Harding - Joplin - Santiago Loop

Today’s run came to me after waking up and drinking my first cup of coffee. It’s been like this for me this year. I don’t know why. Planning training runs – something I used to obsess over – is like so not interesting for me now. Hell, do I need to plan what kind of sandwich I’m going to eat next week? Or what song I’m going to listen to on my way to work tomorrow? I don’t know, I’m beginning to think planning is a disease of an OCD economy. Is it crushing our inner-bohemian-hunter-gatherer instincts?

Ok, I just watched a two-hour interview with Noam Chomsky so I’m a little stirred up. Lets move on to the run. It started as an out and back. From the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary up Harding truck trail to the top of Modjeska Peak and back. No big deal, something in the range of 23 miles or so, with a healthy climb of about 4,000 feet.

But then I started to think. How boring is that? Run back on the same trail I ran up? Again, it’s been that way for me this year. I’ve started out on a run with a clear idea of where I’m going. Then my inner-gatherer kicks in. A loop is always preferred over and out and back. And an A to B is always preferred over a loop. But A to B’s entail logistics (which can be hard in areas with no cell reception).

So that was the decision. Mid-Harding. Make it a loop. Up Harding, across Main Divide, down Joplin and Santiago truck trail, then back down Modjeska Grade road to Tucker Wildlife location where my Jeep was waiting.

Plan or no plan. Time on foot. It’s all that matters.