Olympics / Graves Creek June 26-28 2015

Olympics / Graves Creek June 26-28 2015

Quick story: this is a hard loop but worth it. It was said to be 55 miles and 15,000 ft of gain. The variety of scenery make this trip one to look at. I was on the loop from 2pm June 26 till ~6am June 28. I slept at night. 

Longer story:

Gear with me, look at Chinook pass write up for the basic list.

Patagonia nine trails pack, rain shadow pants (light bivy gear) and nano puff jacket (light bivy gear). 

Gemini Emergency bivy sack. 

Altimeter, which I lost. 

Old fanny pack. 

Trekking poles. 

Food I ate:

seven bars

five gels

Two Jeff's special muffins.

two abh and c sandwiches. 

three hammer perpetuem servings. 

two Starbucks refreshers. 

Three small round cheese. 

Beef jerky. 

I saw:

A lot of grouse. 

A herd of elk

Tadpoles. 

Mistakes I made. 

Not attaching the altimeter with build in carabiner to something. 

Not bring my gps unit.

My story

When I thought about this route the key words James Varner route, 15,000 ft of gain, 55 miles and route finding really set in. I know I would have to plan this one a bit different. I did not think I could make John's time on route. I set myself up for a overnight trip. 

I left the car at 2:00. I asked a couple if there was a solo hiker with gear like mine in front of me. They said he had about 10 min on me. I hoped this was Nick up there. First right and Sundown lake ahead for the first leg. I lost my altimeter in this section. I have to thanks Jessica and Nick for tramping the grass down on the trail. This make it easy for me to stay on route in this first section. This first section is a bit boggy. Forget having dry feet on this course. 

Old fondation along the way. 

Views from around six ridge pass

Views from around six ridge pass

At this point things are going well. I am staying on track. All this will change soon. 

I use the trail to descend into a meadow. I see a cairn below me and figure I can find the trail there. I will repeat this next exercise to many times till I work my way to the six ridge trail that follows the ridge crest above Belview. I would lose the trail, pull the map and compass out and find a good direction to go. I would find the trail, continuing along till the next meadow. This really burns a lot of energy, adds miles and elevation I did not need to do. 

Tarn where I filled up my water supply. 

Tadpoles

 McGravey lake. 

 McGravey lake. This place is beautiful. 

Metal tags on trees marking the trail. I saw two total. 

Sunset photos, time for bed. I am not on the trail at this point. I found a great place to spend the night. 

My bivy sack. probably not the best idea for  gear to take, but is does pack to a size of two foil blankets. 

I have been playing in the mountains of WA state for over 30 years. Bivying out where I am not sure of my location is within my comfort zone. I knew once the sun came up I could map and compass my way back to where I needed to be. I sent out a SPOT message to reference latter to see where I spent the night. I knew I was to high. I also knew that there was a trail that lead to a pass that would take me to the ridge. I aimed for that and found it. I used that trail to get above Belview camp on the ridge. 

John, you will find this interesting. While I was walking back on the trail toward Six ridges I came upon two complete sets of clothes.  One female and one male. I wonder if these belonged to your Robin Hood and gal. I no other signs that would lead me to anything else. 

Once I was traveling on the Six ridges life was going well. I enjoyed the views, geology, and weaving trail. The trail let you do some running down to Big log camp. 

Bird in river at Big Log camp

At Big log camp I refilled my water supply and took a food break. Finding the trail in Big log camp took me five minutes. It is not marked but once you find it, it is obvious. 

Taken off bridge by sign above. 

This next section will take me to Marmot lake. It was getting warm in parts of this trail. Luckily there was water around to dip my hat into. There is some great down hill running in this part. 

Marmot lake O'Neil pass area is amazing. This place is be worth the visit. I took a break here and sat for a bit to absorb the beauty of the area.  I can not say enough about this area. This was my favorite spot on the trip. I probably should have gone swimming. The lake is inviting. 

 Marmot lake

 Marmot lake

O'Neil pass from Marmot lake. 

 View from O'Neil pass

View from O'Neil pass

This next section to Quinault river trail runs along the valley. There are good running, narrow trail, full sun, trees for shade and light up hill. I little bit of everything. Once I hit the Quinault river trail I stocked up on water. It was 7:30 now. I knew that John ran through the darkness to get to his car. I have poor night vision. I figured I would make the most of the sun left and started running. I was able to average 18 min mile till 9:30. I spooked a herd of elk in this area. I am glad I spook them and I would have been in big trouble if they had stood their ground. It was getting dark in the forest now. I put my headlamp on and walked on. I am glad I have my trekking poles to catch myself when I stumble. Around 10;30 I was getting tired and decided to spend the night. I hopped in my bivy sack and slept for four and half hours. 

 Lodge at Enchanted valley. I wonder how the materials were delivered? 

