Shadow Lake Lodge

Just returned from a little run up Tunnel Mountain.....it was my first run in 5 days as I had to take a few days off nursing some NASTY blisters!! But all is well.....thanks to some rest and our dry climate, my feet are looking good(-ish? better? enough?) for the race on Orcas Island on Saturday. Yikerz. My touring boots had been giving me some grief on longer outings, so I made some adjustments to them before I went up to Shadow Lake Lodge....OOOOPS....big mistake! By the time I got half way up the 13 km ski-in, I knew I had something big and nasty festering on the backs of my heels, but I sucked it up and just kept going. No surprise: when I got to the lodge and took the boots off I had two scary monsters and one big mess. The week before a 50k race!! But all is well....my poor little feet have enjoyed a few days off and so have I.

Fridays' long run turned into a bit of an adventure as well.....an hour into what started as a nice day, a little BLIZZARD rolled in and when I came out of the trees the wind and snow were blowing so bad I was worried about frostbite! So I ended up staying on some trails in the woods and piecing together a 4 hour run.....because it was much cozier in the trees! After that, I came home and did a quickie-presto-chango, stuffed a bunch of gear in my pack, grabbed my skis and drove to the trailhead for my ski-in to Shadow Lake. Phew! And then came the blisters.....

My Big Butt

So I was forced to sit on my duff all day Saturday and Sunday morning. But it turned out to be so AWESOME! If you are ever stuck on your butt for a few days, a cozy backcountry lodge on a comfy couch in front of the fire is THE place to do it!! I relaxed so well, I ate like the queen that I am.....and I polished off my latest book. I relax well. No guilt here. Ever. It was also -31c when we woke up on Saturday morning. That helped me with my decision to sit tight and heal. The next morning when we got up it was only -2c. Crazy. Weather. Here.

I got to hang out in my favorite long undies (see photo My Big Butt!) in front of the fire for a few more hours before skiing out. Everyone else at the lodge was in such a hurry to ski out that I got to enjoy a few hours by myself lingering....(did I mention the fire and the couch??)...and then skiied out with the friends. Incidently, the last two times I was on this trail I was running and both times I ran into bears so I was glad that 1. It is winter. 2. There are no bears in winter.