Extreme Ultra Runner

Raptor Ridge Trail article

2011-09-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

New route connecting Raptor Ridge to North Lost Lake Trail is done

A new 11/4-mile route connecting Raptor Ridge to the North Lost Lake Trail in the Chuckanut Mountain trail system has been completed, thanks to thousands of hours put in by volunteers.

The completed section is part of the Raptor Ridge Trail, making it a total of 13/4 miles, according to Tom Chisholm, trails and open space coordinator for Whatcom County Parks and Recreation Department.

The single-track connector is rideable from the North Lost Lake Trail to the ridge and back. It turns the Raptor Ridge Trail into a loop, so people no longer are limited to going in and back out on the same route.

The department collaborated on the project, which is on county park land, with recreational groups representing trail runners and mountain bikers.

Chisholm said the connector was made possible by the WHIMPs Mountain Bike Coalition, which organized volunteers to build the trail, and Bellingham resident and ultra runner Daniel Probst.

Probst, who often runs on the system's trails, led the effort to get the connector built. It had been part of a trail master plan for the area going back to 1994.

"Without the WHIMPs, we would not have had the manpower to get it done," Chisholm said.

Chisholm said the new route has been a big hit with users. It is open to mountain bikers, runners, hikers and horses.

The build was tough work.

"It was by far our most challenging build," said Mark Peterson, president of WHIMPs, which has had years of experience building and maintaining about 44 miles of mountain biking trails on Galbraith Mountain.

"A lot of it was just hard work. There were big rocks, big trees and big roots," Peterson explained, adding that more than 4,000 volunteer hours went into the trail effort.

Chisholm agreed, adding that hand-built trails like this one take more time than those built with a mini-excavator.

"It took a lot longer to build than they originally thought. It went a lot longer into the year," Chisholm said. "The terrain was extremely rugged, very steep, very rocky with lots and lots of deep organic debris to get through."

He said the trail rolls up and down through forest, with rocks walls and plenty of big, old trees.

"It's very natural," Chisholm said of the connector, adding that it offers an experience similar to what people would find in a national forest or national park.

The work also included putting in a 30-foot puncheon bridge on the new connector, and a 25-foot rock walkway on the old part of the Raptor Ridge Trail, according to Chisholm.

The rock walkway was completed Aug. 18 and was the last piece of the project that has drawn community enthusiasm.

"It's just a cool trail, a gorgeous trail," Peterson said.

TRAIL ACCESS

The best map for the miles of routes in the Chuckanut Mountain trail system is made by Square One Maps. Called "Chuckanut Recreation Area," it can be bought in local outdoor stores or online at squareonemaps.com.

Because the addition to the Raptor Ridge Trail is new, it will not yet be on this map or others. But the Chuckanut Recreation Area map provides an overview of a whole series of trails in this area, including Blanchard State Forest, Larrabee State Park, Lake Padden Park, Lake Samish Park and Squires Lake Park.

There are multiple access points to the Raptor Ridge Trail, including its new section. They include the North Chuckanut Trailhead, Arroyo Park, Pine and Cedar Lakes Trail, off of Cleator Road (for bicyclists). Trail signs will help direct you.

For hikers, the Raptor Ridge Trail itself is likely moderate in difficulty. For mountain bikers, it's moderate to advance in terms of the challenge of the ride; but it requires a lot of fitness to get there.

A less detailed map of the Chuckanut Mountain Trail System, along with descriptions, is online at co.whatcom.wa.us/parks.

Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/09/02/2167524/new-route-connecting-raptor-ridge.html?storylink=addthis#.TmWZ89ZORPw.facebook#ixzz1XWc6WSGe

I am not just a runner! ok maybe I should stick to running

2011-03-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

Learning to Surfski Jan 2011

New route will connect Raptor Ridge to Lost Lake Trail in Chuckanut Mountains

2011-02-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

A new mile-long route in the Chuckanut Mountain trail system will connect Raptor Ridge to the Lost Lake Trail, creating new loops in the process.

The connector is part of a trail master plan for the area going back to 1994, according to Tom Chisholm, trails and open space coordinator for Whatcom County Parks and Recreation Department.

The department is working on the project, which is on county park land, with recreational groups representing trail runners and mountain bikers.

"We're doing more and more of that partnering with recreational groups in town," said Chisholm, adding those relationships are needed with today's budget cutbacks.

So far, they've roughed out the trail and have cleared logs from the proposed route. The WHIMPs Mountain Bike Coalition is organizing volunteers to build the trail.

"It's a great cooperative effort to get a cool thing done," said Mark Peterson, president of the WHIMPs coalition.

The goal is to complete the new multi-use route by May 1.

"If they hadn't stepped up, this trail wouldn't be going in this winter," Chisholm said of the help being provided by the WHIMPs.

The single-track trail will be rideable from the Lost Lake Trail to the ridge and back.

Bellingham resident and ultra runner Daniel Probst, who often runs on the system's trails, is leading the effort. He hoped the new route could be part of the Lost Lake 50K, which is May 7.

The benefits of the route include:

- "It makes a big connection in the Chuckanuts. It will be able to connect and make several new loops," Probst said.

- Pretty scenery, with forested views, ridge formations and a varied understory. "It's thick woods in there, which is cool," Probst said.

- A less strenuous way up the mountain than steeper routes such as Pine and Cedar, Hemlock and Lost Lake trails - all of which are on wide, old logging roads.

Other donations to the trail-building effort include Fairhaven Runners & Walkers, which paid $500 to cover the cost of the permit, and $150 from Skagit Runners for items, such as food, for the trail-building work parties.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TO HELP

Go online to the WHIMPs Mountain Bike Coalition at whimpsmtb.com to check for volunteer work party dates to build the roughly mile-long connector from Raptor Ridge to the Lost Lake Trail.

Learn more about the project in the Chuckanut Mountain trail system by e-mailing Daniel Probst at danieleprobst@yahoo.com.

Reach KIE RELYEA at kie.relyea@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2234.

Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/07/1851665/new-route-will-connect-raptor.html#ixzz1EjJLKxbp

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/07/1851665/new-route-will-connect-raptor.html

2011 TDG Trailer

2011-01-22T04:31:00.000-08:00

REI slide show

2010-11-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you everyone for coming out to see my 2010 TDG presentation at REI.
Check back for info on a second showing coming soon.

Race reports from friends that ran TDG & others

2010-11-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/notes/nicki-rehn/tdg-race-report/155718401116287

http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?keyid=37654

http://networkedblogs.com/8MMze

http://banfftrailtrash.blogspot.com/2010/10/tor-des-geants-italian-adventure-part-5.html

http://web.mac.com/trailmagazin/TRAIL_Magazin/Willkommen.html

Tor des geants, a few questions

2010-10-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

UK reporter Julia buckley asked me these questions

What made you decide to enter the Tor Des Geants? (Your motivations, goals, aims.)
100 milers just weren’t long enough, the thought of running in the alps of Italy, A good reason to take my first “vacation” to Europe, the food, to run the first TDG, Good value

favourite quote from the race?
“ this monster has a bowl of hardrocks for breakfast”
The Hardrock 100 mile endurance run is the hardest mountain ultra in the U.S.
My thoughts on just the second day

If you had to describe your experience of the Tor Des Geants in a couple of sentences what you say?
You could not oversell this race, it defines the word epic and takes it to an inhuman level.
I really want to sleep now.
Wow, those are some big mountains!
Cows get out of the way I have a race to finish.
Thank you my Italian friends, this is incredible!

What were the biggest challenges on the route?
Sleeping when I had the chance
Dealing with the drop bag
Going up stairs when you didn’t have to (showers and beds were upstairs)

the most spectacular places?
The morning climbing the last col. “The jagged peaks pierced the thick clouds like monstrous teeth” but I escaped!
The view from Refugio Coda, you could see out valley d’Aosta almost to the sea.
The climb up to col de la Crosatie, A picture of this climb is what caught my eye and is why I signed up for the race. It’s a huge granite monolith with a staircase made from thousands of carefully stacked rocks.
How did it feel to finish?
Not sure, I’ll tell you when I stop running in my sleep.
Good of course!

How did you prepare for the race?
By pacing at 6 of the toughest 100 mile races in the U.S. and running a 100 miler two weeks before TDG/ this is not advised but i have no brains left.

Which part of your training for the race do you think helped the most?
Time on the feet pacing, running at elevation, massive hill repeats
Having run 10 x 100 mile mountain ultra’s in the last five years.

If you were to take part in the race again what would you do differently?
sleep at the Refugio’s, you are only allowed an hour but it's quite and comfy.

Which item of kit proved the most useful?
Gummy bears and jelly bellies
A high powered headlamp
A wool shirt to regulate the cold temps at night

Overall what did the Tor Des Geants teach you?
I learned that this is hardest race I ever want to run
There are people all over the world just as nuts as I am, and they are good people!

Do you have to be a mega-athlete, with lots of ultras under your belt to tackle a race like this ? Yes! This is not normally my opinion about ultra’s but for this race you must know your ability to endure.

How can ordinary people, maybe runners who’ve just taken part in a few marathons or trail races, get to the stage where they’re ready to take on the Tor Des Geants?
Run, Have fun! Run a little farther, repeat! Become not ordinary

as our Italian translator stated “ Take a moment when you get to the top and look around, you will see something cool” this is what will keep you wanting more

For TDG you should have lost all signs of sanity, your friends should be calling you crazy, you run 100 mile races back to back for fun and you enjoy the buze of being awake for 30+ hours at a time, you think walking for hours is just part of running, and you strike up conversations with imaginary creatures. If you get to the point where this describes you then you are ready for TDG

What would be your top training tips?
Learn to know when you need to eat,drink, sleep,
Train with your drop bag and gear
Run at night
Train on uneven steep rocky stairs, you will really be glad you did.

How has your recovery gone?
Haven’t felt the need to run much but I’m back to it.
It’s taken about a month to get back most of my strength
Luckily very few blisters and the feet have finished peeling

Do you have any post-race tips?
Eat lots
Sleep with someone, so when you wake up in the middle of the night they can tell you the race is over. You will have nightmares for about a week, it’s normal

Some people describe Tor Des Geants as the world’s toughest foot race, do you agree? YES and YES

What’s your next challenge?
Making it in the real world, a much tougher endeavour
Climb Mt Blanc, UTMB self supported then TDG, not my idea but sounds interesting

Will you do it again? Yes, has registration opened yet?

The first few seconds of me running into Gressoney

2010-10-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

http://www.tordesgeants.it/tordesgeants/index.php/eng/video/5

TDG Poster

2010-10-08T13:56:00.001-07:00

Tor des Geants - quick recap

2010-10-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

I love when you count a race by how many days and nights you've been out on the trail. Ok so it took a day and a half longer then I thought it would but not even the leader came in within the estimated winning time. In reality I had no Idea what was going to happen. Coming off of running a 100 miler two weeks before the race and coming down with "feeling of death" sickness during that race I could only hope to finish TDG.

By race day the clean mountain air of the alps the excitement of what I was about to undertake had cleared up any signs of being sick. honestly looking around at the mountains that surround Courmayuer the start and finish of the race hadn't yet put enough fear in me. Little did I know I could not see the tops of the mountains we would spend endless days climbing and descending

It wouldn't be long into the race that I figured out we were all in for the challenge of a lifetime. One that would push the limits of our bodies and our mental determination to continue on. I wont go into how steep the and long the climbs and descents where right now but while crawling over each of the 25 passes I thought about how every race, every adventure run I've done over the last few years
had prepared me for what I had taken on here in the Mountains of Italy

The race its self was amazingly trouble free. Not once did I ever have a doubt that I would not finish. The body held up and only got stronger as I pushed harder to the finish. Of course fatigue, lack of sleep, calorie deprivation and a few insignificant blisters were all part of the fun.

The race organization was amazing if you didn't get caught up in facts and details. The volunteers were always friendly and excited to see you drag yourself into the aid station ringing cowbells, cheering and congratulating you on each step. Couldn't say enough about how great the volunteers were and how much energy they put into the race. Just the thought of them having to clean up after all of us stinky dirty runners earned my respect.

There are many story's still to share about just how epic this race really was and How greatful I was to be a part of it. would I do it again? In a heart beat!

Finish time 5 days 2 hours and 23 minutes
49th out of 179 finishers

Tor Des Geants, on second thought

2010-09-09T09:13:00.001-07:00

My first time frame of 70-80 hrs may have been a bit optimistic considering they expect the first runner to finish in 74hrs, or noon wed. My second best guess now is to finish midnight wed or in 86hrs. Who knows though, that is why I came to run, the unknown in this race is so vast that anything can happen. I still am hoping for a bit of snow, no rain and hopefully some clear sky now and then to take in the views.

Here in Courmayuer, northern Italy a few days now enjoying the people, food, mountains and soon 200 miles of trials. Friends old and new are slowly making there way into town and it's been great to have a little English speaking company and good friends around. I only have 3 sleeps before the race and wish it were just one. the 9hr time difference means that I'm still up in the middle of the night. which for the race is a good thing since I plan on sleeping very little. just a few hours. I have no real schedule just plan to run how I feel like I always do, seems to get me to the finish more often then not.

Cascade Crest 100 #5

2010-09-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon August the 29th I finished my 5th Cascade Crest 100 mile Endurance run. It was supposed to be an easy shake down run for Italy. It turned out to be a good reminder of how things can go bad fast and that a 100 miles is aways a long way to run. let's hope it turns out to have been a good shake out run and that I'll be firing on all cylinders come race day.

Race report will have to wait. sleep is mandatory

Tor Des Geants

2010-08-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

It's just a few weeks before I attempt to run 200 miles in the Italian Alps! Can I do it YES! what will I look like after I finish? Hmm... well after I finished Arrowhead 135 I could not finish one sentence or remember the last. Am I trained? well mentally I am, after pacing at 4 of the toughest ultra this summer. It'll be interesting to see what happens on day two as I pass the 100 mile mark, my usual distance of choice. My goal is to push hard and stay withing the top 50 out of the 300+ runners. I'm hoping for a little bit of bad weather hopefully some snow since I'm perfectly comfortable running in the stuff. Rain on the other hand is always tough to deal with. In the end all I want to do is finish strong and run a smart race. My estimated finish time is around 70hrs but since this is the first running of the race we will all see what unfolds come race day. My bib # is 202 and you'll be able to follow along on the race website as I pass through check points along the course. Still can't believe I'll be running in the Alps in just a few weeks, sure to have some spectacular photos when I get back.

Trail Running Video - Galbarith Mtn

2010-03-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

The Wednesday night run

2010-03-04T02:13:00.000-08:00

The Wednesday night run has been a staple in my life the last five years, even more so then work. Chuckanut 50k is just around the corner, marking the end of winter night running and the start of the daylight runs. 5 years ago is when I entered this running world, it was this groups love of trails and the Chuckanut 50k that got me hooked on ultra running. All because I couldn’t afford a new mountain bike.

Well tonight was my return to the Bike! Don’t fear I‘m still a runner as this years race schedule can prove. I went biking about two weeks ago and strained a tendon or two, and then after last weeks snow shoe adventure I’ve been limping around ever since. In the mean time I’ve been working on getting my race bike back together. Today was the first day that it was ready to hit the trail. So I got geared up to go do a solo night ride while the gang would be out running. I rolled into Fairhaven runners just before 6:00 to let them know of my change of plans. Not that they would waited for me, we have a no wait policy. Morris asked if I like to tag along on there run, How could I refuse. Well, that is after the decision was made to go to Galbraith instead of the initial idea of climbing up to Oyster dome. Which on a bike may have killed me.

It was a full group tonight. We had Morris, Erik, Lindsay, Mike, Grant, Brent and Debra. Even Morris’s wife Debbie with kids Virginia and Kai showed up to cheer us off. I hung my bike on the front of the bus and climbed in.

