Our Annual Backpacking Trip

First off, sorry that it has been a while since I have posted something.  In the future I will try to be a little more consistent.  Regardless, I usually just write about significant events on my blog so you can go to my Facebook page if you want to follow my every day adventures. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009375336949

Anyhow, every year my family does a backpacking trip in the summer that is about 8-10 days.  This year we decided to circumnavigate Glacier Peak in Washington.  Our plan was to take about 10 days to cover the 90 miles around the mountain.

A map around Glacier Peak

The first day we drove up to Washington which made for a late start.  We hiked in about 6 miles and camped by a creek shortly before we would reach the PCT.  We spend the day well below tree line so we mostly enjoyed view of the moss covered forest.

The next day we soon began the long climb up to Image Lake where we would spend our second night.  As we neared the top of the climb, we reached tree line and the trail became lined with heather and huckleberry bushes.  We soon crested the hill and hiked to the end of Miner's Ridge to see an old lookout before donning our pack once more and hiking the last little bit to Image Lake.

Climbing up to Image Lake

Image Lake

The Suiattle River down in the bottom

Day 3 took us across a long open meadow before dropping down to Miner's Creek.  Then we headed up the other side of the valley and climbed up to Buck Creek Pass where we spent the night.  We had a little time at the end of the day so we climbed up to Liberty Cap which we would hike past the next day.

Jacob with Glacier Peak in the background

Looking down the Buck Creek drainage

Looking out from Liberty Cap

Day 4 took us up past Liberty Cap and over High Pass before we descended down to the Napeequa River.  Early in the day we saw a bear a quarter mile below the trail which would prove to the only one we saw throughout the trip despite the plentiful huckleberries.  There was an off trail section from shortly after Liberty Cap all the way down to the Napeequa River but the entire section had a user trail which was very helpful.  There was a small talus field getting up to the pass and the trail got steep in spots descending to the river, but in all honesty the trail along the river was in just as bad shape as the user trail.

Climbing up toward High Pass.  The bear we saw was down in the bottom of this valley.

Apparently this lake is not named on our map, but it was a big deep lake.

Looking down toward the Napeequa River valley from High Pass.

Down along the Napeequa

Day 5 we had to cross the Napeequa River.  The night before we scouted out a way to cross which was a little difficult as the trail to the river was hard to follow and the river was big.  The morning crossing was cold but only ended up coming up to just above our knees.  From there we began the long steady climb up to Boulder Pass.  After Boulder Pass we dropped down to the White River which we followed a couple miles before we camped.  The trail along the White River was not maintained for several years so it was really overgrown with a lot of down trees.

Smoke over the Napeequa River

Unbelievable huckleberries

Descending from Boulder Pass

The White River Trail

Mom and Jacob having fun!

A big cottonwood tree

Day 6 we continued up the White River.  Unfortunately we had about a 10 minute rainstorm with some hail which got all of the brush wet.  We put on rain pants and jackets and kept on moving.  Eventually the brush started to dry and we took our jackets and rain pants off.  Unfortunately Dad and I had only brought rain pants so we kept wearing them as the day heated up as we would be crashing through brush for a long time.  Rain pants are not good in the heat, they do not breath at all.  Anyhow, we made progress and eventually found some orange flagging to follow.  We crossed the White River, climbed up the other side on a better, but still poorly maintained trail, and then followed the PCT to White Pass.

The trail

We thought we should be going this way...

...But really the trail was up here.

Some big trees.

On the PCT to White Pass

Day 7 we climbed up White Mountain in the morning and then continued on the PCT to Mica Lake.  We walked for 17 miles on the PCT that day which was our first long day, at least milage wise.  The previous day we walked for 12 hours or so but only went about 12 miles because the bushwhacking was pretty bad.  Anyhow, the day went by with lots of good views.  Early in the day we saw some close smoke from a fire and bunch of grouse.

Looking off White Mountain

White Mountian

Huge devil's club, a great plant no doubt but I prefer the stinging nettles.

