Olympic

I bet you can't guess what I'm going to talk about this week...

On Monday I went—you guessed it—to North Canyon. Because of the wind, a few trees were blown over.

 For some reason, I just didn't have the energy for a full run that day. The last time I ran out of energy like that (2016), I sprained my ankle, so I turned around after just over two miles, making my total run less than four and a half.

As I was coming down, I saw a cyclist stopped on the dirt road. He pointed to the side of the trail. There was a rattlesnake! I have seen at least four or five snakes this season alone, but I think only one was a rattler. I was reluctant to walk past, so the biker insisted on standing between me and the snake, using his bike as a shield.

I went back again the next day when I had more energy, and I ran ten total miles. I've wanted to gradually increase my distance on that trail, but my time is running out before it gets too hot.

More wind-felled trees!

Showy stickseed!

That afternoon, I made mushroom asparagus pie. I made it four years ago and really liked it, even though I don't like mushrooms. Then three years ago, I made a variation, parsnip wheat berry pie, which was not good, and I was too afraid to try mushroom asparagus again. This time I didn't like it as much; it was more mushroomy. And I had more leftovers this time, and I did not look forward to the leftovers.

Since it was supposed to be rainy Wednesday, I didn't want to commit to a long run, so I went to Holbrook Canyon. It's a pretty trail, but it's not a good running trail. It's narrow with lots of stream crossings. I turned around less than a mile up because crossing the stream seemed precarious. The last time I went on this trail was July 4, 2017, and I sprained my ankle (a different sprain than the 2016 sprain mentioned above). But I've never been here in the fall, so I should try that sometime, because the stream would be lower.

The real unusual highlight of the week was on Thursday. Since my dad hasn't been working, he wanted to hike Mount Olympus. So we drove down to the trailhead. Even though it was a Thursday, the trail was very busy; I can only imagine how bad it would be on a Saturday!

 We made it to the saddle, but apparently it's a scramble to get to the summit. I know myself well enough to know that I would not enjoy scrambling to the top—and especially scrambling back down. The saddle was good enough for me. This hike was more than seven miles round trip, with a climb of over 3,800 feet.

 Honestly, I don't know why this hike is so popular. Sure, it was pretty, but there's lots of pretty trails. This trail was very steep, with lots of climbing over rocks. Coming down was very slow. I wouldn't consider it a fun trail. It was hard, so there's satisfaction about doing hard things, but I didn't find it especially enjoyable.

On our way home, there was a large bench or step stool on the freeway. I went on the UDOT website to report it, but the website said that if there's an object in the travel lane, that's considered an emergency, so it's appropriate to call 911. So I did. But there was a decent amount of time before I called. Now I know for next time that I can call 911 for something like that.

When we got home, the bathroom door would no longer latch closed, so I went to the hardware store to get a new doorknob. The one I got most closely matched the old knob, but it turned out it was only for mobile homes, so the inside part was too small. So I had to go back to the hardware store to get another one.

I went back to North Canyon the next day, but I only did the standard seven miles. I couldn't help thinking, "This is the same distance as yesterday's hike, but it's a much more enjoyable seven miles."

Friday was also my arbitrary day to begin the Fourth of July season, as it incorporates Memorial Day and Flag Day as well.

A few days ago, my youngest nephew, Nathaniel, asked me, "Would you like it if every time you opened your mouth, a song from the radio came out?" So I had to show him the episode of Gilligan's Island where that happened. I don't think he was impressed.

We had snow on some surfaces on Saturday morning! I'm still waiting for a year when I see it snow in nine out of twelve months, and it has to snow in May in order for that to happen. I can't decide if I should count it for May this year since I didn't actually see it falling, but I did see the snow on the ground that wasn't there the night before, so I guess it counts.

I went back to classic Bonneville Shoreline Trail Saturday evening so I could smell the Palmer's penstemon. It wasn't as fragrant in the air as I would have liked, but I loved sniffing individual flowers.

 I also went to a lookout where I hadn't been before, but it wasn't much different from all the other lookouts nearby.

The next few months appear to be more of the same, only with hotter temperatures.