Running at Grandfather

Hi, everybody. My knee is getting a little better every day, and the Food Guy is letting me go for longer and longer walks each week. I'm up to 15 minutes now. I keep telling him that I'm ready to go for a good hike, but he says the Vet told him that I have to take it easy for another month or so. I'm getting pretty good at holding my dog bed down, but I'd really rather get outside to have some fun. The Food Guy is still training for the 100 miler in August, and he decided to go for a run/hike to the top of Grandfather Mountain on Sunday. It's a hike I can't go on anyway, so I guess it was a good time for him to knock this one out. See, there are all these exposed rock faces,

slots,

and ladders on the trail. Check out Kramer on the ladder:

And, well, I'm not really a ladder climbing kind of dog. So, I would have had to sit this one out even if my bionic leg was all healed up. I can see why he wanted to do this run though. It has some pretty sweet views.

The real prize is the swinging bridge at the top of Grandfather Mountain.

Normal people drive their cars to the top and pay the entrance fee. Not the Food Guy. He and his buddy Kramer started at the Profile Trailhead over near Blowing Rock. From there it's about 2,500 feet or so to the top of McRae Peak. The climb takes place over about 4 miles, so it's steep! I've gone to almost to the top before once last fall. But we had to turn back because I couldn't make it through one of the boulder gardens. This is the spot that got me:

I told the Food Guy he'd have to finish this one without me another time. Anyway, Kramer set off Sunday morning and made the 9 mile round trip in about 4 hours, which ain't too shabby for a trip with 3,600 feet of elevation gain if you ask me.

The Food Guy has been walking a little slow the last couple of days. I think his quads took a little beating on the way down. Pretty good training for the 100, I suppose. I told him to take it easy. It's supposed to be his "off week" but I don't think that guy gets the meaning of taking time off to recover from his long runs. I mean, geez, he did 40 miles last Saturday.

I'll keep y'all posted on my recovery. Have a great week.