Cold Running

 I am pretty proud of myself for starting and maintaining a running streak in Boise in December. It isn't the worst winter weather month that we have here in Boise. That tends to be January or February in my limited experience. But just because there's not been a whole lot of snow or ice on the ground doesn't mean it was an easy month to run in. 

For example, last Sunday, when I ran 6.4 miles, I was initially quite cold when I went outside. The sun was out, but it is at such an angle that most houses I run by will block its light and meager heat. The real problem was that the wind was gusting. Not only does running into the wind get hard because of the force of the wind itself, but also the chill factor. My current running outfit does well at insulating, but it isn't windproof, and I could feel that on Sunday for sure. 

There was one point when I was over halfway done that I was running through a shady section (that is the best section when it's shady in the summer, but is close to the worst when it's below freezing), and I could see the sunny section ahead. In my mind's eye, I was coming up on a huge section where the buildings were far enough back from the sidewalk that I'd get a chance to warm my bones before braving the next shady section. 

Then I got close enough to actually see the section. 

The sunny part was... shrinking. 

Instead of stretching all the way across the sidewalk, from the little side street I was about to cross all the past the next stoplight, it barely spanned the side street. 

Rolling in from the west and the north were not only clouds, which blocked my precious sunlight, but freezing fog, which made the lack of sun even more acutely felt. 

I had more than a mile left to run, maybe a mile and a half after the sun was completely covered. I so wanted to stop and call my husband and make him come get me in the heated car. But stopping would not help me stay warm. As cold as I was chugging along on my tired and numb jogging legs, I would only get colder if I stopped for any reason. 

So I kept chugging along. I kept moving. And it took a while, but I got those legs home. 

I'm really developing a distaste for running in the cold, but at the same time, I like having done it. A lot. 

Streak Power Activate

I took my Saturday rest day with glee, pure glee, I tell you. 

And I also used it to rest up for a 6 miles Sunday. 

I wasn't planning on 6 miles, not explicitly. I thought I might make it, and I chose a route that would allow it, but I thought I'd come up short, if only because it was raining on Sunday when I wanted to run. 

See, I didn't want to run too early in the morning, because it's winter. And I prefer to run when it's a bit warmer, around mid-day, instead of first thing in the morning, because I don't like running in the cold. 

I mean, I am running in the cold, but it's not the coldest. 

So, after breakfast omelets, I waited for almost two hours and then decided to get going, right around 11:30. When I saw that it was actively raining, I decided to use my husband's poncho to stay dry-ish. I figured I could do it, as long as I didn't get soaked. 

The poncho is, essentially, like a trash bag with a hood and zippers. It is also way big on me. I didn't enjoy the crinkly sounds with every step and move, but it kept me dry. I couldn't keep the hood up for long, because I started warming up from the exercise. But I kept the poncho as a whole on until the rain let up, just before I hit 3 miles. 

Once I took it off, the poncho was a bit of a pain to carry. I'd had vague thoughts of tucking it into the fanny pack strap, but I wasn't able to do that while running so I just crumpled it into a football-like shape and kept it tucked under one arm or the other as I ran. 

I use the Map My Run app to track my miles. When I get to within a block or so of home, I take the phone out and prepare to stop the tracking function. On this particular day, I saw that my total mileage to that point was 5.96 miles. 

So. Close. To 6 miles. 

I paused the workout because that was what I had intended to do when I pulled it out. But then I resumed it, because there was no way I was going to quit that close to 6 miles. It's been a long time since I ran that far in one go. I had to round it out. 

I ended up a smidge over 6 miles, but I still planned to run at least 2 miles on Tuesday and Thursday. I finished my Tuesday run already, so I've just got one more for the week to meet my goal. I still run slowly, but I'm starting to feel more comfortable in my pace. I hope I can keep this streak going for a good long stretch. I might leave the goal at 10 miles, but I am hoping to expand my range for the long runs, without cutting back on the two short runs each week. 

Running and Running

Well, I managed it. I finished off week 2's 10 miles last Saturday with a 2.4 mile run around the neighborhood. And then, on Sunday, I ran 5.8 miles to start my 3rd week off right. And I ran another 2.2 on Tuesday, so all I need to do is 2 miles on Thursday and I will have earned that Saturday rest day. 

