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| My favorite photo of the year. Trinidad Head, California. |
Without much winter reprieve, the California drought was especially hard on my allergies. A weight lifted from my chest each and every time we went inland. Our January trip to Ashland provided just the detox I needed to refresh myself. Due to our schedule, we landed a swanky bungalow at the Lithia Springs Resort for the same cost as our usual bargain place. During the day, we'd run and adventure, at night we'd get takeout Thai food, cozy up next to the fire, and relax. It was perfect. One of our daytime trips was snowshoeing at Crater Lake. It was the most beautiful winter weather for a snowshoe and picnic with Matt.
February
By February, Matt and I were anxious for a mountain trip. We chose the snowiest route through the Trinities and even there wasn't much snow. It was nice to unplug and even though I know it's not everyone's version of a romantic weekend, we loved the uninterrupted alone time and winter mountain sunshine.
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| Long Canyon, Trinity Alps. |
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| Snowy 5K in Okemos, MI. |
In late February, we found out it was cancer making Zoey so sick. We didn't travel far from home during this time, but I truly enjoyed all the extra quality time with my little furry lady.
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| Zoey is an amazing little spoon. |
After years of picking myself up and trying again and again to qualify for Boston, I made it! Even with a bit of cold rain, it was the perfect day, both Matt and I landed new marathon PRs. We made a vacation out of it, exploring Acadia National Park, visiting friends and family in Maine, and eating a lot of lobster.
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| I'm not sure we could smile any bigger than we did in this shot. |
After a few weeks of recovering after Boston, I was ready to hit the trails. It's nice that just as I'm resuming my mileage, I start taking trips to check out my Grasshopper course. The park had to clear a few downed trees and even if I gave up all the other race directing duties, I'd opt to keep up with the course scouting. In May and June, I made five Grasshopper Peak summits, my most in any single year.
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| Running with Matt and Lanore near mile 8 of the 30K course. |
June
My first solo camping trip will always hold a special place in my heart. One of the downsides to having such an amazing and compatible spouse is that our perpetual togetherness sometimes makes me forget who I am as an individual. Even though I spent much of the trip feeling like I forgot something (Matt maybe?), it was an experience I would want to repeat the rest of the summer.
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| Lassen Peak from Brokeoff Mountain summit. |
July
I'm 100% introvert. When I first began running, one of the reasons I loved it so much was the long periods of alone time. I never would have guessed that would be the thing to pull me from my very protective shell. It started when I met Matt. Then we made more friends and now I can't imagine my life without my trail friends. This trip was nothing short of incredible, both with the views and the company.
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| Canyon Creek Trail with Matt, Adam, and Jeff. |
Matt and I returned to Lassen so I could show him all the best spots I'd discovered in June....only wildfire smoke pretty much eliminated the scenery. Nevertheless, I reached the summit of Lassen Peak for the second time this summer and Matt got a teasing view of what it might look like on a clear day. That weekend in the smoke set me up for my first race DNF, but if I were to do it all over again, I'd skip the race, not the mountain weekend.
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| Inside the Lassen Peak crater. |
If there was one photo I had trouble choosing, it would be September. So many good things happened. We took a week-long road trip through central Oregon and hit all the highlights. The one day that stands out from an already incredible trip was the day I pushed my fear of heights aside and climbed Mt. Thielsen. Although I was certain I'd be the dummy who'd require a rescue, you can see nothing but pure joy on my face here. I also tucked a copy of this photo into thank you cards I sent to my oncologist, nurse, and surgeon for my 10th survivor anniversary.
Bonus Shots: Okay, okay, maybe I couldn't choose just one.
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| Tunnel Falls, Columbia River Gorge. |
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| Timberline Trail, Mt. Hood. |
Slowly at first, winter began to make her comeback. Trails of scattered clouds followed each storm. Sunsets like this are rare on the coast but October was filled with them.
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| Sunset over Humboldt Bay. |
Craving some fall colors, Matt and I headed inland to Weaverville for a trail run. Combine this group run with our fall marathon training runs, there wasn't a single long run we did without friends.
Immediately following our fall marathon, both Matt and I came down with a terrible cold and it lingered on until Christmas. Zoey's health continued to deteriorate. It rained non-stop. Then we harvested our chickens. It was a good time to lay low. When it came to traveling to visit my brother in New Mexico on Christmas Day, we decided not to leave Zoey alone so Matt cancelled his trip and I went solo. As I'm typing this, I'm on my final day of that holiday trip. New Mexico is gorgeous in the wintertime and managed to sneak in a couple of sunny runs in the month of December and close out my year with 2,345 running miles.
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| We even look alike. |
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| Siskiyou Outback 50K, July. SOB photo credit. |
Now that we've recapped my year, I'd like to say something to all of you: It has been wonderful sharing my experiences here and I truly appreciate each and every comment I've received. I never imagined that this is where my adventure ramblings would take me, a place rich with real life friendships. I hope you've enjoyed hearing about my adventures as much as I have sharing them all with you.
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| Love, Karen and Matt. |
6 comments:
Ah, these year end recaps are so much fun to compile (and read!) Of course, I'm biased, my fave photos are the Oregon ones. :) And, yes, I'm planning a return visit to Lassen - hopefully next year. And a longer trip through the redwoods too. Happy 2016!
Karen, it's been great to do some runs with you and Matthew this year. When I first joined the running club about this time 3 years ago, you two caught my eye as highly committed runners (obsessed maniacs?) who served as inspiration and motivation to me as I ramped up my own running program from being an occasional runner to a more regular runner. Thanks for allowing me tag along on some of your adventures, always fun, in recent months. You and Matt are the greatest!
What a fun tradition! I love your picture from May, how the runners are dwarfed by the trees.
That September shot! Scares me to death - good for you! Love your recap in pictures (and all your posts, honestly!)
You take such amazing photos, and have such fun adventures. It is nice to see them all summed up in one place.
Linda, I can't wait to follow along on your 2016 trips. :)
Dave, Oh my goodness, thank you! I'm always surprised when someone says that about me. I'm just doing my own thing, you know? Yes, I love that I've found an adventure buddy in you. :) Matt has a few normal person weekends soon so we hope you'll join us on a few of those runs.
Molly, thanks! That's one of my favorites too. I especially love the fog in that shot.
Bobbi, I know! Me too! I still can't believe I made it up there.
Abby, Thank you. :) I've loved reading everyone's yearly recap these last few days, too.
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