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Finally Fishing

 

Yesterday I got out and spent the day fishing. I probably should have gone running, but I really needed a day at the lake with a fly rod in my hand, fishing for trout. It was a really enjoyable change and I am excited for the next opportunity to go again. The weather was perfect, the fishing was steady, and I had great company.

Most years I would have been out fishing plenty of times by this time in the spring, but I have been so consumed with running lately (and the family) that I have hardly fished at all. Speaking of running; I had a really big week, for me, in regards to mileage last week, but this week has started out a little slow. I have some fun running planned through the rest of the week though, so I should stay right on track. I have also really been enjoying being back in the gym wrestling. Between getting ready to go to Mexico with the family, and being gone in Mexico on vacation, it feels like I have not seriously trained on the mat for a month. It has been fun to be back on the mat and it is good to see my friends at the gym.

 

 

 

Jay Kincaid

Spring is Here

It was a great week to be back in Nevada. We have perfect Spring weather, with highs in the low 70's and lows in the mid 30's. I feel like I have adjusted well to what seems like heat, compared to winter, but the dogs are struggling a bit with it. The first month or two of warmer weather always seems to make running extra hard on them, but they will come around. Keeping them on shorter runs and around water definitely helps.

Last week I got in right around 70 miles. My buddy Eric and I ran the same 20 mile run on Saturday and Sunday, running from Rancho Park, over Peavine Mountain, to River Bend. I was happy to see that on Sundays run we were only 12 minutes off our time from the previous day. I will take that.

Sunday morning when my alarm went off I actually grabbed my phone and was ready to send Eric a text message that I was not going to make it for the run. I was really tired and the idea of another 20 mile run was kind of overwhelming. I didn't feel particularly physically tired, but I just craved sleep. Luckily I came to my senses, walked out to the kitchen, made an extra strong mix of Energy & Focus, and was ready for the day. It was beautiful on the mountain and I  am really glad that I was there to experience it.

A week ago my body felt like it was really breaking down and I was starting to have some serious concerns. When I flew to Mexico I forgot my Joint Advantage and as a result of that I was off it for two weeks. Since I have been back I have been taking it again and despite the 70 mile week, each day my body has felt better than it did the day before. If I wasn't a believer before, which I already was, I am really a believer now.

Every year I am amazed at how many quail show up in the Spring in the mountains around town. You would think that we have a really big local quail population, which I guess we kind of do, except that they mostly all live in and around the houses. Anyway, every year I am surprised by how quickly you can go from not seeing a quail for weeks while running, to seeing a couple hundred quail a day on the same trail. And, once fall starts coming around, they all seem to disappear just as quickly.

It is supposed to be another 70 degree week here, so lots to do outdoors! I might even go fishing...


Jay Kincaid

Mexico

If I could describe the flight to, and from, Mexico with the 1 1/2 year old twins, in one word, that word would be "terrible". Terrible!!! Aside from that though, we really had a great time. We spent the last 11 days in Cancun on a family vacation, and it was well worth the trip. Between pool time, beach time, playing ball, eating out, and just generally being on the move, the kids were really happy. Momma and myself had a good time too, but there was not a lot of relaxing for either of us on this vacation.

Addison and Chase all dressed up in their swimming gear.

Addison and Momma on the way to the pool.

Addison posing for another picture. She always seems happy to do so.

The twins, happy to be in Mexico.

Chase and myself at the pool.

The view from our patio.

The babies checking out an Iguana.

It was 5.5 miles from here to the end of the beach making it an 11 mile round trip. I intended to run more miles than I did, but the sand inflamed my Achilles a bit so I played it on the conservative side. I still managed to run 77 miles while we were there.

I am excited to be back home in Reno. Yesterday I got in a great run from Patagonia to Hunter Creek Falls. It felt nice to be back in the mountains again. The next two weeks will be my peak weeks in regards to mileage leading up to the race. The trails are in great shape and the weather is nice, so I am looking forward to it. 