I followed the gang from the back on the climb up the three pigs trail. I haven’t been in riding shape in years ( make that about 9 years ) and going up hill in the dark is an added challenge. I was able to keep up for the most part and enjoyed the view from the back. Seeing a stream of lights meandering through the dark woods is always fun to watch. I followed behind but was having trouble reading the trail under Morris’s feet. It’s very odd when your so used to just playing follow the leader up the trail. There chosen line up the trail is much different then the line you would take on a bike. I heavily relied on ancient muscle memory to keep me upright. It worked for this section of trail but going up whoopsy woodle was another story. I was deeply winded and it’s a bit more of a technical, muddy trail. About half way up I lost the last headlight in front of me and thought that I had lost them for good. I still pushed hard knowing that all I had to do was make it to the towers then it would be mostly all down hill and I’d have them.

I snuck a short cut up the road and met them at the towers. Heading down the wonderland trail the sky was dark and clear with the moon still below the horizon. The stars were out and I enjoyed viewing the stream of lights now bounding down the trail in front of me with the city lights off in the distance. It was much easier to keep up as we paraded down the mountain. I promised Lindsay I would not run her over from behind but I’m sure it was a bit unnerving to have the sound of tires creeping on her heals. It felt good to be back on the bike but my mind found it strikingly bizarre that I was pedaling and not running.

We finished off our run down Shawn’s trail which is a crazy down hill mountain bike trail. Still in the back I just knew at some point I would follow them off a cliff, as there are some tricky steep sections to this trail. To my relief this wasn’t the case. Morris did his best to break all the ladders on the trail, thankfully avoiding snapping an ankle. Since the gang is now in pre Chuckanut 50k don’t get injured mode. I jammed my knee into the handlebars and whimpered down the trail behind them.

After strapping my bike back on the bus and climbing back in I couldn’t help but notice the blood streaming down Debra’s leg. While doing so I noticed that I too had blood oozing from my knee. We high fived as this is a true sign of a great trail run / ride. Lindsay last not but least showed us her bloody knee which from what I heard was not a true running injury but one acquired while taking “rest” break. It happened while on the run so I say it counts.

We finished off the night at the Fairhaven martini bar where I’ve been eating cheap burgers ( and they have been drinking cheap beer ) for more then the five years. Tonight Morris offered to cover our dinners in celebration of something? Amazingly there where only a few of us that took him up on his offer. Ok the Fairhaven burgers aren’t that great even free. I made up for it by getting a side of wings and two mikes bringing my total bill to a whole $14 about $10 more then it usually is. You see the reason we come here.

After consuming our burgers and talking Guy / Daddy stuff I removed my bike from the front of the bus and headed off for home with a nice buzz to keep me warm.
On the final approach to my house I smelled the warm soft sweet aroma of donuts being cooked at lafeen’s. So of course I had to stop in and get a fresh, one or two. And what do you know when I went to pay for them “Shaun” ( who know’s me as Danimal the runner guy ) said it was on the house! Wow what a night! Wednesday’s are great! Now off to sleep to await the midnight leg cramps!

EXTREME ULTRA RUNNER

2010-03-02T23:36:00.000-08:00

OK so the EXTREME ULTRA RUNNER title is a bit corny but it does describe well the type of adventures I prefer. Here's a short video of the toughest run i may ever do. This is a clip from the Tor des Geants 200 mile race I plan on doing this sept! you tell me if this counts as being extreme? this is the image that got me hooked on the race

video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZli0Dz4XXU

HURT

2010-02-10T02:28:00.000-08:00

I was almost going to write about Orcas Island 50k when I realized there would be a great big gaping hole in my blog where an amazing event took place. That event was the HURT 100. An incredible week of fun, new friends and all of the things that make life so unforgettably precious.

I ran the HURT 100 in 2007 and was blown away by the support from all the volunteers. the race directors put a lot of love into this race and it shows. And even though I never wanted to come back and run it ( because it HURTs!) I new I'd be back to volunteer or pace so that someone else could have the HURT experience.

This year I got that chance when Linda Barton asked me to come pace her. the story will have to unfold another time because I'm really tired right now. Just wanted to get something started because I could not just let it slip by unmentioned. Thank you Linda, Tonya and Jeremy. What a great adventure.

Bridle trails 50k race report.

2010-01-11T19:11:00.000-08:00

What a way to start 2010!

Bridle trails wasn’t on my list of runs until just a week or two before the event. Erik Swordmaker now an ultra veteran had put it on his calendar. He had even managed to run a loop of the course before the event while out on delivery. Who was I to let a 50k slip by that was local, on trails, starts at 3pm and is only $25!

I had no expectations for this race. It was just an excuse to go run in the dark and visit with friends. My PR for the 50k had just dropped to 5hrs last March at Chuckanut. That was an effort all unto itself. Even with training involved. I’ve been putting in some good fun runs but no speed work. There was a suggestion by a friend that I should try to break 5hrs. It got me thinking, well if I feel good and everything comes together then there’s no reason I can’t. Erick’s recon mission had reported that it was a non technical rolling 5+ mile loop repeated 6 times for a total of 31miles or 50k. I am a night runner at heart, so equipped with my Fenix flashlight and Halogen headlamp I was going to go have some fun!

After Scott McCoubrey said go the fun run was on. The weather prediction for the day forecasted torrential downpour but to everyone’s delight it had turned out to be a fabulously warm partially sunny day. I started out with energy and was going to use it as long as I had it. Adam Hewey, Arthur Martineau and I weaved our way through the 5 and 10 mile runners who had left in the wave before us. Half way through the first loop it was just Adam and I chatting and running along at a brisk pace. He mentioned that he gets board running alone and so I figured I’d just keep up with him as long as I could. All I knew of Adam was he had ran a 20:42 at Cascade crest 100 this year taking 3rd. We continued to run the next 2 laps in the light chatting it up and not even thinking of the race. We grabbed our lights for the third lap and talked about how fun night running was and how after a while it becomes second nature. There came a point when we couldn’t even see our feet and thought “Oh maybe we should turn our lights on“.

The course was just as Erik had described. Rolling and none technical, except for the one diagonal log that mysteriously had been chopped up and moved to the side of the trail between lap one and two. Now on lap three, Adam mentioned that we were on a 4:30 pace. I thought to myself “Well, I feel good and we’re half way there so I’ll just keep it up” We continued to chat as we found ourselves surprisingly alone on 5 mile trail filled with almost a hundred people.
On lap four we were just starting to feel the effects of our speedy pace after stopping to refuel. Our legs were a bit tight. That’s almost always a precursor to the condition called
“excruciatingly Painful cramping” We then discussed the merits of salt and how it magically makes cramps the thing of the past. Adam commented that they must be making this course longer each loop. I agreed but thought “yes but wow this run is flying by”
I had been doing a little cheating since sipping on a redbull from lap 3 to the finish. I don’t indorse redbull but I had forgot my caps and the effects of caffeine for me really are incredible. Something tells me now that I may have been able to run as fast even without it’s aid but it’s sure nice. By this time our conversation had slowed but our pace was still on fire. I was really surprised how good I felt. Normally by this point in a 50k my core is straining to keep up with the pace.

On lap 5 I pulled out my secret night running weapon. My trusty Halogen headlamp that leaves LED’s whimpering in there own shadows. I was now confident that we would at least break five hours, something that I had never even thought of in my last twelve 50k finishes. Looking back I guess this was to be lucky 13. We continued to push hard but it had never been a race between us or anyone else. We discussed how much we appreciated Ultra running’s laid back race scene. We were in this together and we were going to finish together.
We continued to push hard right to the end. After crossing the finish line I looked over at the time clock to see that we had just broken 4:30. ( I don’t wear a watch ) Glenn Tachiyama then mentioned that we could take 12 minutes off of that time. Adam confirmed after looking at his watch that we had finished in 4:13 or officially 4:12:36! Wow! Wow! Wow! Did we short the course or something? It just didn’t seem possible that I had just taken 47mins off of my 50k PR. It’s a true statement of how a little competition and camaraderie can push you to excel beyond what you’ve conceived. We even managed to tie for second!

To top off the night Erik in his first 50k ever broke 5hrs coming in at 4:49 and as a side note Terry Sentinella who caught a ride with us finished in 4:36 after running a road half marathon earlier in the day in his preparation for Rocky Raccoon 100.

Thanks everyone! a few more pitures HERE

You can't fake those smiles

Back in action

2010-01-04T16:58:00.000-08:00

Ok so I'm not sure what went wrong but I haven't been able to access my blog for a while. I swear I retried the password a million times. so let's see if I can write more then one sentence at a time and make things a little more permanent as opposed to facebook's one liners.

The "Chilly" Chilly willy

2009-11-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

Done! and thank goodness! it definitely lived up to it name. with only 3hrs of sunlight and freezing temps throughout the night it was a battle to stay comfy. And after completing 7 figure eight loops, or as I saw it 14 loops I was happy for it to be over. Running into an empty parking lot in 27:03 full race report and pictures next week after I get Internet again. Once again the value of companionship (someone to share the pain with) was greatly appreciated, Thanks Van

Cold Stream Chilly willy 100

2009-11-05T16:38:00.001-08:00

Heading North for anogther 100!!

http://clubfatass.com/events/coldstream-chilly-willy-100

Blog? Don't Blog? is something really better then nothing?

2009-10-28T01:45:00.000-07:00

Here I was just about to start blogging again when now all I want to do is just delete my Blog entirely. It’s not that I don’t have good things to write about it’s that I don’t want the pressure of only writing about how good things are. True focusing on the negative will get you know where but somehow it tends to find it’s why into life and just blocking it out is something I have yet to learn. Not that this is a good example of what I’m talking about but this is how my day went.

Just after lunch I was asked to go pick up some parts at a machine shop. The same shop I had dropped off an application to a few months back. I thought, great, I get paid to go check up on a potential new job. Then things got even better when I arrived and found out one of my old bosses from around 9 years ago worked there. We chatted a bit as I waited for them to load the truck. I had left that job with a good impression so I thought, here was my in. Thinking that today may have been a start to something new I drove back to the shop with just a little bit of hope. This was soon to be extinguished when I happen to mention to one of our machinist where I had picked up the parts. He explained in not so friendly words how much the owner of the company was a jerk and how poor the quality of the work that was done there. Hope successfully extinguished. Now I suppose I’ll have to give my “in” a call and see what the real story is but for today it just sucks. So that it’s it for my negative rant for the day.

I did manage to get out for a run up Stewart just before sunset. I’ve found that unlike most runners I know the uplifting affects of running don’t seem to stay with me much longer then the last step on the trail. Maybe you can see why I prefer to run 100 milers. For me it’s a time of rest. No matter how bad a race it’s 20 to 30+ hours of positive drive. This was almost always a guarantee but I’ve been having glimpses that this may not always be the case in the future. Of course I will keep doing it until it doesn’t. In fact I’m going to run another 100 next month.

This was not the blog post I intended. In fact that posting was only about have positive. I was going to write about how some of my favorite running friends have left our group and how I’ve been hitting the trails alone. There is some good news to come but I’ll save it for a special issue.

Still on the run

2009-10-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Damn, is that me looking happy? I need to tap in to that more often. somehow I don't think I smile that much during a work day. I haven't posted much of anything the last few months so I thought maybe I'd try and start that again. With a little bit of self prodding you should see some updates soon.

Cascade crest 100 Mile endurance run

2009-09-05T23:59:00.000-07:00

Pictured above is my incredible crew and pacer Barbara Evans and Monica Ochs.

without them I could not have achieved my goal of running sub 24

Highlights: Having my very own support team!, Getting to the race a day early and getting a great nights sleep. Lucking out on the weather, Running fast with less effort (maybe training does work), Not being allergic to the bee that stung me, running all of the 3 miles of pavement after Hyak mile 53. Seeing the stars come out at night and a magnificent sunrise on thorp mtn. Running like a made man to the the finish and coming in under 24hrs crossing the line in 23hours and 16minutes. finishing my 4th cascade crest race in a row.

Three Peaks Elevation profile

2009-06-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

25hrs 50+ miles 16,000ft of Gain and a whole lot of fun.

Pictures from the Three Peaks Adventure Run

2009-06-11T23:06:00.000-07:00

Third annual Three Peaks Adventure Run

2009-06-09T23:49:00.000-07:00

Sunrise from the top of Mt Eddie at 9,000ft with my good friend Tina Ure (This was all her idea) looking back over the Three peaks course. Peak#1 was Mt Shasta at 14,000ft which we summited at noon the day before in 50 mph winds. Then ran to Black Butte the little rock pile you can see trapped in fog inbetween was Peak #2 and last but not least a gruling climb to Mt. Eddie to catch the sunrise

The third annual Three Peaks Adventure Run

2009-06-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

Arrived here in Mt Shasta last night after enduring a 12hr motorcycle ride. And despite the cup of coffee and two red bulls I had no problem sleeping last night. Today Tina and I will be busy picking up climbing permits, placing drop bags and getting ready for tomorrows big run. Joining us this year is Mark Swanson from Redding Ca. I'll try and post some pre run pictures before the run. Here's a quick idea of what were about to do. At 5am we'll start climbing Mt Shasta. We'll reach the summit at 14,000ft around noon glacade back down to the car, drop off our climbing gear and run to Black Butte. Do an out and back to to the top then head to Tina's house for refueling. Around 10pm we'll leave Tina's house and continue on to reach the summit of Mt Eddie around 3am. Then head down to the PCT trail and follow it to the car which will be our finish line. Total distance of around 50 miles with 15,000ft of elevation gain in roughly 27hrs. Can't wait for the fun to begin.

Twisp river 60k fun run

2009-05-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, Ok I've been really bad at updating my blog. Here's a link to James's Blog with some great pictures from our run.

http://rainshadow-running.blogspot.com/2009/05/twisp-river-fun-run-pictures.html

60k Weekend in Twisp

2009-05-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Heading over on Saturday for a Fun run weekend east of the Cascades. James Varner is hosting a 60k fun run in Twisp that is sure to be a blast ( of 80 degree weather ) I was initially planning to stay home this weekend but Barbara who's never ran over 50k invited me to accompany her on her voyage beyond the 50k so how could I resist.

Oh and by the way despite the photo above it's spring in the northwest and the snow has melted off of Stewart mtn.

Trail work on galbarith / Scouting begins on stewart mtn

2009-05-10T23:36:00.000-07:00

this last Saturday I joined the Lynden Boy scouts on Galbraith mtn for a day of sign hanging. My official job was to ride along and make sure all the trail signs got placed on the right trails facing the correct direction. it was a tough job but someone had to do it. So thanks to the boy scouts there are now 30 new trail signs up on Galbarith to help you find you way. From what I over heard there is also a new 09 trail map just making it's way to the local stores. so now you can't use the excuse I was lost up on Galbarith.

Sunday I made a quick 2.5 hr trip up to Stewart mtn from the Y rd parking lot. the first snow free run I've done up there this year. The day was a little overcast but amazingly Mt. Baker and the twin sisters were in full view. Every time I make the trip to the top I get a renewed interest in hosting a 100 mile ultra up there. Now if I can get my act together maybe 2010 will be the first annual Stewart mtn 100 mile endurance run.

Sorry for the lack of pictures but I haven't been able to find the charger for my camera and a fast computer to upload pictures is hard to come by.

