Track and Field Blogs - RunDMC

I have now lived in Mammoth Lakes for two summers of 4 months each. I am not a full time resident, but I am also not really a visitor. I have run or hiked almost every trail accessible from town many times. I used to come up here and try to cram in as many things as I could into a long weekend, now I realize just how much I had missed even though I had enjoyed it immensely. I have come to love running certain trails that I would have never known existed as a visitor and I have seen the views at all different times of day and different seasons. It is a much fuller experience than just visiting.

So, what’s your point? You may ask. Well, this past week we took vacation time and did some local stuff and ventured a few hours away too. We went to Saline Valley Hot Springs which is basically a Nudist Colony in Northern Death Valley NP. People go there to “be free” as one friend told me. When we got there I finally understood what he meant. We saw a guy working on his car naked – watch out for that fan belt! It was not what I expected, but I realized that some people enjoy living like that even if only briefly. We were slightly uncomfortable and fully clothed so we had a look at the springs and wild bushes and moved on. We were visitors.

Next we headed over to Yosemite Valley and stayed at Camp 4, the climber’s camp. It is like a little makeshift town. We even heard a guy bring a girl back to his “humble abode” late in the night. When I read about the gold rush, I assume that many towns were similar with rudimentary shelters and not a lot of privacy. Like the gold rush, none of these people are getting rich, but probably are leading much more fulfilling lives because the granite cliffs are their gold. We met at least 4 people who had no home other than Camp 4. These were hard core climbers and hikers living in the Mecca of climbing. They are not weekend warriors, they LIVE climbing. You may never have heard of Alaska Ed, but I can damn sure bet he can climb like a spider. Again, we were visitors but stayed with the locals.

Running is similar in a way. You meet lots of people who decide to run a Marathon, do so and then are done. They are visitors to running. There is certainly merit in this, but most of my running friends live the life. To us Running is not some check box on a list. It is a daily routine that we perform year after year. I ran every day in Yosemite Valley after our hiking was done. It was a joy to look up at Half Dome and Yosemite Falls and run through the falling yellow and red leaves and feel the crisp, cool fall air. For me it was not a question of whether I would run. I’ll keep running until my knees or feet grind into oblivion.

Living in Mammoth the thing I have enjoyed most was meeting all the locals who have a similar love of running, biking, skiing, and the trails. There are lots of them here. They have graciously shown me new places to go and given great advice. I’ve even met a few people in Mammoth who were here just to train and see how fast they can be. They are not pros, but they are living to run. After November 1, I don’t know if I’ll ever be back as more than a visitor, but my appreciation of this place has only been enhanced by living here. I enjoyed every day and I got pretty fit in the process.

“Learn it, Know it, Live it” –Brad Hamilton, Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

“Surfing is not a sport. It's a way of life.” –Jeff Spicoli