It's been an eventful couple months. Our plan going into the trail running season was to tackle the Mammoth Trail Fest 50K at the end of September. We had to pivot due to some personal issues and an extended trip to Bend, Oregon. Smoke from forest fires put a hitch in our training, as did all the travel days, and the stress.

Running above tree-line in Bend, a revised training program due to smoke and travel, and finding ourselves a day-and-a-half drive from the event made us question our plans. A week prior to race day we decided to pivot and focus on a proper vacation of high mountain trail running and immersion in Nature. Rather than a day in Mammoth, we put together 7 days of majestic runs in Idaho.

Committing to the Long Journey

I proposed to Susan on one of our last runs, a few days before departing Bend. We then quickly made arrangements with the town of Hailey, Idaho to get a license and have an officiant meet us in a park to perform the ceremony on her lunch break. A few days later we retraced our original van life departure. We slept in the car at a rest stop, pulled into Hailey on a Thursday morning, went to the city office to pick up the license, drove to the Lions Park to select the ideal location, and waited for the officiant to show to marry us.

We've been together now for 7 years — not terribly long, but certainly my longest relationship. Like all relationships, it takes work, patience, and often a shift in perspective. But, through it all we've been committed to one another and making it work. We want the same thing — an adventure-driven, yet simple life.

We did it our downshifted adventure way, just the two of us. We set off immediately afterwards for a trail run ascent up Bald Mountain in Ketchum. At the top we shared a beer and a cupcake. We spent our honeymoon running in Hailey, Ketchum, and Driggs, Idaho, as well as a trip over the Tetons to Jackson for an epic traverse complete with grizzly bear and moose sightings. The week inspired dreams of mountain living and building strength to keep doing hard things.