Of course, I have been pushing myself pretty hard, so I also decided that today would be a rest day. My knees were feeling wonky after so many burpees and clusters on Tuesday (the workout was 115 of each, but I didn't finish, so I only did 112 burpees and 109 clusters), and I decided that it would be reasonable to skip a CrossFit day. 

After all, I'm still building up my endurance for all that running plus all that CrossFit. It will take some time to readjust. 

Running in the cold is both awful and wonderful. At the start, it's pretty awful. I get out there and I'm quite cold. If the wind hits before I've been running long enough to warm up, then I have to suffer through the buffeting. But once I run enough to heat my body, it gets nice. I don't feel as much pain as the cold numbs me. I keep my buff in chin strap position to keep my ears covered and to allow me to flip it up and over mouth and nose when people are near and down when I want to breathe freely (and there's no one else around). 

I usually encounter a few people on each run, taking walks or walking their dogs. I even see other runners occasionally. I think I'd see more if I went over to the Greenbelt, but I prefer to avoid stoplights on my runs so I don't usually go there.  Plus, I like avoiding the crowds. More time for me to breathe without three layers of buff plastered over my face. 

It seems like every time I'm out running in the cold, I ask myself why I'm doing this crazy thing. During yesterday's run, I thought of it as an investment in myself. I run pretty slowly, but if I can maintain this kind of pace for the next 30 years, then I'll be doing pretty well. Maybe I won't ever get much faster or stronger. Maybe I will. But you keep moving by moving, not by sitting on the couch all day every day. 

December Workout Goals

I'm hoping to get some real consistency in this month. I did successfully complete a round of Power Abs in November, but since my diet kind of fell of a cliff mid-month, I didn't really see a difference in my abs. I gained both weight and waist, but I'm moving on. 

So, in addition to doing another round of Power Abs this month, trying to do an increased difficultly level, I'm going to have a formal running goal. Not just running a certain number of times a week, but a distance goal. I want to run 10 miles a week each week this month. Plus, I'm trying to do CrossFit 5 days a week - preferably weekdays since that limits the number of people I am working out with to only people crazy enough to get up in time for a 5 am class. 

Last week, I ran Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I hit the 10 miles on Saturday with less than 4 miles, so that's not too bad. I want to try and expand my Sunday runs so that I can skip Saturdays altogether. Ideally, I'd run 5 to 6 miles on Sunday, then 2 to 2.5 each on Tuesday and Thursday. That leaves Saturday for cleanup if I miss a day, and for rest if I don't. 

So last week was a success, with 10 miles ran, 5 CrossFits attended and all my Power Abs days completed. This week is off to a good start, as I'm up to 5 miles, 3 classes and all my Power Abs. Not a great start, since I was too tired on Sunday to even get 3 miles. But a good start. 

It's a lot of working out, and I've been feeling pretty tired. But I know I'll get used to the amount of work in time. Patience and consistency are my watchwords for the month. 

Outdoor Research Adrenaline Mask: A Preliminary Review

After months of not buying a mask specifically for exercise, I finally caved in and bought one. My decision was influenced by the receipt of a coupon for REI, so I limited my choices off the bat. The only mask I found on REI's website that specifically was made for sports was the Outdoor Research Adrenaline Sports mask. The reviews on REI's website did not fill me with confidence (only 2, both 1 star as of the time of this writing), so I checked the Outdoor Research website for more reviews. There was enough of a better mix there that I decided to give it a try. 

Holding on in November

I'm going to give myself a gold star for my exercise in the last week. Not because I did particularly well, but because I exercised at all after finding out my mom had died. I could easily have dropped everything, and even forgiven myself the lapse, but I chose to continue Power Abs and got a few CrossFit workouts in. 

Only two runs, but one of them was a longer run at over 4 miles. I did take a break during that run to sit beside the river and have a bit of a cry, but it was still a good long run. 

I only went to one CrossFit class last week, but three so far this week so I'm starting to get back into the five day a week groove that I hope to maintain this winter. 

I have had tummy pain most days this week, which is only to be expected with some added stress in my life. And I did go off the rails a bit on my food consumption. Well, more specifically on drinks, as in I actually had a fair amount of liquor. But not as much as I would have thought I'd consume - it's the exercise, keeping me from going whole hog on the alcohol. I hate being hungover and working out. 

