What Is It We're Looking For? Summits of MY Life

This trailer and accompanying script is amazing.


Summits of My Life Trailer from Summits of My Life on Vimeo.

"No-one told us who we were.
No-one told us we should this.
No-one told us it would be easy.
Someone said we are our dreams, that if we don't dream, we are no longer alive.
Our steps follow our instinct and take us into the unknown.
We no longer see the obstacles behind us, but look forward the ones ahead.
It's not about being the fastest, the strongest or the biggest...It's about being ourselves.
We are not just runners, mountaineers or skiers...or even athletes...we are people.
We don't know if we'll find it, but we're going in search of happiness.
What is it we're looking for? To be alive?"

I still need to see this.

Recently I discovered that I had too much vacation time.

Wow! What a HORRIBLE problem to have!

Basically I have to use 4 weeks worth of vacation time by the end of the year or I'll lose it! Ouch!

So I looked at the calendar, talked to my boss, and decided I would take Fridays off for the rest of the year, along with the full weeks of the Christmas and Thanksgiving Holidays!

With this unforeseen bit of AWESOME I looked at my Strava Heatmap (yes I still love it) and decided I needed to hit more peaks. Fridays off for the rest of the year? It's PEAK BAGGING TIME!!!

In a way this is the beginning of a "Summits of My Life" journey of my own... although it is currently FAR from the amazing pursuits of Kilian and others. But it is a beginning.

I'm excited!

Friday I decided would be my first peak, and I'd be sticking close to home:
Bountiful Peak, Davis County Utah

There has been some discussion about which trails go up the face of the Davis Wasatch and make it all the way to the top. According to the Farmington Trails Map, there are a few options for going all the way up. The main options are the Steed Creek, Davis Creek, and Bountiful Peak Trails.

I decided on the Bountiful Peak trail even though I had heard of some rough bush whacking from friends, I figured I could make it work.

One thing I didn't really think about that much, was the changing seasons. And suddenly this past week, winter hit and overtook fall for a bit. Snow trip!

The five miles up to the peak were slow, isolated, and crazy beautiful.

That first five miles took me 3 hours. The bushwhack was SO bad, that I didn't want to go back down the 1.5 miles of hardness... so instead I ran down the road to the Canyon, and then down the Farmington Creek trail from the Sunset Campground to the mouth of the canyon.

For some reason my phone had shut down, even though there was still 36% of battery left... I think it just got cold... so I didn't get any pictures of the trip down. I did take some videos but the light in the snowy fog wasn't great, so I am not too happy with the quality. We'll see, maybe I'll put something together.

While my phone had worked I had mentioned to my wife that I might want to be picked up at the bottom of the canyon...

But with my phone dead, there was nobody there at the bottom of the trail. So I continued down to the Firebreak road BST, and slowly made my way across to the trailhead where I parked my car.

Total Mileage 17.9 miles. Just under 6 hours. Wow!

So what's up next? Well I WISH it were the Kalalau Trail in Hawaii like a friend of mine recently ran... But that might have to wait until next year. One reason I bring that up is it totally fits in with the point of this point. What are we looking for? Some people do that Kalalau trail, and other trails of similar distances, in a multi-day camping hike. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and could be ridiculously amazing. BUT , most of the people who do that can't even imagine that you could do the same trail, in MUCH less time. Awesome.

Really though, next week I have a brother-in-law getting married. I might be able to sneak away and hit the Gold Ridge up behind Bountiful Peak as it's a pretty easy one to check of the list. The week after that will NOT be a peak, but it will be my first 50-miler at the Pony Express Trail Run!

Other peaks on the list: Grandview, Thurston, Frary, Mt. Ogden, Ben Lomond, Willard, Kessler, Lone Peak, Timpanogos (again) and surrounding North, Bomber, and South Timp, and many many more!

I'd be fine with snow adventures much like last years Olympus trip... Especially if I can get some people to come along with me!

I'm excited about what the future holds. My life is amazing. My family is MORE than amazing, especially my beautiful and supportive wife.

Life is wonderful and I am grateful to be alive!

Here's another beautiful trail running video from another Salomon Athlete, Ryan Sandes!
Amazing story. Beautiful film. Wonderful message.

"Human beings don’t always make rational decisions. But making irrational decisions is precisely what makes us human. These decisions, based on an impulse or a feeling, often lead us to those perfect moments when it feels great to be alive."

I love it.

BE ALIVE!