Training Log Archive: Swampfox

My debauchery for this non-Autumnal day consisted of running in 10" of new snow along various of the eastern trails at Happy Jack. Footprints were ahead of me along stretches of yesterday's Silent Trails race course, which unfortunately had to be canceled.

Looking out to the east, it was possible to see that everything in the prairie was completely buried by dense fog banks, which came almost to the edge of the National Forest. It looked really cool, like something you could only imagine if you were extremely jacked up on Mountain Dew, which I wasn't. Therefore I knew what I was seeing wasn't imaginary.

I saw one giant bull elk trotting across the HQs Trail eastern trailhead parking lot right as dark was starting to settle in. He could have earned a favored spot in most any Cabelas.

Ran trails in new snow from home; pretty chilly for October! Somewhat oddly, at the top of the loop I could hear a large dog barking off in the distance, higher up in the hills, yet I couldn't discern any light or campfire--which I wouldn't have expected to see anyhow, given where I was and given the weather, because who would have been camped out in weather like that? The only thing I could come up with was the thought that maybe a sheep herd was up there, but I don't know--I thought the sheep were already down.

Great day for Yowsa!!!, based largely on the fact that there was a definite need for Yowsa!!! to be done.

Beautiful out, but it won't last (even another day) so I hopped on my bike and headed out to the airport, where some brand new streets were being paved today.

After mapping at Happy Jack. The day was nice enough that I could have mapped much longer, if only the daylight had lasted longer too. Soon it will be time for (mapping) hibernation!

Two more wind farms have just gone online on the *other* side of the county. But on *this* side of the county...you can't tell at all.

Out at Twin Boulders in the late afternoon. Want to make the O' more difficult? Try some navigation into the sun when it's sitting low in the sky, and headed for the horizon. You're almost better off running backwards, and reading things in reverse--looking behind rather than looking ahead. Pretty good wind today, so that's 5 days out of the last 6 with decent or better (mostly better!) winds. Mercy!

I think I'm feeling better already. I bruise easily but heal fast, metaphorically speaking.

The chocolate helped a lot.

Mix of trail and terrain, inspecting a chunk of ground for possible future basemapping (a really cool, unique area that is pretty extreme in some respects.) Of course, without the big, big wind and occasional snow squall, the run would have been much less interesting. It's been windy for 4 of the past 5 days, and it's a little scary when you consider it's not even true winter yet, and so the winds are just barely starting to get unlimbered.

I did not get my feet wet, I did not see any animals, I did find one hunter's arrow.