Lookout Glory trail fun run

2009-05-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Lookout Glory trail run was thought up by Morris Arthur who had the idea to take the city bus out to sudden valley ( the far side of lookout Mtn.) then run up and over lookout Mtn. down the glory trail over to Galbraith and finally down through lake padden and back to fairhaven covering about 18 miles. The theory was that we would arrive at the towers around 7:00pm and enjoy a spring sunset on the run down. Enjoyment was had but the sunset was a wet one. the participants for this run were Morris, Ron, Amites, Barbara and I.

the story begins on the way to fairhaven when while driving I saw Ron driving the opposite direction. I just thought he was driving home before the run and didn't think anything of it. I continue on my way to Barbara's where we had planned to meet up and run to fairhaven to catch the bus. As Barby and I run down fairhaven parkway we see Ron in his smiley Doorman van driving towards us and in the opposite direction. He pulled over and we jumped in since we where thinking we were late for the bus. we turn around and head for the bus stop. On the way Ron fills us in on his backward driving. He tells us he had already been at the bus stop at 4 something and didn't see anyone. he was on his way home to check his email again when his saw me drive by then turned around and followed me back to fairhaven. I guess he didn't get the last email that stated we were catching the bus at 5:22

No harm done so we head to the bus stop where we meet up with Amites and take the bus to the bus station. We meet up with Morris who was anxiously waiting for us and jump on the 512 headed to sudden valley. the rain so far was holding off but the forecast was calling for a spring storm with plenty of rain and wind.

on the ride out we chat with the other riders about our little "fun run" as Barbara tries to convince everyone that we're doing a loop and not a one way? we arrive at the bus stop ( which happens to stop right at the logging road we are running ) at 6:10pm. We head up the road noting that it felt much easier to run up since we didn't have to run over Galbraith first as we usually do. It's a fairly unforgiving hour climb up to the broadcast towers. Of course as the tower came into sight the wind kicks up and the rain started it's assault. it just wouldn't be a good lookout run if there wasn't some bad weather to fight through. The rain really isn't so bad compared to the miles of knee deep wet snow we've battled through on prior runs.

with the wind howling through the towers above and the rain continuing it's mission to soak through every piece of clothing we face south to Alamo, CA and shout out to our temporarily relocated trail running partner " Where are you Chuck?" To which we hear no reply. Then make our way down the Glory trail and head towards Galbraith. Yes it's raining and I'm losing feeling in my fingers but I couldn't think of one other thing I'd rather be doing on a Monday afternoon then be out here running in the mtns. with this group of brave adventure runners.

On the scramble up to Galbraith the wind was whipping the rain so hard we're all covering our ears from the pelting rain. Finally making it up onto the trail. We're now on a down hill course to Fairhaven still a good 6 miles away. the sky heavy with clouds continues to darken and as we head into the woods the lights are turned off. I yell back to Barby "don't worry your eyes will adjust" after hearing her gasp at the darkness. Ron and Morris Being veterans of the wed. night runs are right at home in the dark, Amites on the other hand still hasn't got the hang of it. between the five of us somehow we ended up bringing only 3 lights so we just keep them off and enjoy the dark Forrest single track.

Now down on Galbraith lane we joke about who's got a car waiting in the parking lot ( which is where we usually park to run Galbarith ) and how much a beer and a couch would feel a whole lot better then running in the poring rain. No such luck was to be had. As we run across the parking lot towards the padden trail head we look back to see Amites sprinting down the road? we yell out "come on run with us" to which we get no reply not even a missed step. He'd decided to run the road home instead of the trails. So now it's just the four of us that head off into the dark of the padden trails running by braille, still opting to keep the lights off and run as if we had no choice. We make our way around lake padden in almost complete darkness rain drenching us to the core. we're all starting to feel the soreness take over but at the same time are congratulating each other on a good run. I think to my self how epic of a run this is as we have now been running in the rain and total darkness for over an hour and still have a few miles to go. This is the kind of afternoon adventure I live for. We Make it down to fairhaven parkway just a little over 3hs after stepping off the bus. the rain pounding even harder now as we shake hands, give hi fives and head for shelter. Morris takes the prize for farthest traveled since he opts to run and bike the rest of the way home. looks like there will have to be a second round of the eco friendly glory run. Next time we'll pick a sunnier day or will we?

Capital Peak 50 mile report

2009-04-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

Wow that's a lot of running. capital peak was my first 5o mile just three years ago. and since then I haven't really improved my 50mile time, until now! finishing in a smoking fast 8:43 and 8th overall. all the extra training I've been doing with my little running protege is really paying off. I kept saying to myself " you can run this " and with very few exceptions I ran and ran and ran, walking no more then a mile or so. this course is just fast for the amount of elevation it has. with 50 miles of winding single track I was in heaven. HERE's a shot of me at the peak where believe it or not it was snowing! Thanks Glenn. And thank you John for a great race and good times. No more races planned for the near future, but you never know. the trail is always calling me to come run.

New 100 miler in Montana

2009-04-14T01:52:00.000-07:00

This is going on my to-do list. Swan Crest 100

running, running, running

2009-04-06T21:04:00.006-07:00

Running, running and no blogging. So to catch up a little I had a PR at chuckanut 50k fastest 50k ever 5:00:57 and to make things better Barbara on her second ultra ever ran a 5:21.

Wednesday "night" runs have come to an end and we hopefully have seen the last of the snow. though I love the snow. Morris has left to surfski for the summer and Chuck Snyder has skipped town. Wednesday nights will never be the same.

Just got back from a weekend up on the north shore running the Baden Powell with my good friend Barbara . that trail never seems to get any friendlier. just say no to the BP

coming up this weekend is the sun mountain 50k which Barbara and I will both be running. sure to be a great time with my favorite people.

Really I'm not Dead

2009-03-11T17:11:00.000-07:00

No I'm not Dead. Just haven't had time or a computer to blog with. Will fill in all the missing story's in the next week. The current news is that Chuckanut 50k is coming up on the 21st. I'm actually feeling pretty fast so it should be a good race if all goes well. along with the update I'm working on my o9 race, run and crewing schedule. If all goes well I will be back at badwater crewing for my good friend Sarah lowell. Just heading off for the weekly Wednesday night run which is sadly turning into a day run with the time change. I suppose change is good.

Chuckanut 50k training run report compliments of B-ham Barbara

2009-03-02T16:54:00.001-08:00

Chuck S, Mike P, B-ham Barbara, and the Danimal: compliments
Saturday with the middle 18 of Chuckanut- just a couple of crazy kids.

Our hearts raced as we ran at paces almost unfathomable to the plebian runner. Sweat in our eyes, blood on our legs, lumps in our throat, quenched with thirst and a desire to see what we were truly capable of. Reality was a blur as we ascended and descended some of the Pacific North West’s most intense, and grueling terrain; terrain that very few dare to challenge. We pushed harder than we had in our entire lives. We laughed, we cried, we saw things that we knew we could never explain to anyone who wasn’t there. Our run lasted 8 nights and 9 days. At the end we were not friends… we were not enemies… we just were. This was the middle 18 of the Chuckanut 50K course.

[needle scratching off a record]

Ok perhaps that was a tiny embellishment. Here’s another version. You chose which to believe. I recommend the former.

It was a sunny, fresh and crisp mid-morning (10am) when the 4 of us met at our beloved local running store in downtown Fairhaven. I (Barbara) had invited 5 other runners, but none could make it. All had various ‘reasons’, but deep down I knew that the reputation of our Wed runs as being extremely challenging deterred a few runners from “trusting” us to not go overboard in intensity this fine Saturday morning. Dan, Chuck and I are from the regular Wed crew, but we were delighted to be joined by Mike P from Langley, who had joined us during the Winter for a run on Galbraith Mt. organized by Dan. Parenthetically, Mike mispronounces “Galbraith” but I notice that no one has ever corrected him. I hereby request that no one ever does. I for one get a cheap thrill from hearing other people sound silly.

Perhaps I should not target Mike for misstating anything, for due to Chuck’s plan for a mile and a half warm up (which sucked butt on the way back- excuse my advanced use of the English language), the middle 18 we invited Mike on, became middle 21. Mike was questioning America’s ability, or lack thereof, to properly teach mathematics to its citizens. We questioned Canada’s collective flat-out laziness to run an extra flat easy 3 miles.

Much to my delight, we took the middle eightee…ehem…twenty one miles quite relaxed and at an easy pace. This may sound like an oxymoron to non-distance runners, but I considered it to be a weekend fun-run. We enjoyed snips of sunshine all day, and crisp but shorts-friendly temperatures, as well as some 3 days old beautiful snow at places of higher elevation. I had never run the entire course collectively, and Mike had never tasted the sweet goldmine that is the Chuckanut Mt. trails. Dan and Chuck, our seasoned Chuckanut 50K-ers (raced over 4 times each) were our official guides. Chuck rightfully declared he could run the course in his sleep. Knowing Chuck, he probably has a time or two.

The day went off without a hitch, aside from me falling flat on my face in the mud…no joke. The only one to see this was Dan, who very graciously did not laugh when I looked up at him yelling, “Don’t look at me! Move on! Let me suffer alone!”

We spent about 5 hours taking it easy, power walking on steep hills, having conversations that came close to being titled: ‘The Marrieds against the Singles’, taking rests where we all huddled around Dan’s brownies and Chuck Sports blocks, and getting to know each other better.

My personality profiling for the day goes as follows: Mike P was largely hilarious in a sarcastic edgy sort of way (“so Barbara, what’s the deal with you and Dan?”), while somehow maintaining that Canadian charm. We understood most of what he was attempting to communicate, but were a bit lost when he would say things like “ey?” and mispronounce words like “about” and “Galbraith”.

Daniel was his usual over-excited to run in the snow self. During our first hydration- calorie intake break, as we began to unwrap bland cardboard tasting power bars and little crappy Gu pouches, show off Dan busts out with two brownies the size of his head. Jeesh! At least he shared. I have always seen Dan (and Morris) as an over all caretaker and overseer of all of our runs. He has everything a human being would ever need on a run in his pack, and keeps a watchful eye to make sure the pace is appropriate for all and that everyone is safe, sound and happy. This unfortunately goes largely unrecognized, but is very appreciated.

Chuck S was, and always is, our most haphazard runner. Full speed down rocky technical terrain, full 3 miles periods of all out spiriting, fogged glasses and bloodied legs (somehow even on wide fire-road terrain), this is a man who wants to run and puts little in his way to be able to so. He was jokie all day, never broke a sweat or felt his pulse rise, and probably could have taken a 20-mile cool-down at the end of it all. It boggles me that a runner like him could make the joke “OK- Here is where I suck in my gut” while he is running by while I take a photo. As for me, I will sum me up as I suppose the guys would: I spent the day pretending to be offended about jokes made at my expense, being overly defensive and smart-ass while knowing all the while that all they are looking for is to get this rise out of me. I felt great during the run, but really enjoyed (as I sometimes do) lagging way behind for “B-time”. I hoped for an easy run, and I felt that it really was.

In conclusion, Saturday’s run was great. The running alone counts for something, but ultimately, it is the people that I run with that make the experience worthwhile and memorable. I just started to run long-distance in the last 4 months, and feel that if my running partners were taken away from the equation, than I would not do it. Saturday was a perfect example of great personalities joining to do what we all love. Killer company- killer run. Did I mention that the last 1.5 miles sucked butt? Way to sprint it Mike… show off ey?

The often epic Wed. night running gang

2009-02-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

From left to right back to front Morris, Ron, Dan/me, Barbara, Ferndale Chuck.

Wednesdays night run was a truly epic run. We ditched the Idea of running to the top of lookout and instead opted for a 3hr loop run to lost lake then down to the land of the lost then back pine and cedar lakes / hemlock trail. the snow made for a super fun cold long run in the snow. Yes I said "Super fun" run in the snow. These are the days that make life truly memorable.

Anderson Mtn Adventure run to the top

2009-02-23T21:07:00.001-08:00

The Anderson mountain adventure run is a yearly tradition the continues to live up to it's reputation of being Adventurous! This year for the first time we scrambled our way to the absolute top of the mountain. Chuck gives a quick recap of our run below. Barbara who's idea it was to do an adventure run this weekend was out sick and missed the run. Though if I remember correctly it was a lot of snow running that did her ankle in last time and with chuckanut 50k around the corner maybe it was a good thing she did, though we missed her company.

Chuck's run report

We did Anderson and it did not look like a nice day when I walked out at 7:30. It was raining hard and warm. On the way down it looked clear everywhere south BUT Anderson. We did a car drop and eventually found our way to the start. The logging has killed the wonderful wooded trail up the West side but it is at least now clear. The benefit of the logging, GREAT VIEWS of the islands and everything West. When we got to the top road it was plowed. Not an inch of snow on it. It stayed that way until the left cut off to the top. On that road there was 2 to 4 feet of snow underfoot that was so firm you barely sunk in. That is with the exception of the holes that Dan and I kept finding.When we got to the top and flirted our way around the top we looked up and saw that we were not at the top of Anderson but about 200 feet up a cliff there it was. We figured, what the hell. We found our way around and bush whacked to the top. We had 360 views from this knob. Dan called dibs for future fort building.We whacked our way down and "easier" way back to the road/trail. It went on fairly well until we ran into more logging, this time on the East side. They did not obliterate the trail but did a nice job of eroding the upper slopes so that the inevitable slides did. Route finding was tough for about 20 min but we made it down.On the way down the sun came out and it heated up into the upper 50's, heat wave.It was a great run and I'm sure Dan will have more to say about it and I hope some great photos.

Thanks Chuck

Orcas Island 50k first ultra of 09

2009-02-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

My Orcas island race report is a little over do so I better get to it. On Friday the 6th Barbara Jeffery and I headed to Orcas to take part in some trail running mayhem along with 250 other crazy trail runners. It seemed it had been forever since I had done and Ultra. In fact it's been 4 months, way to long. A good deal of my friends are ultra runners and few of them live in my neck of the woods so I was extra excited to see the gang again and make some new ultra memories. But to tell the truth this weekend was all about my good friend Barbara's first ultra. She doesn't like all the attention but She's going to get it. This race wouldn't have been the same if she had not stepped foot on the island to take on the 50k. And all odds were against her as the race approached. Several weeks ago she had sprained her ankle from running in all of the snow and was just on the mend as the race drew near. She hadn't ran a Wednesday night run in over a month and when she did come out just three days before the race she reinjured it right at the end of the run. She was determined to do the race and I for one was not going to get in the way. this year instead of bivying in the wet grass the night before the race or running with James until 2am I had luxury accommodations from Barbara who had rented a cabin at Rosario. It came fully stocked but was missing a few common items like a hair brush and the hot tube had been set to warm, nothing 20 pots of boiling water couldn't fix. Babara did just fine with out a brush and instead resorted to the trusty dinglhopper. Now onto the race! we arrived at Camp Moran an hour before the start and I got busy passing out hugs and hand shakes to all my ultra friends, to many I found out where sidelined from running do to injury. Barbara was struck with first time runner nervousness but still manged to introduce herself to the gang. Before long James spoke up and gave the pre race talk and said 5 minutes to start. We headed out the door and up to the road for the start. 54321 and we were off. I had a good feeling from the start that it was going to be an unforgettable day. I was going to run with Barbara as long as she would let me it was my secret plan to keep her running slow. for the first hour she would shout out every time another 5 minutes passed. it's going to be a long day I kept thinking. As the early morning fog lifted the sun came out making for a perfect day to be out running. With 7,000ft of gain there was some hiking too, which Barbara wasn't to thrilled about since she's more of a runner. She took it in stride though and didn't complain. Running in the deep woods on Orcas is just awe inspiring. the moss covering everything and the fog and sun mix just made you wish you could run all day, wait that's what we were doing. after a few hours we came into the first aid station back at the camp. I chatted with the volunteers and after a bathroom break Barbara feasted on chips and PB&J an ultra runner staple. Back on the trail and now 5hrs into it Barbara commented on how 5hrs just seemed to fly buy. A good sign that she is and Ultra runner. We reached the top of Mt constitution aid station just in the nick of time since James had put in a cut off at the last minute. No worries though we were doing great. I spent more time chatting with the volunteers and taking in the view of Bellingham with Mt baker and the cascades dominating the landscape over the water. I also did my best to get Barabara refuelled for the last leg of the race, a mostly down hill 9 mile sprint to the finish. She was feeling good and wanted to run the rest on her own. So I headed out to enjoy the downhill cruse to the finish. knowing she'd be not to far behind I sprinted across the finish line and ran into the lodge to grab her camera to make sure I get her finish shot. But when I looked up with camera in hand there she was outside the window waving at me looking like she had just finished a 3 mile jog. She had only been 3 minutes behind me. I felt bad about missing her first ultra finish but it really made my day to have run with her and to see that she finished. In the end it was a great weekend for all. Some fast times and some great times. And of course thank you James for a great race. I am many things but I love being an Ultra runner and now Barbara is too. Congratulation B! Later on that night she discovered that she didn't come away completely unscathed when after further inspection. she discovered she had some good blisters between her toes. That's the life of an ultra runner if it's not one thing it's another. if you are on facebook you can see some of the pictures from Orcas in my picture album.