I'm on track to complete Power Abs in November, and I'm planning on a second cycle starting in December. Might continue in January, might not. That feels like too far away to plan things now. It probably isn't, but that's how it feels. 

November Progress

Well, I didn't get my 3 runs in last week like I hoped. But I did get 2 runs, so I'm going to call that a win. It was very rainy over the weekend, which precluded any trail running for me. And I still wasn't feeling 100%, so I actually took some steps to take care of myself, crazy, right? 

Instead of being tired all weekend, I chose to go to bed super early and sleep until I woke up. That worked out really well; I got a lot of sleep, and my husband didn't have to starve on Sunday morning until I woke up and made him his omelet (pickled jalapeño and cream cheese filled, pepper cheddar coated, dash of guac on the side). 

I have managed to keep up with Power Abs, even though it was a bit challenging this week. Not specifically the Power Abs workout, because I've done those before, but the combination of the at home CrossFit workout I did Monday with the Power Abs Tuesday was a doozy. On Monday, the substitute for running 800 meters was 50 burpees. And I got to do that 3 times for a grand total of 150 burpees. Not my favorite, but the Power Abs Tuesday was the burpee heavy one, where it's almost max reps burpees in 10 minutes, but with a few reps of one other exercise tossed in. I ended up doing 98 burpees on Tuesday. 

That's way too many burpees, as my body's soreness can attest. 

Over halfway through November, and I am starting to feel the results of having some consistency in my exercise again. My body is sore, but also ready. And Boise is doing a bit of a tour of the seasons, allowing me to run yesterday in mid-60 degree weather, which, with cloud cover, is nearly the perfect temperature for running outside. 

I'm thinking of doing another cycle of Power Abs after I finish this one; maybe two more. I could do a hybrid of level 1 and level 2 next month, and then try for all level 2 in the new year. I like having a goal that I can discipline myself to achieve, exercise-wise. 

Build Back November

I kept getting derailed through September and October with illnesses that would throw off my workout plans. I got a decent amount of working out done despite that, but this year especially it really affected my CrossFit workouts when I wasn't feeling 100%. 

In years past, I might go in if I "just had a cold" or was just getting over one. Sweating it out is a thing, after all. But this year, any little cold might be Covid19, and the last thing I want is to be the person who brings it to CrossFit. So I've done the at home workouts when I've felt well enough to work out but not well enough to venture out of the house. 

Once I figured out that there was a direct correlation between my going to the rec center at work and my getting sick, I decided I had to stop that. Going to the rec was convenient when it didn't get me ill every time (and when they had hot showers available). Now that those two relatively low bars cannot be passed, I need to stop going there, period. 

I finally started feeling better from the last cold last weekend, and I decided to start something new that I'd been meaning to do for a while. Last year, I did Power Abs and saw some improvement in my core strength. This year, I'm doing it less for the abs and more to have a goal for November. It's perfect because the program is 30 days, just like the month. Along with that, I'd commit to getting to CrossFit 5 days a week, doing the 5 am class every week day. 

I prefer the 5 am class during these times because I see mostly the same set of people. I don't prefer going to the weekend classes because I get exposed to people that I'm not normally exposed to. Sounds kind of bad when I type it out like that, but that's how I feel about it. I'd rather have the small, dedicated circle of 5 am'ers around me than the unknowns who come to weekend classes. 

Anywho, the other component of November is going to be running 2 to 3 times per week. 3 is preferable, but the weather is unpredictable and so is my tummy, so I'll give myself grace and say 2 is allowed. 

For the first ten days of the month, I'm mostly there. I did skip the Friday CrossFit class, but it was my first week back after a week off. And it was a burpee heavy workout the day after I did the 80 burpee amrap for Power Abs. I had many excuses. 

Ahem, so I started Power Abs and have stuck to it so far. Got my 2 runs in last week, on track for 3 this week. CrossFit so far so good as well. Hmm, I'm going to have to figure out what I want to do over Thanksgiving when it comes to CrossFit, since they have in the past cancelled the 5 am on Wednesday and had weekend schedule on Friday. But I'll figure that out when I come to it. Maybe the weather will be nice enough on Thanksgiving for a hike. It's been a while since I did a sunrise Table Rock hike... 

