February 22nd, 2016

Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement. Steve Prefontaine

Morning y'all,

It's another soggy, grey day up top. The high yesterday reached 43 degrees. The overnight low was 39 degrees. It was 39 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received 1.23" of rain yesterday and there is now only patchy snow remaining up top. We have had a lot of melt the past few days and I am sure the water crossings will be swollen. The trails are sure to be very wet, so be sure to have waterproof boots if you want to hike in comfort. It looks like it will be another warm day, get out and enjoy it!

I spent the weekend recovering from a long run, reading and watching the snow melt. As much as I will miss the snow, listening to the rain fall on my porch is a beautiful, singular experience. It was a complete joy to read, look up into the grey abyss, then let my attention wander back to my book. Even though I didn't do anything, it will likely lodge itself into my memory. The long days are the ones that stick out - where time is turned into something else completely. Either on the trail or in my rocking chair, the vastness of those truly immersive days is what I will carry with me when I leave the lodge in 18 days...