Descending toward Mica Lake which is not in the picture

Day 8 we left Mica Lake intending to hike to the Suiattle River and camp near the trail up to Gamma Ridge.  We descended 5 miles rather quickly then climbed back up for 4-5 miles as the day cooled off and the clouds rolled in.  With a heavy mist around us, it felt like the Pacific Northwest that I know as home.  I will be heading off to school in Flagstaff, Arizona in about a week so the big trees and open meadows looming out of the Northwest fog was pretty special and got my brother and I talking of all our favorite memories in rainy, foggy weather.  We continued on, starting to descend down toward the Suiattle River as the wind starting to pick up and the clouds slowly began to rain.  We descended down through big trees, the rain becoming steady.  As we reached the campsite we saw on the map there wasn't much of a site so we continued on until we crossed the Suiattle.  At this point it was about 6 in the afternoon and we knew that we only had 6.4 miles to the car so we decided to just hike out and get a to a dry hotel room.  We hiked out in the steady rain and then drove into Arlington where Mom was able to call some hotels and reserve a room.  The next day, we jumped in the car, stopped in Seattle to visit the Seven Hills Running Shop and Pike's Place Market before heading home.

Mica Lake in the morning

A warm morning which would give way to clouds

In the cloud

The rain begins

A 600+ year old tree, the same tree in the picture above

Dad next to a really big tree.  There was a small stand here where all the trees were massive.

Jacob at the end.

Bighorn 100M

The Bridger Ridge

Heading down from the Bostwick Pass

For a few years I had heard some of my fellow runners talking about the Bighorn 100 and urging me to run it.  I have always wanted to explore new and beautiful places and I figured that this was the year to give the Bighorn a go.  Bighorn starts just outside of Dayton Wyoming around 4000 feet.  It climbs up through canyons and meadows to the turnaround at Jaws Trailhead, 9000 feet, before coming back down and continuing a few extra miles past the start into Dayton for the finish.  Living at 300 feet in Corvallis Oregon I knew that the altitude up in the Bighorn mountains could be tough so I talked with my uncle and aunt who graciously let me stay for a week out in Bozeman to acclimatize before the Bighorn.  I flew out to Bozeman and the stay was a perfect week.  I was able to see enough of the Bridger Ridge and surrounding country to get me really excited to run, while still resting up for race day.  My aunt and uncle deserve a huge thank you for putting up with me for a week and taking me around the Bozeman area to some incredible areas.

Wednesday my dad drove out to Bozeman from Corvallis which took almost as long as the race itself so I owe him a huge thank you for being such a great guy.  Then Thursday arrived and we headed down to Wyoming.  After checking in, we headed to our motel, ate some dinner, and went to bed.  Then next morning I got up around 7:30 which is normally bad news if your running an ultra since you've probably missed the start but for the Bighorn it was plenty of time.  Dad and I ate breakfast then drove to the pre race meeting at the start line...only we took off on the wrong road.  After 5 or 6 miles we realized that we should be at the trailhead and the road we were on was heading up he mountain.  So we grabbed the map and driving instructions for the race and headed back through town and up the Tongue River road.  We followed the instructions closely and were a little surprised not to see any cars before we reached the toilet on the right of the road shortly before the start.  Fortunately there was a couple people there so we decided to ask them if they were with the race explaining we were late for the pre race meeting.  Their reply, "The pre race meeting is at the finish."  Whoops.  So we rolled in about 25 minutes late and caught the last few words before everyone dispersed.  Now, there was about 1 1/2 hours till the start so I lathered up with sunscreen, stopped by the bathroom and then jumped in the car and headed up to the start.  Fortunately Dad was able to find a spot quickly and we walked up to the start line.

We milled around for a few minutes then the race director told everyone to line up so I made my way to the start line with hundreds of other runner.  I got in a few hellos to some guys who I knew were running before the National Anthem was sang, the pre race prayer was said and we took off up the canyon.

The road quickly gave way to trail and we started to spread out as soon as we hit the single track.  I was in second or third until as we made our way through the canyon but was mostly focused on taking in the view and enjoying the run while it still felt really easy.  Soon we turned up an open hillside leaving the canyon behind and starting a long hot climb through the sun.  I moved into first leaving the canyon and was able to look back down on the other runners when the trail allowed which was really cool to see them all making their way up the mountain.  I mostly ran the first climb hiking a little when the trail got steep but I was surprised how hot it was already.  There was no shade and the altitude made the sun feel really intense.  Finally I crested the first climb and rolled down the first descent of the day.  The next section was some trail and some gravel road which rolled along under the Wyoming sun.  Shortly I crested a little hill and could see Dry Fork aid station, the first major aid station of the day.  I rolled in feeling a bit crappy but quickly filled my bottles with the help of Denise Bourassa who was out there crewing for her husband Ken.  Denise urged me to eat something so I grabbed a few grapes and then headed out.

