My perfect day...

160 days until the Boston marathon.

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In Steve Runner's Intervals podcast, he posed an interesting challenge: describe your perfect day.

This is mine:

I'd wake in my tent, warm in a down sleeping bag, on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.

I'd dress, and make a cup of Italian Roast Starbucks instant coffee on my backpacking stove. I'd sit under a large pine tree , on this small foam pad I found one time while backpacking, and enjoy the drink - warming my hands on the mug. My camp-mates - either friends or my wife and children - would wake, and we'd chat over breakfast.

We pack our backpacks and head up the trail to our next campsite. It would be late summer or early fall, but the sun would still be warm during the day. There'd be no bugs.

We'd stop for lunch near a clear, cool river, and I'd have this spicy beef jerkey a friend of mine regularly obtains from his local butcher. We'd filter some water from the river, and enjoy a nice, cold drinks.

After lunch, we'd walk on for a few miles. It would be hot then, but the trail we'd be on would be following a river, and we'd find a nice deep pool to have a swim in. Afterwards, we'd dry off by laying on the rocks in the sun.

We'd continue on and arrive at our camp for the evening. Under some large pines, we'd find flat bits of ground on which to pitch our tents. We'd cook, perhaps have a fire if there was an existing fire circle, and maybe a bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that one of us would have carried in our pack. We'd joke about the adventures of the day, and reminisce about previous adventures.

Once it was dark, we'd retire to our tents. I'd crawl into my sleeping bag, and turn on my headlight to read for a bit. I'd have a book that I'd been looking forward to reading - something gripping - and I'd read until my eyelids grew heavy and the words began running off the page. I'd turn off my light, open my tent flap, and see millions of stars in the sky. I might sleep with the tent flap open and the screen closed, so I'd get the slight cool breeze. I'd sleep well.

That would be my perfect day.