Now, the interesting thing about North Canyon is that there is a mile-long dirt road that is pretty rough, and I know my little car couldn't go up it, so I run up the dirt road. It always has this giant mud puddle where you have to walk on a berm on the side. I think I've only been there once when this part was dry. But the dirt road is still lovely, but it's also steep.
Once you get to the actual trail, it gets even better. I believe the red plants are dogwood.
During the winter, a tree apparently fell over, leaving its root system directly on the trail. Looks like they've cut it somewhat.
One portion of the trail has this outcropping of conglomerate rock that functions like a stair step. I believe it is from a river deposit during the Miocene Epoch, between 5 and 23 million years ago. But don't quote me on that.
There were still many snow patches, sometimes even on the trail. I don't know whether it's leftover from the winter or if it's from the storms we had this week.
In addition to glacier lilies, I saw a few yellow bells.
When I come up on views like this, it makes me glad I have the hobby I do. Sure beats watching TV.
And when I got very close to Rudy's Flat, I was faced with a choice. On the left was the main trail with lots of snow, more than any of the other patches I had already encountered. On the right was an unofficial, but clear, trail. I decided I didn't want to walk in the snow in my shoes and shorts, so I went up the unofficial trail. I had to walk, because it was not a good running trail, if it can be called a trail at all. But since it was getting late, and I wasn't even sure where I was going, it wasn't worth it to go to my intended destination--even though I was so close I could hear people talking. I'll have to go back another day.
I turned around, and I didn't feel like running back the whole time--but it was also getting cold, so I knew I'd be freezing if I walked. I did some of both and still managed to get down faster than I got up, even though I ran up the entire time. It was a little less than seven miles round trip, with an elevation gain of 1,680 feet.
Although fall is my favorite season, I still love springtime and its flowers. The Wild Rose Loop, my default trail, is covered with yellow balsamroot flowers.
***
In other news, five years ago today, May 1, 2011, I started this blog. (It was also the day we learned they killed Osama bin Laden.) I haven't missed a Sunday, even if I've had to make very short posts. In the spring of 2011, I had been reading emails that I sent on my mission, and I liked having a weekly record of the things I did. I started the blog to fill that void--which is why I generally avoid serious topics. It's meant primarily to be an epistolary record of my life. I thought I'd review some of the things that have happened in the past five years.
I think I'm pretty different from how I was in 2011. In May 2011, I was at BYU, and I had a custodial job cleaning up after sporting events. I still see two of my roommates from that time, Zach and Chase, at church (one's in my ward and one's in the sister ward).
I feel like 2012 was really a seminal year in my life, the year I became who I am now. I've certainly grown a lot since then, but somehow it was a key year. I became less awkward. I'm still very awkward, and don't try to tell me I'm not, because we both know I am. But I'm less awkward than I was, if you can believe that.
In the summer of 2011, I declared my second minor in geology (my first minor being editing), but it wasn't until 2012 that I really learned geology. I thought that I only liked fossils, but I learned to love rocks in general in 2012. That was also the year I took geomorphology, a class I always think of when I think of my favorites.
In 2011, I applied for an editing internship at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute. I took an editing test and didn't do very well. The year 2012 was when I took my actual editing classes, so I bet I could have done a much better job on the test if I had waited a year. However, I got an internship at BYU Studies, where I gained key experience and knowledge that I think really helped me land the job I'm in now. It was the first time I was involved in professional publications.
In 2010 and 2011, I declined trail running because I didn't like running on steep hills. In 2013, there was a lot of construction on my regular running route in Provo, so I began going on other streets, even steep streets. After I successfully mastered the hills, I thought, "This is great! Now I can go wherever I want," and in spring and summer of 2014 I explored trails and fell in love with them. Now I can run twice as long as I could in 2011, and on steeper routes. However, what I have gained in endurance, I have lost in speed.
I used to be more secretive about my seasonal eating habits. Now I'm much more open about them and embrace them. (I think it was 2011 that I realized how weird and amusing people found them.)
Overall, I think I'm better rounded than I was five years ago. But I can't believe it's already been that long.
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