 

 

Jay Kincaid 

Not a Great Start

I have learned long ago that a successful day bird hunting has much more to do with positive experiences in the field and positive interaction with the dogs than the number of birds in the bag. Don’t get me wrong, a plethora of birds is always welcome, but it is not required. Happy, healthy dogs, and the opportunity to be out in a beautiful place is all that is really required.

Whether I went left and should have gone right, had a serious streak of bad luck, or just generally experienced the truth regarding the low volume of upland birds that we have in Nevada this year, there were not many birds being put in the bag this weekend. In fact, this was the worst opening weekend (in regards to birds) that I have ever had, period. I hunted 5 separate mountain ranges in 2 days and saw little to make me believe that we have anything resembling a healthy upland bird population. - The good news is that things can only get better from here, the dogs had a good time, Cash had an all time epic retrieve on a cripple, both dogs got to point birds, I got to pull the trigger a few times, we got to see some beautiful country, and everyone is healthy and ready for the next 3 plus month of birds season.

I hope everyone had a great opening weekend of upland bird season here in Nevada, whether you shot limits or not. I am looking forward to getting back after it this coming weekend. All time good year, or all time bad year, I will get my 40 to 50 days in either way.

 

Nothing exciting happening here. Just posing for a picture in front of a really cool rock pile.

 

 

Jay Kincaid

 

A Week in the Mountains

 

Last week was spent in the Nevada Mountains hunting desert Mule Deer. Thank God for good friends, beautiful country, and amazing wildlife. Damn the bad luck, and missed opportunities.

Despite the fact that the last week was unsuccessful in regards to putting a big deer in my freezer, it was however very successful in regards to having a great time and enjoying myself amongst the wildlife and desert mountains. I can’t really ask for more than that.

 

This was a pretty typical mule deer on this trip. We passed on a lot of deer of this caliber, as the goal was a buck at least the next step up from this.

 

  This is not a very good picture as it was taken with my cell phone through my spotting scope. This old gnarly buck was really cool. He has 3 webbed out points on one side and 5 on the other. The stalk just did not quite work out, and I passed on a very marginal shot.

 

The bull elk were in full on crazy mode. They were fighting and bugling and it was generally a great experience to be around. Darin and I had a couple very close encounters with some upset elk that were a whole lot of fun. It was something that every hunter should have the opportunity to experience at least one time. I wish that I had the words to express just how privileged of an experience that it was. My only regret is that I did not have a camera in my hand for the best of it.

 

As pretty as it might be, a full moon like this does not do you any favors when big game hunting. It is never good when you can see your own shadow at night.

 

 

 

Jay Kincaid

 

 

Two Week Countdown

Watching the sun come up as you are running across the side of a mountain is always a great way to start your day. The hard part, obviously, is getting out of bed in the dark so that you are on the trail early enough to enjoy such a sight. I have really been enjoying all the running this summer, and with the last couple of morning feeling a little cooler than the others I can’t help but think that it won’t be long until summer is gone, and soon the morning air will have a cold bite to it. I am really looking forward to that though. Looking forward to being able to run in the mountains again when it is safer for the dogs. Soon enough…

Because of kind of a hectic work schedule lately I have been only making it into the gym for Jiu Jitsu on a sporadic basis, at best. As a result I have been a little frustrated with my Jiu Jitsu lately. Last week was the first consistent week that I have had in about the last six, so that was a nice change. These days I am really motivated by our crop of Purple Belts coming up. They are technically progressive, physically aggressive, and very motivated. As a Black Belt I feel like I am learning more from them right now than anyone else, and their passion is motivating. I am really excited for another consistent week in the gym, and am excited to open up my game a little bit. I think that lately I have fallen into the trap of only using the techniques that I am really comfortable with, but my goal for the week is to play around with all the techniques that I know, while not worrying about the result of that.

