Box Lake Loop, McCall ID. Sept 1 2011

I would like to start this by saying that I, in no way, recommend that others do things the way that I do them. Generally speaking, a person’s actions are more planned out and thought through. With that said…

It was mid morning on Monday when Bridget and I came to terms with the fact that our workday was over. To any normal 40 hour a week worker, this would be the best way to start off the week. For us, we were less than thrilled. My previous week’s total time at work was just about 26 hours…and so far, this week wasn’t starting off any better. We cleaned up, packed the trailer, and went to the lake. A few hours passed with us lazily lounging on a dock at Davis Beach. There were enough clouds and a cool breeze that jumping in the lake wasn’t ideal, but the air was incredibly warm otherwise. The weather, like my mood, was indifferent. There is a point in time in every person’s life where he or she realizes, “this isn’t going how I planned,” and at that point in our lives, we were both seeing things how they really were…and it was down right depressing.

After a few errands in town, we found ourselves back at my summer home – Allison Baker’s house. As Bridget’s mood got darker she slouched from chair, to recliner, to couch. As my mood darkened, I started pacing through the house. I couldn’t just let it be a shitty Monday. Something good, or fun, or challenging had to happen. It couldn’t just be the day I realized that the bulk of my summer felt like a scam. As Bridget fell asleep on the couch I packed up my running bag. Salt tabs, IBprofin, lots of water, banana chips, goo-packet, Patagonia wind jacket, camera, and sunglasses. I started making pancakes while changing into running clothes and looking at a map of the Lick Creek range. There was a loop I had been checking out and really there was no better time to go run it. As I put on my shoes and flipped pancakes, I told Bridget where I was going and that I’d imagine I could pull it off before dark hit at 9:00 PM. I purposefully did not take a headlamp (yes, I know, idiot move) knowing that I would be more inclined to run faster if I knew I had to beat the sun.

I left the house just before 4:00 PM. I ate my triple-decker pancake sandwich (yes, it went pancake, butter, egg, pancake, peanut butter, maple syrup, pancake) while driving up a very bumpy Lick Creek Road to the Fall Creek Trailhead. Basically, I’d park at the trailhead, run up and over Fall Creek Saddle to Crystal and then back up to the Crestline. From there I would follow the Crestline until it split off towards Box Lake. I’d pass Box and head up and over that saddle, down to the Box Lake Trailhead on Lick Creek Road and find my way back to the car - which was about a mile or two down the road. In total I’ve read it is, “well over 20 miles.” On a map it looked more like 16-18 but I know that doesn’t account for switchbacks - which the topo lines would suggest that there were many. I guess-timated the total distance to be 25 miles. Hopefully it would be enough miles for me to sort out my thoughts on this inauspicious Monday. So at 4:30 I got out of my car, put in my headphones, and took off uphill in hot pursuit of Fall Creek Saddle.

Early on, I passed an older man and his dog. He asked where I was going so quickly and I told him. He stood there looking at me with a worried expression and started asking for more details. “You know, I’d love to stay and chat but I have a lot of going to do before it gets dark,” and I left him standing there, dumbfounded and I am sure a bit flabbergasted. That was the last person I would see for 4.5 hours. I will spare you the mundane details of the step by step shoe thumping, forehead sweating hours that ticked by, but I will say this… It was breathtaking. By far the prettiest trail I have been on outside of McCall. Wildflowers still in bloom, blue skies, lakes, alpenglow on the mountains. It put the first genuine smile on my face all day. So I trotted along, humming to the music from my Shuffle, forgetting all the things that frustrated me earlier. It’s hard to believe that my Shuffle found it appropriate to play the Pixies (Alec Eiffel) followed by TLC (No Scrubs); however, it worked and I loved it.

Only once did I worry about time. Some trail visibility issues and down trees threw a wrench into the works but in due time I was standing on the East shore of Box Lake. In one hour I could easily be back down at the road. Easy peasy. Well, no. One should never forget to account for the sun setting faster in deep valleys like I did. About a mile or so from the road, the light went past that wonderful dusk stage and was nearing complete darkness. The thick trees didn’t help. So I popped my headphones out, the better to hear large critters with, and cruised along, eyes fully adjusted to the non-existent light. I flushed a grouse, who obviously didn’t see me coming in the thick of the night, and it flew into my hands. Yes, I almost caught something I could have eaten with my bare hands! So for the next handful of minutes I was picturing myself back home in the kitchen, cooking grouse in the oven, and enjoying a delicious feast…all while trying to not trip on a rock.

I popped out on Lick Creek Road at 9:00 PM exactly. There was a minimal amount of light now that I was out of the woods, so I picked up the pace. About halfway back to the car, a van pulled up and offered me a ride. I declined.

“Seriously, it’s no big deal,” the stranger told me, his young child nodding.

“No really, I am not running for survival matters, I actually like this.”

He didn’t believe me. “Really, it’s fine with us if you want to get in.”

“This was all calculated and planned for…really. My car is like five minutes from here at the next trailhead.”

My wannabe rescuer and his little boy finally left me to finish my loop in peace…and I did. At 9:10, I switched on my car, turned on the headlights, and backed onto Lick Creek Rd. A half hour later I was home making dinner sans grouse.