July Adventures

July was a great month for adventures. I felt like we really started getting into the mountains more.

Wolf Flats:

kicked off July with a quick 5 miles on Wolf Flats.

 

We saw a rubber boa. One of the few snakes I'll actually pick up.

Cranky Cowboy:

Mark and I gave Jenn the Cranky Cowboy tour. We love this one!

Women's Run:

I only made it to one Women's Run in July because I'm still bottle feeding the cows. I don't have time to get them fed, and make it into town on time for the runs. They did one in Kelly Canyon which is a lot closer to me, so I got to go on Buckskin-Rolly Polly. The flowers are crazy good up there right now.

Gnarly Climb to Cranky Cowboy:

Ashlee has been putting together some really fun routes in Kelly Canyon, so I usually join some ladies for at least one early morning run up there each week. We did a fun 9 miler that connected the Gnarly Climb to Cranky Cowboy. 

Climbing the beastly hill.

Cranky trailhead.

Fisher Bottom:

I took some of the young Women from church on a short hike to Fisher Bottom.

We found a really big rubber boa!

We made it back to the cars just in time for a nice sunset.

Rigby Lake:

Jenn and I did a 5 mile tempo run at Rigby Lake. The sunrise over the lake was a good distraction from the workout.

Devil's Staircase-Alaska Basin:

We had an amazing 17 miler up Teton Canyon. We went up Devil's Staircase, and down Alaska Basin. The wildflowers were popping, and I felt great. I really pushed myself on the hills, so I felt really good about this one.

We had a cool sunrise on the way there.

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So many flowers!

Overlooking Teton Canyon.

Climbing Devil's Staircase.

Going across the shelf.

Dropping into Alaska Basin.

Sawtell:

Joyce and I want to work on our downhill muscles for the Grand Canyon, so we drove to the top of Sawtell, and ran the 10 miles down. We're gonna do this one a couple more times before R2R2R in October. The flowers (especially the Indian paintbrush) were crazy!

These cute purple flowers were all over the top of the mountain.

I had never been to the top before, so it was fun to see everything.

Paintbrush the whole way down!

Kelly Canyon:

Another early morning 10 miler with these fun ladies!

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Kelly Canyon:

I usually run early in the mornings, so I'm not used to the heat yet. We had a busy Saturday helping with a XC fundraiser, and volunteering at the Palisades Ultra, so we knew we had to get our long run done on Friday evening instead of Saturday. It was 16 miles on the struggle bus for me. I can honestly say that I don't struggle through a lot of runs, but this one was rough for me. I felt dehydrated before we even started. I ran out of water, and there was no place to filter. My legs were tired from some other workouts I had done, it was very hot, and I don't like running late. All that added up to a big train wreck of a run for me. I'm just hoping that getting these types of runs done is what will make me stronger.

On a happy note, I was picking and eating huckleberries along the way.

We hit the road section right during sunset, and it was quite pretty.

We had a mostly full moon, and we finish right at dark.

Foothill Road:

Jenn and I did a 10 miler on Foothill Road. We started early, so it was still a little dark. We had a full moon on the way out, and a big red sun raising on the way back.

Full moon over the wheat fields.

Full moon

The sky has been super smokey from all the fires, so the sun was red when it was coming up.

It was cool watching it raise on the way back.

Kayak: Teton River:

I spent a day at Girl's Camp with some cute young ladies. We took them kayaking down the Teton River. We went 8 miles, and saw two moose. 

Kelly Canyon:

Another early morning 10 miler in Kelly's. We had a pretty sky day, but it was so humid!

Pretty sunrise.

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Little Elk-Waterfall Canyon:

Mark, Jenn, and I did a 19 miler up Little Elk, down into Waterfall Canyon, and finished by coming down the Palisades Creek Trail. This is one of my local favorites for sure. I'm even one of the crazy ones that loves the Little Elk climb. It was super overgrown though. We hit it at just the right time for the wildflowers. They were insane! Gorgeous day in the mountains!

So many flowers!

We heard rocks falling, and saw 5 mountain goats across the canyon.

I detoured to see Mt. Baird, and the flowers were crazy! Look at all those colors! It seriously looked like a landscaped flower garden.

I love the view of the reservoir from way up there!

There was a whole meadow of these cute purple flowers.

We made it up Little Elk!

Looking down into Waterfall Canyon.

I love hearing the waterfall once we get close.

Upper Palisades Lake never disappoints.

Mark took a tumble. He got ahead of us going down the hill from the upper lake, and I said to Jenn, "I don't know how he goes that fast and doesn't fall." I think I may have jinxed him, because he had to have fallen within a few minutes of me saying that.

There is no part of this route that isn't stunning! I just love it!

Cress Creek Area:

Jenn and I had a 6 mile easy recovery run on the Cress Creek Canal after our long weekend miles. I love this area early in the mornings.

Hyndman Peak (first attempt):

Joyce, Jenn, and I made our first attempt at one of the Idaho 12ers. There are 9 peaks in Idaho over 12,000 feet, and we decided to climb one. I have a friend who has done them all, so he gave me a list of what he thinks is the easiest to hardest (as far as scary goes). We decided to tackle Hyndman first. We camped at the trailhead so we could get an early start. We started in the dark, and once the sun started coming up, it was a game of 'what peak is it.' It was a gorgeous trail on the way to the saddle. You follow a creek almost the whole way.

We missed the summit by about a quarter mile! 😭 The day started out beautifully, and by the time we reached the saddle, a storm had blown in. We pushed on because we were so close, but with the crazy wind, rain, hail, and freezing cold, we finally had to call it. It was a bitter pill to swallow being so dang close, but we made the right choice. By the time we made our way back to the saddle, you couldn't even see the mountain. We learned a lot, will make a few changes, and head back out to get this one. Stay tuned....

We had the best camp spot next to the creek.

Early to bed because we had to be up at 4:30.

Starting in the dark!

Once it started getting light enough to see, we were trying to guess what peak we were gonna be climbing.

Looking back at the valley we hiked up.

The creek along the way was so pretty.

There it is behind me! It's the big one! 😃

The flowers were stunning!

We were almost to the saddle, and look how we were dressed. It was a gorgeous day! Just goes to show that mountain storms are no joke, and everything can change in a matter o f minutes!

The lake.

Looking back at the lake.

Fields and fields of flowers, surrounded by these rugged peaks. It was so pretty!

We started up the Ridgeline and the weather got worse and worse. The temperature plummeted, the wind was crazy, the clouds rolled in and covered the mountain, the rain turned to hail that was pelting us. It got very unsafe to go any further, so we turned back. There is no way I would have stood on top of a mountain in those conditions.

To be continued.....