Boulder Beast 2018: The Road to Hell is Paved

Here are some photos from the Boulder Beast trail race in Lock Haven, PA (September 22, 2018).

Traversing the boulder field was great fun and not as easy as one might expect. It’s a lot more significant in person than it appears to be from a distance. I wish I had taken more photos, especially through the middle section of the race. But that’s the section where I could only focus on moving ahead to get to the end. I was under prepared, overweight, and running with spasms in my quads most of the way, except, of course, when I was going up those long steep hills, stopping to lean on trees every 10 yards. There was no running then, only spasms.

On one of those hills between mile 11 and 16, I swore to myself this would be the one and only time I did this race. I doubled up on the swearing that night as my legs seized over and over. But as I spotted Rote Overlook high up on the mountain as I headed back to New Jersey on I-80 the next day, I recalled how stunning that view was and I began to miss that course already. Yes, it was damn hard. Yes, I was fairly miserable for long stretches. So what?

Now I have a new goal: get back to Lock Haven next September and do better!

By the way, the first 3 miles of the course are on paved roads, hence the title of this post.

Milling about waiting for the start as the sun came up. Note the boulder field on the mountain to the left.
#352 (Not sure who to give credit to. This was on the Boulder Beast Facebook page.)
A few miles into the woods
Arriving at the boulder field
Going up
Almost to the top
Photo by Michael McNeil
Photo by Michael McNeil
Photo by Michael McNeil

=> Click here to see more photos by Michael McNeil. <=

The view over Lock Haven
The view over Lock Haven
Somewhere after mile 8
The Goat Path
Looking down on the mile 11 aid station from the Goat Path
One of MANY streams. Your feet will get wet on this course!
Not sure where I was at this point
Approaching the mile 16 aid station
The fire road after the mile 16 aid station. I ate a jelly donut while walking this. It was the most amazing thing I ever tasted.
Rote Overlook around mile 19

Forcing a smile with cramps in my thighs
Somewhere near the mile 21 aid station
“The Green Mile” – the paved road at the beginning and end of the course. The boulder field is visible on the mountain.
The Course

Papa Snyder’s Mighty Fine Tomato Sauce

Mighty Fine

I took my first crack at making tomato sauce with fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden.

My wife said, “I think it tastes REALLY good!”

That’s all I needed to hear! `

Take a Look at This

Maybe dad is the one who needs the braille here. He’s not looking where mom and child are looking. Or maybe it’s not dad. Maybe he’s some creep who is checking out mom.

I know you’ve been keeping an eye out for a blog post from me. This one doesn’t appear to be much. But take a look.

This package has braille on it. It was the only package I saw as I wandered around this store. It was somewhere near the center of the store. All I could think was, if a blind guy came in here trying to find this particular item, which is highly likely since this product is specifically marketed to those who consume braille, how would he find it in the middle of this store? He would have to touch every other item up and down the aisles until he found this one. He would undoubtedly knock some products on the floor. If he put them back on the shelf, how would he know they were right side up or not? The store would potentially be a wreck by the time he got to this one pack of crackers that was thoughtful enough to provide braille for sightless shoppers.

That’s how I see it.