Little Trail Run

My husband and I drove out past Twin Springs to Sheep Creek on Sunday. His original exercise plan was to stay home and do close to home things, but I wanted to get out into the woods. I'm finding that I feel a lot better when I have regular doses of the outdoors. And while Boise does have some great options when it comes to outdoor recreation, sometimes it's nice to get away from the city.

Plus, if we were going to start doing weekend warrior trips, we needed to find out if the road was open all the way through.

I always loved referencing the population of Twin Springs, because it was 2. But when we drove through on Sunday, the sign on the way in reported a population boom - 9! But on the way out, the population boom was only to 4. Either way, that's some pretty good growth for a town in the middle of nowhere.

We parked at the new trail head for Sheep Creek and Ambrose started hiking while I finished getting myself ready. I wanted to put on my gaiters and that meant taking off my shoes, since the Altra gaiters are designed to be put on before the shoes. I also tightened up my pants cuffs so they wouldn't flop around while I ran. Yeah, I was planning on running out to the first bridge crossing and then back. I figured around 3 miles.

While I was getting ready, another couple parked and set off on the trail. When I got around to starting, I ran into Ambrose first, and then the couple, who politely moved aside to let me pass. Luckily, the trail wasn't too steep where I passed them, because there were parts of that trail where I wasn't so much running as walking with urgency.

My calves were killing me. I'm hoping that they will adapt to the Altras soon, because otherwise I'm going to have to figure out a different shoe. And I don't want to, because these shoes are cushy and protect my feet from rocks while also being lightweight (especially compared to hiking boots). I pressed on, despite the pain and ran when the trail flattened out sufficiently.

This is a route that I've taken a lot over the years. It's the start of one of our regular training hikes, up to 6125 (which I hope to do this weekend). And while it hasn't changed all that much, it's the first time I've done it this season. I managed to use some part of my mind to enjoy the scenery while most of it was occupied with not tripping and falling on my face.

I had to go slow once I reached the junction down to the bridge because that trail is just covered in softball sized rocks, waiting to reach out and roll my ankle. The creek was flowing so high and fast that I was concerned that the bridge might not be above water. But I had forgotten how high it sits above the creek. When I got there, I saw it was in fine shape, and the campsite looked to be ready for us to come for an overnighter.

I took a break on the bridge and saw that I was just shy of 2 miles. So when I ran back, I did a couple laps around the parking area to make sure I got all the way to 4 miles. It wasn't easy by then; I was covered in sweat and huffing and puffing. But I did it and then Ambrose cooked us steaks while I stretched. I had thought about a dip in the river to sluice off, but there weren't good places to get to the water, and the flow rate was fast enough to be less than ideally safe.

Then we drove home.

We couldn't stop because people were behind us, but that sign does read population 4. 

Bridge selfie. I was wishing I'd brought a hat at this point. 

Fast water, but well below the bridge. 

Bridge shadow art.