Birthday weekend and yes I'm now 30

2009-02-01T21:54:00.001-08:00

So I turned 30 this last weekend. To me turning 30 isn't much of a big deal. There are many good things in my life and a few not so good things that I'm still taking it one day at a time. What I am hoping for is that in another 30 years I will look back and see that a thirty was when I started taking life a little more seriously. (you know because I'm such a partier) What I've learned so far is that Hoping doesn't always get the results you were looking for. In the last few years I have gained many new friends that are now coming into use as the world that I have created for myself has fallen down around me. I won't get into the details because I'd rather talk about the excellent weekend that I just had. On Saturday my good friend Barbara and I headed up to Alger Alps to take in a rare sunny winter day. It was good to hit the trails with her again since her ankle sprain has kept her off the trails and away from the Wednesday night running group for far to long. At the top of the mountain/Hill we scrambled down through the Blackberries bushes to the rock out cropping which overlooks I-5 to take in the view to the south. In the proses we came away with the good battle wounds that you can see below. To top off a great run we headed back to her place grabbed a bite to eat and watched Ferg Hawk's new Badwater Ultra Marathon movie "The distance of truth" which was good but a little over dramatic. I said it made me want to go run. ( Since I was there this summer crewing for my good friend Sarah Lowell ) Barbara had to point out that watching people suffer for 135 miles in 130 degree heat and seeing pictures of there feet fall off is not something that makes most people want to go run. What can I say I like Extremes. I will run Badwater one day. anyway it was a great way to spend my Birthday. Next year I'll be 31 which will be an official 50k so I'll have to plan something special. On Sunday I got an encore when Barbara joined me for a three hour run through the Chuckanuts. Her longest since the ankle sprain. Later that night I was treated to stake by my roommates for my birthday and moving out party. I've eaten so much in the last 48hrs I'd have to run a 100 just to burn it off. which reminds me that this coming weekend will be my first ultra of 09 the Orcas Island 50k. Looking forward to another good time out on the island and some more time to figure out what the heck I'm going to do with the rest of my life. All I know is that good friends are invaluable, thank you all for you support.

Big Rock Park Adventures.

2009-01-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

This afternoon Amites and I planned a quick run of unknown destination. Just after 4pm we left his apartment complex and headed out to run the railroad trail behind Barkley village. I asked if he had ever been to Big Rock Park he replied "no" neither had I. I had gone looking for it one day while riding my bike around but never found it. looking at a map would of helped. anyway we followed the trails and signs up the few hundred feet of stairs and paths to the top of Alabama hill where after a bit of easy navigation we found the entrance to the park. Now Big Rock park is suppose to be an art garden filled with abstract sculptures. well in my eyes it's full of a bunch of crap. Nothing I would ever pay for or want to own. now there were a "few" one or two that weren't that bad but most of the stuff I see no value in. Don't get me wrong I love art, just not this stuff. Or the piece of crap down on holly street or the pastel kids blocks on Galbraith. as I looked around and saw empty cement slabs where sculptures where to stand I got an Idea. I should make my own sculpture, sneak in after dark sometime, bolt it down then round off the bolt heads. I'll show them what art is. but then I'd be an artist and have to hate myself. so after the two minute art tour we headed back out onto the trail and enjoyed the sun setting over Bellingham bay. And though it was biting cold out it was another great day to live in the "Ham" as Amites calls it. as we were running down the trail talking about the difference between track running and Ultra running Amites dared me to race him in a sprint. Well even though I knew I would not beat him I would give it my best. So after crossing the road we picked out a finish line and said the magic words, Read - Set - Go! the race was on. It wasn't even a fifty yard dash but I gave it my all and for half of the distance I kept up but in the last few yards he pulled away only beating me by a yards length. At the end of our sprint Amites started to laugh and exclaimed " that's the most spontaneous thing I done in the last year" after catching our breath we headed back to the apartment avoiding the dogs that would Eat him if we ran by them. we only ran about 5 miles but it was just good to get out on the trail and spend some time with a good friend. Still wish we could get this guy out for more of our 20 mile runs. Sorry no pictures didn't bring the camera.

Cross chuckanut run

2009-01-21T01:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Morris, Chuck and I ran the classic Cross chuckanut route. Debbie Morris's wife kindly dropped us off at the PNT trail head on blanchard Mtn. the morning was cold and the fog was thick. Soon enough we climbed out of the fog and emerged at the hang glider parking lot in full sunshine. looking down all you could see was fog. Chuck exclaimed " it's like looking down on hell" Morris and I gave him funny look as we tried to figure out what the heck he was talking about. On clear days like this you can see all the way down to rainier. So far the trail had been snow free but by the time we got to the Lilly? lake there was a foot of hard punchy snow. We took British army trail down into the land of the lost where frost covered everything turning it white and made us shiver and reach for our hats. the rest of the route heads up into the chuckanuts where it was so warm and sunny and seemed more like a early spring day. Morris as usual took off down the ridge trail since this is his favorite trail to run fast. the three of us managed to make it back to fairhaven to Morris's house where Debbie had homemade lasagna waiting for us. total time was something around 4.5hrs for 20+ miles. My favorite part of the day was after the run when I was reading a story to Morris's 4 year old daughter and on about the second page I hear Morris start to snore away. It was a good day to run in the mountains with two great guys. A few more pictures HERE

08 The Bonus year

2009-01-12T01:09:00.000-08:00

It's long and unedited. I bet it will give Barbara a headache.

I’ve been thinking of doing a recap of 08 for a while now but I’ve found writing to be near impossible while not being in a positive mood. But if I don’t do it now it will never be.

08 really was a great year. I call it the bonus year because how could it have topped o7 the Year of HURT, Rock & Ice, Hard Rock! and more. In reality 07 should have been the last year. I did not think that I would make it through 08 and really I didn’t but I’ll tell you about the year that was.

08 started out with the presumption that I would not be able to top 07 and defiantly not be able to afford another year of running even on credit. This didn’t stop me from making plans or running to the end. First up was the Arrowhead 135 mile ultra on February 4th in International falls Minnesota.

I had signed up in o7 but withdrew when I got in to rock and Ice. This was the race I thought I might have a chance at winning. The year before only one person on foot finished. That person was Sarah Lowell an elementary teacher from north Carolina who braved the negative forty temperature to be the loan survivor of the 135 miles of the Arrowhead ultra. I’d raced at temperatures between -30 and -40 for 5 days in Yellowknife the year before so I was not afraid of the cold in fact was looking forward to it. To be the soul survivor. Well that was wiped away when on race day the temperature was above freezing. But before I go that far let me tell you about the person I met on the short flight from Minneapolis to international falls aboard a small prop plane with just a hand full of people on it. In my bag I had the latest copy of trail runner in it which had a story on last years soul survivor Sarah Lowell. When I boarded the plane we were told to sit over the wings since there where so few of us. After taking my seat I looked down the isle and see a familiar face walking towards me. It was Sarah Lowell. And after introducing myself we spent the rest of the short flight talking about the race to the other passengers who stood or sat in disbelief of what we were about to do. From this moment on we became great friends. Back to the race. I was really looking forward to another arctic race in a land nicknamed the Ice box of the lower 48. I wasn’t looking forward to the 135 miles of mostly flat terrain. As stated before on race day it was +35 and I ran in shorts most of the day changing out wet socks often.

Then grinding to a holt on day two when the temperature dropped to - 27 and my shoes froze solid just 20 miles from the finish. After thawing my shoes over my stove and getting some sleep I headed off to finish the race in 2 days 5hr and 30mins taking 5th in the foot division. That race had been the farthest I had ever traveled on foot and the one I’ve experienced the most fatigue in. by the time I got back to the hotel and called home I couldn’t finish a sentence with out forgetting what the last word I had said was.

Just nine days after arrowhead I was actually able to run the Orcas Island 50k. Wasn’t a fast run but it was an incredibly sunny day and running not walking with a 30lb sled behind you was heaven.

Next up was Chuckanut 50k not my most favorite race but it’s in my back yard and was the race that started it all. I had been dumb and the weekend before the race I was on a solo adventure run where I injured my ankle wading down a stream in the dark. I still had an ok race but not my best. It was good to get out and run with the local gang again. Those being the Wednesday night mountain runners.

On April 3rd I caught my hand in a mill with a half inch drill bit in it at work and lacerated the tendon in the back of my hand leading to a never ending physical and emotional headache. Of course I could still run so it wasn’t the end of the world yet.

Now onto to the 4 mountain tour which I unknowing ran with my hand in pieces just to days after the accident. Here’s the description from my blog. The date was planned and there was no backing out at this point even with the gloomy weather report. This would be Morris’s last run for the year as he would be switching to kayaking for the summer. It would also be the longest run for both him and Ferndale Chuck. The idea thought up by Morris a year earlier was to run the four small mountains surrounding I-5 including and in this order Chuckanut, Blanchard, Lookout, Galbraith then back down through lake Padden and back to the start and finish at the Fairhaven vet clinic completing a roughly 40 mile loop. The participants were Morris, Ferndale Chuck, Andrew, Wesley and of course me. It was a long and brutal run but all survived to run again another day.

On April 20th I made my first appearance in the local Bellingham herald for being the crazy Ultra runner I am. You can read it HERE Thanks guys

Then came the Hyson Hijinks 100 mile attempt. I learned that thinking I can run a 100 on a whim after a full week of work and no sleep and being under prepared is a bad idea. I made it 66miles and called it good. Being a club fat ass fun run I had no problem bailing out. I let the Birthday boy Chad Hyson finish his own run.

5/10/08 Time for the newly relocated North face endurance challenge 50 mile here in Bellingham. Where again I got to run with the local boys. Catching Andrew in the last 10 miles and using his pacer Morris to finish in my fastest fifty mile time just under 10hrs. Not that impressive but for this course it was good enough for me.

At the very end of May I headed down to Mt Shasta to see my good friend Tina Ure and take part in the second annual Three peaks adventure run. A run dreamed up buy Tina and attempted in 07 where we just missed out on the last summit by half a mile. When freezing weather and route finding problems forced us to skip the summit and head for the car. This year we were prepared for the task at hand. Carrying no less then three GPS’s to lead the way. Again the weather turned out to be spectacular! And threatening all at the same time. The summit of Shasta in the morning went off without a hitch. Despite my crippled hand, still in a brace from the surgery to repair my lacerated tendon. Mostly clear sky’s and mild temperatures. One of those days it just feels good to be alive. Things weren’t looking good though as we made our way to our second summit on Back butte the rock pile that overlooks I-5. There was a storm rolling in and you could see sheets of rain falling on the part of the route we would be traversing during the night. We were even a little leery of standing on the summit of Black butte with the sound on thunder just off in the distance. Amazingly by the time we got to Tina’s house (the second aid station) the storm had passed. Which was a great relief since this next section had doomed us the year before. My favorite part of the three peaks run is the au grotten potatos with strips of Bacon waiting at Tina’s house. We stormed out into the night vowing to summit Mt Eddie. Like well oiled machines we raced up Mt Eddie’s abandoned trails checking and Marking GPS waypoints with precision like we were in the army. The last push to the top didn’t come with out a fight now about 4am. The calm approach didn’t prepare us for the 40mph sustained winds and single digit temperatures greeting us on the top of bald mountain. Me of course in shorts. Success! 3 peaks, 52 miles, 27hrs and over 16,000ft of elevation gain. I really hope I can make it down for the Third annual run.

This is where things get even grander. Back at Arrowhead Sarah Lowell had mentioned that she had applied for the Badwater 135 mile ultra in death valley. She didn’t have a crew at that time so I said if she got in I’d come down and crew for her. Well she got in so now I was going to bad water to Crew! Something I thought I’d never in a million years even go want to watch. Since it’s a road run. Of course I had also Told Tina Ure I’d go run this little race at 9,000ft in Montana called the Devil’s back bone the same week since neither one of us got into Hard rock that year. And instead of canceling on either one I just did both. On Friday I left a 1am and headed east in my truck. My friend Cedar had kindly offered to tag along from Postfalls Idaho and help with some of the driving. Funny thing happened on the way the mandatory pre race meeting. Some 15hrs into the epic drive to Bosemen Montana when crossing the Continental divide I neglected to account for the time difference. So now an hour behind schedule instead of an hour ahead we put the metal to the pedal and made it to the meeting fifteen minutes late after the nonstop 17hr drive. So morning of the race comes the next day. We’re camped just six miles from the start. I wake up and look at my watch. Holy Crap! I’m late. I had slept through all three alarms. I jumped up grabbed my gear reread the directions to the start and jumped on the Motorbike with shorts on and no gloves. Speed a light speed up the graveled road while my hands and legs went numb trying to remember the directions I had just read. Being so shook up from waking up late I took a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of know where as the start time passed as I looked at the time on my bikes display. Tina had thankfully started with out me even though we had planed to run it together. I didn’t miss out to much and was able to meet her at the 25 mile point and continue running with her for the last 25. I’d have to say this is the closest to Hardrock you can get in a 50 mile race. It was just Beautiful running in open meadows and ridge tops in the rocky mountains.

With the race over, cedar drove the 9hr stretch back to his house in Idaho.
Where I grabbed a few hours of sleep before heading to spokan to catch a flight to Las Vegas! for the big event, Badwater! Here I was in Vegas where it’s was a 100 degrees outside and just the day before I was stuffing my water bottle with snow. I grabbed my rental car and headed off for Death valley. After a few more hours of driving I pulled in just as the race meeting had ended as planned. Who do I see walking across the parking lot? My friend Sarah Lowell the Ice princess here to take on the hottest toughest ultra out there. Over the next two days a small group of us take turns keeping the the Ice princess alive and moving in the melting 122 degree heat. Her persistence and ours pay off as together we reach the Mt Whitney Portals just after day break on the third day in 45hrs and 34mins. Good enough for the coveted Badwater buckle. This really was the highlight of my year. I’m even considering running it myself one day just to see what I’m made of. It would hands down be the hardest thing I can think of doing. Especially since I hate, hate roads!

Pumped up from the epic journey and not feeling like I had ran much I bummed a ticket off my Kelowna friend Shanan for the White river 50 mile. This race turned out to be an ominous foretelling of things to come. Since ¾ of the way thought the race I hit a wall. A new wall. One of fatigue of the mind and body. Neither I had really felt during any race past. It took all I had to make it to the finish. What was going on, it’s just 50 miles?

Now it was my turn to really put some miles on. This was the plan. Run Stormy 100 rest two weeks run Cascade Crest 100 rest three weeks run the infamous Plain 100+ Now that’s a good time. I had good intentions at Stormy to run my first 100 mile under 24hrs. I knew the course and it was to be the least technically difficult race I had ever ran. Not easy, just easier then all the rest, in theory that is. The Main flaw in this idea was my mind. For the first time ever I had a mental melt down. I blame it on the fact that the course is two fifty mile loops and I just didn’t want to run it again. After the first loop I lost all motivation. I knew there was more two it and even saw it then. I think I was just running myself into the ground hoping something would take me away from the life I had stuck myself in. People kept pushing me on but at mile 85 I stopped for good. I had had enough. I was locked up physically and emotionally. I just did not care about finishing anymore. Could I have made it to the finish under the cut off? Yes. Did I care anymore? no. This was something I never saw coming. I run because it’s an escape. At this moment it no longer was and the demons that keep me from succeeding in the real world found me mine and did there job.