I know that consistency is key with working out; that's why it's been so hard to be derailed every other week with a cold (or whatever). So now I get to see if it's really the rec that's been making me sick, and see how well I can do if I keep the work up. 

Just Do It

I did not want to run on Saturday. I did not want to run or hike or even walk very far. I was tired and I still felt a bit sick from the illness of the previous weekend. My lungs felt tight, and I was worried, even though I just had a wellness appointment on Wednesday and the doc had nothing to say about the state of my lungs. 

Since it was a payday, my husband and I went shopping on Saturday morning. I could have gotten up early to do my run, but, as stated above, I really didn't want to do it. So, I slept in a bit, and we got breakfast and then went shopping. And then we were back home again and it was time to do the run. 

I felt obligated to do it, because I'd promised myself that this off-season, I would hike at least once a month, and this was the last day of October. I had to do it. No matter how much I really didn't want to. 

The weather was actually lovely; I started out wearing a windbreaker but didn't really need it in short order. I started my journey by running (slowly) down my street and over to the Greenbelt. Then to the Municipal Golf Course, where I did what I'd typically do and ran to the parking lot by way of the putting green. 

But I found that in the time since I'd last run this route (and it had been quite a while), the whole parking lot had been redone. Instead of a place to cross the street, I found a fence. I thought about jumping it, and decided to find the new route, which does connect to the Greenbelt directly (that explains the looks I got for running by the putting green). 

I crossed the street and made my way to the trail that would take me up to Table Rock. This isn't the more commonly used trail, but I knew I'd see some people on it, because there were bikes parked at the trailhead and even an escooter. Still, it wouldn't be as crowded as the Greenbelt, so I tugged my buff down and got a drink of water while I started the uphill portion. 

I slowed to a walk for much of the climb, and I stopped and stepped off the trail to let maskless people go by (I would have done the same for people wearing masks; I just didn't see that many of those). I know some of them saw how easy it was for me to pop my mask into place as we came into proximity; I hope some of them choose to do that in the future. 

The thought of turning back early tempted me when I got to a place where I've done turnarounds before - we call it The Spike, where the trail reaches a plateau - but I kept on going even though I felt pretty horrible. My heart was pounding and my breathing didn't feel full. 

On the plateau, I ran a bit, but mostly walked. And when it came to the approach to Table Rock, aka The Ramp, I didn't try to jog anymore, but just walked without stopping. One foot in front of the other. Ignore the pounding, ignore the pain, just breathe. 

And I realized that I was constricting my own breathing. I had been so anxious and worried, that I was not letting myself breathe fully. I rolled my shoulders back and took a deep breath. And from that point on, I didn't feel that tightness in my chest. If I hadn't gone on this run, pushed myself to where I could feel where that anxiety was affecting my breathing, I might not have figured it out. I needed this run, and I'm so glad I went, especially because I didn't want to.

It was still a hard hike. Table Rock is steep. But I got to the top, and when I came down, I started jogging it. Downhill running can be nerve-wracking, but it also takes a good deal of focus and concentration. By focusing on my foot placement, I found myself going down at a decently fast pace. I kept it up as I turned toward the Rock Island trail to make my way back down, but I got cocky. 

See, I'd made it that far without a stumble, so I allowed myself to get distracted by the sight of a guy standing off the trail at a fence with his dog. Naturally, a rock caught my right foot, pitching my body forward. 

I've only fallen on my face on the trails a couple of times over the years. This was not one of those times. No, this was one of the more frequent times when I stumble, pitch forward, crank my abs and keep running. Good thing I remembered how to do that, because I had to use it two more times before I made it back to the pavement. 

I thought I'd run the whole way home once I reached pavement, but my body had other ideas. My IT band on the right side was painful, and my muscles overall were feeling quite overused. Probably something to do with this being the first serious exercise I'd done in over a week. Sure, I did a mile on Tuesday and almost 1.5 miles on Thursday. Both of those were on flats. The Table Rock route I do is over 7 miles. 

So I walked a good deal on the Greenbelt. I ran some, usually picking a spot where I'd start running, and then picking a spot to stop. But I walked a lot. Fast walking though. And I pulled my mask up when I saw people coming. 

