A Birthday Adventure and Mishap

Michelle bought me some great running gear and pushed me out the door this morning for my annual birthday running up a mountain. This year I wanted to push myself, so I went up Farmington Canyon, north across the spine of the Wasatch to Francis Peak (where the radar towers are) and Thurston Peak (Davis County highpoint) and then ended up at the Fernwood trailhead in Layton. The route was a little over 20 miles, about 5,500 total elevation gain. I started on the Farmington Creek trail and intended to catch the side trail at the end up to the dirt road, but I missed it and found myself scrambling up the very loose and very steep side of the canyon. It got a little sketchy, and I was glad when I crawled onto the road.

Disgusted with myself after the gnarly bushwhack up the canyon

After that things went really great. I saw a herd of deer and a gopher snake and very few people. 

I was pretty bushed by the time I got to the side trail up to Thurston but made it and video chatted with the family from the top. By then it was getting hot and I was running out of water and fuel, but it was downhill so I figured I'd be fine.

Then, about a mile from the end, I hit a short uphill, and my body couldn't get up it. I started feeling real woozy and sat down, but I still felt like I was going to pass out, so I just lay down in the middle of the narrow trail and couldn't move for 20 minutes. A hiker passed me and must have been weirded out, because she didn't offer to help and just gave me a wide berth. Finally I swallowed my pride and called Michelle, asking her to bring me something to eat and drink. As I waited for her, I found a little more Gu in my bag and managed to squeeze another mouthful of water out of my Camelbak, and after about fifteen more minutes I felt better. So by the time Michelle and Asa came to the rescue, I had already made it to the Layton Castle just a couple hundred yards from the trailhead. If you're an expert on replishing during long runs, hit me up. I clearly have some room for improvement.

The cavalry arrives!

Along the way, I listened to audiobooks, which have been my best discovery this year. I've gotten through some amazing books and learned a lot (along with learning how much I don't know), especially from Jill Lepore's "These Truths: A History of the United States," David Blight's "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom," and Robin DiAngelo's "White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism." I started Bryan Stevenson's "Just Mercy" on this trek today (eyes watering profusely at times - no wonder I was dehydrated!) and finished Jon Mecham's "The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels." It was this last that brought the insight, as Mecham concludes his historical survey by asking and answering the question of what we can do when times in our country are dark. The first thing, he said, was to "enter the arena." I'm scared to do that. I don't do well in the rough and tumble, I am firmly a moderate, and I tend to see the virtue in multiple sides of an argument. But I also carry a deep conviction that we must vote Donald Trump out of office in November. So I'm going to try entering the arena in these pivotal weeks leading to the election. I realize the last thing the Internet probably needs is more political posts, but I will strive to avoid posturing and virtue signaling and instead present thoughts that might be helpful to people as they decide where their vote will go. I firmly believe that the majority of people in the our nation are moderate and can see through this terrible leader, and maybe one more moderate voice will help do some good.