After 2 days of sitting on my butt , I was eager to be active.  But I noticed just doing minor physical tasks seem to get me breathing a little quicker than I was used to at sea level.  a quick check of the topo map confirmed my thought.  Our elevation was 7500 feet at the ranch.

I was awakened by birds and the grey light just before the sun rises, so I quickly rose and put on my running gear.  I had considered entering the Chuckwagon Chug 10 k in Big Piney, but I didn’t feel like another 50 miles of one way driving to run on asphalt.  I was going to do a 10K here in the mountains.

I headed out of the ranch up the gravel road that leads to the Scab Creek Recreation Area trailhead.  This is the jumping off spot for folks like me who want to get into the Bridger Wilderness.  The three miles to the trail head was uphill every step, as I gained 850 feet in 3 miles.  At home that is about equal to what many of my runs in Annadel State Park  at sea level start off with.  But at 8000 feet, it was a chore to make that short climb.  My first 5K(3.1miles) took over 40 minutes.  Of course the scenery was as breathtaking as the altitude.  I looked over the wide valley that drained into the Green River, and the Wyoming Range beyond.

I had left the ranch before the sun came up over the eastern horizon, so I had a pretty cool climb. As the sun’s rays crept across the land, things began to wake and the first rays of the sun hit me as I investigated the trail head. Once I felt the sun I knew it was going to get warm quick so I descended back down the road, still feeling the alititude and days of inactivity. Along the way I surprised a doe Mule Deer who seemed more annoyed than scared. I arrived back at the ranch sweaty and huffing an hour and twenty minutes after I’d left. Not a PR for running time, but perhaps the best scenery of a road run in a long time.

I fed and watered horses, and enjoyed a cup of coffee while I helped Tony with little chores around the ranch. Some electrical wiring, checking fences, and a quick tour by car of some of the areas you can’t see from the road, as we headed to the lake to pick up campers for the ride back to the ranch.

Here I met the three counselors for the GROW Summer camp.

  • Sam Steele is a Texan and a graduate of Colorado College. This is his second year as a counselor at the camp. He would later keep us entertained with a variety of stringed instruments and vocals.
  • Casey Grey, was walking around with her leg in a brace, and getting around quite well. She had had a run in with one of the counselor-horses earlier in the week and had decided she would stick to gentle bomb-proof camper horses for the remainder of summer. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in Wildlife Biology.
  • Will Frehse is a student at the University of Montana.  He is a fellow bowhunter and we talked about hunting bugling bulls and our equipment.
When we got back from the lake my middle daughter requested a horseback ride .  I saddled up Candy for her and we rode out where Tony had shown me around earlier in the day.  Our four and a half mile loop got the horses legs stretched before we subjected them to more extreme trails later in the week.
When we got back to the ranch at noon, it had heated up into the high 80′s.  After lunch the campers were requesting a swim.  I joined the group in a swim at the lower ponds which helped wash the salty sweat residue off .
By the mid afternoon I was ready for a nap.  In the summer at this latitude the days are long,  and I had no problem catching zzz’s.
That evening I visited with the Morris family and their guests as we watched the campers play on the lawn.   It was nice to enjoy a cold drink and relax.  I informed them I would be taking a morning ride into the wilderness first thing in the morning with both horses.  Both had become very attached to one another  on the ride out, and I didn’t want to fight any separation anxiety.  So I bid the group good night as the last light was fading on the Western horizon.

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