Great day for adventure

Practiced setting protection on a climb up Little Cottonwood. Ran/hiked up Cascade Saddle and back. The trail was a lot steeper than I remembered, and the last half mile was in snow at a fifty degree angle, which slowed me down quite a bit since running shoes don't do too well cutting steps. It felt good. 5,800 ft. to 9,500 in five miles and two hours. It really would have taken probably 1.5 hours if the snow wasn't there. I even found a stick to use as an ice ax for the traverses across the snow and the glissades down. It only took 40-something minutes to run down. Why do I enjoy this so much? I enjoy pushing myself, challenging myself, and seeing what I can do.