If you live out west there is a bird season of some kind opening up in just two weeks. I don’t know about you, but I am ready to go. Dogs are in shape, gear is organized, ATV is serviced, and I could be out the door ready to hunt in less than 5 minutes. It couldn’t come soon enough….

Dog Training, Desert Exploring, and Vicious Allergies

It’s been a little while since I have ran the dogs on birds and it is good to know that nothing has changed. Tuesday I ran the dogs with my buddy Paul and his dogs on some planted pigeons. Nothing too exciting about that, unless you are a dog. The little training session went perfectly and there wasn’t a word spoke in regards to corrections to the dogs. They have done this before….

 Cash backing one of Paul’s Setters.

Porter pointing in the low morning sun.

Cash on point.

 This weekend I headed east with my buddy Darin to go look around the area that I drew a muzzleloader deer tag this fall. Darin knows the area like the back of his hand, so I got the quick tour, and hopefully I can remember some of what I saw. Big thanks to Darin for the great weekend. It is really smoky out in the desert right now as there are lots of big fires wreaking havoc on a lot of good mule deer and sage grouse habitat. It is really a bad deal for the wildlife and they will certainly feel the impact of these fires for years to come.

While some of the country that I saw this weekend looked fairly healthy for mid August, I can say with confidence that I saw areas of the state that I have never seen as dry as they are now. A lot of country is just dead, and when I say dead I mean it literally looked like sand dunes, as that is basically what it has become. Anyone who cares about wildlife also cares about habitat, as you cannot have one without the other, and it is sad to see so much habitat being destroyed by fires, and destroyed by drought.

A red sunrise due to all the desert smoke.

The bummer for me is that between the smoke, the dust, and pollen allergies, I am a complete wreck now. One more night in the desert might have finished me off for good. I am not sure what is an acceptable level of just dealing with allergies, but I think that I am well beyond that.
The good news is that in preparation for hunting season I have done the responsible thing and grown a beard, which by the way won a highly regarded award for the “best beard” at the international Glacier Glove headquarters. Just saying….

Jay Kincaid

Outdoor Retailer

"Nothing could be more lonely and nothing more beautiful than the view at nightfall across the prairies to these huge hill masses, when the lengthening shadows had at last merged into one and the faint after-glow of the red sunset filled the west." - Theodore Roosevelt

Paolo (co-worker, friend, all around good guy) and I were shipped off to the Outdoor Retail Show in Salt Lake City this past week. For the most part I find something enjoyable about all of the business trips that I take, but this one in Salt Lake is one of my favorites. I attended my first O.R. Show around 15 years ago, and I am very fortunate to have a lot of friends in the outdoor industry. This is always a good time to see some of those people, even if it is only briefly.

Salt Lake, much like Reno, is unique in that it is very easy to get away from the city and quickly into the mountains, especially considering that it is indeed a city, not a small mountain town. I was able to hook up with Gary Stott, who is the first boss that I ever had, at the first real job that I ever had, at Cascade Outfitters back when it was located in Springfield Oregon. Gary has run something like 20 ultra marathons, so not only was it fun to run with him, but it was educational as well. It was really nice running on some new trails in some new mountains. I am looking forward to running in the Wasatch Range again as it looks like the trails are endless.

Back in Reno it is relentlessly hot and dry. The river is warm and the fishing is slow. On the trail, I have been running right before dark as that is the only time cool enough to run with the dogs, unless I was to run before work in the dark, which I would rather not. I have been really lucky (and careful) with snakes all summer long, and I hopefully that luck will hold out. Because of this I am basically running the ditch trail every night which at this point in the summer has become a bit repetitive and boring. I am really looking forward to getting back in the mountains and off the flat ground.

This is going to be a busy week for me, but I have a bunch of fun things scheduled. Dog training, deer scouting, and of course trail running. I should have lots to write about next week.

