Weekend + Cheating.

Setting up camp! // I did a lot of sitting around while Lee worked.

I cheated on my Whole30 over the weekend but I feel like my excuse for doing so was legitimate. I woke up on Sunday morning, the day of our camping trip, sick to my stomach. I got up with Alice and tried to rally but after 30 minutes, a small handful of blueberries and a few sips of a black coffee, Lee sent me back to bed because I was so miserable. While I slept, Lee and Alice gathered all of our camping gear and prepped the food we planned to take and, when I woke up at 11:30AM, it was all done! But I still felt terrible.

After a bottle of club soda and an alka seltzer, I started to feel well enough for us to still go on our camping trip! So off we went up Big Cottonwood Canyon to the Spruces campground. And when we arrived, after the drive up the winding canyon, I felt sick again.

Lee set up camp. I tried to muster the energy to keep Alice entertained. Lee and Alice ate dinner. And then Alice went to bed. As I sat there feeling sorry for myself, sick to my stomach, having eaten barely anything the entire day, Lee offerred me a beer to help settle my gurgling gut.

I know what you're thinking. Beer?! To settle your stomach?!

Hear me out... I was desperate! And since the bubbles from the alka seltzer and club soda helped me feel better earlier in the day, I figured the beer would also do the same. And I was right! After a half a can of beer and a few nausea-relieving burps I felt well enough to eat a piece of chicken. I went to bed feeling I'd beat this sickness and that all would be better in the morning.

And then I woke up with the other problem that is usually associated with a stomach bug/food poisoning.

All I can say is, thank god our campsite had flush toilets. And despite my new problem, the nausea was gone and I was able to enjoy breakfast with Lee and Alice.

Mill D to Desolation Lake. Wasatch National Forrest.

One of the reasons I wanted to go camping at the Spruces was so that I could do one of my favorite trail runs in the Wasatch National Forrest. And stomach bug and you-know-what be damned, I was going to do that trail run.

Our campsite was only a 1/4 mile from the Mill D North Fork trail head, which climbs out of the canyon toward both upper Millcreek and the Great Western Trail, leading to Scott's Pass. Even though my going was very slow, it felt wonderful to be out on the trail, following the stream, climbing the ridge and passing through aspen meadows as I slowly ran and hiked my way towards my turn-around point.

I felt gassed the entire run but I was determined to make it up to the 9,257-foot meadow where Desolation Lake sits and eventually, I did! I really wanted to run up another mile or so to Red Lover's Ridge to see my favorite bird's-eye view of the lake (see here from few years ago), but I just didn't have the energy. Plus I still had the 4.5-mile return trip to our campsite.

The rest of our camping trip went well. My stomach bug waxed and waned and, mostly I felt well enough to be out there, exploring with Alice, building campfires, and looking for wildlife. Alice enjoyed identifying chipmunks and squirrels, ants and worms, and moths and butterflies. And as we packed up our camp this morning, a female moose wandered through the campsite next to ours.

And as soon as the moose walked away, Alice said, "Let's find another moose, Mama!" Maybe next time, kid.

How was your weekend?

Weekend Workouts: Saturday - Nothing official but Lee and I spent the day cleaning our loft top to bottom for our visitors who arrive today! Sunday - Obviously..... NOTHING!

I finally had a proper meal on Monday night. And W30-approved, too! // I asked her to smile...