MUSKIE!

I'm back from Canada and am happy to report most importantly that it was a successful fishing trip. My lifelong quest to hook the elusive muskie was fulfilled on the last night of the trip, when I hooked the 42 inch fish pictured below. Many who know me as a left-wing hippie vegetarian pacifist may be surprised to learn of my obsession with catching large fish. What can I say? My wife and I once took one of those questionaires that reveals your true personality-type a few years ago. I was characterized as black-hearted.

While I do actually eat fish, especially when I catch it myself, you'll all be relieved to know that the green monster pictured below was released and swam away safely. Maybe I'll catch him again in a few years when he's put on a few more pounds. Thanks to my Dad and Step-mom Anne for a great and very memorable trip! Oh, and for anyone interested, here's the secret spot: Lac Seul Outposts.

Training was great too. There are no roads leading to the camp, so I was antipating doing a lot of scrambling through the woods and through some of the open sections along the lake that have recently burned or been logged. I explored a bit and found a nearby logging road that was in good shape. It was about a half-mile steep uphill through the woods and then 100 meters across some down logs and through a sea of blueberry bushes, and then I was onto the logging road. The road has apparently been closed to vehicular traffic for a very long time. So there were no cars, just me and the bears (I saw their poop, but not them, fortunately) and lots of rolling hills and the sound of gravel underfoot. I slept great, ate well, and I feel great. I'm very excited for the World Mountain Running Championships. Check out the course video below: