september 8
day 122
26 miles
total 3,183
122 remaining
4×26 + 1×18
so santium pass is behind me.
it was a nice climb,
a little long,
but not terribly steep.
the descent on the other side was steep and brutal…
so i had to work hard to hold serve.
but i am finally out of the rain shadow of the mountains and in green again!
the scenery is great.
huge ponderosa pines
great beds of fractured black lava rock
MOSS!!
mountain streams.
green oregon really exists!!
i had some doubts about getting my 26 today coming down from the pass.
my feet, my back, my poor hip;
all my weak spots got exposed.
but i managed to find just enough to reach my goal by dark.
every day is a race.
every mile i calculate my time
and how long i have left,
trying to get as much as i can get out of these old legs.
every time i can get an extra mile
it is made out of minuets that i have scratched out one by one all day long.
sometimes, like today, i have to fight and claw all day just to reach the minimum.
someday i am going to look back
and only remember how much fun it has been to face so many challenges
and measure up to them.
during these long days
with the outcome always in doubt
it is hard, and it hurts, and the spectre of failure is always looming over me.
it is not fun…
a lot.
but that is what makes these days special.
whether i make these last few days or not
for now i feel like a warrior again.
and if i can just reach corvallis
i think i have a chance!
laz
Sent from my magic phone