What happens when you mix three Wasatch Mountain Wrangler chicks, three sets of devil’s horns, one bag of candy corn, and an entire Friday to play around on Utah’s Little Matterhorn?
This. So much this.
CHASING ULTRA
Train For Moments, Not Miles
Sunset Peak | Alta, UT
I didn’t grow up doing a lot of camping or hiking or mountaineering on any sort of regular basis. My mother taught me how to see the beauty in nature around me and we did a lot of driving through canyons, but a lot of the time I spent admiring mountains was done from the valley floor.
Antelope Canyon. My first 50-mile ultramarathon. Wow. Where do I begin.. This race experience was, without a doubt, one of the most incredible race experiences I will probably ever have. I’m sure many people say that about their first 50-miler or 100-miler, but this race was meaningful in ways that were very specific to the time and people who were involved in the months leading up the race and at the race itself, including a finish line experience that was truly once-in-a-lifetime.
It occurred to me recently that my crazy excitement and itch to do every race and climb every mountain maybe ought to be moderated just a bit. For no other reason than trying not to lose the newness too quickly. Let me explain why.
(Other titles considered for this post: “Trail Addiction: What Happens When You Do Nothing About It”, and “Can You REALLY Blame It On Peer Pressure?”)
There are many ways to spot an addiction. One of the first things to go when someone reaches the point of full-fledged dependency is the inability to responsibly manage other priorities. I’ve taken a moment to document for you a few examples of mismanaged priorities that may be tougher to spot.
Mt. Wire Group Hug | From left: Steve, Zac, Scott, Craig, & Jennilynn
It happened like the best tornado that ever existed at a time when I desperately needed a change in life’s weather patterns. I was trotting along a trail in life I had never seen before, very much alone for very many miles with no change to that in sight, and suddenly I found myself surrounded by the most unique, talented, accepting, rowdy (not to mention really ridiculously good-looking), adventurous, supportive, and loving crowd I’ve ever been a part of.
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