Nothing was tasting all that good but I ate a little on the next descent and focused on making good time.  I reached the next aid station quickly and kept moving along.  Somewhere in the next few miles I started to run low on water and was thankful when I reached the spring around mile 22.  As I filled up my bottles a couple other runners caught up.  I realized I lost focus over the last 3-4 miles and that I was moving pretty slow so I focused on running well for the rest of the descent into Footbridge.  The trail rolled along past one more aid station before beginning a fairly steep rocky descent down to Footbridge.  Along the way there was a few mud bogs in the trail which were either wet and liable to suck your shoes off or dry with old horse track causing some rough trail.  Anyhow, I cruised downhill slowing for a few rough sections but mostly making good time down to Footbridge where I would see my dad for the first time.

When I rolled into Footbridge, I didn't feel particularly great but I could tell my body was on the upswing and things would be getting better as I continued up the next canyon.  I grabbed some stuff from my dad and got some ice in my Buff which turned out to be a big help.  I left Footbridge focused only on reaching the turnaround and really started to feel better.  The day was a bit cooler and I had drank a lot of water over the last 2 1/2 hours so I started up the canyon making good time.  I focused on running well but really payed attention to how much I was drinking and eating to make sure I wouldn't have any low points later.  As the climb slowly left the canyon for the open slopes of the Bighorn Mountains the climb got steeper in sections and I threw in some hiking but tried mostly to run as much as I could.  As I closed in on the top, the trial started to level out a bit and I was making really good time but more importantly was feeling really good.  My legs felt pretty fresh and although I still didn't want to eat I could tell I had a lot of energy left.  A mile or two before the turnaround I saw Denise again and she ran into Jaws aid station with me.  Dad was there to meet me and I got a little food but really hadn't eaten much since Footbridge so I didn't need much.  Denise talked me into getting some food at the aid station and I had a little.  I got some more ice in my Buff then headed out, ready for the next big downhill.

I was 9 minutes out of Footbridge before I saw Nate Jaqua followed by another runner.  Soon there was quite a few runners coming by and it was fun to see everyone and cheer on the guys I knew.  Shortly after seeing Nate, the trail headed down again and I started to take off through some patches of trees that soon gave way to open meadows.  My legs were feeling really good so I was flying down the meadows soaking up the cool of the late afternoon and trying to get as far as I could without my light.  Eventually darkness demanded I turn on my light so I used a headlight in combination with a handheld light which worked great.  The handheld light allowed me to look ahead and read the terrain while the headlight was focused close to my feet so I could see what I was stepping on.  The descent down to Footbridge was the best I had felt all day and it seemed to go by quickly as I really got into a rhythm.  Mostly all I remember outside of running was splashing some water on myself at creek crossing to cool off and drinking some Mountain Dew at aid station which quickly became about the only thing I was taking in.  After the meadows up high and a couple short technical sections down by the river I came back to Footbridge feeling far better than I did on the was out.  I grabbed a little to eat by mostly just drank some Mountain Dew and headed out.

I felt good leaving Footbridge and ran quite a bit of the climb before it got steep and turned into a hike.  After a short stop at an aid station, I kept moving on the progressively more level trail.  Running through the dark its hard to tell exactly where you are but I was mentally checking off places I had passed on the way out.  I reached the next aid station and asked how far to Dry Fork and heard it was 6 miles.  I headed out toward Dry Fork focused on making good time all the way there.  I was starting to smell the finish but focused on running well to Dry Fork.  Shortly after I left the aid station I could see the light of someones camper out in the woods and I figured that was the ridge I had to climb over before I headed up to Dry Fork aid station.  I kept moving along running quite a bit and only hiking some short steep ups but the camper never got much closer.  After half an hour or so, I realized that was Dry Fork aid station I would see and that the darkness had misled me on how far away the light was.  I found myself running most of the climb coming into Dry Fork which I thought sure would be all hiking.