Jay Kincaid

Switching Gears

“I have always tempered my killing with respect for the game pursued. I see the animal not only as a target but as a living creature with more freedom than I will ever have. I take that life if I can, with regret as well as joy, and with sure knowledge that nature’s way of fang and claw or exposure and starvation are a far cruel fate than I bestow.” - Fred Bear

I have said it before and I will say it again; as much as I like to fish, I really rely on it as a crutch to get me through the months of the year that I cannot go bird hunting. With just about a month until bird season opens I have basically hung up my fishing gear for the year and am in full preparation mode for hunting season. September 1^st is a beautiful day. In Nevada that date marks the opener for Doves, and Grouse, which can certainly keep you busy until the Partridge and Quail season opens a little over a month later. Throw a muzzleloader Mule Deer tag in there during the later part of September and that is a receipt for a great start to the season. Lots of great times in some of the most beautiful places that I can imagine, and plenty of opportunity for (true) free range organic meat.

As busy that I have been this summer with the twins and with moving, I have managed to keep the dogs in as good of shape as they have ever been in going into a hunting season. They are fit, healthy, and ready to go. Porter doesn’t run as well in the heat as he used to, but other than that I could not be happier with their health. I am going to run them on pigeons a couple days in August to work out any rust, which I doubt there is, and really just so that they can have some fun while getting back in the grove of hunting. I always like to hit opening day running on all cylinders.

Jay Kincaid

A Busy Week

I got out last week on a little desert trophy fishing expedition with my buddy Darin Elmore. It has been freakishly windy here in Northern Nevada for what seems like months now, and the wind certainly was not our friend that day. As a result we were only able to net one Carp, which Darin caught, but that one fish made it all worthwhile. This is trophy fishing after allJ Darin is one of the very best fly fisherman that I know, so I am always eager to try to learn what I can when I have the opportunity.

This carp knew that he had been caught and is giving us the sad face. No need to frown though, as he was returned back to the water to maybe be caught another day.

 I have been putting the babies in the double stroller (BOB) and have been doing some serious recon missions along the river. We found a couple of runs that looked really good and Friday evening I gave them a try. I was able to land this nice fat rainbow on a stone fly. The good news is that in early spring, which is my favorite time of year to fish the river, there is some really good looking water available within walking distance of the new home. Better winter water than summer water, I believe, and kind of out of the way considering that it is in town.

Let me tell you right now, two babies in a double stroller on dirt trails will wear you out. Saturday morning I was on Dad duty and we did a little 8 mile out and back (my go to evening run this time of year) with the babies in the BOB stroller and it wore me out. It is really hard to get in a rhythm because on cement the stroller will glide so you can use one hand at a time, but on dirt both arms are occupied by pushing. Whoever said being a Dad was easyJ

Finally, I got a chance to get out and see the puppies from Cash and Brand’s litter. They are awesome, and next time around one of them is coming home with me. These puppies are all going to good homes, and I hope for long happy lives for all of them.

Jay Kincaid

ICAST and Sporting Dog Adventures

This last week I was in Orlando for the ICAST fishing show. Those of you who live in the desert with less than 10% humidity, like I do, are certainly out of your element in Florida during the summer months. There is not much that I like about feeling wet all the time, but the show was great, and  I am certainly happy to now be home.

Last Winter I filmed with Jeff Fuller of Sporting Dog Adventures. www.sportingdogadventures.com We ended up shooting two episodes; one on a Chukar hunt, and the other on a Quail hunt. The Chukar episode aired last week on the Sportsman’s Channel, so check it out if you get the chance. We had some challenging conditions, but I think that they did a really nice job of putting the show together. There are not many wild Chukar hunts on television for a reason, and that is because filming it is pretty difficult. I am not sure when the Quail episode is going to air, but I am looking forward to it. Lots of action. I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with Jeff Fuller and hopefully someday we can do something together again.

After being gone for 5 days and the dogs getting no exercise during that time, this is the look that Cash gave me when I got home. He was not happy with me. He got in two long runs this weekend though, so all is forgiven.

