McDonald Forest 50K

Last year the conditions at the Mac were ideal.  Soft, dry trails, and a cool overcast day with a high around 60.  You couldn't ask for more.  But over the last few months I'd been thinking, I'd really like a muddy Mac.

The course has been dry on race day for quite a few years.  I thought it would be nice to have some mud like the days of old.  I've never experience a course that lived up to the stories of people losing shoes or passing other runners while standing still because their fellow runners were sliding back down the hill.  I thought it would be fun.

By the end of April it looked like I'd get my wish.  Race week rain added to the mud leaving the conditions wet enough that OSU asked us to skip one small section of fresh-cut trail to avoid tearing it up!

The race start was rather abrupt so it took everyone a minute or two to settle into a rhythm on the first climb.  I thought we were moving pretty well up 500 Road, but 3 other guys didn't think it was fast enough!  By the time we reach the Powderhouse trail descent I was 5-10 seconds back of the top three runners.

While they weren't happy with the uphill pace, I decided we should be running downhill faster, so on the descent back down to Cronemiller Lake, I took the lead and let the other guys follow.

Rounding the end of the lake, there was a big group of people who hiked up from the start to cheer us on.  Seeing so many locals out there put a smile on my face.  The community around the Mac is the highlight of the race!

After a brief stretch of road, we headed onto Calloway Creek trail and the lead group of runners started to bunch up again.  The second half of Calloway Creek was lined with lots of iris, and as I watched the flowers I could hear runners bunching up behind me.  I though someone would pass me, but everyone seemed content to continue to follow along.

Calloway Creek went by quickly and soon we were heading up TNT, now an official trail called New Bonsai (or Nonsai).  After the gravelly start to the trail, we reached our first section of muddy trail.  The trail had already been trampled by early starters, so the mud a little slick in spots.  There was a little talk at the bottom of the trail, but we started to spread out as we each settled into our own pace for the climb.

After a short stretch on 543 Road, we were back on New Bonsai and climbing through the mud again.  I started to pull away through this stretch and was 15 or 20 seconds ahead when we reached the top of the climb.

The next couple miles continue to follow New Bonsai and then Lower Dave's trail.  Both of these trails aren't graveled so I was optimistic the muddy conditions would work in my favor.  By the time I reached the end of Dave's I couldn't hear anyone behind me.

After Dave's we followed 580 Road toward the Saddle.  I passed my friend Rita in this section and a few more early starters.  Seeing them out there always gives me a boost!

By the time I reached Old Growth Trail I could hear the runners behind me closing in.  Turning onto Old Growth I looked back down 580 Road and saw a couple guys right on my heels and a few more within 15 or 20 seconds.  Looks like I gave up some time on the road.

I passed a lot of early starters on Old Growth and New Growth, including John and Scott who were going to hike the race, and soon found myself back on 580 Road heading up to the Saddle.  The top group of guys had spread out a little bit, but there was still 4 or 5 people within 30 seconds of each other.  Last year, the race had already spread out a bit more.

Old Growth Trail - Mile 8

Old Growth Trail - Mile 8

Old Growth Trail - Mile 8

I didn't stop at the Saddle aid station, mile 9, and soon was climbing up Ridge Trail.  There was a couple other guys right behind me on Ridge so I assumed they didn't stop at the aid station either.  I pulled away on the climb up Ridge and had a small lead by the end of the trail.

Turning onto Lower Bomb's Away I saw my friend Tyler and said a quick hello.  The day before the race, I ran into Tyler when I was biking so knew that he'd be somewhere on the course.  Seeing so many people I know out on the trails is the highlight of my day.

I saw a few more early starters on Lower Bomb's Away including Randy Law and Jamshid Khajavi who would finish their 23rd and 26th Macs on Saturday.  Impressive!  At the end of Lower Bomb's there is a couple switchbacks and when I passed through here I didn't see anyone behind me.  I figured I was 20 or 30 seconds ahead.

After a short stretch of road, we headed into The Maze.  The Maze has always been my favorite part of the Mac as the trails are narrow, twisting, and often steep.  It's not the fastest running, but I find it the most fun.  I passed a few early starters on the first descent into The Maze and a few more on the descent down Low Rider and Baker Creek trails.  Seeing my friends Jan and Ken in this section, and Clem, who was volunteering, was great!

Knucklehead - Mile 10

Knucklehead - mile 10

After crossing Baker Creek bridge, I started climbing up Shave and a Haircut trail and looked back toward Baker Creek trail.  I didn't see anyone coming, so I figured that I was at least 1 minute ahead of second place.  A few minutes later I passed the last couple early starters and was on my own.

I love seeing other runners on race day.  In particular, I like seeing people at the Mac because so many of them I know pretty well.  But when I'm racing, my favorite part is when I'm alone.  When the runners have spread out enough that you can't see anyone ahead of you or behind you, that's what I really enjoy.

