We ended up taking a different route than we planned, but that's okay. It was a nice night for a run, no matter where our feet carried us!

I did it! I knew I needed to try it again, and I was so happy to have Ed's help today to get myself around the Welch-Dickey Loop. It was definitely challenging, but he encouraged me to push through when it was scary. I still had a few moments of panic traipsing up and across all those ledges, but seriously it was non-stop breathtaking views!

The trail takes you up Welch Mountain first, then you descend for a bit, cross a ridge, scramble up to the ledges on Dickey Mountain, traverse along more ledges across the side of the mountain, and finally drop down into the woods for the final mile.

My legs are going to be talking to me tomorrow. They're a li'l bit grumpy right now. But it feels so good to have conquered my fears!

King of his domain!

Laurie joined me tonight for a walk up the hill! 

She even climbed the tower! I volunteered to stay on the ground and take pictures. 😉 

I made it up the hill just in time! 

'There's always a sunrise and always a sunset and it's up to you to choose to be there for it,' said my mother. 'Put yourself in the way of beauty.' - Cheryl Strayed

It was a beautiful afternoon for George & I to go for a run/hike. It was so peaceful out in the woods! 

We did some trail cleanup along the way. Why is it so hard for some people to 'leave no trace'? I bet I was a sight running down the trail with a beer bottle in each hand. 🤣 Fortunately we found them shortly before we got back to the car!

It's been a while, but I'm finally back in the game.

Houston took a walk in the woods with us this evening. The dogs were running all over the place exploring, but he stayed right with us. He's such a funny cat!

Dark Dahlia (& light, for contrast)

This was one of the sunflowers that the critters bent over and munched on, but it decided to keep going and bloom the most perfect li'l bloom! I feel like there's a metaphor here...

He's such a big helper!

I'm crying, even as I'm sitting here realizing it's been 8 years. The pain just never goes away. I miss her so much.

Not me getting judged at the Micky D's drive-thru by a...bunny?!

It's late, I'm starving, and I don't want to wash dishes. So there!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we have made the best friends through this sport. Today we went back up to Waterville Valley to hang out with them while celebrating the final finishers as they crossed the line. It was a great time filled with so many stories of adventures and so much laughter!

"I carried a watermelon."

Sometimes it doesn't matter how prepared we are, things can still go wrong. Very wrong. Ed stopped his race at the South Moat Mountain aid station, which is the turnaround point for the Jigger Johnson 100. Actually, he hadn't been "racing" for many hours, but rather just trying to survive and get there. The Whites will do that to you. There is no margin for error out there. He has no regrets about walking off the course. It was the only choice. 

When he was contemplating racing Jigger again after last year, he realized that many would see it as a questionable decision. He kept coming back to the fact that he enjoys the process and is willing to put in the work. It's a big challenge, but "Why not try?"

Looking at it from this side, the outcome is different than what we had envisioned, but I'm still so proud of him for doing it. We've adventured and learned so much together this past year. Once he's healed from these wounds - he'll use all that fitness he built to conquer another goal. I have no doubt. 

We are so grateful for everyone's help today. We couldn't have done this alone. Erin, Mindy, Jen, Greg, Bobi Jo, Jim - you all are the very best kind of humans! We felt so much support from everyone out there. The ultra running community is incredible!

We can never thank Mindy enough for helping him make his way to the aid station, and keeping his spirits up. He had fallen several times during the night, was disoriented, and ended up hiking The Moats more than once. He was a hot mess when she and Greg found him. Greg decided quickly that he should continue on ahead of them, and that Mindy should stay with Ed. They literally saved his life. Those mountains don't mess around. This picture that she took at the top of North Most Mountain is gorgeous, but also shows how much Ed was struggling. Regardless, he just kept putting one foot in front of the other. True grit.

Today is the start of the Higher Johnson 100! These intrepid souls are heading out to attempt to run approximately 108 miles through the White Mountain National Forest. Good luck to all the runners, but especially Ed(of course), and Conor and Lexie, both of whom are chasing the male and female course records. It's gonna be so fun to watch them over the next couple days!

Happy birthday Ed! ❤️

Just a quickie! 😉

This evening Ed headed to the track for the speed work he always does the weekend before a big race. I didn't feel like sitting there watching him go round and round, so I headed to Pawtuckaway to catch the sunset. On the way to the trailhead, I saw a couple of guys walking down the road. They flagged me down and asked if I had jumper cables. Sure thing! They hopped in and we drove back to their car. They had walked several miles out before they saw me, so they were really happy for the help. I'm wicked glad I happened to come along! They were worried that I'd miss my sunset, though. I'm sure they won't see this, but I want them to know that I didn't. I hiked a shorter trail, sat on my favorite boulder, and enjoyed a spectacular show! Wow!!

This is my favorite time of year - when every day I look out my living room window, and there's a new flower waiting to greet me!

One of my favorite nail techs here at the salon is leaving us. As a parting gift, she designed & painted my nails for me. She knows me so well! 

Every morning they sprint out the basement door as fast as they can! They rush to make their 'rounds' throughout our fenced in 4 acres, checking all their favorite spots, sniffing EVERYTHING, and terrorizing all the li'l critters because well, they're dogs, and that's what dogs do.  

Today they had a unique experience and I had to laugh at how flabbergasted they were. I heard a bit of a racket because they were trying to get at something under a pile of old metal roofing out in the woods. As I wandered over to see what was going on, each of them came up to me with a quizzical look on their face, and then trotted back over there as if to lead me. They wanted me to see what had them all so worried. It was a possum! And it was doing a fantastic job of 'playing dead', which baffled them 'cause they hadn't actually chased it and killed it. 🤣 I told them they were good dogs, "let's leave it, and go get some breakfast!" So, with a few concerned looks back they followed me to the house. While they were eating, I went back to check on the possum, and sure enough, it had disappeared. Smart possum!

Now we're on to the second part of our morning - they're snuggled up on the couch with me while I drink my coffee, dreaming of chipmunks and squirrels...critters they can chase because that run away like they're supposed to!

It was a gorgeous night to chase the sunset! Marie came along, and somehow she got me to go up to the second level of the tower to see the view. Ayiyi! I didn't like it, but y'all know I'll pretty much do anything for a picture.

 The last two were from the drive home when the sky just exploded with color!