Up at 3:00 am I was off to finish this thing off. I am glad I make this decision and I was sharper and able to run the downhill and flat sections once the sun came up. It took me a little over three hours to get back to my car from the bivy site. 

 Last bridge to cross. 

This picnic table has not been used in quite awhile. 

The Chinook Pass/Ohanepecosh River Loop June 14 2015

The Chinook Pass/Ohanepecosh River Loop June 14 2015

Quick story
This is a great loop that offers quality running with views of mountain peaks and valleys, beautiful forest and waterfalls. There is plenty of water on the route. I did the loop clockwise in a little over nine hours.

Longer story. 

Gear with me:

Clothes, 
Scott trail running shoes
Drymax inner layer, Wright outer layer socks
OR: gaiters, cap and gloves.
Patagonia: Houdini jacket and pack, Nine trails vest, beanie and light weight balavica. 
Exofficio:skivvies
Old trusty shorts I love for trail running. 
Cascade Crest 100 tee. (got to go with what takes you to the finish line)
Costco: smartwool zip longsleeve tee.

Hydration:
!00 oz blatter and handheld bottle. 
S-Caps 
MSR filter

Navigation:
Map and compass

Emergency:
Space Blanket
Duct tape
Spot 
First aid kit
Moustique repellent
Headlamp with extra batteries
Whistle
Knife 

Record keeping
Camera with extra batteries
Timex watch (nothing fancy, just the time)

Nutrition:
2 abh and c (almond butter, honey and coconut sandwiches) 
4 gels
2 bars
2 small rounds of cheese
2 Hammer perpetuum servings. 

Entertainment:
Ipod classic

What animals I saw
2 elk
1 momma elk with baby
Small furry things (like squirrels etc)
human with dog
tourist
2 bird together in lake (Loon, duck ?)

What I heard:
Marmet
Grouse
Birds
HD motorcycles

Mistakes made
Did not eat 2nd breakfast before leaving car
Did not read map well enough to avoid adding ~half mile to trip. 

My story

I left the car at Chinook Pass parking lot at 6:45 looking for the correct trail. I found my way east on the PCT crossing over the road. The day was cool and clear. 

This section of trail weaves back and forth over the ridge rise and falling as it goes. I like to play a game with myself to guess where the trail will go next. I spooked two elk in this section. They were 50 yards off but still made a major racket leaving the area. I saw the only other person with a dog for the first two legs also. I loved the openness of this leg with great views. 

This is Dewey lake.

This is Anderson lake

Mt Rainier

I am now in the park. How anyone could drive to this point is beyond me. I ran past much small versions of this for miles. 

Possible water for stop. I had enough and moved on. 

Right turn and lots of running ahead. 

I stopped at three lakes and filled my water supplies up. I made a  Hammer perpetuum also. There is lots of running in this section. It tends downhill for most of it. 

This cabin is at the last lake of the three lakes area. Had I been a little more curious I would have seen the registrar by the door and signed in with my fellow ultrapredestrin wilderness folks. Matt, did Betsy put those bark arrows down so  you would not get lost? 

It was in this area that I was running and spotted a brown head in front of me. It was a little ways ahead and I kept seeing it in and out of the brush on the trail ahead. I got a little closer and to my amazement it was a baby elk. Time to walk, where is moma? Moma comes along in front of the baby and leads it off the trail. Well baby elk is not walking that great and does its best to get off the trail. Once it was far enough off for me to feel safe I ran by. 

Part of the amazing running trail. 

Road crossing just before Silver Falls. 

Silver Falls

The section from Silver fall to the car was a interesting one. 

I saw people. Lots of people around the grove of Patriarchs. This is a nice area, but I was alone and enjoying the solitude for so many miles I was not quite ready for this. ( It was Sunday at noon, what did I expect) 

The river you follow is amazing. The trail is beside it, goes out and comes back, there are many bridges over it. the waterfall are worth the trip in itself. and the sound of it is there for most of the trail up to Cayuse pass. 

This is the first time I was at the walk/run phase. This gradual climb takes you to deer camp. After deer camp be ready for the climb. I think someone forgot what a switch back was in places. 

I took a short break to fill water at one of the little bridges with an ideal break spot. I could have wasted away more time than I had there. 

It was getting warm near the top of the climb. Thankfully there are many water sources for dipping my hat into to cool me off. 

Once I crossed Cayuse pass the trail still climbs, but not as bad. One downfall for me was having the road so close as I was on the trail. Once I topped out at Tipsoo lake I made a minor error. I follow the sign to the PCT. Yes this would have worked, but added three miles I did not need to do. I follow this trail for a quarter mile or so. Then I realized that I should have crossed the road, joined the day hikers for the three tenth's of a mile to my car. Oh well, I guess I needed the extra half mile. 

Kathy, thank you for showing me a new place to run. For anyone thinking of doing this route, do it. It is a great run. 