Dad was there but I didn't take anything from him, just grabbed some Mountain Dew and headed out.  I had 17.5 miles to go and it was mostly downhill.  I started out of the aid station moving well realizing I was close to course record pace and if I ran hard it could easily be my record.  But somewhere in the gentle rollers of the next few miles I fell into a lull and just couldn't get moving all that well over the fairly level terrain.  I reached the last aid station before we plunge downhill on the last descent and asked how far to the finish.  They said about 12.5 miles which sounded good and I thought that I would have time to break Mike Foote's record.  Then came the short but steep climb to the top of the ridge and I hiked hard but was moving slow.  I reached the top of the ridge looked at my watch and I wasn't sure if things were adding up any more.  I figured that I would have to run fast regardless so I took off down the other side flying down the long steady climb I had come up yesterday.

On the descent I just started hammering downhill.  My legs didn't feel shot and I felt very confident on the descent, in such a groove that I didn't even think about falling on the semi-technical trail.  I ran hard through the meadow and don't remember much other than the thrill of the descent in the cool darkness.  The two things I do remember was looking up and seeing the sky starting to lighten ever so slightly, and the rabbit, which froze in the trail under the beam of my light, that I jumped over.  I reached the bottom of the hill and turned down the canyon following a rock strewn trail along the river.  The day was just starting to lighten but not enough to illuminate sections of trail I remembered from the journey out.  Eventually the trail gives was a road which came a little sooner than I expected.  From the trailhead to the finish was about 5 miles with the last mile being on a paved road.  I thought that I had enough time to sneak under Mike Foote's course record when I hit the road but I would have to keep moving quickly.

Road running is not my strength so I knew that I would have to stay focused to maintain a solid pace for the last 5 miles of flat road.  I was running strong down the road but it took a lot of effort to maintain my pace.  Mostly I just thought about moving as fast as I could.  I had seen the road the day before and there was a few places that I knew I had to go by but once I checked those off in my mind, all I was waiting for was the paved road.  This was a mistake because around every bend in the road, I thought I would see pavement on the other side.  As I was nearing the road, a guy on a motorcycle came by and told me that my dad was just around the next corner waiting for me at the bridge.  He also said if I ran fast I would be able to set the course record.

I hit the pavement and about a hundred yard later could see dad standing at the bridge.  From there I got to the bridge ran across the road into Dayton and made a left into Scott Park.  A short run along the edge of the park and I was at the finish.  18:29:39.

All in all, it was a very special day in the mountain and I'm grateful for everyone who helped me along my way.  Obviously my dad deserves a big thank you for crewing for me on race day but also my mom and brother for putting up with me and my running every day.  I also want to thank my uncle and aunt for letting me stay in Bozeman the week before the race and for Denise Bourassa for helping me at a couple aid stations.  Also a big thanks to the race directors for putting on such a great race and all the other runners for making the day so enjoyable.  Finally a thanks to Salomon for providing me with great gear for all of my running adventures.

A Busy Month

McDonald Forest 50K, a trip to Italy, a college visit in Arizona...
definitely a busy month.  Near the start of April we all headed down to Arizona to look at a couple schools.  I was looking at Northern Arizona up in Flagstaff while my brother was looking at both NAU and ASU.  By the end of the month, we both had decided to go to NAU so next fall we will be rooming together in Flagstaff.  At this point I really looking forward to heading to school this fall.  In some ways its a little intimidating, but I'm looking forward to an awesome time in Flagstaff.

On top of Humphrey's Peak just outside of Flagstaff

The end of April brought a trip to Italy for the Salomon Running Academy.  After flying out to Italy, I spent 5 days running in the mountains just above Limone Sul Garda in northern Italy with some other young runners from around the world.  Each day brought new trails and fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.  Being able to run in such a beautiful place was incredible and sharing with so many great people made it even better.

Meeting all the other runners was the best part for me.  We all share a passion for running in the mountains so it was a lot of fun to hang out with everyone there.  At least for me, it felt like we all had been together for more than a week by the time we left.  Hopefully I will be able to stay in touch with everyone and someday run into them again on the trails.

So much fun!