It really was a beautiful day to be outside though. 

Some beautiful blue autumn sky in the background.

Late Season Car Camping

Back in September, my husband and I agreed to try and spend one weekend outdoors, car camping, each month until the weather prevented us. Over the course of the pandemic, we've discovered that it's very important for us to have some time out of the studio apartment. And there's just something really restful about sleeping outdoors, especially when it's colder outside. 

Since it tends to be a bit colder in October, we chose a lower elevation destination. Still a bit high, but not up in the mountains. We went to the Murphy Hot Springs area near the Nevada border. It's right near the start of the Idaho Centennial Trail, so I'd been near there before, but this time we were going to drive down into the canyon and see if we could find the hot springs. 

Well, the hot springs are closed for Covid-19 - not an unexpected outcome. But there were a few BLM campsites available, and we chose Juniper Grove. The campsite was quite windy when we arrived near lunch, but also lovely. The East Fork Jarbridge River flowed by right next to the site, close enough to hear the water burbling over rocks. And we had the site mostly to ourselves at this time of year. 

I'd imagine it would be more crowded in the summer, when the spot would probably provide a cool relief during hot summer days. In autumn, it would have been too chilly without the dappled sunshine. We managed though - in part because we learned from our September trip that bringing tea and bouillon cubes would be helpful to keep warm. Whenever either of us got too chilly, we'd just boil up some water and slurp down something hot. 

The night was cold, but we both slept really well and woke up super refreshed. I hope we can find a good spot to camp in November; we're probably going to need some restful sleep right around the first weekend of the month. 

Yup, there was a pit toilet - thank goodness.

And the whole place smelled delightfully of Juniper.

What curious mushrooms, bursting from the trunk of the juniper.

The tent is firmly staked out to beat the wind - which did die out after dark.

A good spot to relax - achieved! 

Skillern September 2020 Day 2

We slept in. I didn't set an alarm or anything. The plan was just to get up when we got up and go from there. We had an easy 3 miles back to the car; no need to rush. 

I woke earlier than I would have hoped, but not much earlier than I expected, considering my bladder tends to wake me up before I'm done sleeping. I got up to water the bushes, and I was very quiet. Then I got back to the tent and was startled by the sight of the hikers from last night headed our way. 

I had made a point of showing my friend how I would put the pot on a carabiner hanging right outside my door. The idea is, if anything scares me in the night, I can just hit it and make a racket that would scare most animals away. 

Well, I managed to make quite a racket when I saw those hikers approaching, and I woke her up. I apologized and told her they were coming by. They headed up Skillern Creek, along a trail I've taken before. In fact, that's the trail where an elk cow came charging at Ambrose and I, only to stop, regard us for a minute, and then turn off the trail and cross the creek. 

She accepted my apology for waking her, and we both tried to fall back asleep. Tried being the operative word here. Neither of ended up falling back asleep, and after nearly an hour of desultory chatting, we agreed it was time for breakfast. 

Now, I hadn't specifically recommended that she bring a down jacket. Those things aren't cheap and I didn't know if she had one. I've got one for backpacking that I had with me, and I knew from my earlier trip outside the tent that it was pretty chilly. Too chilly, in my opinion, for her to wear just a fleece. So I told her to take the down quilt that she'd slept in outside and use it as a cloak. Not ideal, but sufficiently warm for the task. 

I got the ursack from where I'd tied it, about halfway between our backside campsite and the frontside campsite. Then it was time to do breakfast. We had talked about how much she loves coffee, so I decided to make her a big coffee. Well, technically, this was powdered instant espresso - my go to coffee these days. If she hadn't told me black coffee was her preference earlier in the week, I would have bought some instant latte powder, but this morning's coffee would be black. 

Naturally, I made the coffee first. Priorities! Then I did the Mountain House Raspberry Crumble. 

Now, you might say to yourself, isn't that a dessert, not a breakfast? 

And to that I say, breakfast is the first meal of the day, no matter what it happens to be composed of. If leftover pizza can qualify as breakfast, then so too can a dessert. Plus, it's not like this is much different from eating a Pop Tart for breakfast. 