Jay Kincaid

Moving and a Shutout

For two days prior to the move Cash shook with nervousness. I got him out of the house to run, but as soon as we arrived back home he was back to the nervous shaking again. Then he decided to stop eating. It’s been two full days at the new house now and he has settled in and is comfortable again. It is crazy what can be stressful to a dog and how they react to that stress.

Sunday morning we went for a short run. Porter spotted a lady carrying a big stick for her dog, ran her down and stole the stick out of her hand. Luckily she was a very nice lady and thought that it was funny. She played with Porter for a while and off we went, Porter with his new stick. He ran with it for about two miles until he started falling behind, then reluctantly dropped it and was off and running again. Some people might frown on this so I will explain… I usually don’t let the dogs retrieve sticks for safety reasons, but if the stick or branch looks safe I let them do with it what they want. When we are just out running I try to let the dogs just be dogs, and Porter loves to run with sticks, tree limbs, etc… (my Dad saw a dog one time impale itself under the tongue with a stick and it came very close to bleeding to death/drowning in its own blood) I have always remember this and will rarely ever throw a stick for the dogs, and always pay attention to what Porter is running/playing with. Some people will tell you that safety reasons aside, you shouldn’t let your hunting dog play with/retrieve sticks because they may decide to retrieve that instead of a bird when hunting. All I can say about that is that Porter, who loves to carry sticks, has retrieved well over 1000 birds in his life and has never retrieved  a stick when he should be retrieving a bird. If your dogs has more desire to retrieve a stick then it does a bird, then despite having a hunting breed, you don’t have a hunting dog. Or there has been fundamental failure by the trainer somewhere along the line. Either way, not good. The same type of people have asked me if because I feed my dogs raw food, do my dogs try to eat the birds that they retrieve. The answer is NO! Ok, I kind of got off track there, but thought it was worth an explanation.

Last night I snuck out before dark to go fish a section of river a couple blocks away from the new house. I regret to inform you that I got shut out, blanked, skunked, whatever you want to call it. I caught nothing but a tree limb and a bad attitude. I didn’t even see a fish surface in the 1 ½ that I was fishing, and I don’t think that I was the only one having a hard time. The Fly Syndicate (Great Blog, by the way) http://theflysyndicate.blogspot.com/ was fishing just upstream from me and it didn’t look real hot for him either. Hopefully he did better than me though. So, that was a little disappointing. Good news though, only two months until bird season is open out west. If you are willing to travel and get creative, September can be a great month for upland bird hunting.

Jay Kincaid

Napa and NASCAR

 

My wife and I have a weekend trip that we do every year for our anniversary in Napa. It is a really fun, social, weekend as we stay with our friend who live there, drink good wine, eat good food, and on Sunday attend the NASCAR race in Sonoma. The races are actually a lot of fun and you will be surprised to know that not everyone who attends is a Hillbilly. Admittedly the first race that we ever went to was the most exciting because seeing it for the first time live it almost looks fake. It is hard to comprehend how fast they are racing, and seeing it on TV does not do it justice.

It was an all Grandma weekend at my house this weekend. My Mom drove down from Oregon to watch the babies while we were out of town, and Lisa's Mom was there as well. Big thanks to my Mom for making the long drive.

I told myself that three days completely off from exercise would be a good idea as I have been feeling a little drained lately. That was a dumb idea. Two days into that three day stretch and I was about to go crazy. I can hardly wait to get some exercise today.

Big congratulations to everyone that ran in the Western States 100 this weekend. It looked like the weather cooled down just in time for the race and the finish times were insane. I have said it before and I stand by my statement that those guys, and gals, (ultra marathoners) are the fittest athletes on the planet, hands down. Very inspiring stuff.

This week we are moving. I have excepted that it is going to be a terrible experience, but we will be happy with the result when it is all over. I am going to try to get as much exercise for myself and the dogs as possible this week, but it is not going to be easy. Knowing that I was going to be out of town last weekend, and anticipation this week of moving is why I decided not to run the Tahoe Rim 50 in a few weeks. With the move, and the babies, and going out of town next month for work for a week, it is just too much right now. I know,..... excuses......

