Arid Ecology Reserve Hike

#beatyesterday #garmin

We average about 8″ of precipitation a year, and we rarely get gully-washers. From the looks of it, this area had a flood this past week. The water would have been 10-12′ wide and 1-2′ deep in places. This picture would have been a waterfall. (The rock wall is at least 8′ high.) I would have loved to have seen it.

Gold Creek Pond Loop

#beatyesterday #garmin

I took a brief break from my drive home to stretch my legs. I’m not sure if I’ve been here before. The lake is a lovely blue, most likely because it’s fairly deep. (The pond was created by equipment scooping out gravel for use in constructing I-90.) It’s largely undisturbed, as humans and their canine companions are not allowed in water. I imagine that makes it a haven for local fauna.

Hike to Hidden Lake

#beatyesterday #garmin

I wanted to see if this lake is “fishable.” I wish I’d brought my gear! It’s a short, easy hike, and although I imagine this lake is crowded on summer weekends there are quite a few campsites around the lake. (And if there aren’t any, you’re not far from the trailhead.)

Twilight 12 Hour

I went into this night with the primary goal of running (or at least staying in motion) through the night. The loop is 2.3 miles and has about 350′ of elevation gain and loss. I had a secondary goal of running 15 loops – 55K/34.5 miles. It seemed pretty ‘do-able,’ but I underestimated the impact the elevation gain & loss would have.

Continue reading

Threshold Intervals

#beatyesterday #garmin

These were tough. I set my interval pace at 6:00-10:00/mile, and I struggled to get even close to the target. My ankle was tetchy at first, but it bore up well. I was surprised that although my body was still tired, I wasn’t sore from Saturday’s run.

I skipped Wednesday’s recovery run. I woke around 2 a.m. and it took a few hours for me to get back to sleep. I was weary all day today. I feared that even a recovery pace would do no good.

Trash “Run”

#beatyesterday #garmin

I brought along a trash bag to carry out trash I found along the trail. Fortunately, I found another bag along the way. I dumped the stuff the non-recyclable stuff at the Chamna parking lot. I still had so much stuff I decided to walk instead of run back to the truck.