While we waited for the raspberry sauce to finish rehydrating, I made my friend get up and walk a little bit. Not too far, just far enough so that we could look in the direction of the hot spring and she could see the steam rising up. I love when it's cool enough to see that steam rising, betraying the location of the spring that could otherwise be hidden. 

Having something hot and sweet to eat first thing in the morning, especially when it's chilly, is such a treat. The lunch and dinner from the previous day were packed individually, but this one we had to share a bag. I told her the tactic that Ambrose and I use - choose a number of bites to take and then alternate. I said three bites first, but then I took my first bite. It was very sweet, very rich and still quite hot, so I revised to two bites. 

A motorcycle roared up the trail at one point, carrying a man and a woman. They parked it by the trail, and then walked up the Skillern Creek trail. They were clearly hunting; the man carried a compound bow and both wore camo. I told them there were some more hunters that had headed up that way earlier this morning and wished them good luck. 

After breakfast, we talked some more while finishing up the coffee. Then it was time to break camp. I had her get the water this time to fill the dirty water bag, and then she got to filter her own water. We took the tent down together, folded it, and I started to stuff it in the bag to show her how it was done and then let her finish stuffing it in. 

I'm really not very good at keeping surprises secret. I told her about the "secret" roadside hot spring the night before while we were at the Skillern hot spring. And I told her as we were packing up about my intention to give her the pack that I had loaned her. It was the second backpacking pack that I ever bought, and I learned a lot from it about what I didn't want in a pack. But I never ended up using it very much, and I wanted her to have it and use it. 

When we were ready to hike out, I told her I wanted her to pick whether we did the high road or the low road on the way back. I mean, I would make the safety call - if the crossing on this side did not look good to me, I would veto and we'd take the high road. But it was up to her if we tried. 

We hiked on past Skillern Creek, and I noticed something hanging in the trees to the creek side of the trail. Several bags were up there; I figured it was from the hikers from last night, though I couldn't figure out why they'd store gear in the trees here. 

Goodbye, hot springs!

Never seen a tree growing so much gear before ;)

At the junction of low road and high road, my friend picked the low road, and I grinned. I'd never gone that way before, and it was so special to me that I'd get to experience something for the first time with this friend, on this trip. 

The junction is far enough from the first crossing that you can't see it. We had to walk a bit farther before I could take a look at the crossing and determine its safety. The depth was reasonable, ankle to mid-calf, and not too fast flowing. I deemed it safe, but told her that I would go first to demonstrate how to cross safely. 

We both adjusted shoes before crossing. She had brought shoes specifically for stream crossings, and I was taking off my socks and the liner from my shoe. We also needed to lengthen our trekking poles a bit, and then put packs back on. I explained that while I learned from Ambrose that you should do stream crossings without fastening the pack straps, that there were arguments to be made for keeping it fastened. See, if it's unfastened and you fall, you can easily bail out from the pack rather than letting it drag you into a drowning situation. But an unfastened pack balances differently from a fastened one, so crossing with it unfastened can impact your balance, and with a crossing this shallow, a fall would just get you wet. This creek was not sweeping anyone our size away any time soon. 

For demonstration's sake, I did leave my pack unfastened at this first crossing. The flow was low and slow enough that I had to remind myself to demonstrate good technique instead of just forging forward. Good technique dictates maintaining three points of contact at all times, moving only one foot or trekking pole at a time, and I mostly did that on this crossing. 

Then it was my friend's turn. I took pictures, of course, but I also decided that I could do a video. I don't often do videos because that mode drains my camera battery at a terrifying rate, but we were headed home and I didn't need to conserve. I managed to turn the video on at exactly the perfect time.  

Once we were both across, I suggested fastening our packs and leaving on the crossing shoes - if they were comfortable enough to hike in. I figured we would be crossing back soon enough and it would be a pain in the butt to put everything back only to have to take it off again. Little did I know how smart that choice would turn out to be. 

The low road was quite pretty. Less exposed of course, and through forest instead of up on the side of a hill. I saw thimble berry bushes, but the only remaining berries were wizened and not good examples of the berry. 

Much sooner than I expected, there was a crossing. But it was not the crossing I expected. It was at the wrong angle and way too soon. I could see that the trail it crossed to was not the trail near the junction. Instead, the trail snugged up under the high road for a stretch and then crossed back again. 

