Considering my last new post (i.e. one that was neither guest-blogger submitted, nor re-blogged) was written 39 days ago, and was largely comprised of complaints of a grueling climb in sweltering heat, I wanted to ease your minds that I hadn’t melted in the desert heat. I know you were sick with worry.
Two days after that ill-advised hike, I returned to the scene of the crime.
Lest you think me a complete masochist (or idiot), I can assure you that I went back secure in the knowledge that there are many shady and cool trails to choose from. I had just picked really, really badly last time.
Since my last game of Trail Roulette had served up a dud, this time I opted to go with a tried, tested and true hike. I chose old-faithful, the Bristlecone Trail, a 6 mile loop, with a +1,024′ elevation gain, and a high point of 9,400′.
True to form, this spectacular trail kept me shaded and cool as a cucumber while she assaulted my legs and lungs with her climb.
Just me, my wild horse friends, and Mr. Enthusiasm. Ahh…bliss. The perfect remedy to the previous hotter-than-Hades outing.
So you might be asking yourself why, if I hadn’t melted on that mountain top five weeks ago, I haven’t been around these parts in real-time styles. I promise to answer that with a rapid fire catch-up post. Soon.
My challenge will be to deliver 5 weeks’ worth of updates in one post, in under 500 words.
I’m going to need to get creative with that. It will involve pictures. And possibly sound. Man, I wish scratch ‘n sniff for the interwebs had already been invented. That would kill the need for a bunch of words right there. Sigh.
Keep moving,
xoxo nancy
my year of sweat 
yeay!! you are back!!
and with pretty pictures and horse friends!!
I have so. many. pictures to share! Just no time to blog. Blah!
😦 stupid time and its inflexibility!!
where is that TARDIS when you need it! I want to see pictures!
I clearly need to return to Greenwich to get some more time. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?
yes you do!!
com back right now and we can go together, it won’t matter what else we have to do, we will have plenty of extra time!
I am sure we can come up with a plan for sneaking into the time stores!!
How could they possibly miss any stolen time with that much time on their hands?
exactly! they have all the time in the world, they wouldn’t a bag full each!!
Now, if only I had a bagful of that stolen time on hand right now to delay Thursday’s trip to Montreal and next week’s trip to Atlanta…
I’ll see if I can send you some, but I don’t think the postal service has had their correct time allocation let alone the extra stuff so it may not get there by thursday…
Snort!
😀
Stunning photos, Nancy. I can see why you had to return to this place. It’s almost as though it wasn’t work to get there. Almost.
Mt. Charleston is the only place to escape the heat in Vegas. Unfortunately, as I learned in the previous hike, not all the trails feature the shady trees. I *should* have clued in to the fact that the other trail had been closed for 2.5 years to re-build after massive forest fires. Forest fires = no more trees. DOH! 🙂
Hmmm? I look forward to all the juicy tales in an upcoming post 🙂
I don’t know about juicy – just a ton of happenings that happened long ago. I’m so behind!
That one line – scratch-and-sniff for the interweb – has me completely intrigued 😉
Looking forward to your update!
I’m not even sure I had something specific in mind. I’m just musing on how helpful a scratch & sniff option would be when sharing stories. 🙂
So glad you had a more zen-like experience this time around. But perhaps the horses were disappointed. Maybe they were hoping for more of a show. 😉
“scratch ‘n sniff” on the Internet. Now that’s a scary thought.
The horses do look a wee bit bored, don’t they? Maybe Zen is overrated. 🙂
Come on, Carrie…where’s your adventurous spirit? Think of the world of opportunity scratch ‘n sniff Internet represents. 🙂
‘world of opportunity’—That’s certainly putting a positive spin on the chance to smell other people’s odors.
Bahahahaha! Why does the idea of smelling other people’s odors intrigue me so?
I’m such a weirdo. For real. 🙂
Yeeeeah, I might have to give this one to you. I’m weird but not that weird. 😉
Seriously, you never once wondered about smells at that State Fair? 🙂
I don’t have to wonder about them. I’ve lived them.
SNORT!
Yay for finding a nice, cool trail to hike. 🙂 I’ll never forget my encounter with wild mustangs in the mountains of Nevada too. So beautiful and peaceful.
I’ve only encountered the wild mustangs 3 times in nearly 6 years. Wild burros are more plentiful, but the mustangs are elusive suckers!
One trip to the mountains and one encounter – I’ll consider myself lucky. 🙂
You caught the leprechaun with his pot of gold, I’d say!
Hi Nancy! Happy to hear that your last “adventure” didn’t ruin you from hiking (or kill you for that matter!) You’ve been missed. I’m looking forward to your update in the future. ~Kathy
I’m just bummed I wound up so close to you, winding my way through the coachella valley on my way back from SoCal, and didn’t get a quick visit!
Looking forward to the update!
Me too. Want to come type it up for me? 🙂 #needmoretime #sobusy #arrrgghhh
Now you are right back in the professional zone life just isn’t the same! Are you loving your role?
Loving is a strong word… 🙂
ooooook hmmmm
Nah! Not regretting anything. I do love the company and the pace of change, etc. Love my team and my peers and my boss. I’m just not loving the loss of work/life balance. I suppose it’s inevitable that when someone hires you to manage a business and people that the work would require a considerable amount of time and energy.
Kind of wistfully remembering the last short-lived gig where my complaint was that they were paying me a bunch of money and didn’t give me any work to do.
Bahahaha too funny. It is so true though. work in all its glory can be a real work/life balance thief!!!
Which is why it’s so important to like what you do! Makes it sting a little less when the balance goes askew.
Wild horses?! Dang. In northwestern Pennsylvania we have deer, raccoons, skunks, and an occasional fox. I vote for your neighborhood.
