Free Fire by CJ Box

I spotted this box while at the library for a tutoring session and I hadn’t read a mystery in a while. This book was written by a Wyoming author and the book is based in Yellowstone. Figured it was worth looking at, so I checked it out and gave it a read.

The book is about Joe Pickett, a disgraced Wyoming game warden, who is approached by the Governor of Wyoming to do an unofficial investigation of a recent high profile murder that occurred in Yellowstone Park. The confessed murderer was allowed to walk free based upon a technicality. A West Yellowstone lawyer killed four people in the small piece of the park that lies in Idaho and turned himself in at the closest park ranger station. Turned out several quirks in the constitution and case law dictate that an accused has the right to a trial by a jury from the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. The small corner of the park has no permanent residents, so a jury could not be gathered from this jurisdiction. No jury, no trial and perpetrator goes free.

The book went into Joe’s investigation and what he learned. The book was pretty good because it introduced his personal history with the park and also went in to the geology of this area, microbiology and some of the uses for the microbes that only grow in the park’s hot pots and hot springs. The story was a bit predictable, but had a few twists that helped hold your attention. The author also left several loose ends that weren’t fully explained.

Generally, if you enjoy a mystery, especially one based in the outdoors and are willing to overlook a couple of slight oversights, this is a pretty enjoyable book. In fact, the author is on my list to look at his other books.

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Road Trip

I wrote this short poem after a recent trip to Moab, Ut for the Red Hot 50K+

Road Trip

Tomorrow’s run is in Moab,
couple hundred miles away.
Red Rocks, sandstone and vistas;
it’s called the Red Hot 50K.

We sneak out of work early,
to reach Moab before it gets late.
The car is gassed and loaded, so
we’ll head south towards our fate.

Joe’s poised behind the wheel,
the rest of us are spread about.
Carl’s providing directions,
the next exit will be our route.

Over the mountain we’ll travel,
along the river on both sides.
After a quick gas stop in Price,
on to Green River we’ll ride

We take a short run up the freeway,
towards Vail’s big mountain snow.
Hard right at Crescent Junction,
south were the big red rocks grow.

We make it to town before dark
and find our motel for the night
Nothing fancy or pretty; just
a place to rest before day light.



And here is the rest of it.

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Red Hot 50K+ Race Report

A bunch of us went to Moab this past weekend to run the Red Hot 50K+/33K. George, Carl, Joe, Stephanie, Shay and I all ran (ok Shay walked it, but if the truth is known we all walked a bunch) the 50K and Susie and Chelsea ran the 33K. Because of all the snow and bad weather northern Utah’s had this past winter, this race was overdo. When I left Friday afternoon I hoped that a weekend of sunshine, red rocks and scenery might be the antidote I needed to break a bad case of the “shack nasties”.

The race started at 8 AM at the Gemini Bridges parking lot; about 10 miles north of town. We arrived at7 AM to make sure our drop bags were in place when the aid station volunteers left for their posts. Because of the remote nature of the aid stations, they were manned by one of the local Moab 4X4 clubs. It’s amazing the places those “rock hoppers” can go. After a short race briefing, we were off, headed up the Gemini Bridges road. The first four miles or so were a long climb up a dirt road. The field quickly spread out and we settled into our customary place, probably 2/3 of the way back.

At about 4 miles, we changed roads and headed towards the “Metal Masher’s Trailhead.” You’ve got a love the names associated with the 4 wheel and bike trails in this area. Before the day was over, we’d also see the Gold Bar Trail and the Rusty Nail Trail with a short period on the Poison Spider bike trail. The first aid station came at about 5.5 miles. It had started to warm-up so most folks shed clothes and left them in their drop bag. The next 12 miles were a loop over the Metal Masher trail. At about 17 miles, you ended up back at the same aid station, only now it was aid station 3 instead of 1. The highlight of the loop (other than the header I took at eight miles) came at about 10 miles. At this point, you were standing on the top of the butte looking directly down at the parking lot we’d left a couple of hours earlier and probably 2,000 feet below you. The view of the La Sal Mountains to the east was absolutely stunning.

Back at aid station 1 & 3, after the Metal Masher loop, Carl and I followed Kris Lander’s advice and quickly changed into our road shoes. Great advice Kris. With a fresh pair of shoes we headed back down the road about a mile and followed the 33K course to the finish at the Colorado River. When we hit the 33K trail, we almost immediately started climbing the Gold Bar Trail. The next five miles were gruesome. It was mostly a tough climb on slick rock. Who ever named slick rock had a warped sense of humor. While it’s rock, there just weren’t many places you could call slick. Trail markings also were an issue. If you didn’t pay close attention, quickly you’d lose sight of the pretty pink ribbons we were attempting to follow. Losing sight of the pink ribbons wasn’t a good thing. All you could do was backtrack until you found one.

