Back in the US

I've returned to the US. Getting George here was stressful in Kenya, but easy in the end. The handler I hired tried to do everything via freight, which would have been $1800, but I figured out I could do it by checked baggage, which was super easy and only cost $400. In the US, customs was more interested in whether I was smuggling in food for George than whether he had rabies or crazy tropical infectious diseases. We already went for a 13-mile run in the Berkeley hills. I'm sure George missed all the streams he used to be able to cool off in in Kenya, but I think he had fun.

I'll be very busy for the next several weeks going back and forth between the Bay Area and Philadelphia, as well as running the Wasatch 100. I'm still looking for an additional pacer for the race. I'm also in the market for a used Toyota truck so I can move my stuff to Philly.

Lastly, more people I know have passed away in pursuit of adventure. I don't know what the hell is going on. First, Michael Popov died of exposure and dehydration in Death Valley on what was supposed to be a simple 6-mile run. And PCT Trail Angel Asabat was found dead of natural causes in his campsite on the PCT in Washington. I didn't know either of these men very well, but they were close to many in my ultra and backpacking tribes, and Michael was very close with my friend and race director SS. My heart goes out to all those who loved them.

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