So I rested for two weeks. Kept positive and geared up for Cascade Crest 100. I love this race and this was going to be my third year running it. Wow! three years in a row. Still seems unbelievable. Will my demons come back to beat me down? I didn’t know. Race day came and I was in good spirits. I was doing what I loved and was surrounded by all my friends. What more can you ask for. The first 40 miles rolled along just as they had the prier years. Running on the Pacific Crest Trail is always a blast. But as darkness fell the body started to become week. I felt a deep imbalance in my core and in my legs. And uneasy feeling that went strait to the bone. What was going on I’m only 40 miles into this thing. I thought I had eaten enough? I wasn’t going to give up this early. I Pushed on and stuffed my face with perogies at the next aid station which seemed to help. Now at mile 55 and right at midnight I reach the dreaded logging road climb. I found myself wanting to fall asleep. This is strange too, since most of the time I don’t feel tired until 4am. I looked for my caffeine pills but in my stupor couldn’t find them. Thankfully My good friend Gilles came along and shared his reserves with me. Which made the difference and kept me going until day break. I was losing time. I kept moving and looking at my watch. Thinking I was here last year at the same time but last year was much worst having two sprained ankles. Thankfully the last half of the course is the most beautiful and this kept my mind from wandering. I think I finished the race only an hour before the cut off. I was still happy to finish and not end up in an ambulance like the year before. I didn’t come away unscathed though. I had gotten bad blisters on my toes and the back of both feet.

I rest for now three weeks and get ready for Plain 100 touted as one of the toughest 100s out there. Good reason as there is no aid for the first 60 miles and there are no course markings. Before I get into the ugly let me say this was just incredibly beautiful run. Set in the cascades in the high open wild meadows with the full color of fall on every leaf. You gathered water from the cold clear brooks that flowed along the trail and eat what you had in your pack. It was the most peaceful run I’ve ever been on. Now to the ugly. Some 50 miles into the run and still a long way to my drop bag I began to be aware of the time. What’s going on with the time? I feel like I’ve been moving good and have no funky problems but the time just keeps slipping away. I make it to the my drop bag where the last of the volunteers help me make some soup and tell me I’m the last to go on. Everyone else has dropped. With just one hour before the cut off I head out into the dark alone.

I struggle with sleep again but with the clock ticking and one more cut off to make I push on. Checking the map trying to figure out how hard to push and where I am. Buy this time my blisters are killing me. My old blister from Cascade are reblistering and I’ve just about cut off a whole layer of skin on my little toes. But I push on. Time just keeps going by and I’m close to missing the last check point. In fact I’m now just minutes away and I don’t know how far I have to run. I know It’s less the two miles. How that sounds so easy. Well it was two miles up hill after running 75. I ran as hard as I could I wasn’t going to miss the cut off by minutes. Less then 10 minutes now. Where are they? 9-8-7 I pop out on a road and there’s the race director. I made it with 7 minutes to spare. I’m so out of breath I can hardly talk. He asks if I want to continue. Of course I reply. I’m so pumped. I’m going to do it. There’s No stopping me now! The sun comes up and I run my heart out knowing I have to make it off the mountain and leave two hours to make it the nine miles back to the finish. The first problem arrives as chaffing. It gets so bad I stop and cut out the liner in my shorts hoping that will help. The dust was just starting to take a real toll on my body. My blisters had been killing me from mile fifty on but I was able to push the pain aside I thought I had beaten pain. Again the time flew by and the dust was getting worse as I dropped the 3,000ft to the valley floor. I come out on a logging road section that’s two miles long and down hill. For some reason this sets off a chain reaction in my shoes that forces dust under my toes. Within just a few minutes blisters start to form under my big toes. What I’ve never got blisters there. And they hurt Oh do they hurt. I’m pretty much in tears at this point fighting back the pain. I make it to the last junction at the bottom of the hill the volunteers cheer me on. I don’t stop. I have two hours to run 9 miles on top of the 100 miles I just ran. Yes it’s more then a 100 miles. My feet are killing me they feel like there in a meat grinder. I have plenty of strength left and will but just a mile down the trail the blisters on my big toes pop. I try running through the pain but it is to over whelming. I have no extra time. I have no extra time. Finally the pain becomes to much. The pain of the last fifty and the new cause me to uncontrollably shake. I give in. six miles from the finish with just one hour to get there. Walking hurt no less. Not even shuffling. once I stopped a tidal wave of pain and emotion rolled over me like a freight train. After sitting along side of the trail for almost an hour I stood up and started to make my way down the trail. Thankfully not to far down the trail I came out onto a road wear some kind strangers gave me a ride to the finish where a few had been waiting for me to finish. They said that everyone was calling me rocky and hoping to see me finish just before the cut off. So it wasn’t to be. The last race of the year. The big one. And I had fought so hard. Now I’ll have to go back and take what I have earned.

By the end of the month things at work and in the real world were also hitting the fan. I quit my job and went jobless for the rest of 08. Managed to get in a couple of adventure runs. tried to run a 100 miles on Vancouver's seawall but stopped at 25. Somehow pulled off my club fat ass run in a foot of snow.

What’s left. Oh and I met this girl named Barbara. You know, I think I’ll end my year there for now. I’ll just say that she’s a great new friend that I hope have for many more years. I also just realized that I started my blog this year. It was one hell of a year. In the end, I’m really thankful to have had some great friends to enjoy It with, many who were not mentioned above.

2008-12-29T19:39:00.001-08:00

Good by my digital friend

2008-12-27T00:28:00.000-08:00

It's been a long and brutal Journey. this is the camera I've taken on all my epic trail runs. It's survived -30 at Arrowhead and 122 at badwater. It's been from 300ft below sea level to 14,000ft above. From the Grand Canyon to Western States. it's captured all the photo's you've seen in my blog. It's been ill for several months and during one of my recent outings in the cold it froze to death. the screen froze and the battery door broke off. Amazingly it does still take pictures but is pretty useless. So if you don't see any more pictures up here this is the reason. Good by my digital friend.

Two deep to run but still a lot of fun

2008-12-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

This is the picture the camera took as it nose dived off the post while trying to get a starter photo. The rest of the pictures turned out like the one below. to bad because running in two feet of snow was a hilarious site to see.

Barbara wanted to do a 20 mile Christmas eve run. The plan was to run in Chuckanuts but when I called her in the morning she informed me it was raining outside. So instead of running in a foot of slushy snow and rain we headed over to Stewart mtn. where it was still snowing. At first things looked good. There was only about 10 inches of snow on the ground but once we reached the trail head a few hundred feet up there was a foot and a half of snow. When we reached 3000ft the snow was two to two and a half feet deep and did I mention I was wearing shorts. We didn't stay long at the top and decided to make our way back down. Barbara didn't have a problem following me back down since all she had to do was follow the trail of blood that was dripping from my legs on the nice white snow. After getting lost trying to navigate a different trail down we finally found the right one and managed to make it back to the truck dodging falling snow filled limbs the whole way. We didn't end up running twenty miles but still managed to get in 4hrs of fun in the snow. Looks like we won't be running Stewart anytime soon.

Think it's cold out?

2008-12-21T22:00:00.001-08:00

This is what I looked like after a day of running through the snow at the 2007 Rock and Ice Ultra where temps dropped to -40F to see more pictures from the race

Click

Click

2008 Galbraith mtn tour

2008-12-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

My Cold ass Club Fatass event

For more pictures click HERE

and run Report

We've been elf'd

2008-12-20T05:32:00.000-08:00

The Fairhaven Mountain runners gang has been elf'd. Complements of Barbara

Sorry guys

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/Z7tsYOvEOgRvINOJB2GA

More snow running heaven

2008-12-18T00:34:00.000-08:00

This Wednesday when most people were trying to keep warm and stay inside the Fairhaven mountain runner gang were itching to run in the fresh snow.

Galbraith / Lookout Snow run

2008-12-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

Somehow my well made plans to run Anderson in the snow last Saturday turned into a Galbraith lookout run. I was running 15mins late and had to pick up Chuck in ferdale and then Amites on the way back. I had my 4x4 truck and Morris had his go anywhere bus. But when I showed up and the Park they had already got there coffee and donuts and had come together and agreed to mutiny. I spent half the run trying to figure out what happened to my well made plans. But after I got over it I enjoyed an amazing snowy run with a hearty group of runners. the weather was close to perfect for a snowy winter day. the wind kept it's distance and the sun even made a few appearances. After the run Barbara, Chuck, Amites and Ron crashed at my house, taking turns warming up by the fire and stuffing there face with pizza and beer. the run lasted five hours and we covered a little over 20 miles. to see the rest of the pictures click Here.

Trying to keep warm

2008-12-17T01:43:00.000-08:00

After I found out our furnace is not working I lugged the computer downstairs and set up by the fire.

Strange days ( Warning contains Violence )

2008-12-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

the day started out to be normal enough. My brother offered to put me to work helping him wash windows and since I'm dead broke I agreed. we were washing the inside windows in a new shopping complex. If you didn't know how cold it was out today let me tell you. when i went to wash the glass door the water froze to it instantly. Then I went to wash the double pain glass and the instant the water dripped onto the window sill it froze solid and when I ran my towel over the window frame the towel froze to it. ( it was very comical ) When I got home later this afternoon I checked my messages and Barbara and Amites where waiting for me to join them at the bar just down the road. I'm not the bar type but there was a free dinner involved and I couldn't pass that up. I suppose the company was good too. which brings me to more strangeness. Barbara Emailed me a few weeks back after running across my blog while searching for the race results for the Padden mud fest. ( At least that's what she says ) ( Her favorate line) Since then she's become a regular on Wednesday nights and has happily joined us on our crazy snowy adventure runs. I could probably write a book on what I've learned about her in just these few weeks. To say the least she's an interesting and talented women. I'm going to have to get her to do a bio for my blog. Anyway she's a strange addition to my world. Feels very much like an episode of the Twilight Zone. More on this later. So after dinner I drove home and was greeted by my brother who told me he had been eyeing a rat under the couch. Oh great. Well there was nothing to do but go after the damn thing. We've had so many problems before we have cardboard in the front room for just such occasions. so I maid a castle wall around the couch and sent my brother in after him with a stick. We weren't messing around this time. We put the couch up on it's end and flushed him out. thankfully I couldn't see the floor behind the couch but I did see a stick rapidly swinging back and forth. And after a few thumps my brother jumped over the cardboard wall and said " Quick do something with it" So I grabbed a shoe box and scooped up the still twitching rat. I then placed him out side to freeze to death in peace. Nice story isn't it. My brother then commented " I hope I don't have nightmares" then went off to check his email. And what do you know the Internet was down after last nights brownout. Well after a half hour of unplugging and replugging the router a hundred times it finally started working again, go figure. So I went to check my email and saw that I had two emails sent from Steve that read " I found your new Job" well the only Steve I know is Steve the owner of fairhaven runners. So with some excitement I opened the email. And What do you know It was Spaaaaaaaammmmmm!!!!!!!!!! : ( that's the nice ending for my day ( now 3:09am ) and tomorrow I have to go job hunting then figure out how to pay rent, insurance, the cable bill, the phone bill and then file for bankruptcy. Good night! and sweet dreams!

Wed's full moon run & cupcake surprise!

2008-12-11T01:14:00.000-08:00

This week we headed up to Galbraith and attempted the Lunar eclipse run. We got off to a bad start when my light burnt out the second I turned it on. Ron's battery hadn't held it's charge and was dead. then there was the new guy Rick with a sub standard light. I thought I would make the night more interesting by just running without a light. the moon was out and every once and a while you could see it clearly through the fog. Which got so bad at the top of Galbraith you couldn't see anything, even on the trail it was hard to see. we all survived the run but were running late for burgers so Chuck and Morris kindly ran ahead and drove the bus back to pick us up making it to Beer and burgers just in time. Where Barbara Had a surprise for us " cupcakes " yummy! It wasn't even anyones birthday. All we gave her in return was a night of running in the dark and some muddy squishy shoes. Thank you Barbara! I even got one to take home.

Me

2008-12-08T01:25:00.000-08:00

So I hate writing stuff about myself for many reasons even running related. I've kept to mostly posting on run reports and running info. but over the last few months I've read a few blogs that all talk about what running means to there life and have found them very interesting and real. My thoughts on life and running aren't as deep as most and will surely not be as eloquent but maybe they will be real. I bring this up because I find that I am in some kind of turning point
in my life and my running. Unfortunately brought about by my bad choices in life. No I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol ( Ok maybe running) but I've been living beyond my means for many years and with the addiction of Ultra running the last few years I've dug a very nice hole. I've truly enjoyed every minute of it but yes would have surely enjoyed even more if I could have afforded it. Lately I've heard similar story's from more runners then just myself. Though they're being wise and cutting back before they become like me. I started off in a hole. Well that's enough for this morning.

New running video

2008-12-08T01:00:00.000-08:00

Ferg Hawk White Rock BC resident ( just across the border) and crazy Badwater runner has a new running movie out "The distance of Truth" I've only met Ferg twice once at Fairhaven runners at his Badwater slide show and the other time at Badwater this year where I bumped into him at our hotel. I haven't seen the movie yet but can't wait. Not sure on the title though and I'm an ultra runner. Anyway check it out http://www.thedistanceoftruth.com/ and if you get it invite me over to watch.

Wednesday's night run up ------------------ "Retarded Awesome"

2008-12-04T14:51:00.000-08:00

GPS blue, batteries went dead rest of the route in red

Park butte route

2008-12-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

Total distance 18 miles

Scooting across the log

2008-12-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

Check out these videos of (Amites) and( Chuck )crossing the log. Click on there names to see the video.

Gear Check after Park butte run - Pictures and story below

2008-12-02T03:55:00.000-08:00

The following day I did a gear check and found I was missing a small Ziploc with the lighter, esbit tablet, caffeine, Advil and salt pills. I think it's at the Elbow lake junction. good thing we didn't need to use any of it. As you can see I was prepared for at least a few more days. the most I've ever packed for a run.

Park butte pictures / Story below

2008-12-02T03:35:00.000-08:00

Pictures are not all in order I gave up.

Park butte Adventure run

2008-12-02T02:15:00.000-08:00

My account of our day of route finding, log crossing, cold foot snow running.

The forecast called for 30% chance of rain at 5,000ft. The Mt.Baker weather station reported there was 12inches of snow at 4,000ft. Chuck of Ferndale, Barbara the newbie and surprisingly Amites all agreed to join me for a winter adventure run. The goal was to find the abandoned ridley creek trail and follow it to Mazama camp, then make the 1.5 mile out and back to the Park butte lookout tower and return via Bell pass / Elbow lake trail. The ridley creek trial head is well marked with no warnings of trail conditions. We start off down the trail and within a quarter mile hit the upper arm of the Middle Fork river, our first obstacle. We find a log crossing up stream and scramble out onto the river bed and start searching for the trail on the other side. With no sign of the trail we just pick a spot and head into the woods hoping to stumble upon it. Chuck had a “DETAILED” description of how to find the trail sourced from the internet and I had a GPS track but no trace of the trail was found. We spend an hour or so crossing back and forth over Ridley creek scrambling up and down banks lined with Devil’s club. Which Chuck later commented was the highlight of his day. We finally opted to head back into the woods where upon I started jumping up and down after discovering the "trail!" The trail wasn’t as bad as I had imagined and someone had actually done some trail maintenance. The sun was shining as we made our way up the switch backs. At 3,500ft we hit snow and followed foot prints until abruptly ending in a snow covered meadow. From here we could see the pass and just made a bee line in that direction. Making for good entertainment as we spent a lot of time on our asses siding down several ravines. Now at what we thought was Mazama camp we searched for the shelter hoping to pick up the trail. Amites shouts out “there it is!” to which I reply “What that rock over there?” which upon further inspection turned out to be just a rock. Giving up we scrambled to the pass and resume the search for the trail. From the saddle I recognized railroad grade to the east but with clouds rolling in we couldn’t quite make out our location and the trail was non existent under the snow. The GPS and map didn’t help much either. Barbara suggests we skip the Lookout and go search for the trail leading to elbow lake. Standing around in cold wet shoes we quickly agree and head back down. Now finding the trail to the Mazama camp shelter. Thinking the route finding might be behind us we leave the shelter and head down the snow covered trail only a hundred yards before losing it again in a ravine. Suspecting the trail is on the other side we make the sketchy crossing and pick up the trail on the opposite side. This time being able to follow it down past the snow line and all the way to the elbow lake junction. We snap a group picture, eat, drink, pee and head on our way to the lake. To pass the time we make bets on weather or no we will finish in the dark, I bet no and lose. After the lake there’s one last climb and then it’s a speedy run down to the middle fork river. I especially enjoyed running through the giant old growth cedars and taking in the view of the northern sister, now up close. At the river we confront our last obstacle, another log crossing. I shimmy across first to take pictures and enjoy the comical moment. Which came close to tragic as the log slid part way down the bank with all three on it. Danger being short lived we make our way across and follow the remainder of the trail to the road. Barbara and I run/walk the mile or so up the road to the truck where we then drove back and retrieved Chuck and Amites. Our adventure lasted 7hrs 15mins finishing in the light. To top it off we headed to the legendary Beer shrine where we reminisced on the days hilarities and highlights. I was especially impressed with everyone’s attitude even with cold numb feet I didn’t hear one complaint. I’m happy to announce Barbara has successfully completed her hazing.

