StunGun hits the trail in Bandera Texas

We finally made it to 2016 – The year of Bhutan

With plenty of challenges planned this year, Tom sets the stage with his recent event, Bandera Endurance Run last weekend. Originally noted as the 'Montrail', where they pride themselves with a trail of rugged and brutal beauty where everything cuts, stings, or bites.

50K! 7 hours of rocks, sand, technical climbs, hair-raising decents and plenty of prickly stuff. Fortunately no snake bites.

Congrats Tom! Onward to Red Rock Canyon in Nevada for more trekking, beauty and of course a little mountain biking at 'Bootleg Canyon'. Stay tuned!

At the start with buddy 'DJ'

He's got this.

Looking mighty lonely out there.

This past Sunday was super hot but Tom, Brodie and I rose early to beat the heat at Cedar Ridge Preserve. I was impressed at how many folks were out there getting their miles in.

After six miles of running/hiking in our hiking boots and with 20lbs packs on our backs, Brodie thanks Tom for letting him come along. Oh, and Brodie found Cattail pond to be quite refreshing. Stinky but refreshing.

It's official. In fifteen months I'll be traveling to Bhutan for a 14 day Chomolhari Trek in the Western region of the country. Reaching altitudes of 16,000+ feet on this 5+ level guided trip, I will no doubt need some serious training. Sure it seems I have plenty of time to prepare  but as I study the itinerary it's clear the journey starts now. www.rei.com/adventures/trips/asia/bhutan-cholmolhari-trek 

My travel companion, Tom Gunning, will be my motivational partner in training for this journey. Holding each other accountable is essential in this partnership to ensure an amazing, safe and successful adventure.

So with that in mind, Tom, right off the bat purchased a brand new pair of hiking boots and we hit the trails this past weekend. First, we finished a grueling 5 mile trail run at Cedar Ridge Preserve. Very hilly, very technical. Then Tom strapped on his new boots and we headed back out for a hike. In short, a cake walk compared to what our Trek will ask of us. This simple trail run/hike quickly illustrated that we are most definitely at ground zero in preparing for this journey. So here we go.