The third crossing was probably the most challenging. A large rock had contributed to form a deep pool that we had to avoid, and even where we crossed it was deeper than the other crossings. But she got across with no problems. 

There were a few camping spots along the trail, including at least one fire ring. Over all, I rather liked it. It would certainly be a cooler hike than the high road, which could be nice in hot weather. Really, we should have taken the low road in when it was hot and the high road out in the cold, but it worked out. 

We could hear a motorcycle when we got close to the last crossing. She headed out first (as she had for every crossing after the first one), and I waited off the trail in case the motorcycle came by.

When we finished the last crossing, we sat down and got our hiking shoes set up again. She had boots to put on, and I had socks to put on and liners to put in my shoes. The shoes are not waterproofed, so they shed water pretty quickly. And I squeezed them a bit to get the excess water out. My feet were still pretty damp for hiking, but nothing I couldn't handle for a couple miles. 

The Low Road

Careful crossing demonstration.

Successful first ford!

The low road is rather pretty.

Crossing number 2.

Hazy light reflecting on the water of crossing 2. 

That rock made a deep spot in the water.

Not too deep to ford!

It only came up to my knees.

Campsite along the low road.

Last crossing!

Very hazy still.

We continued to hike, not running into too much of interest on the way. Except for when I saw an orange thing in the trees and had to go investigate. I like to bring litter out of the forest, but this was a broken orange bucket filled with dried cement or something like it. Too heavy for me to carry, especially on a trail where motorcycles can much more easily reach and pack such a thing out. 

All dry and back on the main trail.

What's over there? Well, there's a bucket... but why? Beats me.

Just before we got to the trailhead, we saw someone hiking out. The man was alone, but it was his pack animals that drew our attention. We both wanted to take pictures, but my friend wasn't sure of the etiquette, so I just asked him if we could take a picture of his pack train. 

Because I've seen pack goats here in Idaho, and I've seen pack horses, but I'd never, until that day, seen pack llamas. 

Llamas!!

Whoop! She made it!

Back at the car, we got ready for the roadside hot spring. Her swimsuit had dried sufficiently from the night before, and I was just going to wear my bra and underwear, because that's the way I roll. But I did make sure my clothes for afterwards were accessible from the front seat. 

We also unpacked the other loaner gear from her pack so as to be ready for her to take the pack home. Then, after a grateful visit to the pit toilet (well, my visit was grateful), it was time to hit the road. I still wasn't paying much attention to the time, and that felt great. 

I was paranoid about missing the spring, but the sign really helps in that respect. She swung the car around so as to be parked facing the correct way, and then we got out. I went ahead to put the plug in the spring - there's a plug that's left out so the tub stays low, and I put it back in to bring the water level up.

That spring is pretty small. Two people who like each other can fit in it, maybe three if they're all really close. Or really small. We sat next to each other on the spring's bench; it's a bit slimy, but I just ignore that. 

There were huge dragonflies dancing around us, with an orange-ish color that I didn't recall seeing before. And a hawk perched on a tree across the road at one point. A few cars drove by, but most of them didn't notice us. The parked car, sure, they probably saw that, but in the spring we were not very visible. 

The hot spring was hotter than Skillern had been. We got out before overheating, but just barely. I had to go chug some water right after; it really made me realize how dry I'd gotten. We got dressed and then it was back to the car. 

Once we hit Fairfield, it was easy to see that the smoke was worse than the day before. Foothills disappeared into the haze. The view was constricted, quite unlike how it usually is. I kept taking pictures to show Ambrose, because I knew he'd appreciate how smoky it was from what he couldn't see. 

After a while, I put on some music from my phone. I wanted to share some of my music with her, and some of the songs sparked conversation. At one point, I learned that she had not heard of They Might Be Giants, and so I had to put on one of their albums (Severe Tire Damage). I was only a little self conscious of my singing along. It's something that I love doing, and I have a hard time NOT singing along when I hear a song I like. 

She got me safely home, and she talked about how she wants to bring her boyfriend out to Skillern. I was so happy to have had a successful trip, so much so that she wants to pass on that experience to someone else. I guess that's how backpackers are made.