Double Header Weekend!!!

 Saturday morning, about 10 of us headed south to Grande Cache..... Grande Mountain was calling our name....or or number!!!  As we started the 5 km hike up the mountain, Christina and I soon found ourselves hiking together, competing for 3rd place!!!  Or at least I was...maybe she didnt know it!!!

We did stop a couple times to enjoy the view and take a couple pics.

When we reached the summit, Krista and the elite athletes were there, cheering us on!!!  The summit was in site, but Krista made us run the final distance!!!

 The view from the top was spectacular, but after a few pictures, Krista was herding us down the mountain. This proved to be the more challenging part of the run; loose rocks, shale and dusty sections added the the fun!!

 At the bottom, ironically beside a graveyard, we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive.  It turned to somewhat of a yard sale as we all compared trail wounds - jammed ankle, blown out shorts (yes, it really was as bad as it sounds), but unfortunately, there were no missing toe nails from the virgin trail runners....

 Sunday was day two!!!  Not suprisingly, the crew seemed to have fewer participants.... but the few foolish were committed to the run.

Johnsons trail started as more of a mud bog, but it was a good test of my new shoes!!!  After slogging through, or jumping over, multiple mud holes we made it to the top of the Smokey River valley.  The view was spectaular, but the muggy weather soon had me slowing down. Shari barked orders at me to take salt tabs, which hurridly complied with. 

For the first time, the salt tabs actully did seem to make a difference. They didnt make the run any easier, but I sure did feel better!!!  The 14 km loop ended back by the bridge and after a quick round of high fives, the running weekend was complete!!!  

Well, almost....there were still some tales to tell of toe nails that had gone missing....but really didnt; and there were new friends to share the picture of the weekends escapades....all in the name of getting in shape to master our goals!!!