Bear Creek Trail to Bear Creek Falls

     I've never been in an auto accident before, but when I woke up this morning I imagined that this is what it would feel like to be in one. My entire body ached from the havoc I put on it while dog sledding yesterday. I wanted nothing more than to alternate lying in bed and sitting in the hot tub all day. But as I lay wrapped up in blankets a furry reminder sat his head on the bed that he hadn't been out for a good hike all week.

     When I talk to my [insane] running friend, Andrew, about how he is able to run the miles he is he simply tells me "that the body will do whatever the mind tells it to until it simply cannot." So despite the ache in my muscles, my mind tells my body that today would be a great day for a run. Bosco has been very patient w/ me working full time and taking a full course load of classes this semester. So I pick up my hiking book & flip to my next hike.

     An hour drive later I find myself in a snowy parking lot. A well defined path is nestled itself between the forest & Bear Creek & Bosco & I take off down the trail, alternating between running and scrambling when the path becomes too icy for fast movement.

     Only a mile and a half down the trail cascading pools turn into a small, but beautiful ice covered waterfall. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Sunday. I sat on a ledge overlooking the water flow beneath me thinking about all the things I have to be grateful for in life and, as the year 2011 comes to a close, what I want to improve on in my life in the year to come.