sawtooths and summer

Living here in Idaho is a dream - especially in the summer time. Recently the beau and I were talking about how fortunate we feel to be able to live here in boise for the first year or two of our marriage (at least - who knows where we shall venture to after we are finished with school!). The beau looked at me one afternoon as we drove through the mountains and along the river to go get lost in the hills, "you do realize that world class kayakers from all over the world travel to Idaho, Idaho to run our rivers right? We have it all!". And he is so right. This beautiful state has so much richness and rare beauty that our hearts just leap as we look ahead to the next season and the adventures that it brings. Rafting and kayaking in the summer, xc skiing, snow shoeing and snowboarding in the winter and climbing, bouldering, cycling, backpacking and running whenever possible.....wow!

My love for Idaho includes, of course, a love for the Sawtooths. These mountains stole my heart during my first summer living in the USA in 2009. I really don't think there is an excuse for me to not explore them more every year. So far this year I have visited them three times. Over the valentines weekend the beau and I telemark skied into a yurt with friends, at the start of this summer I got to hop onto a relay team last minute to run the 63 mile Sawtooth Relay from Stanley to Ketchum and then later in the summer my job allowed me to lead a trip of 8 freshman students on an extended backpacking trip to a series of mountain lakes. 

The sawtooth relay was a whole new running experience to me. I am new to running as it is - only been at this thing for a few years now - but a relay team was a whole different ball game. My team of five gentleman and myself started running at 3am and completed the race in a very respectable 9hrs and 19minutes! We had originally decided that we would be happy if we came in under 12 hrs....so we were pretty proud of ourselves! The beau was wonderful and spent the day (which was also his birthday - what a guy!) cheering us on and he even cycled my last 5 miles with me. The run was spectacular and my first leg allowed me to watch the sunrise over the mountains.....I will never forget that morning.....I felt so alive and happy.

(Photos curtesy of Austin Rogerson)