Lost Souls Challenge 2022

 Mark and I participated in the Lost Souls Challenge again this year. It's always a big part of our summer running; we meet fun new people, and learn awesome new trails. We had to complete 50 routes in 100 days, in 14 areas around south east Idaho. There was also an additional, hilarious BINGO challenge that both of us finished.

Here is a map of all the areas.

Kickoff Run: Trail of Bones & Kepp's Loop

Dan organized a fun kick off run to get us started off with two routes. We ran Trail of Bones and Kepp's Loop. These are always a favorite in the spring because of the flowers.

Such a great turn out!

It was cool to see a big line of runners coming up the Trail of Bones. We probably spanned at least a half mile of trail.

Hillsides full of yellow flowers.

Some of the group on Kepp's Ridge.

Looking off Kepp's toward Clowards.

Yay for starting off with two routes on the first day!

Blackhawk

Mark and I got up early before he had to go to work to do Blackhawk Hill. It paid off with a great sunrise.

Idaho North Canal

We got up early again to do the Idaho North Canal. Tired legs and some old aches and pains have resurfaced from the Mini Barkley, so we took this nice and easy.

Deer Park Canal & Market Lake

Thursday was the day of the week that Joyce would drive down from Ashton to get routes, so that's when I got a lot of mine done. Joyce, Jen, Linda, and I did Deer Park Canal and Market Lake on a Thursday. It was hot!

Jen-Linda-Joyce-Tricia

Deer Park Canal takes you to the river.

Grateful for these ladies!

Linda and I at Market Lake.

Market Lake is not my favorite. Just a bunch of hot, dry, sand!

Cress Creek Canal

It had been a rough week for me, Mark, and Steph, so we went to drown our sorrows on the Cress Creek Canal with the snakes. We saw four water snakes, and a big bull snake. Oreo had just died, and Steph was having a stressful time at work, so this was just what we needed.

Bull snake

Do you love our coordinating outfits? We didn't even do that on purpose.

Grandpa Henry's Meatloaf & Grandpa Henry's Taters

Mark and I made a group event for these two routes. We knew there were are a lot of people who didn't want to do them alone, so it worked out perfectly. We ended up with a wet, misty morning, and Dan as our tour guide, so it was extra good. The hills were so green and pretty!

Meatloaf is a killer climb!

Almost to the top.

We made it to the cairn.

Linda-Michelle-Tricia-Dan-Abby-Steph-Ashley-Mark

Dan running down Taters.

Pretty flowers and a dark sky.

Coming back down Meatloaf is just as hard as going up it.  I was worried the rain would have made it slippery, but we all did great.

Ozone & Trail Hollow

We had another great group run on Ozone and Trail Hollow. We lucked out and barely beat the rain.

Tricia-Ryan-James-Steve-Jeff-Carney-Mark

Blacktail

Mark and I had another early morning run at Blacktail. Another foggy morning.

You can hardly see the lake in front of Mark because of the fog.

Blacktail Reservoir.

Butte Face & Butte Backside

I made a last minute decision to join Joyce for the Butte Face and  Butte Backside. So glad I did! She's always great company, and the flowers were going nuts out there.

The trail was lined with flowers.

Indian Paint Brush

Joyce-Tricia

Idaho South Canal

Mark and I have been getting lucky with great sunrises on our early morning routes. The Idaho South Canal was so pretty! This was route 15 for me!

😍😍😍

Firth Nature Park-Kid's Fishing Pond-Boat Launch Park-Dam Island-Uncle Buck's

Thursday paid off big for us this week! We got five routes done! Joyce, Jen, Jenn, and I did the snakebite routes, and then we threw in Uncle Buck for good measure.

Firth Nature Park

Joyce-Jenn-Tricia-Jen

The baby geese were going on a field trip at the Kid's Fishing Pond.

We made a friend at the Pond!

More baby geese at Boat Launch Park.

Joyce, Jenn, and Jen at Boat Launch Park.

The Dam Island
It was fun showing Joyce all of these places.

The Dam Island

I wouldn't have finished all my routes so fast if it wasn't for these ladies.

Finished off the day with Uncle Buck.

That makes 20 routes that I have done!

Driveway Canyon, Big Elk, Spring Run, and Blowout

Mark, Steph, and I organized an IFTR camp at Big Elk Creek. It was such a fun weekend, and we got four of the Palisades routes done. I love all the Palisades routes; it's my favorite area in the challenge. 

On Friday afternoon before we could check into camp, a group of us went up early and did Driveway Canyon.

