Flying by the Seat of my Pant(ies)

Who is this guy?  This is my buddy Steve.  We ran the inaugural TransRockies together back in 2007. He's 100% pure Skinny White Boy.  What's he doing?  Why he's flying by the seat of his pants!  Actually, he's running around in his Speedo on Deception Pass, in the Skoki backcountry.  It's got nothing to do with this post, because it's a pretty frickin' random Post, but I sure do love this photo!  It's been too long since I've been for a run with Steve, but the photo lives on and continues to crack me up.

Who is this gal?  This is my friend Julie.  She's 62(ish?) and loves to run around in the woods like me.  She is NOT and exhibitionist and kept all of her clothes on for our run.  We had fun running around Tunnel Mountain this past Friday.

What the hell are those?  Those are my stylin' new Hokas.  I laughed my ass off when I pulled them out of the box because, they are seriously FUGLY. I christened them in California and they loved up the muddy technical trails.  Back at home, when I added my Katoolas (spikes) and my Gaiters, they looked HUGE and truly ridiculous.  They served me quite well running in the fresh powder, almost like running in mini snowshoes with the extra large platform underfoot.  They make me laugh.

What have I been up to?  I've been flying by the seat of my pant(ies!)

I work a 4 days on, 3 days off work schedule and I fill up that time with good things, mostly lots of time spent outside.  It's a very good thing when you're too busy to blog.  In the past 2 weeks I have returned from a California holiday, sorted through vacation pictures, gone for runs with my hubby, rejoiced in spring, shovelled snow, enjoyed evening runs up Tunnel Mountain, ran to Skoki, been to the gym, been to Physio, been stretching, been for some long runs on snow, got re-aquainted with a long lost friend, enjoyed some visitors, some good food, celebrated a friends birthday, been skiing, made another trip to Skoki, visited Katie and the dogs, been through a few storm cycles followed by some great melts.  In short, it's spring.  I like spring.  Spring means good things are coming.  Spring means busy. Spring means change.

How was your vacation? Awesome, thanks.  I sure do love California.  There's so much variety and I'm constantly amazed and surprised at what I find there.  Did you know there are more people in the state of California than all of Canada?  That's right - more people in one state than our entire country.  I still haven't had time to report on our road trip.  Mostly, we spent time running in Auburn and Bishop, California.  My immediate thoughts on this corner of the world, is simply amazing. It's crazy- ridiculous to me that you can have the best of both worlds:  dry trails in the valley below and winter wonderland above.  Sounds like paradise to me.  Live in the desert or foothills and play in the mountains?  Cool.  The ski touring possibilities just from your car alone are mind boggling.  And in summer?  Whoa.  Don't even get me started.  So many possibilities living at the foot of the Sierras.  Even Reno was amazing to me, knowing that you could live affordably in the city and have access so many trails, mountain or desert, all at your doorstep.  I imagine the downside is that the weather in the summer months is just too unbearable.  Or does that just depend on your perspective?  Sun and heat are sounding good about now. :)

What's next?   Something exciting, something fun, something I've been looking forward to.   ROADTRIP!! When my work week wraps up on Thursday, Keith and I are getting in the car to take a roadtrip to Oregon.  Hello 10 day vacation exploring new places and trails.  I've haven't been through Idaho and Washington since I was a kid and I've never been to Oregon.  It'll be nice to get a little taste. We've got a little race planned in Sisters and hoping to make runs or rides in the Gorge and maybe Yakima Canyon area. Realizing it's early in the season and we will be at the mercy of the weather - we're prepared to keep it flexible.  Any holiday is a good holiday and any place that isn't snowbound is desirable, even if the temperatures are cool and rainy.  We're good.  We're hardy, we're flexible and we're from Banff.  Yeah!

Had a great day yesterday ski touring in to Skoki Lodge.  The blue sky day and mild temperatures were a bonus, but is still mid-winter here.  Stew and Anna were going in to the lodge to stay for a few days, so we joined them for the ski-in.  Last week, we walked in to Skoki on the packed snowmobile trail and had a great day enjoying a more leisurely pace. I'm fortunate to have some great friends to play with.  On this day, nobody took off their clothes - though it  was discussed.

Anna, Stew and Keith

Nicki and Keith on Ptarmigan Lake

Humpasaurus Lucy

Changing Weather

Have a great week and know I'll be out there somewhere, flying by the seat of my pant(ies)...