Ray Zahab and the South Pole Quest

2008-11-26T00:21:00.000-08:00

In just a few days the most hyper person I've ever met "Besides Gary Robbins" will trek 680 miles to the South Pole. I met Ray up in yellowknife at the rock and Ice ultra. If you ever get a chance to meet him you will agree that Hyper is a good way to describe his personality. It's very entertaining to watch. You can follow along as I will be doing on the expedition's web site. http://www.southpolequest.com/ Hmm? I was just thinking these two are both from Canada. Wander if that has anything to do with the personality trait?

Lights in the sky

2008-11-25T01:55:00.000-08:00

Is that a meteor over Bellingham? Nope just me running on galbraith and a cool exposure

New Ultra Sun Mountain 50K

2008-11-24T19:15:00.000-08:00

Put on buy James Varner and Alison Hanks. Located in the beautiful Methow Valley.
Race Date April 11th. Looks to be a real runners course.

The North Face Endurance Challenge Returns

2008-11-24T17:49:00.000-08:00

Just in, next year The North Face Endurance Challenge will be held on June 6th 09. I ran it this year and Loved the new course. It takes the best trails on Chuckanut and Blanchard Mtn. and combines them making for a fun and challenging 50 mile run. If fifty miles seems a little to far they also offer 10k and up events. entry opens in January. I'll see you there.

http://www2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/

2008-11-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I dug out my Mountain bike, dusted off the saddle and went for a ride. something I hadn't done in way to long. Riding was my first love and boy do I miss the day's of going for long rides up to Mount Baker and exploring new trails on Galbraith and Chuckanut. Hitting the trails on bike and feeling the ground fall away from your tires never gets old. The flying mud, the speed, the fluid muscle reactions and the sense of riding on the edge brings a smile to the soul.

To top off a great day of ridding on Galbraith came an equally satisfying run later that night with the Wednesday night gang. Including some long lost runners and a new female recruit. we'll have to see if she comes back for more since our repeat rate is almost non existent. this weeks group total was "12" which has to be one of the highest in years. we made need to get a bigger bus. or up the membership dues.

Dave Hess and Doug Shepherd's trip report of there 07 Traverse of Mt baker

2008-11-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

My goal is to one day hold a 100 or 135 mile Ultra around Mt. baker to rival the rocky mountains Hard Rock 100 which boasts a hefty 33,000ft of Gain. For o9 I plan on doing a two day supported preview run to see what I'm up against and by reading There report it sounds like it will be a blast! if your interested in joining me just send me an email. You may want to print this out to read, it's 8 pages long. Also if you know one of these guys let me know, I have yet to get a hold of them.