Then the start of May found me home again getting ready to run the McDonald Forest 50K.  This year everyone in my family ran the race!  So the 20th year of the Mac started off with all the Miller running, looking to have some fun on a hot day.  Everyone has their own story for the race but for me the race started out rolling along some logging roads and trials talking with my friend Mike.  At the first aid station I was a minute or two behind and moving along.  After a tough climb up Dan's Trail to get to the second aid station I passed my dad and heard that the leader was 7 minutes ahead.  I headed toward the maze staying positive, but starting to feel the last few weeks of travel adding up.  I kept moving throughout the maze switching spots with a few guys before we slowly spread out.  Shortly before the third aid station, my friend Jason Leman caught up with me looking strong.  I talked with him for a little bit and then he pulled away.  Last year I won the race so that was definitely on my mind but Jason looked so good I knew that was one guy I wouldn't catch.  After the third aid station, we headed back into the maze for a few more climbs and descents before the big climb up Alpha Trail to the saddle.  I passed a few guys, moving into second, and started to think that I might catch Jason after all.  I rolled into the saddle on 2 minutes behind with 5 miles to go.  Heading out of the aid station I took off trying to run him down but soon realized I didn't have any left to give chase. I ran pretty well from saddle to the finish but was just ready to be done.  I managed to hold on to second but was 10 minutes behind Jason when I crossed the finish line, a big conformation of how well he ran.

Gorge Waterfalls 100k - 11:10:57

I wasn't sure how the race would go coming off the Georgia Death Race only two weeks prior.  Obviously, I expected things to go well because I started the race, but you never know what the day will give you.

The 4am start came early, and we headed around the lake and started up the paved trail.  After a mile, the short switchbacks turned to rocky trail as I watched the lights ahead of me slowly pull farther away.  The start felt a bit fast, but thats how most competitive races go so I wasn't too worried to be a little behind.  On top the first hill, I flicked on my handheld light to complement my headlamp and started ripping down the rocky trial catching quite a few runners.  Shortly I hit the first aid station and started up the rolling trail that would accompany us for the majority of the race.  The Gorge trail is usually fairly smooth, but frequently goes through rocky sections which can slow you down, especially if they're wet.

At this point, mile 7, the short uphill pitches felt like I was working too hard, but the pace didn't seem all that fast so I didn't bother to slow down.  I hit the next aid station not too excited but doing okay and was able to see my crew for the first time.  I was cranky coming into the aid station but my friend Cary told me I was only 3 minutes back as I ran through so I felt a little better about that.

The next section I fell into a rhythm with Gary Robbins and Jeff Browning which was some pleasant company to pass the early miles.  Both guys were really nice so we got to talking and somehow the conversation came to beards.  Both guys have beards, so that was funny as they made predictions as to when I too could grow a beard.  As we continued up one of the few long climbs on the course, I realized I was wanting to walk.  Usually, I have to tell myself to walk early on in a race so this wasn't a good sign.  Soon we came to a junction that seemed a little light on marking and we headed up the hill.  A few switchbacks later, Gary says "There's Mario up ahead."  One more switchback and we ran into all the guys who were ahead of us coming back down saying the trail dead-ended just up at that rock.

A few guys thought we should head up again but I talked them into heading down back to the last, under-marked junction just below.  We started down, but there was a change on faith and all the other guys wanted to go back up so headed down alone.  I had run this section before scouting the course and had taken the lower trail on the junction instead of the upper trial that we took.  Still, I wasn't that confident that down was the right way because the marking clearly pointed up and I had missed no end of turns on my previous run so I may have lucked into getting on the right route that day.

I headed down and I knew it would take me on course, I just didn't want to see marking coming in off another trial or else I would be heading back up and running it the right way.  The main factor for my decision was that I wasn't going to go back up to a dead-end.

Fortunately I was on course and made my way along glad to be following pink flags and yellow sign again.  I was thinking that with the guys getting lost, and me being the first one back on the route that maybe this was my day.  I was also realizing that I would need a break like that for to make it happen today.

I reached the next aid station and told James Varner about the vandalism to the marking and he said he would go out and fix it.  I left the aid station secretly hoping the other guys messed around for a while and I picked up 10-15 minutes.  Instead, I was passed shortly after the aid station and realized that I had gained maybe 2-3 minutes which is what I honestly figured.  I was hoping for a Western States spot, top 2, so 22 miles in things weren't adding up for that kind of run.  I had no energy for the ups so the climbs were slow.  I hit the top of the climb leaving the aid station and thought that I would just try to fly on the downs to hang on with the frontrunners.  Unfortunately my downhillers must have been on vacation because I just could get going.

