lacking in some direction

I've been feeling lost recently. Struggling to find the motivation to have adventures. Too much other stuff going on. That's life. The question is how to live it. I haven't done too much since the last post. Two weekends ago I dusted off the bike and headed up Laurel Mtn. with Yuri. It was cloudy and not very cold down in Fletcher when I left the house and Yuri and I agreed that it would be colder up high but that the winter weather had passed through the area without leaving much on the ground. Driving into Mills River it started snowing a little, just a few flurries with nothing sticking to the ground. I briefly suggested we head up FR 5000 instead of 1206 but Yuri said to stick to the plan so we did. Up around Yellow Gap it was snowing even harder and there was a half inch or so on the ground. We made the turn onto Laurel Mtn. and as we worked our way up the mountain the snow kept picking up and before we even got to Rich Gap there was quite a bit of snow and the going was slow and slippery. I've been on some big snow rides before and though they can be fun they are a novelty more than anything so when Yuri suggested we play it safe and bail I readily agreed. As we made our hasty retreat I noticed that our tracks from where we had ridden up just minutes before were already completely erased by new snow. The descent was interesting to say the least but once we were back down at the campground there were still only light flurries and no snow on the ground. Amazing the difference a thousand vertical feet make!

 Photos by Yuri:


The next Sunday Duma and I ran our Little Nasty route:
We tried to break three hours but couldn't do it and finished in 3:07. Last weekend it was running in Pisgah again. Yuri joined Duma and I on a route I'd been spying for awhile: Pink Beds > Barnett Branch > Pink Beds > 476 > 1206 > Thompson Creek > Connector > MST > Barnett Branch > Pink Beds
 I had thought it was only 11 miles but now that I have mapped it see that it is 14+. Oops! Sorry about that Yuri! The length probably explains why it took us well over three hours and why our feet hurt and why the dog slept for a solid day after. The connector between Thompson Creek and the Mountains to Sea trail is a great little piece of CCC style single track that is worth checking out on foot. A good route overall with really only one climb. Sunday I got on the bike once again. I headed back to Mills River and Laurel Mtn. to finish what I had started the previous weekend. I did the Inner and Outer Loop and there isn't much to say. I was tired from the run the day before and just kept moving only stopping once to fill a bottle and eat an oatmeal cream pie.