Silence

Due to my recent running injury and resulting non-running routine I have alot more time on my hands than usual. So two weeks ago I decided I could finally try and ski in to Calvin's cabin this year. The decision was made semi-last-minute so I wasn't even going to try to find some partners. It still seemed like a decent plan for a weekend since I didn't have anything else to do and I was dreading sitting around waiting for my legs to heal. It is bad enough that I have a hard time sleeping when I am not running. Lately, I have been dwelling too much on my injury and spiraling into a mild funk when I think of how unprepared I am going to be for this summer's adventures! So a trip to the cabin seemed like a great idea for revitalizing my spirits and reminding myself of some of the things (other than running) which I like to do.

So I drove over to the Salmon La Sac snow-park and found one of the last parking spots in a huge lot full of snowmobile trailers. I knew going in that there were going to be alot of noisy stinky machines around but I was a little surprised about how full the lot was. The ski in was fairly uneventfull except for the 33 times a sledhead sped by me, revelling in unadulterated mechanical happiness. During these passings I cowered on the right side of the trail hopeing that the sledders hadn't yet drunk their fill and could still manage to avoid me, because there is no way in hell I could have avoided them! Later on the ski-out a few sledders slowed when passing and gave some waves. It was nice to know that they wanted to be courteous, but the funny thing is that I really didn't feel like there was much genuine courteousness! For one thing it is hard to detect courteousness from a shreiking mass hurtling by at 30 miles per hour. But more importantly, I am not really sure how a wave and a slight slowing is going to improve their reputation when seen from the eyes of a non-sledding trail user. I can't imagine any normal person (including sledders without sleds) actually being able to enjoy the company of sleds on a multiple use trail. At least to me it seems like multiple use trails for sleds and others are totally inappropriate. But we live in an imperfect world, so what are you gonna do?

Anyway I got to the cabin and truly enjoyed some solitude once the hornets(sledders) had left for the day. Sitting on the deck with nothing but snow, trees and mountains around did wonders for my attitude and my spirit! It was a little lonely being at the cabin by myself but it was extremely rejuvenating to build a fire, make some dinner on the camp stove and do some reading, surrounded by perfect silence.

On sunday I did a little bit of skiing on the mountain above the cabin and then quickly returned to civilization a little more relaxed and alot less frustrated. I am going to take my time and try to heal from my injuries. There is no point in doing some half-ass workouts and hopeing that my leg will heal. I will slowly build-up the miles and the fun. Probably before I know it I will again be trying to run back to back 20 mile trail runs!