I got passed again by Bob Shebest and found myself in sixth looking over my shoulder ever time the trail turned back on itself.  I was still trying to stay positive, hoping for some problems up front and a strong second half to carry me through the race.  The rest of the way to the turnaround was filled with slow climbs and lazy descents but was highlighted by seeing my friends Chris and Darla who were hanging out cheering on runners a couple miles front the aid station.

I reached the aid station and headed out 5 minutes back, but feeling like crap.  Gary Robbins caught up to me and pulled away a couple miles after the turnaround but there was a fast downhill that I hoped to catch him on.  I was hoping I could hang with him and run the last down hard to pull away because I knew the ups weren't going to be good.  I hit the down and had nothing.  I was so tired I could barely run the down any better than a shuffle.  At that point, I would have been stoked if I could just lay down on the trail curl up in a ball and fall asleep.

At this point I started to become honest with myself.  Today, it was going to be good to finish.  No matter what those guys did up front, they were moving too fast and there was too many of them for them all to blow up for me to have any chance of catching up.  So I switched to the survival shuffle.  Just keep moving.  The faster I go, the sooner it will be done.

I rolled into the aid station at mile 40, only 22 to go.  I don't think my crew realized the death march had begun so I filled them in with some cranky complaints and headed out.  A good aid station though; definitely under a minute getting in and out.

Somewhere along the way my survival shuffle lacked the horsepower for the climbs so it became an uphill walk and downhill shuffle.  Obviously this is trending in the wrong direction if you want to get the race done in a timely manner.  At this point, I was getting passed fairly frequently.  Yassine Diboun caught up with me and I stayed with him as we hiked up for about 5 minutes.  It was a pleasure to talk with him and got me going a little bit but when we headed down, Yassine had too much left and I had to let him go.

As I shuffled along I started thinking of all the place I had to go past to get to the finish.  This is the worst thing you can do, so I figured out which places I would have to pass next, and checked them off one by one.  After one of my mental checkpoints, the first woman, Joelle Vaught and her pacer Denise Bourassa caught up so I gave them some encouragement, then let them go by.  But Denise asked me if I wanted to hang with them and I figured I should try if I wanted to get this thing done.

I shuffled along following the two and mostly just watched Denise's shoes move along in front of me.    That's pretty much how the rest of the race went, I watched Denise's shoes unless she stopped to take a picture and then I watched Joelle's shoes for a while.  The was some conversation but I was pretty much zoned out so I didn't say to much.  A few things I do remember, other than shuffling along, were going past one falls with the mist blowing down on us like rain.  The next section was finally coming into mile 49 and eating some food at the aid station.  Chips and grapes were good but all I really wanted was some of that finishing pizza.  Also, I remember the 2 mile road section to seem to drag on forever.  I was glad it was over because I don't think I could have run much farther without walking.

After the road was where my run turned around.  My mom gave me a package of shot bloks, and I would suck on them one at a time.  I could make them last about a mile and a half so that how I was keeping track of progress.  The finish finally seemed within reach and the shot bloks and the aid station food gave me a little more energy but that faded out shortly enough.

We hit the last aid station then up the paved switchbacks, onto rocky trails, then a long smooth section and we started to descend.  I always enjoy watching the Columbia River slowly move closer on the descent so I kept track of it as we headed down.

We reached the bottom ran past the Multnomah lodge then around the lake and crossed the finish line.  Finally there.  I talked to the James Varner, the race director, for a little bit then sat down and ate some food.

A huge thank you to Denise Bourassa and Joelle Vaught for helping me along during a rough day and a big congratulations to Joelle who's second place finish earned her a spot for this year's Western States 100.

Also thanks to my family who crewed for me and my buddy Cary who came out to the race and helped crew.  It was probably a crappy day to crew but you all put up with me and helped me along.

Finally thanks to all the volunteers out on the course for making the race possible and encouraging me along.  A special thanks to all the volunteers who I knew because its always an extra boost to see someone you know cheering you along.