Driveway Canyon
The meadow overlooking Alpine.

We got in a fun thunder storm for the last mile. Big, loud thunder, and the perfect rain.

That evening after everyone got to camp, we did a group run up Big Elk Creek. This is one of my favorite trails.

Michelle, me, Mark, and Steph, making our way up the trail.

Yellow flowers everywhere!

There were a whole bunch of pack goats coming down the trail. So cute! They wanted to run with us!

This trail is so pretty!

We made it to Dry Canyon, the turn around spot.

More IFTR runners making their way up the trail.

We got up Saturday morning and did Spring Run and Blowout. I love these two routes!

The old cabin at the top of Spring Run.

Such awesome people!

Steph, Mark, and Ashley overlooking Palisades Reservoir.

Steph-Tricia-Mark in Blowout Canyon.

Me and Steph

Comore Loma

For my 25th route I did Comore Loma with Joyce. Half way to being a lost soul.

Sunnyside

I got half way through the challenge before I did a route by myself. We're blessed with the best running community.

Sunnyside all by myself.

Freeman Park

I did Freeman Park by myself, and didn't even take any pictures.

Antelope Creek, Bally's Hole, & Baldy

Another great Thursday getting routes done! This time we combined Antelope Creek, Bally's Hole, and Baldy. These routes are so pretty early in the summer.

I love all the beaver dams on Antelope Creek Rd.

Bally's Hole was a new route this year, and I really liked it.

Good views of the Tetons on the way up Baldy.

So green and so many flowers.

Jen-Joyce-Tricia-Linda

We made it to the top of Baldy. Love the views from up here!

Taking in the Baldy views.

Blackbird Pie & Henry Canyon

Knocked out two routes and two BINGO squares with Steph. I had to run with mud warpaint on my face, and have a picnic in the middle of a route. I tried to save a giant snake from the middle of the road, and to show his gratitude, he tried to eat me. 😳

War paint!

Having a picnic on Henry Canyon. 😂

This snake was not very nice!

Little Currant, Echo Canyon, & Fallover

We made a group run for this area, and had a great morning. We were actually mostly on the trail for Little Currant this year, thanks to Ryan and Carney. 

Crossing the creek at the start of Little Currant.

Such a fun group for these routes!

Starting toward the abyss of Little Currant. 😂

This is what I meant by we MOSTLY stayed on the trail this year. There was still plenty of this going on. 😂

The top of Echo Canyon was amazing this year! Flowers EVERYWHERE, and a great view!

I was giddy running up this trail!

😍😍😍

The top of Echo Canyon.

We made it to the cairn.

The guys
Charney-Ryan-Josh-Mark

Leaving our flower fields to run down Echo.

The Fallover route is so green and pretty. I love it!

Love love love

We made it to the turn around spot at the creek. 

Taylor Mountain Road & Taylor Creek Rolling Hills

Joyce, Jen, Jenn, Linda, and I did a couple routes before the women's run started.

Taylor Mountain Road
We started at the old ski resort and ran down.

We had a pretty day!

Taylor Creek Rolling Hills

Women's Run: Grandpa Henry's Leftovers

We went straight from our previous two routes to the Women's Run for Leftovers. We had a great tun out for this one!

Doing the climb!

We all made it to the top!

The cairn.

Such a big group of awesome ladies out climbing a mountain.

Coronation Run: Narrows to 40 Horse Cave, Little Secret to Jones Creek, & Dirty Little Secret

Carney won the Lost Souls Challenge in record time! We went to his coronation run and got three routes done.

A few of us went a little early so we could do the Narrows to 40 Horse Cave before the coronation started.

running up the narrows.

40 Horse Cave
Ashley-Michelle-Tricia-Mark

We finished just in time to see Carney get crowned the king of the Lost Souls!

King Carney!

The coronation crowd.

Between the shirts and hats, lots of us had our twinning game on point. Zoom in and get a load of Abby's perfect photo bomb behind us. 😂

After the coronation, the group did Little Secret to Jones Creek, and Dirty Little Secret.

Making the climb.

A quick picture with the king. 😁

A fun, big, group for this one!

Like usual, the flowers were amazing!

I have now completed 40 routes! Ten to go until I'm a Lost Soul!

Bone Road

We did another early morning route on Bone Road with Jenn. We got a great sunrise over the Tetons.

Sun coming up over the Tetons.

Getting brighter.

Jenn took this one of me and Mark.

