Just Plodding Along

What you don't want to hear when you are asleep deep in a canyon in a tent you were too lazy to attach the rain fly to is thunder. Which is what I heard around 2 a.m. At first we tried to ignore it.....maybe it will go away......but then the smell of rain came on strong so there D and I were, one headlamp between the two of us, ( we are always prepared....) in our underwear (it was warm) wrestling the rain fly onto the tent wind blowing, rain coming down around us. Once we were back inside I began to wonder how hard it was raining around us. Flash floods do happen in the canyon and we were up the canyon as far as one could be. Luckily it was never more than a drizzle. Just enough to get everything gritty and dirty. But is also gave us cool temps and overcast skies for our hike out of the canyon. After breakfast we packed up and strapped all our gear on for our hike back out. It seemed to go quicker on the way out until we hit the steep uphill. Then it was sllloooowwww going. Hike...

The Kolob Canyon area of Zion National Park is only about 2 hours from Bryce Canyon. We zoomed over to the visitors center to get our backcountry permit and then hunted around for a place to camp. Our first choice was booked up due to a cycling event. Though the owner was super nice and offered to let us pitch a tent in her front yard, we decided that would be our last resort. We ended up at the KOA in Cedar City Utah, about 20 minutes from the park. It was weird to camp in the middle of the city but they had SHOWERS and laundry. So it was a bit of heaven really. As a side note I wasn't sure how I would react to the limited showering situation but with baby wipes, dry shampoo, biodegradable hand soap, hand sanitizer and face wash that doesn't need water I stay pretty darn clean. That being said I haven't worn my contacts because I don't trust the above listed cleaning supplies to save me from pink eye. I am probably just being paranoid but sticking my finger in my eye ...

Can't really say enough good things about Vacation Races. They put on a great event. Okay all uphill was a bit of a killer over time but really not steep enough to be too much of an issue overall. This race was one of the slowest I have done in awhile (like when I first started running) and at first felt a bit frustrated about my lack of get up and go but then just relaxed and enjoyed the fact I was in a beautiful place. Plus I knew Bataan Memorial Death March loomed a week away so pushing it on injuries seemed a bit dumb. Sure you always want to feel strong and like you are prepared for a race but after three weeks of not running much and my hip still bothering I was not killing it. Luckily a beautiful course makes extra time spent out there not really an issue. This race was not actually in Zion National Park. The start is almost exactly 13.1 miles from the entrance in Virgin, UT and the finish right outside the entrance to the park. The start had plenty of parking and s...

See I have these friends and they like to go on crazy adventures and I am just lucky enough to get invited along. Since this adventure was in Zion I decided instead of driving for 12 hours by myself (spouse couldn't get off work, somebody has got to fund these adventures) to get there I would fly to Vegas and then drive the 2.5 hours to Zion. Even on a 7 a.m. flight to Vegas people are ready to party. Everyone was all glammed up to hit Vegas and there I was tromping through the airport with my backpack and hiking gear.   I picked up this sweet ride, Yaris for the win (I think I love hatchbacks) and hit the open road. In gps-ing my little adventure I noticed the Valley of Fire state park and decided to take a detour since I had some time to kill. After driving down a long and windy state road I arrived on Mars. This park was incredible. Just huge red rocks rising out of the desert.  I did some hiking around. Amazing how warm it is there. In the high 70...

Getting super excited for this on Saturday!! So excited I had to start packing which included airing out the tent  Nothing like a tent in the middle of your house. Backpacking will be an interesting experiment with packing light. Not really my thing. But when I know I have to carry everything on my back suddenly I need a whole lot less to survive. The general plan: I am flying into Vegas, and renting a car and driving to Zion. Super excited to check out St. George on my way. Camping Friday night, half marathon Saturday morning, hiking Saturday afternoon, backpacking Sunday and Monday. Then flying home late, late Monday night from Vegas. Since my hip is still a bit sore (update: been going to chiropractor and apparently my tailbone is out of whack and pushing on my hips and that caused the strain...blah, blah need to do more abdominal work to fight against super strong flexors that are pulling things outta place, a few more adjustments and I should be good to go.) my g...