Thanks to Glenn Tachiyama for some great race day pictures: http://www.tachifoto.net

The Georgia Death Race - 10:27:44

A few days before the race was to be run, the point to point course that the Georgia Death Race follows was reversed.  When I got to Georgia, I learned that there were some issues with the local hiking group not wanting any runners on the trails and that reversing the course had been the only compromise to ensure that the race would be run on most of the original trails.  Obviously there was some complicated details working around this issue and the race director, Sean "Run Bum" Blanton did a great job working with everyone and making the race come off.  Run Bum was able to get most of the original trails on the course, and backed up the start so that a new shuttle could pick up runners at Vogel State Park and bring them to Amicalola Falls State Park.  A big thanks to Run Bum for all his hard work to make the race happen!

For me and my buddy Cary Stephens, who headed out to the Death Race with me, the changes were not a big deal as we were staying 40 minutes away from the new start.  I actually liked the changes because they backed up a 6am start to 8am which meant more sleep.  Being from the west coast, the morning still felt early but I'm sure glad it wasn't 2 hours earlier.

Hanging out with James Varner just before the start

Anyhow, race morning was stress free and I was soon climbing up next to the highest falls in Georgia.  The course headed back down a rocky road to the start then up a short section of paved road, out of the Amicalola Falls State Park and onto some back roads that took us to Nimblewill Gap and Jake Bull aid stations.

Mile 1 - A nice picture thanks to Nathan Holland (5th place finisher)

I was in the lead for the first 4 or 5 miles then this dude form Florida passed me and kept cruising up the road.  One other guy passed me as we climbed to mile 8 and a few others started to catch up.  We crested the hill, and I started rolling down the back side of the hill moving into second and keeping the Floridian, David Kilgore, in sight.  We headed downhill for 5-6 miles then we hit a couple flat miles and David was gone.  I wouldn't see him for a while.

Coming into Jake Bull at mile 17

After Jake Bull, there is a six mile climb up a muddy road.  I ran this section with Michael Owen (the guy behind me in the picture) close by and a bunch of bikes sharing the road with us.  I felt good at this point so I ran up the climb trying to give a solid effort without working too hard.  I got a chance to talk with some of the bikers and they were all pretty impressed that we were running a 68 mile race.  I got to the first crew station, Winding Stair at mile 23, and was feeling pretty good and headed out 7 minutes behind the leader, David Kilgore.

Winding Stair aid station(mile 23)

The next section was some more rolling gravel road so Michael passed me and I moved into 3rd.  I kept cruising wondering if anyone else was going to show up but no one did.  At this point I wasn't thinking about much except that I was tired of the gravel roads.  Initially there was going to be some more single track early on, but now it wasn't until mile 30 when we hit the trails.  Then it was all trail to the finish.

The clouds misted as I made my way toward Sapling Gap at mile 30.  I jumped on the trails there and focused on making up some time on the guys ahead.  I started downhill and my quads didn't feel nearly as fresh as I had hoped but there wasn't a whole lot I could do so I kept rolling.  The single track was nice with a couple rocks here and there but nothing too difficult.  The trail rolled along climbing and mostly descending as we made our way to Point Bravo.

In this section, I caught Michael Owen and stayed a little ways ahead of him till Point Bravo at Mile 43.  At this point I was mostly thinking about David Kilgore up ahead and wondering how he was doing.  Mom met me at Point Bravo and I headed out quickly onto the Benton MacKaye Trail.
This is where the course turns from rolling hills with some long climbs and descents to steep short ups and downs for the rest of the race.

I left Point Bravo about a minute ahead of Michael Owen and 4 minutes behind David Kilgore.  I can't say I was feeling great at Point Bravo but I was ready to start racing hard. I ran most of what the course brought save for steep climbs where I switched to a fast power hike.

At this point the day heated up a little and I was drinking more water than earlier.  I was just 5 miles onto the BMT and I passed a couple volunteers who said David was just 2 minutes out.  That was good news as I was slowly closing the gap.  The bad news was that they also told me it was 3.5 miles to the next aid station and I was low on water.

I knew I was going to run out of water before the aid station but didn't worry about that too much because that was a pretty common occurrence for me on my runs.  I would just have to drink up at the aid station when I got there.  Anyhow, I focused on catching David and a hill or two later I saw him stretching by a tree.  He looked up right as I saw him and the race was on.