While the climb to aid station four was tough, the view from the top was spectacular. If you looked down over the edge of the butte, you saw Moab. The La Sal’s were to the east, Arches was a little north east (I counted six arches while gulping coca cola) and to the south west you could see into Canyonlands and the winding Colorado river. Absolutely wonderful. When we left aide station 4, we went from the Gold Bar Trail to the Rusty Nail Trail. The next 7 miles to aid station 5 (29 miles) were up and down and mostly on slick rock. This section of the race just seemed like a grind. It wasn’t as tough as the climb up the Gold Bar Trail, but by this point in the race, fatigue had become an issue and you had to pay close attention to the terrain. A header on slick rock wouldn’t be pretty.

Aid station five, the final aid station, came at about 29 miles. Carl and I hit it at about 6 hours and 50 minutes so we thought we had a chance to break eight hours. It was a small chance. When we left the aid station and started down the mountain (most of the last 5 + miles were downhill), we blew right past a pretty pink ribbon on our right and went ½ a mile, or so, before we realized it. By the time we’d back tracked almost to the aid station, we’d wasted almost 15 minutes so it would take a big effort to finish under eight hours. It wasn’t to be. This last section was down hill, mostly on slick rock for the first couple of miles, then dirt road to the finish line. Carl was in good enough shape, he could have busted eight hours, but my quads cramped a couple of times and I had to walk them out.

Carl was gracious enough to stay with me until I could run again. We ended up crossing the finish line in eight hours and ten minutes.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: I’d highly recommend this race to everyone. If you aren’t up to the 50K, do the 33K. This may be the most visually stunning race I’ve ever ran. At one point, I was tempted to stick my finger down my throat just so I could say, “this is the prettiest mountain I ever pucked on.” Seriously, run this race and you’ll come back again. After being cooped up all winter, it was fantastic to be running on dirt and rock again. It’s certainly not an easy race, but like we talked about on the ride home, sometimes a good butt kicking is a good thing.

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Penitential Rite and Lent

Lent started last Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) and will continue until Easter. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, especially when I’m running, about the Penitential Rite. PR is repeated at the start of each mass. Sometimes, we become so accustomed to words we say often, we fail to appreciate their meaning. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’d started to treat this very important part of mass almost as an afterthought. Here is the Penitential Rite:

I confess to almighty God
and to you my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do;
and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,
all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

What wonderful words. We publicly admit to God and our brothers and sisters that we’ve sinned. No one is perfect; sin is a part of our life and must be acknowledged and forgiven. Most people wouldn’t argue that they have sinned through their own fault, but do they appreciate that we can sin through our thoughts and our words? Again, most folks would accept that sin is in what I have done, but do they realize we can also sin in what we’ve failed to do? For instance, if you know someone who needs your help or assistance and you fail to help them, haven’t you sinned? The ending is the best part. We ask Mary, all the angels and saints and our brothers and sisters to pray for us. How many of us really take the time to pray for others? Wouldn’t not praying for others, especially after they've publicly asked for those prayers be a sin “in what I’ve failed to do?

Again, while this had almost become habit to repeat this during mass, it’s important to take a little time and contemplate what it means and how it applies to our day-to-day lives and then apply it when appropriate. While repeating the Penitential Rite doesn't equate to confession, it certainly sets the tone for the entire mass.

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After a good run this morning on the Parkway in SLC, I’m sitting at home anxiously waiting the results of the Wasatch Front 100’s lottery to be posted on their web site. I got to thinking about how popular ultras have become even in the four or five years I’ve been running them. Wasatch joined the trend set by Western States to have an open lottery for entries into their race last year. You send in your application the first week in January and the first Saturday in February, they have their drawing.

I think this would be a great way for other, over-popular races to fill their empty slots. About a month ago, entries for the Miwok 100 opened at 9 AM on a Sunday morning. I was on my way home from a race in. Las Vegas so I had Patricia, my wife, go on-line and register me. She started at 9 AM and finally was able to sign into Active.com at about 9:15. She was too late, but put me on the “waiting list”. A week or two later I was notified by the race director that the National Park Service had approved 75 additional entries. She gave me a password that allowed me to sign-in and register. This was not an isolated incident. Carl and Joe had a similar experience with Mannsunutten. Many other races that accept mail-in applications fill within a few days. Hopefully, more of these popular venues will follow Western States, Hardrock and Wasatch and start having a lottery.



And here is the rest of it.

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