The pit area.

Lap 1

 Getting ready to start.

PUPPIES

I bred one of my dogs, Cash, to a really nice female named Bradi a few month back. Brandi is the kind of quality hunting dog that I would want to keep a puppy from. She is a hunting machine, but is also good natured and very friendly. If I didn’t just have twins 7 months ago I would be keeping a puppy out of this litter, for sure. Hopefully I can talk Ken (Brandi’s owner) into breeding her again in a year, and at that point I will definitely be keeping a dog.

Brandi and the puppies.

Many of you who read my blog know Cash. He is many things to me: Simply he is the best pointing dog that I have ever hunted with (though I could be biased), he is a physical freak, he is good natured, he is friendly, he is gentle with my children, and he is a valued part of my family. Either at home or in the field he constantly amazes me, and I am very lucky to have him in my life.
I would like to think that I taught him to be a good hunting dog, but the reality is that I really didn't teach him anything. I gave him a lot of opportunities to learn and Cash turned himself into a master of his craft.

At this point the puppies are still only a few days old. Some are already sold, but at least right now there is 1 female and 3 males still available. If you are looking to add a quality pointing dog to your family and you live around, or are willing to travel to the Reno area, please call Ken @ (775)750-5078 or email me with any questions – jay(at)glacierglove.com (I changed the @ for spam purposes)

Jay Kincaid

Busy Week

I fished a couple days last week. Monday I slipped out at lunch to try to hook a carp on a fly rod, but despite the fact that there were lots of carp cruising, none of the carp seemed interested in feeding.

Tuesday evening I fished the river and it was going off. Lots of bugs in the air and the fish were eating on the surface like crazy. I have never caught so many trout in one evening, but I didn't take a picture of a single fish. I caught one pretty good one, but like a Jackalope, it slipped out of my hands right as I was posing for a picture. None of the other fish were really of a size that would get you excited to take pictures. The deer pictured above was my only photo from that evening. They always seem really red this time of year on the California side.

I got some good running in this week, but still nothing longer than an hour. It is now officially hot, so I have to stay really close to good water for the dogs.

Stopping at one point to empty some sand out of my shoe I was surprised to be standing on a gazillion tiny little ants. I had to do the quick one foot shuffle to keep them off me while I put my shoe back on. I was glad that nobody was around to see me because I am sure that I looked like a goofball.

As much as I try to keep the dogs away from quail this time of year, there is really no stopping them. They are pointing dogs and pointing is what they do. I have a lot of control of my dogs though, so it is not a big deal. I just tell them to "leave it", verbally pull them off point, and we are off and running again. It isn't their first rodeo, and they know full well the difference between just being out running, and hunting, as they do a plenty of both.

This is where I run the dogs when it is really hot, like it is now. Because there is cold deep water I can run them at temperatures far higher then I normally would. I usually just make a point to stop every mile so that they can get fully submerged. The "Ditch Trail" is a really popular place to run, and fortunately 99% of the people using the trail are nice people with friendly dogs.

Other than that it has just been packing up and getting ready to move. Next weekend my wife and I are in California for NASCAR, then the fallowing weekend we are moving. It is going to be a very busy next few weeks.

Jay Kincaid

All About the Dogs

Dogs run like children, for the pure joy of running. Maybe that is why I am always content to run with the dogs and have never had a human running partner. Or maybe they are just better company. We put in a lot of trail miles last week trying to take advantage of the cool weather and that consumed basically all of my free time. I couldn't find the motivation or time for any long runs, but that aside, with consistent 8 to 10 mile runs almost every day I still managed more miles than I have ever run in a week. This time of year I tend to stick close to areas that have good ground water for the dogs, and that limits the places that I can run. With the cool weather I was able to get out on some of the trails on Peavine that I generally only run during the colder months of the year, and that was a nice change.

Porter and Cash posing for a picture up on Peavine Mountain.