Taylor Creek Upper, Taylor Creek South, Taylor Mountain Peak, Double W Divide, and Alridge

We got five routes done today! We got up early and met Jenn for a couple routes and some BINGO. First we did Taylor Creek Upper. Mark and I dressed like racket ball players to get one of our BINGO squares marked off. 

😂😂😂

Next we did Taylor Creek South. We got two more BINGO squares marked off on this one. We had to do a route at sunrise or sunset, and recite lines from our favorite movie. Jenn got to listen to my Rocky quotes, and Rocky music all the way down the hill. Lucky her! 😂

Sunrise on Taylor Creek South.

Very pretty!

Next, we met some others to do Taylor Mountain Peak. I've been up there in the wind before, but this was a whole new level! At some points toward the top, I actually felt like the wind was lifting me off the ground. Crazy! The flowers were so pretty though.

We snapped a quick picture at the top, then high tailed it out of there.

So pretty!

The flowers were so great.

Love all the sprinkles of color.

We took a selfie in the less windy section. 😂

Next we did Double W Divide. I love running down this!

Jenn-Tricia-Mark-Joanie-Jennifer
Getting ready to start down Double W Divide.

This is a fun 4 miles to run down.

Mark loves a good downhill.

It was so green, and the hillside was covered in yellow flowers.

The last one of the day for Mark and I was Alridge. By this point it was hot, and we were pooped, so we mostly just walked it.

The Alridge look out point.

I did a little freak out dance over the top of this guy.

Thunder From Down Under

Mark, Michelle, and I did Thunder From Down Under early one morning.

We had another good sunrise.

The sun peaking up over the farm fields.

The old swimming pool.

Snake River Landing/Porter Canal

This is only the third route I've had to do by myself so far in the challenge. I think I'm forgetting how to run alone.

Women's run: A Horse With No Name

This was a fun Women's Run, because not only did we get a route, but a few of us were working on lots of BINGO squares.

Also, this was route 50 for me! I'm a Lost Soul!

I did 4 BINGO squares:

Carry a fruit or vegetable (I carried strawberries), howl at the moon or sky, do squats every half mile, and recite an original haiku.

50 Routes! Yay me!

Even though I hit my 50 routes, I had a goal to get all of the routes (72), without using any 'out of areas', so I still had a long ways to go.

Women's Run: Old Meadow

I always dread this route, and I'm not sure why, because every time I do it, I enjoy it.

At the start, looking down at the reservoir.

I love this picture!

I love all of our women's run crew!

Blackhawk & Blackbird Pie BINGO

Stacey was going for the big BINGO win! The first one to get blackout, would win the cutest Lost Souls gnome. She needed to get a few squares marked off on a couple routes that I needed BINGO stuff on too, so we set out to get them done together. Hilarious!

Blackhawk:

Yippie kai yay-poncho when it's not raining-carry water in a weird way-motivational message

My motivational message.

Do you know how hot it is to wear a poncho while running uphill on a warm day?

Yippie Kai Yay!

We literally saw no-one the whole time we were out there making fools of ourselves, until right when I needed to throw my water in the air. That's right when a guy happened to ride by on a bike. Good thing he was a good sport, since I threw my water over my head right on him! 😂

Blackbird Pie:

Wear clothes backwards-carry a stuffed animal

Stacey's BINGO on this one was exceptionally fun for three miles! 😂

Clothes on backwards.

Carry a stuffed animal.

Stacey had to run with bells on her shoes. 😂

I'm happy to report that Stacey was the first one to get blackout, and she won the gnome. 

Maw Maw Clowards & Greenbelt

I wanted to get all the routes done, but there were some I was scared to do later in the season because of snakes. Maw Maw Clowards was one of those scary snake ones. Jenn said she'd do it with me early in the morning before the snakes came out. We decided to make an event for a group run; we ended up with lots of people, so that made me feel a lot better about it. Not a single snake, but we did have a close encounter with a skunk.

Crossing Clowards is always a favorite.

Climbing to the ridge.

A great group to scare the snakes away.

Such a pretty morning!

After that run, Jenn and I headed back into town to do the greenbelt loop.

Northern Rails & Rivers

We got a group together and went up to Ashton to do all the routes up there. We were in Joyce's neck of the woods, so she was our tour guide. We had a great day and got all five of those routes done.

Bitch Creek Trestle:

This was a fun one! Beautiful Teton views, and a super cool bridge.

Mark and Jen

The whole gang

The Bitch Creek Trestle

Ashley-Joyce-Jenn-Fred-Denae-Linda-Carney-Jen-Tricia-Mark-Steve

Conant Creek Trestle:

Another great one!

The Conant Creek Trestle.

