots at Brighton so I headed back down the road towards Solitude. From me leaving the full lot at Brighton to parking at Solitude took me less than 10 minutes. They literally share a mountain. For my East coast friends, imagine Wildcat and Attatash, but closer.
I could feel that I was a bit sore and tired, after all I have had a pretty jam packed schedule, but I really needed to get back on the snow. It was a beautiful day full of slow turns instead of my usual go fast and jump as much as you can attitude. The fact it was a bit thin and therefore a bit icy probably contributed to the changed style as well. I was able to spend a good 3 hours on the mountain before heading back down to lower elevation (4,266').
Catalina arrives in two days! It was time to get the futon from couch mode to bed mode. I must have looked like a damn fool in the parking lot of planet fitness taking everything out of my car! oh well. Folding the futon out not only took up more space, but gave me a lot of useless storage underneath. The clearance is only about 5 inches or so. I don't know about you, but I don't have many bags that are less than 5 inches in height. And the way the legs are setup, it makes it a pain to stack my snowboards on top of each other. It got done. Everything fits. I packed way too many clothes; I had grand illusions of showering everyday; HA! Good news is I get to feel what its like to sleep on a bed and not a couch tonight.
After I reloaded everything I realized I was starving. Lucky for me, I had a case of shrimp flavored ramen and my camp stove. I also set that up in the parking lot. So good! The only other major thing on my to do list was to grab a snow shovel, clothes bar and a pair gloves. Boom in and out of walmart. I grabbed some more water and filled up with gas and was set for tomorrows adventures.
See the world and Run Wild!
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