Dave Hess and Doug Shepherd,Mt Baker Traverse
Aug 22-30, Sep 15-16 2007

Background: The Mt. Baker Traverse is approximately a 60 mile cross country loop route around Mt. Baker. This route was reconnoitered by Max Eckenburg, an Assistant Forest Service Ranger in 1935. The only section that he did not hike was from Camp Kiser to Rainbow Creek. His map shows a longer route, approximately 62 miles where the “Round-the Mountain” trail would be constructed. In 1970, and 1971, Baynard Tucker, a Forest Service Ranger worked to design the “Mt. Baker Loop Trail” No. 615. His detailed 30 page plan is broken down into 6 segments. Only a partial segment ever was built which is the Scott Paul Trail, on the south side of the mountain, of which our traverse uses only 1.6 miles for the loop, plus 2.5 miles each way for access from Schreiber's Meadow Trailhead (TH). The miles and elevation profiles on my maps from National Geographic TOPO! are as the crow flies and may be significantly less than the actual miles traveled. We had done reconnaissance for the past four years with day hikes into select areas for route finding. We also had taken pictures of the most difficult sections from Dave Kriener's, Cessna 180 to help figure out the most difficult sections.
We planned on a six day hike but carried food for seven. Our packs were a bit over forty pounds with only the essentials: tent, cooking gear, sleeping bag, foam pad, change of underwear, warm clothes, rain gear, camera, food and water. We carried no GPS and one cell phone. We planned to drink water directly from streams and if the water looked questionable using a drop or two of Clorox per liter. We each carried our own tent and cooking gear so we could hike independently in an emergency. We used trekking poles and for unusually steep and slippery sections used mini instep crampons. We carried a small 5mm 60 ft rope for added safety at stream crossings or for use as a bear rope.
August 22 Day 1
We arrived at the Schreiber’s Meadow TH at 7:40 and were on the trail at 7:50 – 3,200’. We took the E leg of the Scott Paul Trail on a nice sunny day. The trail climbs up thru heavy timber and we got up to Dillard Ridge at 9:30 – 4,580’ in an open meadow with a nice view of Mt. Baker to the N. Just past the meadow heading N is a faint climber’s path where we would be returning after traveling clockwise around the mountain. We headed W on the trail and saw some nice flowers - mountain bistort, sitka valeriam, blue lupine, lewis monkey flower, yellow and lavender daisies and green hellebore. We saw three grouse and one marmot along the trail. We left the trail at 10:50 – 5,100’ and headed NW across the heather and grassy meadows to the E side of Metcalf Moraine. We were planning on dropping straight down to Rocky Creek and then up to Railroad Grade, which had been done before, but the W slope looked like it had slid away and might not have been passable. So we headed S down the E side of the moraine past the rusting frame of a snowmobile and back down to the trail. At 11:30 we crossed Rocky Creek on the swinging bridge and headed S on the trail for a short distance. Then we headed W straight up a steep grassy slope to the top of the moraine. Then we followed a faint path N up to upper Morovitz Meadows where the Railroad Grade trail comes out of the woods to the W side of the moraine at 1:00 – 4,790’. We had a quick snack for lunch and at 1:20 headed W across the meadows but went too far N and had to go down into a steep gulch and back up the other side to get over to Baker Pass at 1:40 at 4,900’. We dropped down the old abandoned trail until we came to an obvious newer trail to the NW, which we mistakenly followed for quite a distance until it came to an abrupt end at 3:00 – 4,880’. This trail was supposed to be the new route for the Ridley Creek trail but was never completed. We turned around and got back down to the old trail again at 3:20 - 4,530’. We followed the old trail down to Mazama Camp at 3:30 – 4,360’ where the shelter was draped with Tibetan prayer flags. We headed N through the grassy meadow at 3:50 and found a small old sign on a tree indicating Baker Pass and Ridley Creek to the N. We soon found where the old trail split and turned W across some small wet meadows. The trail was easy to follow and in fairly good shape except for some big windfalls at one section. When we got to the bottom of the switchbacks and headed W, the trail had become a rocky creek bed and very brushy. We lost the trail at one point, but found it again to the N in the brush. We arrived at the N fork Nooksak River at 6:20 and found the river too high to ford, which was no surprise. We found a flat spot to camp S of the old shelter and got some nice clear water from Ridley Creek. We had dinner at 7:50 and at 9:00 were in bed, one half day behind schedule. DAY 1: Total = 11.1 Miles, Time = 10.5 hours, Avg. MPH = 1.0, Elev Gain = 4,470’, Loss = 4,420’
August 23 Day 2
We got up at 6:00 and at 7:30 left N Fork Nooksak River Camp and upstream about 75 yards found a flat wide spot (marked with red flagging) to ford the river, which had dropped at least one foot overnight. At 8:00 we were across the river and headed up the old Rankin Creek road and got up to the end of the road at the switchback at 10:15 – 3,700’ in the clouds. We headed W thru the thick small alders then turned N following the route of the old road and got up to where the road splits east and west at 11:20 – 4,160’. We then headed NE straight up thru thick brush and timber where Dave picked up three bee stings. We got up to the S end of the user trail on Rankin Ridge at 12:10 – 4,400’ and had lunch in the clouds. We left at 12:20 and headed N up the ridge in the timber and got up to the open basin in the fog at 1:20 – 5,010’and stopped for a quick blueberry snack. We kept heading N across scree slopes and made it up to a small tarn at 2:30 – 5,760’. We got up past the ridge in a near whiteout to a must-cross snowfield at 3:30 – 5,960’. The fog was too thick to see if there was a cliff at the bottom, so we retreated back down to the ridge thinking about camping and waiting out the weather. Doug took a few pictures with his camera and that was the last time he saw it. Soon the fog lifted and we could see the route better and that the cliff was below a berm next to the snowfield. So we climbed back up the ridge, boot kicked down the snowfield and crossed a small creek in a rocky basin below a small glacier. The fog was back again, but we saw six mountain goats on the top of a moraine to the W, which is where we should have gone. We traversed too far N along the scree slope until we got cliffed out, so had to turn back S and tried to climb along the sharp crest of the moraine. We found out it was too steep to hike along (unlike the mountain goats) so we dropped E down to the base of the moraine, then around the S end of it, then headed N in the fog up through large boulder and scree fields. At 7:30 - 5880' we finally arrived at the toe of Thunder Glacier at the site of the Navy PV-1 Ventura plane wreckage (August 29, 1943). The wreckage was discovered by Chuck Eaton about a dozen years ago is still coming out of the glacier and keeps getting covered over with mud slides. Doug had been to this site once before with Dave Kriener and Doug's Grandson Kyle Renninger via the Grouse and Marmot Ridge route. We headed E across the flat rocky basin about ¼ mile and found a nice campsite in the sand at 8:00. It was then that Doug discovered that his Canon G3 camera had fallen out of his pack and was missing. We had dinner at 8:30 and were in bed at 9:15.
Day 2: Total = 7.6 Miles, Time = 12 Hours, Avg. MPH = 0.6, Elev. Gain = 4,440’, Loss = 1,150’.
August 24 th Day 3
We got up at 6:00 and left Thunder Basin Camp at 7:50 in the fog. We headed NW thru steep scree slopes, then grass and heather on up to the top of S Marmot Ridge at 8:50 – 6,280’. We turned N across the flat ridge top, but got too far E in the fog to where we could see the cliffs and snowfields below us. So we headed back S, then W down a steep shale (about the size of pie plates) slope, then N thru open grassy meadows to the N end of the ridge at 9:45 -5,700’. We headed NE down a steep goat trail along the rocky edge of a glacier hoping we were in the right drainage then dropped down a steep scree gully to E Grouse Valley at 10:30 – 5,470’. We headed N straight down Grouse Creek, which was covered with small snow fingers, which made for quick descent until they ended. Doug slipped on a brown algae covered rock and fell down in the creek and skinned his left elbow. So much for dry boots! We dropped down the creek until the brush got too thick, then headed E out of the creek at 11:45 - 4,180’. Then we traversed N thru thick wet vegetation across several steep ravines, then into the timber and down to the Glacier Creek Road and TH at 12:30 – 3,600’. We had lunch and left at 1:25 following the Heliotrope Ridge trail with lots of hikers for about one mile just past Kulshan Creek at 2:45 – 4,300’. We then left the trail and headed N down thru thick timber and were able to avoid cliff bands and got to where we could see Glacier Creek. We followed a brushy avalanche chute with slide alder straight down to the creek. We then headed E upstream a short distance to the confluence of Heliotrope and Glacier Creek at 3:50 – 3,380’. Heliotrope Creek was easy to ford, but Glacier Creek was high and swift. Dave barely made it across safely, so Doug threw him our rope and Dave belayed him across, which along with a stick worked very well. At 4:50 we left and headed N straight up thru steep heavy timber to the spine of Bastille Ridge at 5:20 – 3,710’. We headed E along the ridge and at 6:00 were at 4,090’. The ridge we were on to the S ended and we then had to turn N and go straight up again to get back on the ridge. When we got up to 4,500’ at 7:00 we started traversing to the NW and found a small branch with an orange flag attached, the only bit of flagging we saw on the whole trip. We believe this was a remnant of the Tucker trail survey done in the 70's. We kept traversing to the NW and crossed a big rockslide but were running out of daylight. We finally found a sloped area in the timber that we were able to fill and flatten out a bit for the tents at 8:15 – 4,700’. We had dinner at 9:30 and went to bed at 10:00.
DAY 3: Total = 6.6 Miles, Time = 12 Hours, Avg MPH = 0.5, Elev Gain = 3,210’, Loss = 4,030’
August 25 th Day 4
Dave had precariously pitched his tent on a flat rock that was jutting out from the slope. The rock was smaller than his tent and Dave was awake at 3:45 pulling his sleeping bag back from the edge. He began going over the map and looking at alternatives since it was clear we had fallen far enough behind plan that we wouldn't have enough food to finish the trek. We got up at 6:00 pulled brownish water with sediment from a tiny stream, added three drops of Clorox, made breakfast and left Smith Basin Camp at 7:30. We had a long slog through heavy brush, fighting our way back up to the actual basin. Eventually we traversed E thru thinning timber and at 9:00 – 5,280’ got into the grassy basin in the sun. Once again Tucker knew better when he proposed traversing higher up in the valley. We filled up our water bottles and saw some lewis monkey flowers in the creek. We saw a herd of 30 plus mountain goats to the NW by a clump of trees. We put on our instep crampons and headed straight N up the steep grassy slopes. We got up to Chowder Ridge at 11:30 – 6,700’ and saw some Marmots and Pikas along the way. We scrambled dangerously W along the sharp rocky undulating exposed ridge crest following a goat path. A slip and a fall here was sure to cause serious injury or worse. We eventually made it to a wide open grassy area at 1:30 - 6,700’, a great spot for pictures. We then headed N to the edge of a snowfield, and after the first step Doug was off like a shot a bit out of control glissading down the snow. Dave also glissaded down, maybe a bit more gracefully but did have to hike back up a short way for his hat. We headed straight down open scree and grass slopes at 2:30 – 6,640’ just above Cougar Pass. We then headed E down steep heather slopes to Dobbs Creek Valley at 2:50 – 5,190’. There were nice flowers in the lush meadows along with lots of flies. We headed NE thru short timbered ridges and creek beds at 5:50 – 4,340’ with still lots of flies. We keep heading N straight down thru thick timber zigzagging to avoid cliff bands at 7:00- 3,500’. In all we spent about 7 hours working our way down in places so steep we were hanging onto tree limbs, salmon berry and clumps of grass. We got down to Bar Creek at 7:30 – 3,020’ and made camp on a sand bar, next to a nice small waterfall. We had dinner at 9:00 and went to bed at 9:30. DAY 4: Total = 6.2 Miles, Time = 12 Hours, Avg MPH = 0.5, Elev Gain = 2,350, Loss = 4,440’.
August 26 th Day 5
We got up at 6:00 in the sun and left Barr Creek Camp at 7:30. We found a good place to ford the creek without the rope. At 8:40 we left the creek and headed E straight up a very steep timbered slope this time using tree branches and bushes to pull ourselves up. We had to traverse N a short distance thru side alder to miss a cliff band and then straight E up again and followed a faint game trail to the top of Scholes Ridge at 10:10 – 3,780’ which is flat at this location. We headed SE thru the timber and followed a game trail until we lost it in the brush at 11:00 – 4,160’ and where we had to put on pant legs due to the flies and heavy brush. We broke out into grassy meadows at 11:45 – 4,540’. We came out to an open ridge spine and filled our water bottles at 12:30 – 4,750’. We headed E up the scree slope ridge to an open basin below Scholes Glacier at 1:25 – 5,170’where we stopped for lunch. There were goat tracks everywhere but no goats. There was a huge (30’ diameter) goat wallow and some unique and unusual bonsai mountain hemlocks about 18” in diameter and only 12” tall. We headed NE across two snowfields and at 2:20 were at 5,420’. We then headed E straight up the snow to the S end of the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail at 3:00 – 5,810’. The trail goes a bit further S to the Portals and we saw five groups of hikers. Just over the ridge was Camp Kiser, a rock semicircle built by climbers, where Doug spread out his tent and sleeping bag to dry out. Much to our surprise, Doug's cell phone worked and he called home. Due to our slower than planned progress we were running out of food. Doug called Duane Melcher and told him we were running late and would need a resupply the following evening. We left at 3:50 dropping E down into the open scree gully of Ptarmigan Creek. We crossed to the N side of the creek at 4:30 – 5,200’ and saw one water ouzel. At 5:25 – 4,800’ we saw one black bear that did not see us and crossed over to the S side of the creek. The gully was getting steeper and quite dangerous at times so we traversed thru some brush and timber at 6:20 - 4,620’ and saw one marmot and seven grouse. To avoid a cliff band, we then headed S straight down a steep dry creek bed to the creek at 7:10 – 4,210’. We crossed the creek and headed E down thru timber and meadows and finally got down to Rainbow Creek at 8:30 – 3,480’ and it was almost dark. We made a good spot on a sand bar by moving a ton of rocks, leveling the sand and setting up camp and had dinner at 9:40. Dave's legs were pretty scratched and bloody, his left thumb was purple from internal bleeding of a puncture wound and his feet were wrapped with tape. Both of us were very tired but our spirits were high as we got in bed at 10:40. DAY 5: Total = 5.4 Miles, Time = 13 Hours, Avg = 0.4 mph, Elev Gain = 3,030’, Loss = 2,480’.
August 27 th Day 6
We slept in until 6:45 and left Rainbow Creek Camp at 8:10 in the sun moving quickly to cross Rainbow Creek with our rope before the snow melt and glacial melt made the creek difficult. Doug found a small white agate in the creek bed and were on our way at 8:50. We decided to head directly for the ridge headed SE up a steep drainage full of slide alders and got to a bench at 9:30 – 3,730’. We kept going straight up thru dense small firs and traversed to the E to avoid cliff bands at 10:30 – 4,120’. Then we literally crawled and pulled our way up through some steep cliffs along with lots of flies to 11:20 – 4,310’. We finally broke out into an open rocky basin and got some water at 12:30 – 4,570’. We eventually got too high, so turned E and headed down into a rocky basin at 12:50 – 4,650’. We leveled off and picked a route through a huge boulder field at 1:50- 4,000’ and had a quick snack beside a large boulder in the shade. We put on our instep crampons and headed SE up steep heather and rock fields at 2:35 – 4,450’. We made it up to the top of Rainbow Ridge at 3:00 – 4,610’ and made camp in a nice grassy meadow along the user trail. We needed some water, so hiked S down into the basin but all of the creeks were bone dry. Then back by camp Dave found a melting snowfield where the water went over a rock face, which made for a good water supply and a nice shower. We called Duane Melcher on Doug's cell phone who agreed to bring us a food resupply at the end of Forest Service Road #1130 at 7:00. We left camp at 6:00 and hiked as fast as we could go and got down to the TH at 7:00 just as Joan and Duane pulled up. They not only brought an additional three days of hiking food, but a scrumptious dinner of chicken, potatoes, salads and other goodies from Hagen's market. They set up a picnic table and chairs and we gobbled down the food, including a glass of Hess Select Cabernet while looking up at the sun setting behind Mt Baker. We packed up our food and were off at 8:00 just as it was getting dark but with plenty of new encouragement to finish the trek. Once in the woods, we had to turn on our headlamps and lost the trail once. As we approached the ridge, we were surprised to see headlamps catching up with us. A group of 4 hikers were headed for the ridge to spend the night. We passed them at the top and made it back to our camp at 11:00 and in bed at 11:15. DAY 6: Total = 2.8 Miles, Time = 7 Hours, Avg = 0.4 mph, Elev Gain = 1,140’, Loss = 370’ FOOD RESUPPLY: Total = 5.5 Miles, Time = 4 Hours, Avg = 1.4 mph, Elev Gain = 1,380’, Loss = 1,380’ DAY 6 TOTAL: 8.3 Miles, Time = 11 Hours, Elev Gain = 2,520’, Loss = 1,750’
August 28 th Day 7
We got up at 6:45 in the sun and left Rainbow Ridge Camp at 8:30. We headed S down into the open grassy, heather basin and got over to S Lava Divide at 9:30 – 4,090’. At 9:50 we left and tried to traverse to the W but were too high and at 11:00 – 4,240’ran into cliff bands and had to turn around. We got down past some steep cliffs at 12:15 – 3,950’ when Doug got a small nosebleed. The flies were bad and the rocks were hot. By 1:25 – 3,600’ we were going SW down thru slide alder and brush. At 2:15 – 3,500’ we finally got into steep timber and it was easier going. We started traversing a bit W at 2:30 – 3,450’ to miss cliffs and at 3:00- 3,200’ got down to a small creek where we filled our water bottles. We then turned W and headed up the flat valley thru thick small trees and brush. Doug lost the lower section of his trekking pole in the brush and later replaced it with a stick. We then headed S to get down to Park Creek, but it was steep and brushy with thick willows to crawl thru and had waterfalls at 4:15 – 3,210’. We crawled back up the bank and kept heading W thru the brush where Dave lost his sunglasses and finally we got back down to the creek at 5:30 – 3,350’. We made a campsite on a sand bar and had dinner at 7:30 and went to bed at 8:30. The creek was high and flowing quickly and there was a wind blowing down the valley. DAY 6: Total = 2.5 Miles, Time = 9 Hours, Avg = 0.3 mph, Elev Gain = 660’, Loss = 1,290’.
August 29 th Day 7
We got up at 5:45 in the fog. This was not a good sign, since we had to find a route up through a creek bed in Park Cliffs to get up on Boulder Ridge. We left Park Creek Camp at 7:45 and forded the creek with the help of the rope at 8:15. As we started E going downstream along the creek in heavy fog, it started to rain. At 10:15 – 3,350’ we ran into a cliff on the first streambed we went up. We turned around and continued downstream and tried the next streambed but ran into another rocky waterfall. Dave climbed about fifteen feet up, but without knowing where it would lead, Doug declined to try it since the moss was slippery. This was not a good place to fall and get hurt! With Doug's help Dave found the necessary footholds on his way down and we went back down to Park Creek again at 12:15. We gave up on finding a safe route up thru the cliffs in the fog and rain so started down the valley again traversing well above the creek. We thought we might be able to traverse around the end of Boulder Ridge and intercept the Boulder Ridge Trail, but it was too steep, slippery to traverse around and we kept running into cliffs so we gave up. We dropped back down to the creek again and planned to escape by following Park Creek 3.5 miles down to Forest Service Road # 1130. However, we soon found out that the creek had very few sandbars and the brush and Devils Club grew right down to the edge of the creek. So to say the least it was very slow making headway thru the brush. We stopped about every hour for a quick break but we were getting wet, cold and tired. We were crawling over logs, rocks, and thick brush mixed with 10’ tall Devils Club for good measure. Dave was good at swimming through it although he was to pay a price for it later; it was slower going for Doug. We finally found a patch of timber at 7:30 – 2,540’, pitched our tents on the side of the slope, made dinner in the rain and got to bed at 9:00. DAY 7: Total = 2 Miles, Time = 11 Hours, Avg = 0.2 mph, Elev Gain = 1,060’, Loss = 1,840’.
August 30 th Day 8
We woke up at 7:00 in the rain. Doug's stove got wet and would not light so he skipped breakfast. We left Devils Club Camp at 8:30. We found a short stretch of beach to walk on, but not for long. It was steep along the side of the creek at 11:30 – 1,560’. We made it down to 3:30 – 1,440, 4:00 – 1,350’ and at 5:30 – 1,100 where it was swampy. We were getting concerned to say the least at our slow progress and there was no dry place to camp, so we had to make it to the road or else. We finally made it down to the bridge on Road #1130 at 7:30 – 1,020’ at dark. We were almost too tired to walk, even on the road. We turned on our headlamps and made it down to the Baker Lake Highway at 8:30 – 1,050’. Finally at 9:30 – 730’ after a 13 hour forced march through hell, we stumbled into the Baker Lake Resort and found a Bellingham family that had a big fire. We told them of our trip and they were very kind to us and gave us a cup of hot cider and made a cheeseburger for each of us. As we stood around the fire our clothes were steaming as we tried to dry out. Doug tried twice to get the camp manager to make a radio call to the PSE hydro operator at the Baker Lake dam so he could call Duane Melcher on his phone but he refused. He was generous and let us camp that night on the grass by the store for free. Dave's hands were badly swollen from Devils Club spines making it very difficult to pitch a tent or get into his remaining dry clothes. In addition Dave's pants were red from the knees down and his legs were clearly infected from multiple unattended injuries.
DAY 8: Total = 7.7 Miles, Time = 13, Avg = 0.6 mph, Elev Gain = 320’, Loss = 2,120’.
September 1
We got up at 7:00 and had our breakfast. At 8:00 the store opened up and Doug talked with the manager about getting someone to give us a ride down to the dam so we could make a phone call but he said no. Then the camp manager stopped by and said he would give us a ride in his truck so we packed up our camp and hopped in. On the way down he showed us a satellite phone on his visor – we would have paid him to make a call for us last night if we knew he had the phone. At 9:30 we were dropped off at the dam and Doug used the emergency phone to call Duane Melcher to come and pick us up. Since were we overdue, they were going to call the Whatcom County Search and Rescue at 12:00. Dave Kriener was at the airport and was going to fly up and see if he could locate us. The sun came up and we started drying out our gear on picnic tables. Joan and Duane arrived at 11:30 and took us up to Dave’s Tahoe at Schreiber's Meadow. We finally got back home! Doug was able to see his doctor that afternoon and get treated for a finger infected by Devils Club and a bad jock itch infection. Doug noticed although he was not hungry, he lost about 10 pounds, so was not eating enough calories. Dave’s hands and legs were full of Devils Club spines that were infected and swollen. Waiting for a doctor to schedule an appointment, Dave pulled over two hundred spines out of his hands.
September 15 th: Day 9
After recuperating and checking the weather forecast we went back to complete our hike around the mountain. I got up at 7:00 and met Dave at Cook Road at 8:30. We dropped off his Tahoe at Shcriebers Meadow and parked my truck at the intersection of Road #1130 and #1131 the point at which we had left the area on day 8. We were on our way at 10:30 hiking up the Boulder Ridge road in the sun. We got up to the TH at 12:35 in scattered clouds and had lunch. We headed up the brushy trail at 1:00 that had lots of windfalls. We got up to the NE ridgeline of Crater Moraine at 3:50 – 4,330’ and checked out some old campsites in the cold wind. We decided to go further up the moraine along side of Boulder Creek and found several flat campsites among the rocks below the braided falls on the S side of the creek. We went back down and picked up our packs at 4:50 and set up camp and had dinner at 6:20. The water level at Boulder Creek was low and dropping. The fog blew away and it was clear up to the summit where we see a helicopter circling – maybe a rescue? The wind was cold blowing down from the glacier and we went to bed at 7:45. A heavy rain shower passed over at 9:00. DAY 9: Total = 7.6 Miles, Time = 7.5 Hours, Avg = 1.0 mph, Elev Gain = 3,400’, Loss 210’
September 16 th: Day 10
We got up at 6:00 and soon the fog rolled in. We left Crater Moraine Camp at 7:30 and simply walked across Boulder Creek since it was so low. We headed S among boulders and up over a rocky ridge then down around the N end of a ridge and jumped across a small creek. We then put on our instep crampons and headed W straight up a steep gully to the top, which opened up to barren scree slopes. At 9:10 – 4,490’ we were on top of the ridge in the sun, (for a few minutes) and at 9:30 – 4,800’ at a rocky saddle. We headed S in the fog up a ridge and at 10:00 – 4,190’ found a recent boot track in the mud headed S. At 11:15 – 5,080’ we were above the trees in the fog. We got down to a big gully N of Forest Divide at 12:200 – 5,020’ and it was hailing and foggy. The visibility was so poor it looked like there may not be a route to the S traversing the cliffs, so we decided to be safe and headed E down to the bottom of the gully and crossed the creek at 1:10 at 4,250’ below cliffs. We headed SW up a rock gully in the fog to the top of Forest Divide at 2:30 – 5,100’ with hail on the ground. We headed S traversing heather meadows and rock to the N end of the Sandy Creek basin. We headed E straight down then S along a rocky bench to hop across Sandy Creek next to a waterfall at 3:30 – 4,730’. In the fog we made a wrong turn and headed too low and east and missed the route to the higher meadows but kept traversing south through steep grassy meadows in the rain. We ran into thick timber and a gully, so had to turn N and went straight up heather meadows to where it was flat. Then we headed W and soon found the tread of the upper end of the climbers path at 5:30 – 5,030’. We followed the path SE down through meadows and came out on the Scott Paul Trail at Dillard Ridge at 6:00 – 4,330. Hiking down the trail was a freeway – we made it down to the TH at 7:00 – 3,200’ and signed the register. We dove over and picked up Doug's truck and drove home by 9:30. The end of a great hike! DAY 10: Total = 8.0 Miles, Time = 11.5 Hours, Avg – 0.7 mph, Elev Gain – 3,230’, Loss = 4,330’.
TRIP TOTAL: 73 Miles, 122.5 Hours, Avg = 0.6 mph, Elev Gain = 28,690’, Loss = 28,060’
EPILOG
We believe we were the first to complete a circumnavigation of Mount Baker. In retrospect we can understand why no one has succeeded prior to now although we are aware of several attempts. We are unlikely to attempt to do this hike again; although it may be interesting to return and see if we can find a way through Park Cliffs.
Doug Shepherd Dave Hess

Proof that I'm not sane

2008-11-13T03:24:00.000-08:00

Look what happens when you spend to much time surfing youtube!
I found this video of me running around in shorts at -30 in Yellowkife at the rock and Ice ultra.
Take a look http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmTtDrOYRrU

Padden Mud fest "I am not a runner" I am an "Ultrarunner"

2008-11-10T09:36:00.000-08:00

7 miles is just to short to run.

Read How SurvivorMan came to be

2008-11-08T00:04:00.000-08:00

Check out his article in Studio Magazine
and look for his new book Survive! out 11/11
"I wish I were as talented" but as he says
"I can say with certainty there is no such thing as an overnight success"
Les Stroud

Survivorman uses LED to start fire

2008-11-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

On the new season of Survivorman Les Stroud finds him self lost in the sierra Nevada's. And this time instead of making one of his cool made from scratch fires he uses his LED light to ignite the fire. This reminds me of a very memorable adventure adventure run in northern California with my good friend Tina Ure. It was around 2am in the morning on the second day on our inaugural three peaks adventure run when the need for a fire was burning in the back of my mind. The temperature was around freezing and we had been on the run for 21hrs after summitting Mt Shasta earlier the day before and now on our way to summit Mt Eddie. I was exhausted form the cold and elevation and the hour we had spent lost in the meadow. I couldn't keep warm even on the climb and we were far from the summit. To make things worse we were lost again. Or at least not sure which way to go. Searching for blazes on an abandon trail. It was at this point when I realized we had not brought any matches with us just in case we got in trouble. And as anyone who knows me would tell you I pack light. Meaning no extra clothes. Move or die. that's when the Idea of trying to start a fire with my extra LED light came to mind. though, thankfully we made the decision to push on and just get it over with missing out on the summit. And after several more hours of route finding and then sunrise we found the trail again leading us to our truck. where chocolate mini donuts greeted us. I now take a lighter with me on anything over a few hours. But it's good to know that my LED will work as a fire starter, Though what do you do for a flashlight then?