Enjoying a cool evening on Peavine.

Some great single track running.

I am thinking about taking this week off from exercise (other than running the dogs) and maybe seeing a doctor to get some blood work and a basic exam done. I have not felt quite right for a few weeks now, like I have Mono or something, and I think that it is time to break down and see a doctor as things are progressively getting worse. The plus side to this is that I will have a bit of time to go fishing, even if it is just trying to hook a carp with a fly during lunch time, which I am planning on doing today.

Jay Kincaid

Just Plain Busy

We are in the process of moving, and as everyone knows, moving kind of sucks. Once it is all over with it is going to be a good deal, but right now, and for the next few weeks it is not going to be a lot of fun. There are a lot of bonuses to the new home, but one worth mentioning is that I will now be just one block from the river, so I can walk right out my front door and be fishing within minutes.

I have been running with the dogs quite a bit, though for the most part the runs have been short (under 10 miles). Bird season opens in September in most western states, so I am always sure to have the dogs acclimated to the warm weather and in good condition prior to that. Plus, they just like to run, and to be truthful, if it wasn’t for them I might not be motivated to run at all right now.

Other then packing up around the house, getting some miles in with the dogs, and getting to the gym to wrestle as much as possible, I have obviously been spending lots of time with the babies. They are more and more fun every day.

Enjoying time with my little girl, Addison.

I am really not sure how much fishing I am going to get in this month with everything else going on. Mentally I have kind of switched over to hunting mode as the excitement of getting a good big game tag is still there, and I need to get my muzzle loader all dialed in, although I think that I have given up in the new load that I was working on and am going to go back to the old one that works great. Also, bird season is only three months away, and with the move and everything that goes along with that, those 3 months are going to pass quickly.

Jay Kincaid

Last week of May Update

This last week was pretty mellow for me after the race the weekend before. I allowed myself to eat basically anything that I wanted and didn’t think very much about working out. I did manage to go to the gym to wrestle a couple of days, and I ran a couple of days as well to get some exercise for the dogs.

Friday the big game tag results for Nevada were posted online. I drew a muzzleloader deer tag which I am really happy about, and which will keep me busy the last week of September. If I could hunt big game with only one weapon it would be a muzzleloader. This weekend I went out a couple of times with my buddy Darin and we both shot our muzzleloaders. I am playing with a new load but it still needs a little work, meaning a few more days at the range to get things all dialed in.

No big plans this week. Maybe try to get out and fish a bit, and I need to run the dogs a few times as well. Regarding my own running, I am just going to keep it relaxed for the next week. Instead I am going to focus more on my Jiu Jitsu for a little while. The twins are growing like crazy and everyday their own personalities become more and more apparent. Lots of fun and lots of work.

Jay Kincaid

Silver State 50/50

I have never run in an organized event in my life. Generally I would consider myself to be a better than average runner, but I will be the first to admit that I am not on the level of a good runner or a competitive runner. As most of you who fallow my blog know, my main motivation is simply that I enjoy the act of running and being out in the mountains with my dogs.

This last weekend I ran the 50K event at the Silver State 50/50. (31.5 miles with 6100 feet of vertical gain) Obviously this was a new experience for me and it is one that I am glad that I had the chance to experience. I finished in the middle of the pack, and was very glad for the race to be over when it was. I had some fun moments throughout the run, and I had some miserable moments that just made me want the race to be done with. Even now, a couple of days later, I am on the fence whether or not I will run It again. I just don’t know. Big congratulations to everyone who finished the run 50K race, and big congrats to all the freaks that ran in the 50 mile race.

Sunday we went out to the lake to celebrate the eclipse. The weather was beautiful, fish were being caught, drinks were being drank, good food was being eaten, and it was an all around good time.

My best attempt at documenting the eclipse.

Anyone want to celebrate with a scorpion shot?

If you don’t know what is happening here, then I am not explaining… Celebrating the eclipse...

A good view out at the lake.

Jay Kincaid