Swauger Lake: The Road Less Traveled

On Saturday the 17th Caden and I went to Swauger Lake, the lake is located on the backside of Mount McCaleb. We left my house at about nine in the morning with perfect day in front of us. After a few hours and one snow drift shoveled out we arrived a half a mile before the trailhead, do to the fact of a snow drift that I didn't see the need to plow through. When we started hiking we had the perfect temperature with a slight breeze. It probably only took us an hour and a half to hike two miles with the occasional snow drift peppered along the trail. When we reached the top of the ridge it was the moment of truth. The moment that decided if we were going to be able to fish today or not. When we got to the top and looked over we saw a big disappointment, the lake was frozen. But with a closer look some of the edges where a little thawed off, so that gave us hope. When we reached the lake the south side was completely frozen so I went ahead and walked over to the north side to see if I could see any fish along the edges. As I walked along the edges the grass that was in the lake was moving with tons of cutty's swimming out, from that moment on I knew we would be able to get into some fish. We ended up going to the biggest part of the lake that was thawed off the most and started throwing a few rocks in to break up the ice. After we let all the ice and fish settle while we set up our poles we were into the fish in the first thirty minutes. Throughout the day the lake continued to thaw off and we were presented with more places to fish. I eventually got tired of waiting for the fish to come to me so I walked around the bank until I saw a few swimming toward me. By the end of the day we both caught a number of fish all at different lengths ranging from 16 inches to 12 inches. It was definitely a good time to spend in the mountains catching up with a buddy.

Swauger from the Ridge

Swauger Lake

Wilson Creek Frozen 50K

Starting Line for the 50Kers

I eat 50K's for breakfast! Not really but they always seem to start when I usually do eat breakfast so that hast to count for something. I woke with a troubled night sleep, I can never sleep good before a race. I always think of the things that can go wrong or the big thing that I worry about is forgetting something. I always seem to be waking up about an hour after I fall asleep to see if I packed something. I car pooled to the race with Lindsey and her sister in law Jenny and I'm glad that I did because I had no idea where these race was at. To top it off we fought heavy fog the entire way so it was nice to have some people that knew where they were heading. We arrived about a half an hour early to were we could get are race number and get ready for the race. The race went pretty good for the most part. It was a great course up until to hit the frozen cow trail but no it was pretty good, I enjoyed the course and the different point of view running above and below the fog.

About to the top of Wilson Peak

To the first aid station at 2.5 miles it was easy going and I made sure I started slow and fueled at every aid station. I wasn't going to make the same mistakes that I did in Standhope. To the next aid station was at mile 13 between the aid station was the biggest climb of the race so I didn't push too hard and made sure I walked up all the hills and ran all the downhills. When I started going downhill after the big hill climb, I ran into Ben and he eventually caught up to me. We talked for a few miles about the Standhope race and how spectacular its going to be this year. He also let me in on some insights and changes to this years Standhope race. Right after aid station 13 there was another hill that when I started climbing I started cramping up, thank goodness for mustard packets I think I ate 6 packets throughout the race. Between mile 13 to 20 I was doubting if I could finish the whole race, I was just tired and beat, and was thinking I just wasn't prepared enough, I guess I was doubting my training. When I arrived at mile 20, where the race began, I went through my drop bag and filled up on mustard packets, water and gels (only 10 miles left). Soon after I left I started getting tired but I pushed through it, when I reached the last aid station I knew it was all downhill from there. At mile 27 with 4 miles left my stomach started turning for the worse. I don't know if it was the water that I drank or pain meds that I took a few miles back but I knew that it wasn't my abs. I also had this feeling toward the end of the Standhope race but the last few miles I was forced to a run/walk/run state but I pushed hard at the end to try and finish under 7 hours, I came just shy of that at 7 hours and 4 minutes. Over all the race went well, I hydrated and fueled at the right times no low blood sugar and no problems with my feet. I wanted to finish in 7.5 hours and I finished in 7 hours. I placed 59th out of 90. Can't wait for the next ultra in June (River of No Return) to see if I beat my time. It will be a tough course to beat 7 hours but anything is possible.

Lake X: One Week Late

The last couple of years my father and I always try to hit a mountain lake before they freeze up, probably one of the best times to go. Last year we went to Lake X and Swauger Lake and it did not disappoint we slayed cuttys at both lakes. This year we went into Lake X on the 5th of October just after about a week of snow and rain. We usually go toward the end of September but the trip got pushed back because of my race.

We left the house at about seven and it took about two hours to drive to the trail-head. We didn't encounter much snow until we started driving up the valley. When we got to the trail-head there was at least six inches of snow but it didn't stop us from pursuing some monster cutthroat. It took us a lot longer than expected, I think when I reached the lake it was pushing about three and a half hours. Once I saw that the lake was still thawed off I was relieved even though there was about a foot and a half of snow around the whole lake. After hitting all the usual spots that produce fish and seeing nothing but water with no fish in it and decided that we were just about a week or two late. After fishing for about four hours we called it quits and head home to ease into the hot tube with all the aches and pains that we received that day. Even though we didn't catch or see any fish that day it was still an enjoyable time to hike in one of the most beautiful places in Idaho and one of my favorite places to meditate.    

"If I'm in the mountains, I'm not worrying about anything else."--Ueli Steck