12/13/2015

With each day that passed, I found myself steadily detached from society. I wondered if I had developed the mentality of someone stranded at sea: survive. I had encountered every type of terrain and weather on this trip and it dawned on me that I looked upon it all as one condition. I didn’t think that made me tough, just desensitized. I had become equipped to run miles and miles through heat, cold, dryness, and wetness. But, had I become less equipped to deal with humans? I would find out soon enough. When I reached the Dunsmuir Lodge, after I had run through a dozen miles of cold mist, I was greeted with the news that I would be motivating an entire school district the upcoming week. It was time to begin the mental preparations. I needed my mind to be sharp.

The lodge was c...

12/8/2015

My stars must have been aligned for my return to the state where this adventure originated. The climb to the top of the Siskyou Mountains wasn’t too taxing. Even with powdery snow in the mountains my roads remained dry. The sun was out and I enjoyed my continued rolling of hills. The last climb of Oregon lasted several miles but the legs pushed through. It was a much lighter workout than the steep mountain backroads of a few days earlier. The payoff came a little over four thousand feet. I trotted over the hump and let gravity go to work. The next seven miles at a six percent downgrade ushered me into California. There was no Welcome to California sign greeting me by the road but I did find my way into a rest area and visitor’s center...

12/5/2015

We were very fortunate that Doug from the Holiday Inn Express had agreed to host us for an extra night. We were located relatively close to the town of Medford but we had an extra day before we needed to get there. I decided to knock off a few miles so that I would have a light day before my mom arrived. I left the hotel right after breakfast and found that I would be running in a light sprinkle. The sky remained cloudy and dark for a few miles. After I turned a corner and passed Rogues River, the clouds parted and the sun made an appearance. Despite the nip in the air I was covered in sweat and happy to keep moving forward. The stretch of road from there to Gold Hill was the historic 99 hwy. I had run all of sixty six on my run across America. This time the numbers were flipped...