Two months ago my good friend, Rebecca Hutchinson, and I volunteered at a race in our beautiful valley. This day turned out to be a highlight of my summer.
The race was a 25K or 50k race (that equals 15 miles or 30miles) in the mountains that line our valley. We debated doing the race but I convinced Bec it would be a good idea to volunteer and get a taste of what it would be like before we actually do it.
She picked me up at 5:30am and we drove to the 50K starting point. We then put our backpacks on-loaded with our lunches and some extra goodies to offer the runners at our aid station. We hiked four miles in. And it was beautiful! I was amazed at all the different colors mother nature offered so late in the year. I guess our wet spring paid off on August 14th. I was also able to see the sweet memorial for my dear Dr. Bennett and the other two men who were caught in an avalanche in January of '08. I was grateful to see that!
While we hiked the fog was lifting from the mountains and as we descended into the bowl where our aid station was it was breathtaking! Bryce has rode his motorcycle in this area, he told me it was beautiful, but I had no idea how amazing it would be until I got there. WOW!
Also, the time spent with my dear friend was cherished. She is wonderful and I am grateful to have her in my life.
Here we are hiking
Checking the GPS we had no idea how to operate
Here we are at the top of the bowl named "Balls"
The fog leaving... beautiful!
That is our aid station and Bec sitting in the feild down below
Me picking a tree to pee behind
The morning was a little chilly but we were determined to work on our tans
We hopped on the back of some search and rescue guys motorcycles who were volunteering for the race. It sounded like a good idea so why not, right? They took us to see some pretty scenery but we got too scared of the cliffs we were riding on and decided to get off. They couldn't turn the bikes around (because they were on a cliff) so we hiked back to our camp spot. Our legs were so tired at this point so hiking back was not what we had in mind when we jumped on the back of these guys bikes-sorry Bryce!
We had a mile hike back up the bowl and then a 3 or 4 mile run downhill to get back to the finish line. Doesn't sound like much but I have NEVER been so sore IN MY LIFE! Now I think I say that a lot but this time I am serious. For a whole WEEK, I could not sit down to pee with out holding on to the counter for dear life. I could not run, or jog, or walk, or sit or stand or ANYTHING without my legs shaking and about buckling underneath me. Oh, and Bec experienced the same thing as me so I know I am not just a weakling or something. However, I loved it and can't wait to go back next year! Racing or volunteering... I don't know yet!
This is what we hiked up before we ran out
At the top... done volunteering... amazing day with an amazing friend! Thank you Bec!
These last three pictures were taken by some of the racers so I borrowed them to remember the absolute beauty of the day! ENJOY!