He took off up the next climb and I followed keeping him in sight.  David ran hard for about five minutes and I could tell he was working because as we went on he would throw in some hiking on the little climbs.  I started to close in and on one climb he started to hike and I kept running.  When I caught him, I passed him quickly, expecting him to follow but after the next little hill he was nowhere to be seen.

Now I was up front and alone so I had to keep moving and take care of myself.  I got to Fish Gap, 15.5 miles to go, and was thirsty.  I drank a bottle in the aid station then filled both my bottles and headed out.  From here it was about 8 miles to the top of Coosa Bald, then 7 miles to the finish from there.  I shuffled up the hills, trying to limit hiking to the steep grades, knowing that I wouldn't be giving up any time when I was running.  At Mulky Gap I saw my crew and kept moving along trying to get to the top of Coosa.

Coming into Mulky Gap

The whole route to the top of Coosa was a slow grind and felt like it took way longer than it should have.  I was hoping to get in some good downhill running off of Coosa, but at this point my quads were shot and I couldn't get going fast enough to make the descent exciting.

Finally I got to Wolf Creek with 3.5 miles to go.  There was a gradual two mile climb then a downhill finish.  I was ready to be done there, so I set my mind to running all of the climb and started grinding away.  Finally I hit the downhill and that went by pretty quick.  I saw some cabins and shortly after was running down the road to the finish line.

When I crossed the finish line, I was glad to be done.  The last few miles really turned into a grind but I was happy that I was able to keep moving at a solid pace instead slowing up and doing a lot of hiking.

A deer skull for first - that's pretty cool

I hung out at the finish line for a few hours once I was done and was happy to see my buddy Cary come in in 13:13.  His most ambitious goal was 14 hours so that was one heck of a run.  Big congrats to him and everyone else who ran the race.

All in all, I was very happy to be done and with my performance.  Definitely an improvement from my Orcas Island performance (a very solid run) which is what I was hoping to see and makes me excited for the rest of the year.  My goal is always to keep improving so I'm glad I'm moving in the right direction.  At this point last year, I already had made some mistakes that I haven't this year.  I will probably look back on the year in December and find a way to improve but right now there isn't anything major I would change which makes me very happy.  Mainly though, I feel that I'm better prepared than last year in many ways and am excited to see what I can do.

Next up is the Gorge Waterfalls 100k in 2 weeks.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do between the two races but I'm excited to get racing again on March 28.

Top 3: Travis Macy(3rd), myself, Michael Owen(2nd) - big congrats to both guys for going under 11, that's fast

Kandy Ferris-womens winner, Run Bum, and myself

A big thanks to everyone who helped crew for me throughout the race, especially my mom who everything possible to help me on race day.  Also, thanks to all of the volunteers for making the race happen.  Finally, thanks to Run Bum for putting on a terrific race and Ian Sharman, director for US Skyrunning, for putting such a great race in this year's Skyrunning circuit.

Running in the Columbia Gorge

Scouting out the Gorge Waterfalls 100k course

I won't be seeing all these falls on race day because I already missed a turn

Back on track, heading toward Multnomah Falls

Some flowers back home in McDonald Forest

Lookout Mountain

Me on Lookout Mountain

South from Lookout Mountain

A bee

The first fairy slipper

Running has been good.  I've been getting around the forest a lot and have been welcomed by some early flowers.  That fairy slipper is about a month ahead of usual because of all the warm dry weather.  But it will get wet soon...at least in Georgia.  I'll be running the Georgia Death Race on Saturday so if you want to follow along I think that the race is supposed to be on Ultra Sports Live.  The Death Race is supposed to have 40,000 vertical feet of change over 68 miles which will make it one tough run.  I haven't run anything this hard and long this early in the year so we will see how that goes.  I'm feeling good though so I hope to have a really solid run out there.
After the Death Race, I'm planning to run Gorge Waterfalls 100k two weeks later so I will have to recover quickly after I take on the Death Race.  Gorge Waterfalls 100k is a Montrail Ultra Cup race so the top two runner get an automatic entry to this years Western States 100.  That is definitely a goal of mine but I will have to see how the next couple weeks go.
No matter what happens though, I'm going to take a few weeks easy after I race 130 miles in two weeks.  Really excited to get going, I'm heading out to Georgia tomorrow.