They are totally, completely, insanely awesome, John! A leftover from the gold/silver rush. All those miners came in and brought their animals, but then up and left. It’s amazing how nature evolves and adapts, and how these beautiful creatures (both the mustangs and the burros) survived in this unforgiving environment.
I’ll snuggle up to the screen and sniff real hard if you want… looking forward to your 5-week 500-word update.
You know, I honestly didn’t know there were still wild horses out there… for some reason, I thought they’d all been domesticated.
Honestly, I had no idea they existed either, Trent – until I moved to Vegas and started seeing signs telling me not to feed them. I don’t get to see them often (apparently the only regular spot for sightings is right near the prison where OJ has taken up residence), but the wild burros are always out and about near Red Rock Canyon.
I gotta get out to Vegas more… and not to just the casino stuff. I got a feeling I’m missing a lot out there.
So much more than just the strip. Downtown is my favourite. Hope you time a visit to when I’m there to show you around a bit!
I’m going to take you up on that one.
Was the red Saab somewhere in the mix? That in itself would explain your long absence! 😀
You actually think I would go anywhere near that thing after this: https://myyearofsweat.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/have-i-mentioned-how-much-i-hate-snakes/ ???
I thought you knew me better than that, Patrick! 🙂
That very post is why I mentioned “The Saab”…the car from hell…or Vegas. It is difficult to tell the difference (you know I’m not a Las Vegas strip fan but I will someday be there to explore the trails you have written about).
Vegas has much more to offer than casinos. Sadly most visitors never leave that 7 mile long stretch.
Have you ever visited the National Atomic Test Museum there in Las Vegas?
Not yet, but it’s on my list.
Now THAT looks like my kind of hike . . . with Zen Horses on top!
Look forward to you meeting your 5 weeks in 500 words challenge.
Starting . . . NOW! (Can’t get more Zen than that!)
I’m thinking a photo essay with 2 sentence stories accompanying each one. Unless I think of something more creative that is.
Scratch and sniff, huh? Now that’s an interesting thought. I am so glad to hear that this hike was more in keeping with fueling the soul as well as energizing your body. I like that combination myself–not to imply that I do it very often. I’ll definitely look forward to photos and as many words as you think you can share. 🙂
Given a new “special project” just landed in my lap yesterday, I’m thinking the update post might get published some time in October. 🙂
Stolen time is the best kind 🙂 And the wild horses–so cool! About the name of the trail–are there any bristlecone pines there?
Absolutely, Linnet. All over Mt Charleston, starting at ~7,000′ altitude. The largest/oldest is one named Raintree. I blogged about her back in 2013. A gorgeous, giant hulk of a tree.
Oh, that’s lovely. Amazing to think that you are surrounded by these unimaginably ancient beings. I like the idea because it makes me feel young 🙂
I thought maybe I’d missed some posts so kind of relieved you just haven’t been writing! Great photos and sounds like a perfect day out – although I’m suspicious that you just photoshopped that second horse – the poses are remarkably similar. Hmm… 😉
Ha! I’m pretty okay with techie tools, but something like that would be above my pay grade. 🙂
Hmmm, that’s just what a technical wizard would say… 😉
Ya got me there. 😉
I’m sure Mr. Enthusiasm prefers you to stick to Old Faithful rather than to venture out on those trails that get you all hot and bothered. As for scratch and sniff – you just killed my Zen vibe here.
Seriously, the photos are spectacular. I can’t believe you are communing with wild horses! What an experience. I can’t wait to see your challenge unfold. Let’s see if you can break one of those mustangs! Yeehaw!
Those babies shouldn’t be broken! In the words of Carrie Bradshaw, in one of the best episodes of the series, “Maybe some women aren’t meant to be tamed. Maybe they just need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with them.” Same goes for those mustangs! 😉
I love you, Nance! Yep, no taming, ever. lol
xoxo
Back atcha
Scratch n sniff for interweb?? Ah… it will come sooner than any of us want it to! 🙂 However this does look like a blissful hike and good to know you are getting back into the blogging groove. 🙂
I spoke (typed) too soon. 🙂 Doubt I’ll get any original content published before end of next week, if that. I’ve got a big presentation in Atlanta I’m prepping for this weekend and all dat Monday, before flying out there Tuesday. Then again, my prolific procrastination of the situation could mean I work on blogging first, and then panic and do the presentation at the 11th hour. We’ll see. 🙂
All the best with your presentation! However blogging faffery procrastination is a good technique to get the creative juices going before tackling a more serious project! 😉
Or so I tell myself! 🙂
Now this is a trail I could find beautiful bliss within. I need that canopy of shade and companionship–but only of the natural kind. The fact that you ran into no human forms makes the route even more appealing to someone like me. I’d be in pig heaven. The photos are begging for an up close and personal visit. Wish I could apparate.
Cannot wait for that smell o vision blog post, or the next best thing. They’re always a chunk full of charming as only you know how to create, Nancy.
After reading your second to last blog post, I considered myself hella lucky that I didn’t happen upon a bear! I’m still suffering anxiety from just thinking of you and your pooch in that situation!
Gorgeous photos!!
Thanks, lovely!
Pingback: story time at my year of sweat | my year of sweat
This hike looks great, love shade whenever you can get it! Boy can I relate to jot having time to blog. I guess I will have to blog this trip when I get home. Can’t wait to see your condensed blog challenge!
It’s up today, Lynne! I hunkered down and pounded that sucker out yesterday. 🙂
going riding…will check this evening!
Be safe and have fun! I’m headed to ATL tomorrow morning at the crack o dawn!
Safe trip and I will look forward to seeing you next time. Read g a story now. 🙂
Next time for sure!