Wednesday's Epic trail run

2008-11-06T02:13:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we made it out. I only gave us a 30% chance of finding our way through the ropes course and a 50% chance we would get utterly lost. That and the fact that we had 11 people in the group meant there was a good chance we'd lose a person before the night was over. it looked like my predictions were coming true as we took a side trail up instead of the strait route up the power lines. Once at the top we started running down the road when chuck spoke up and said we were going the wrong way. After a brief discussion we agreed to turn around and take another route up the mountain. "still not to the trail head" but now on the familiar grind up the road we Finlay reach the trail head. This is the part that gets tricky. I ran this with Chuck and the guys this spring in the daylight and we couldn't find the "rope" part of the ropes course. And Sure enough by the time we start losing the trail we look up to the right and see where we had blazed a trail up the 45 degree bank on the last run. We climbed the steep bank and descended down to Pine lake? where we had to circumnavigate the swamp around the lake. it's amazing no one ended up in the swamp. That had to be traversed on slick mossy logs and 2x10 planks. We randomly did head counts and somehow managed to keep together. now past the lake it was a long down hill decent on logging roads. The last Time we ran this I recalled crossing over part of the Northface 50 mile course that I had run back in May so I suggested we take a chance and find our way down to camp Lutherwood. I lead the pack hoping I could remember my way down to the camp. I was sure we were on the course but when we came to an unfamiliar intersection I had second thoughts on which way we should go. but after looking closely around I spotted an old glow stick on a branch left over from the race this must be right. Now we just needed to find the trail that takes us down to the camp. What do you know just a hundred yards up the trail we found it. Now I was sure we were on the right path. Though once down into the back woods of the camp there were a few more trail decisions to be made. A few minutes later and there we were at the parking lot where all that was left to do was one last head count 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 Wow no one go lost! It was still a mile back on the pavement to the park where we had started from but being such an epic run no one complained. This course has been notorious for getting lost on so the fact that we found our way through and took the new trail down to Lutherwood will make this one for the history books. Good running with you all and see you next Wednesday. click on the picture to view the rest and the videos should magically start on the right.

Gary takes second at MMTR and gets an automatic entry into westen states congratulations!

2008-10-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Postcard to myself

2008-10-27T23:29:00.001-07:00

The Seawall 100

2008-10-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ok so I was never really planning on running all 100 miles. 25 will have to do. here are the pictures Not in much of a mood to write a report.

Seawall 100

2008-10-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

This weekend I'm heading to Vancouver BC to run 1 - 100 miles on the seawall. A paved/graveld? path on the banks of Vancouver. It will be by far the longest run on a paved surface I've ever atempted. I'd say I've never ran more then 10 miles on the road at one time in my life. why you ask? I have no good reason. I'm sure to not enjoy most of it. Usualy I only run because it's fun. One reason is that My good friends Gilles and Lucy are hosting it. And hey there's a better chance of catching a female jogger then out on a trail in the middle of the woods. My feet have just finished healing from Plain and I've got a pare of road runners left over from badwater duties that need to be put to there death. which will go first, Me or the shoes?

2008-10-22T01:58:00.000-07:00

So as most of you know I quit my job over a week ago, for reasons I won't go into now. but to say the least I'm screwed. I feel like there are two freight trains barreling down the tracks, one has derailed and is sitting on the tracks and the other can't stop in time to keep from slamming head first into the other. You would think that with all I have accomplished in my life I would have found some sort of direction. well that's what I was hoping. and went in debt to find. But sadly no. what more can I do to find inspiration in this life? there's a lot more I want to do and areas I'd like to better myself in. the thrill of adventure is about the only thing that I really crave. Yes there are some jobs I can get in this field. I just have such a poor memory and am not much of a leader to really go after them. something I'd like to change one day. But what do I do now. I'm burnt out on Metal work and coming home dirty everyday gets old. I've been lucky enough to get a chance at every job I thought I ever wanted. of course with no real education I didn't get far and felt know drive to continue. we'll just have to see if this will lead to something better. I'm trying to stay hopeful because it's going to get a whole lot worse. very soon. if you like train wrecks check back often. Might not be flashy but it'll be a good one.

See Gary's blog for more on friday's run

2008-10-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

http://garyrobbins.blogspot.com/2008/10/roxys-first-ultra-run-and-countdown-to.html

Best fall weekend ever! even if I was sick and have no job

2008-10-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I finally got back out on the trails after not running for almost a month since the plain 100 and the blisters that followed. On Friday one of my Northshore friends Gary Robbins and his dog Roxy came down to run part of my future 100 mile course on stewart mtn. I was feeling the effects of my brake in running and the cold I haven't been able to shake on the 2,700ft climb to the top. On a normal day this summer I could have ran repeats all day long but I ended up walking most of the climb. you couldn't complain about the weather though as there wasn't a cloud in the sky. And with a new blanket of snow on mt. baker the view was spectacular. Gary agreed that the view of baker and some killer single track make up for the rough dirt road sections of the course. it was even warm enough at the end of the run to soak my sore legs in the lake while Gary did another six miles to make it a 30 mile day.

the weather was so nice that after Gary left for North Van I took my roommate Lauren up to check out the view from the top of stewart. This time using the Dirtbike.

Saturday I helped my Mom fix her pellet stove since the sunny Sky's meant that it was dropping below the freezing at night. limping around all day and complaining about my sore legs.

Sunday I had planned a run with the Fairhaven mountain runners. Only Amites showed up since I had revised the plan of running Anderson to running stewart. Thinking that there it would shorter and less of a climb. meeting at whatcomfalls park lead to taking one of Joel Pearson's runners along for the fun! the three of us jumped in my truck and made our way to the parking lot on the Y rd. thinking that the run was only going to be 1.5 - 2hr's Amites and Damian the newbie didn't bring any water or food. I took my pack with a little water and a few energy gels but mostly so I had somewhere to hold my camera. I had the rout planned out in my head and was just guessing it would take the estimated 2hrs. The weather again this day was just perfect clear and warm and I was feeling slightly better then on Fridays run. all the fun began when we got to an intersection on the trail that I wasn't sure of. I knew that the trail went up hill but wasn't sure if it was the one I had planned. well after only a half a mile I realized it wasn't the one that I was thinking about but decided we might as well take it.

as we headed up the trail we ran into this old Norwegian man with his pick and shovel doing trail work. we shook hands and chatted for a bit. when the Norwegian man "I forget his name" said he recognized Amites. sure enough the one and only other time that Amites had ran on Stewart they had met. He told us that he had cleared a new section of trail up ahead and that we should take it. we did, and when we came out on the road I knew just where we were. Of course where we where was miles away from where I had planned. we made made our way back along the ridge taking in the views of baker and the sound. I did my best to reassure that I knew where I was going. saying it's only 20min from here to there and then on 20 mins down. All who run with me should beware that to me 20 mins might be an hour. we finally made it back to the truck all in one piece and I think that every one enjoyed the run even though we ended up running for 2.5hrs and where probably out for 3hrs. I was stoked to find new trails and meet the guy who was opening them up. I missed taking his picture and meeting him back at his truck after the run.

click on the pictures for more

Run

2008-09-27T10:58:00.001-07:00

It's been two weeks since Plain and I haven't ran a step. But today I think I will go run. My big toes are still healing and have yet to sluff off the dead skin but thankfully no pain. Tomorrow is the bellingham bay marathon. I don't run marathons and even though it's in my home town I don't have any interest in running it. but it should be amusing to go see people suffer through "in my eye's" painful, pointless, boring running. I don't really consider myself a runner. I am an adventurer. I just don't see any fun or adventure in running along the side of the road with a few other thousand anonymous people.

the last run on my 08 to do list is the grand canyon R2R2R run. My Mt shasta friend Tina Ure is heading down to do the run this year for her birthday. It's an incredible run but I'll have to sit it out this year since I don't have a single penny to spend on anything.

P1010200

2008-09-21T21:36:00.001-07:00

P1010200
Originally uploaded by noturningback

Gilles Opinion on the Plain 100 at the top of klone peak.

Pictures from the Plain 100

2008-09-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

Why do blisters have to hurt like hell! How is it that I could block out all the pain from the skin falling off my little toe but be over powered by the new ones on my big toe? I have never pushed through that much pain for so long. I hope I never have to do that to myself again. Here are the Pictures

A lesson in suffering at Plain 100

2008-09-15T14:44:00.000-07:00

Just 6 miles shy of the supposed 107 mile ultra I could not take one more step. Blisters had stopped me dead in my tracks. The pain was just unbearable. I had been fighting them all day but when the newly formed blisters on my big toes burst I could not push through. I had reached my breaking point.

I am not really disappointed that I was not able to finish. I did run a 100 miles and I would have finished under the cut off. I saw the entire course and felt strong throughout the race. It was truly an adventure run. will I go back next year? ask me after my feet stop hurting.

Plain 100 ready or not

2008-09-08T01:19:00.000-07:00

The Plain 100 is coming up next weekend. Have I spent the weekend getting ready like I planned? Of course not. No as usual I'll be packing all last minute. though with only one drop bag that shouldn't be as hard. No gummy bears or porogies in this race that is unless I want to stash them in my pack. No not a thing. What make Plain one of the toughest races in the west is the fact that not only are the trails not marked but there are no aid stations and only one drop bag at mile 55. So that means I have to pack a whole lot of food for each loop. Do I go gel or do I go cookies? Hmmm? maybe a little of both. I think one of the hardest things will be not having soup in the middle of the night. there's just something about warm cup of noodle soup that keeps you going and happy. We are all crossing our fingers for good weather. It can be anything this time of year and there is already reports of snow on the course. I'm feeling recovered from cascade and my blisters have healed well. I have to say I'm not looking forward to the 5:00 am start. I not going for speed on this one. that hasn't been my strong point this year and this will be the last big race of the year so I just want to be counted among the finishers and that's no small feat.

Yes I can run a 100 miles and yes I am lazy

2008-09-08T00:47:00.000-07:00

I should have posted this last weekend but was just to lazy to do it. Devon a good friend from seattle drove up last sunday for a what was supposed to be a easy day of running and sight seeing. If this isn't lazy I don't know what is. check out her story and pics on her blog

Picuters from Cascade Crest # 3

2008-08-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

Great pictures from my good Good friend Lucinda
Look I can fly! Check out page 6 for my finish pictures

Must finish race

2008-08-27T00:24:00.000-07:00

That was my motto for Cascade crest 100. I must finish this race! and I did. Have I really ran this race 3 years in a row? Can I call myself a runner yet?

Cascade crest # 3

2008-08-21T18:46:00.001-07:00

The work week is over and now it's time to gear up for Cascade crest 100 mile ultra. I managed to sucker one of my friends to come and volunteer and crew me for the weekend. the weather looks iffy but at least it's dry in the 2.3 mile long tunnel. this is a really fun course and hopfully I can best my time from 06 and not end up just making the cut off like last year.

Nightmares of a DNF

2008-08-18T00:21:00.000-07:00

Last night as I was camping out under the stars I had horrible dream that I DNF'd again and I was thinking I should stop running. I don't really believe in dreams so it doesn't really bother me to much. we'll just see what next week brings. What would I do if I stopped running anyway?

Plain 100 mile Preview trip

2008-08-17T15:16:00.001-07:00

Back from my Plain 100 mile Preview trip. After spending all day Friday and most of the morning Saturday changing tires and tuning up my bike I headed off for Plain wa. My timing was all messed up and I arrived in plain around 2:30. It had to be a 100 degrees out and felt like death valley. I decided I'd at least ride as far as I could on the first loop. The first 10 miles climbs a few thousand feet up logging roads "ick!" then after only a mile down the trail is was evident that even though I had dirt tires on my bike was geared way to high for the trail. Even going down the easy trail was work. as I had to go fast enough not to stall it and slow enough to stay on the trail. And of course the route takes you up the expert trail right off the bat. I made the wise choice and headed back and spent the rest of the afternoon Down at lake wenatchee going over the course descriptions and Map. After the sun set I thought I'd head back out on the trail now that it was cooler. this time I would just run the first and last section of the second loop. I made it 12 miles down the trail until a bunch of downed trees forced me to turn back. So that was as far as I got. even though I didn't get to see much of the course it was a good excuse to go on a bike trip and clear my head from last weeks DNF at Stormy.

"DNF" Yes I did not finish the Stormy 100 mile ultra

2008-08-10T22:40:00.000-07:00

Yes the guy who's finished Hardrock and Arrowhead 135 did not finish the Stormy 100 mile ultra. Technically the easiest 100 I've ever started. I had a Forrest Gump moment and thought "I'm tired, I think I'll stop now" At around 55 miles I thought about what was to come on the second loop and came to the conclusion that I don't want to run that again. but no one would let me drop and so I had to run a few more miles making it to mile eighty before I could find someone who didn't know me to give me a ride back to the finish. It was a surreal feeling sitting in a car listening to the vollies repeat over the radio " runner 20 is DNF. he is in the the car with us and is safe. we are bringing him back to the finish." I wish I had a good answer to why I DNF'd. I just didn't feel like I had the fight in me that day. I'll right more on it later. Here is a good picture of me and Karl " the old bull" flying up 9 mile hill on the first loop. hopefully no long term damage done. I'm already looking forward to Cascade crest 100.

Stormy first half pictures

2008-08-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontaskwhy/sets/72157606662127178/

Stormy Day one

2008-08-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

Running in the rain forrest!

The badwater gang

2008-08-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

I thought that we had some good group pictures I just didn't have them on my camera. For never meeting before and coming from all parts of the country we all worked together to help Sarah finish the badwater 135! We even managed to be one of the few crew that didn't need treated for heat exhaustion during the race. This is the card I just received from her in the mail.

My turn!

2008-08-03T00:27:00.001-07:00

Next weekend will be the start of my 100 mile trio. Stormy, Cascade Crest and Plain. There won't be much rest in between since I still have to go and pre run or ride the Plain course. I've recovered quickly in the past but if I don't take it easy and get enough sleep in I could be in trouble. I'm really hoping that I can pre ride the Plain course on my motorcycle. If not I may have to do two fifty milers during my two rest weekends between races. Not something I think is a good Idea but with no course markings at plain I'd like to be somewhat prepared. I'm not worried about only having one aid station at mile 55. I went 70 miles with no aid during Arrowhead. I'm a little worried about water though. I think It'll help to get out on the course and know where the water access is. I'm not looking forward to what my shoulders will be feeling like in the later stages of plain. I had a hard time at Hard rock last year with my shoulders killing me and making me want to stop!

Stormy should be interesting. It will be the fastest course I have run but will it be my fastest time? I like running but to much with out enough breaks or change in terrain I tend to lock up. Mostly do to my extreme lack of something called "training" and "weekly mileage"

Cascade Crest will be just fun! this will be my third year in a row! and what other race do you get to run over 2 miles in a train tunnel? let's just hope I don't have a repeat of last year. I have to say that was the worst shape I have ever finished a race in. I even ended up in an ambulance.

so if you see me on the street and wonder why I my eyes are glazed over this is why. I'll see you all clearly in another month or two.

To the beach and back

2008-08-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

So today I decided to run to clayton beach from the house. It was about a 20 mile round trip with 6 miles or so of road and 14 miles of hard pack interurban. Not my type of running but It'll help out in the coming weeks. the morning started off cloudy and dark but by mid afternoon the sun had come out making for a perfect day. I somehow managed to do all 20 miles on one 16oz mocha, two fig newtons, a peanut butter granola bar and a little water. good practice for the Plain 100 where I have to carry all my food for each 50 mile loop. still feeling all that road and hard pack. during the run I kept thinking "why do people run marathons"? doesn't it hurt like hell? I'm thankful that I learned early that trail running is pure happiness! and good for the mind and body. Yes I want to run Badwater one day but that's another story.

Back on the web

2008-08-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah! My computer is back up and running. I had to buy a new power supply and wipe the hard drive. hopfully my scanner and printer will work again.

The End

2008-07-28T19:06:00.000-07:00

So after returning from White river I came home to find that my computer no longer turns on. It was already barely alive but now it's done for. so I might not be blogging much for a while. and will only be checking email a few times a week. Not sure when I'll be up and running again so you might just have to call if you need to reach me.