Mesa Falls Rim Trail:

This was my favorite of the Ashton trails.

Lower Mesa Falls

Hahaha! Trying to get a selfie with everyone, plus the waterfall, in it!

Overlooking the river.

Great Teton views.

Five us of took a detour to an overlook.

Bear Gulch Rail Trail:

We love to snowshoe this one, so it was fun to run it.

Warm River Trail:

This one was hot, and we were ready to be done. Glad it was mostly downhill.

The final stretch!

We went straight for the river when we were finished!

We covered about 17 miles, and everyone got all five routes done!

Fisher Bottom

Mason, Bailey, and Nora were in town for the 4th of July weekend, so they did Fisher Bottom with us.

Cutest little Lost Souler ever!

Bailey is a champ hiker with Nora. She had to go under and over downed trees.

The river.

Going over trees.

the old Fisher homestead.

Rainey Creek

This was our final route in the Palisades area, and I loved it!

We waited until later in the summer to do this one, because there are lots of water crossings. They are too deep and swift early on in the season.

This route takes you part way up the most beautiful valley. We want to go back and do some exploring up there.

Steph-Tricia-Carney-Linda-Mark

Mark and Carney

Point Lookout & Rash Canyon

Joyce and I did the last couple routes I had left in the Fall Creek area. I love Point Lookout!

Almost to the top of Point Lookout.

We made it!

The views from here are so so good!

Rash Canyon was a new route this year. It's nothing too exciting.

Old Tex & Bull Fork

These are two more of those routes that I'm scared to do in summer because of rattle snakes. Lots of people had already seen them, so I was a bit paranoid. Georgina, Stacey, and I did them early in the morning, in hopes that the snakes would still be sleeping.

Old Tex

The Cairn at the end of Bull Fork

I was so relieved to get these two done!

 Women's Run: Little Kelly's

Women's Run: Buckskin Morgan Rolly Polly Loop

This is always one of my favorites in Kelly Canyon.

I love wild flowers.

Dan Goes to Hell on a Sunday Morning

This is the last of the dreaded Tex Creek snake routes! So grateful for Georgina, because there is no way I would have done these on my own.

The sunrise on the way there was spectacular!

Cairn number one!

Cairn number two!

Don't get me wrong, this area is great to run in during the spring and very early summer. It just gets a little sketchy once it starts getting hot. 

Women's Run: Kelly Mountain Peak

Kelly Mountain is always a favorite!

So pretty!

A great group of ladies.

It was really smokey, so I caught this awesome sunset over the river on the drive home.

Women's Run: Glen's Grunt to Hidden Vista

I love that the Women's Runs help to us get so many routes. This route was new to the challenge this year, and I loved it.

Going up Glen's Grunt.

The trail to Hidden Vista.

Hidden Vista lookout.

Antelope Flats

Steph and I picked a stormy day to do Fisher Bottom for her, and Antelope Flats for both of us. It was a perfect misty rain for most of the route, and then the last mile the rain got harder and harder. We were totally soaked, and quite muddy by the time we finished. My car was a huge muddy mess too. We loved it!  

Antelope Flats

Gulo Gulo

Dan found a new trail and added it to the challenge half way through. Jenn and I got a group together and went down to do it. It had a big ole' hill to climb, but I really loved the route. 

There was a fire in Fort Hall, so it was super smokey. It caused a cool looking sunrise.

The route is so pretty!

This hill was a big one!

I loved the views. I have been having some back problems again, so I'm grateful for Jenn for doing this one at a snail's pace with me. 

Jenn-Abby-Ashley-Bobbi-Tricia-Dan

The group at the cairn.

This will be a fun area to come back and explore.

Women's Run: Sidewinder/Stinking Springs

This was my final route to have 72 done! I'm glad I could do it on a women's run night.

Amanda-Michelle-Cheryl-Tricia

We found a snake, but it was the nice kind. 😁

The Sidewinder cairn.

Running down Sidewinder is so fun. I had to take it easy tonight because of my back, but it was still great!

That's a wrap! Lost Souls 2022 is finished! I got all the routes done, plus finished BINGO. Like always, I met some fun new running friends, explored new trails, revisited old favorites, and had so many great adventures. Out of 72 routes, I only had to do 3 of them by myself. We have the best running community ever!

This is my Trailblazer certificate for completing 10 routes.

This is my Lost Souls certificate for completing 50 routes.

This is the certificate I got for completing all 72 routes. The rusty cans we got are pretty cool too, but they are all packed away since we are about to move. I can't wait to display them in our gym when our house is finished.