Fat Dog 2014

Fat Dog 

Aug 14-17 2014

http://www.mountainmadness.ca/fatdog.php#two

I ran Fat Dog because I did not get into Angeles Crest, Hardock or Tahoe 200.  I saw the link on Facebook that a friend of mine Jenn posted. This was no consolation prize, but what look to be a challenge for my 2014 running year.  The other events filled up early or I did not make the lottery cut. 

Leaving Seattle early before the traffic allowed me to get to Manning park BC in a little over 4 hours. The border crossing was a one car wait. With time before the packet pick up, I played tourist checking out the area there. This helped to calm the extra energy I had before my race. As other runner arrived, I chatted with them. 

Drop bag and packet pick up went smoothly. The pre race meeting was well organized. Next we shuttled our cars to a parking lot near the finish as this was a point to point race. A school bus transported us to the hotel in one of the two towns near the start. Dinner was good at the restaurant connected to the hotel in Princeton. It was nice to meet other trail runner from other parts of the country. We had breakfast at the same restaurant before loading the bus for the start. 

10:00am and we are off for the adventure of the Fat Dog. There is a bit of climbing in this section. One nice thing about here is the treeline is lower than I am used to. We had some nice views of of the mountains around us. We also got lucky as there was a high overcast and a few light showers. These did not last, but the clouds kept the temps in the comfortable zone. This section of the run had us runners packed in more than I am used to. I do not know if it was from the all the single track, level of runners or just one of those days. It took me a while before I found the space around me that I like when I run. The one memorable thing about this section was when I was up high. I was running through this open area with three runner 1/4 in front of me. It felt like I was part of the open prairies, I was constantly looking for antelope, buffalo  and other animals that might enjoy this terrain. 

There was this amazing downhill  I was running feeling great that lead us to Calcite Creek aid station. I had added Bruce Springsteen and the e-street band as my pacer. At one point along the way the sun was low, the running was perfect, I was feeling good, I was in low treed forest with great views,I thought this is why I am out there. Does life get better?  It continued down after this to the Pasayten river crossing. The river crossing was a little tricky with rope strung across it. I was getting wet from the fast moving water to my knees. The cool water did feel very good on my legs. 

It was getting dark now at Bonnevier aid station. I switched my thought process for the run at this point. I had been running along well so far. I knew I had some time in the bank so I started to use a little of it. I started hanging out at aid station longer, sitting down in the chairs their enjoying the atmosphere there. 

The next part found me climbing again. I like climbing in the dark. I have poor night vision so this suits my running style. Once I was up high again I hit a patch of trail with the dense clouds. This made for very poor vision. I and the other runner around could not see the ribbons but could see the reflective marker spaced further apart. The sun came up at some point so I could start moving faster and pass a few of those many people that had been passing me on this long down hill. 

At mile 78 I was at Cascades aid station and it was morning. I did a dumb thing planning for this aid station. I had my warmer coat and gloves here. Why I did this I have know idea. I had a jacket and gloves with me. They were just fine for what I needed. I was starting to feel the miles now. I could still run ok. This marks the easier part of the course. We were running flat city park like trail with a sections of short steep up and down.

There is a section of mosquito infested trail before you arrive at camp Mowich aid station to Skyline. If you have the strength to run they leave you alone. I was walking once I left camp Mowich. Luckily one of the runner near me had some mosquito repellent until I arrive at the aid station. 

I was a bit tired now. Once I arrived at Skyline I took a short nap. I figured 100 miles in, 20 to go with 7,000 ft of gain and 16 hours to make it happen. I can relax a little more. After leaving Skyline I caught a runner that turned out to be Jenn. It was nice to chat with her for a good section of the climb as it got dark. I was not able to hold with her at the top of the climb. She went ahead and I relaxed more at the last two aid stations. 

This section was starting to do me in. I made it through ok but a pacer would have been a lot safer for me. Each runner that passed me asked how I was doing. My standard answer was I was tired, I really was. I did not know how tired until I was having some little vision problem just before the sun came up on the second day of running. Once the sun came up I was on the back side of lighting lake. I knew I was close now. 

The course leads you 3/4 of the way around the lake. It was a beautiful morning. The lake was glass calm. The birds were singing their songs. It was a perfect moment.  

I was passed by a few runner that were running. I was walking and feeling great about it. I worked up the energy to run (ok run is a little exaggerated for what I was doing) the last 100 yard to the finish. It is 6:30 something in the morning, I have just run 120 miles with 28,453 feet of gain and about the same loss. Watched the sun set rise and set twice while I am out there on the course. What an amazing experience to have. 

A big thank you to all those volunteers that were out there doing everything they did to help me along the way. I could not have done this without you. This was a first class event. If you enjoy pushing yourself to these levels, please think about this event for your race calendar. It is worth the trip.