Today we walked down to the Paria via Rock Springs Creek. At the confluence, we immediately found a prehistoric site. That kept VSO busy for a while, so I went up a narrow side canyon that was full of single leaf ash. On the way back to the Chev, the track seemed so powdery that it was like one step back for every two forward. We were both footsore by the end.
It is like what Valerie said to me as we drove out of Escalante: "When this day started I would never have expected this." I agreed. "This," was a win in the Escalante Canyons Marathon. Not a win in the women's division, not a win in the age group, but a win overall. The first finisher in any category. EDO won the whole damned thing.
It is like what one of the race organizers said when EDO crossed the finished line: "When I saw her crying, I almost started crying myself." I agreed. The tears were tears of joy (and probably of relief). It was a brutal course, running on the highway from Boulder to Escalante, Utah. The road coming out of the river canyon has a warning sign—14% grades—and they are sustained. It was a grind. EDO displayed remarkable mental toughness.
The race offered a pot of prize money. As the overall winner, EDO took home a good portion of it. We joked about her quitting her real job, but even better would be a sponsorship. HOKA are you listening?
Yesterday, I got out on one of the ridges between Turtle Canyon and Horse Canyon. It has been unbearably hot and sunny for the past 40 days, but the bright light produced a beautiful afternoon.
We went out for another thrashing today. This time in the Tavaputs. Once again, it didn't work out very well—too steep and brushy. But, on the way down we found a cabin and corral. The place could use some maintenance, but we agreed that it was in a good location.
Some of us may need to settle for second place. EDO raced in the Wasatch 10K yesterday at Soldier Hollow (above). I know the picture makes it look like she won the race, but there was one male finisher ahead of her at the line. Meanwhile, VSO was competing in the Escalante Canyons Art Festival (below). Like last year, she pulled down a red ribbon for her studio piece. (It is difficult to imagine a better entry than this one, but there must have been something.) For those of us who are slow and talentless, it is nice to be able to share in the second place glory.
