Run and Ride

Snowy Herman with Kendra

Solstice Run

Morning Run

Herman 

Only ate it a couple times on ice, tailbone still intact.








A tree in the burn zone had fallen across part of the shadow canyon trail and I decided to try and move it. I struggled for a bit to get it off the trail and when I finally had, I realized I had knocked/dragged another dead tree over the trail ahead of me. I managed to move this one off the trail and turned around and the original tree was back blocking the trail. 'What the heck?' I thought, and again struggled and finagled the tree off the trail. 
Satisfied with my labor, I turned up the trail to continue and again saw the second tree blocking the trail ahead of me, seemingly mocking me. 
Unbeknownst to me, the rootballs of the trees were tangled and joined, blocking every effort. Not willing to accept defeat in the Sisyphean struggle I was now engaged in, I decided to change my strategy and take more severe action. Maybe I could break the tree's top off, so it no longer blocked the trail. I found a boulder, raised it above my head and threw it at the dead top of the tree. 
For those familiar with the properties of wood, particularly in tree form, this may strike you as a particularly bad idea, which is correct. Luckily neither the rebound of the tree or the rock stuck me in the face, through the tree gave it's best darn try. 
Accepting defeat at this point would have been, if not practical, at least intelligent, but I was committed to teaching this inanimate tree who was the boss in this battle it wits. Continuing in my strategy of making well-thought out decisions, I thought I would try the same rock throwing method again. 
I once more narrowly escaped the rebound of the tree top without injury and again did nothing to hurt the tree. However, the repeated blows had separated the rootball of the trees! This of course had been my plan all along, and in the triumph of victory and satisfaction at having made the world a better safer space, cleared the trail for the last time and continued on my way.

*If you replace all references of 'tree' and 'boulder' with 'stick' and 'rock' the account above will hold more closely to the real events



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Brent Frieden

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Snowy Herman with Kendra

Solstice Run

Morning Run

Herman

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