August 12 - August 26

The last couple weeks haven't been too eventful.  I've been dealing with a shin injury so haven't been running much at all, but last week I ran 3 times.  My shin felt okay, but not great for all 3 runs.  However, my quads were totally shot after the first run.  It was a bit disappointing, but I guess that what happens if you don't run for months.  Anyhow, the next run my quad were a little better and by the third they were not sore at all afterwords.  I'm hoping to do a few more runs this week and hopefully feel a bit better doing them.  So far I've just been shuffling so it will be nice to feel good enough to really run.

Two weekends ago we helped out at Waldo 100K.  Mom was the aid station captain at Charlton Lake (halfway) so we spend the morning setting up the aid station and taking care of runners.  In the afternoon, I got to bike back to Willamette Pass where the race finished.  Mom, Dad, and Jacob (who swept the first half) met me there as they had to drop off aid station supplies and get some post race food at the finish line.

This weekend Dad and I were alone as Mom was busy driving Jacob down to Flagstaff.  Saturday we went to Alsea Falls and hiked around there for a few hours.  We went down a couple roads that we hadn't explored before so that was pretty fun.  The weather was cool and it almost felt like an early fall day.

Sunday Dad and I went up to Portland and got a bike (there was a Timber's game too, and it was one to forget).  I was riding Jacob's bike and that was working out great until Jacob headed back to school in Flagstaff and took his bike with him.  Now I have my own bike which is great since I can keep training even though I can't run much.  I'm hoping to maintain some fitness through biking so when I get back to running, its not too much a slog to get back to running fast.  It will still take a while, but hopefully the bike will speed things up a bit.

Looking ahead, I probably will run a few low key races this fall to get back into shape.  When 2019 arrives, hopefully I'll be coming into top form.  It been a long time since I've had a full season of racing so that's what I'm aiming for in 2019.  But for 2018, I just need to be patient and slowly get back up to speed.

Maiden Peak

Looking down at the Waldo 100K finish line

Clouds and smoke from McCulloch Peak

All the red stuff is poison oak

A late foxglove at Alsea Falls

An egg shell at Alsea Falls

Alsea Falls

My brand new bike

On McCulloch

The Timberline Trail

This weekend we went backpacking around Mt. Hood.  The first day, Mom and Jacob went counterclockwise around most of the mountain, and Dad and I went clockwise and met them part way around.

Earlier in the week Mom had suggested that we try to go around Mt. Hood on the Timberline Trail since we'd never done it before.  Unfortunately on Thursday I crashed while mountain biking and really banged up my right quad.  I figured there was no way I was going to make it around the mountain in 2 days so we needed to change the plan.  So Mom and Jacob took light packs and did most of the loop the first day, while Dad and I carried a bit more weight (mainly the tent, pads, cooking gear...) and met them part way around.  This was the first time we've ever split up like that on a trip so Dad and I were happy to see Mom and Jacob coming around the mountain Saturday evening.

The first day was mostly cloudy so we didn't get too many views of the mountain, but the cool weather was certainly a nice reprieve from all the heat we've been getting this summer.  The second day was still fairly cool, but with clear skies.  The trip was a lot of and was a great way to explore a new place.  As for my quad, I started out really gimping, but by the end of the trip its was hardly an issue.  Here's some pictures from the trip:

Just above Timberline Lodge

Mt. Hood

The clouds starting to roll in

Looking down the Zig Zag Creek drainage

Zig Zag Creek

Huckleberries

Dad at Zig Zag Creek

Clouds to the west

Paintbrush

More huckleberries

Looking up toward Mt. Hood

Possible the Sandy River or at least a stream that feed into it

The Sandy River drainage

Dropping down to the Sandy River

Dad at the Sandy River

The Sandy River doesn't look like much here, but there was a little bit of a creek to cross

Ramona Falls

Dad and I at Muddy Creek

Muddy Creek

Muddy Creek

Looking down the Muddy Creek drainage

This was an awesome ridge

Early Sunday morning with Dad and Jacob

Mt. Hood

I've never seen a tree separate quite like this before

Ramona Falls

Back at the Sandy River

Mt. Hood

We could see St. Helens on the horizon, but its probably indistinguishable in this picture

We could see St. Helens and Rainier here, just take my word for it

Mt. Jefferson

Mt. Jefferson with the Three Sisters to the left of it, you can't see them at all in the picture