It's probably just what I'm most comfortable with.  I have done the vast majority of my running alone and have always seen running as an individual pursuit.  When there are too many people around, that's just not what I enjoy.

After leaving The Maze, I gave The Queen a quick hello and she pointed me up Innuendo.  I settled into a steady rhythm for the climb up Innuendo and kept up the pace as I hit 700 Road and gave a quick hello to my friend Liz and Kamm.

Heading up McCulloch Peak, I kept telling myself "take it easy".  Of course, I was running fast, but I didn't want to push too much.  It would be a little reckless to push hard at this point and I really wanted to have a good day out there.

I always want to have a good day out there, but the 26th Mac was a little extra special for me.  I had already got the mud I wished for, and this year's course was the best Mac course I've ever ran!  Each year the course changes a little and getting the inside scoop from the race directors, I knew that future courses will be a bit different.  With that said, I made sure to maintain a measured effort on the climb up McCulloch Peak.

My friend Warren directed me to the top of McCulloch where I stopped briefly to get some water from the aid station.  From there I descended down No Secret trail and into a low cloud which brought with it a touch of rain.  The light drizzle kept up as I made my way onto Playtime trail.

My legs were still feeling good, but I was a little disappointed to feel some fatigue in my quads.  My shoes, the Sense Pro 4, have been discontinued, so I've been trying a some new pairs over the few months.  A couple of these pairs aggravated my left foot a bit which left my training a little bit behind last year's.

Regardless, I was going to give it my best effort, so I focused on staying smooth and efficient on the descent down Playtime.  Soon I popped out on 680 road and ran down the short road descend before heading into The Maze for the second time.

Cross Cut and Lovely Rita trails weren't too muddy and I was moving fast on my way down to Baker Creek.  After Baker Creek, the climb up What Do You Know seemed pretty easy.  On the Sly trail went by quickly too and by the time I arrived at the bottom of Knucklehead I was 5 minutes slower that I thought I'd be.  That's the magic of The Maze.

Knucklehead was fairly slick at this point, so the climb up wasn't too fast.  The climb is short though so I knew I wouldn't lose much time if I focused on getting to the top without slipping around too much.  It couldn't have been more than 2 or 3 minutes and I was back on 640 Road running toward Upper Bomb's Away.

Knucklehead - mile 19

Knucklehead - mile 19

Knucklehead - mile 19

Knucklehead - mile 19

Now that I was through The Maze, the course was all easy running.  Upper Bomb's Away had a few muddy spots and one or two steeper pitches, but it is mostly a mellow grade.  I ran ran pretty fast through this section and soon was headed onto High Horse trail.

High Horse was in good shape except for the three dips in the trail that are always boggy.  High Horse felt pretty short and when I turned onto Hydra I had a quick laugh at the "Trail Closed when travel leaves tracks" sign.  There would probably be a few tracks today.  Realistically there's muddy tracks for 6 months of the year because no one is going to use the trails for only half the year.  After all, what's the point of having trails if you can't use them?

With that said, Hydra wasn't all that muddy.  There were a couple flat sections were the water always pools, but the trail was mostly pretty dry.  I made decent time through here, but on the brief descent to the 600 Road junction, my downhill legs were feeling a little slow.

It only took me a few minutes to reach Dimple Hill and my Dad met me on top with a couple water bottles.  I grabbed these, yelled thanks to the folks at the aid station and headed down Dan's trail.

Dan's is an easy gravel descent but I could feel my quads starting to feel the miles a bit at this point.  Last year my quads felt great the whole race, but going into the race I was pretty sure I wouldn't have that luxury this year.  However there was only 10 miles to go and 2 significant descents left, so I did my best to open it up on Dan's.

I made it to the bottom of Dan's pretty fast and started the gentle climb up to Middle Horse.  This section of road is easy running and I made good time though here.  Upper Horse is also easy running and I felt like I maintained pretty solid pace up to 600 Road.

Horse Trail - Mile 22

Horse Trail - Mile 22

Horse Trail - Mile 22

After Horse, there's just over half a mile on 600 Road before reaching Ridge Trail.  My Dad was at the top of Ridge Trail and he estimated that the second place runner was 8 minutes behind at Dimple Hill.  I'm not the fastest runner out there, so on more runnable terrain, like we would cover from Dimple Hill to the finish, I knew I might give up some time if someone else was feeling good.  Hearing this gave me a little extra motivation to push up the short climb on Ridge Trail and descend quickly down to the Saddle.

I didn't stop at the Saddle aid station as I had just got water at Dimple Hill.  Leaving the Saddle, there is a climb up Vineyard Mountain which is fairly gentle.  I started running up the Vineyard Mountain Trails and a few thoughts went through my mind.  My friend Cary had mentioned 4:20 at the beginning of the race and I had a vague recollection of how long this section had taken me last year.  There were also a few guys behind me, maybe not that far back if they were running fast.  But that was too much to think about.  I just tried to run as fast as I could.  If my mind started to wander, I told myself "faster".

I would have been fine if the race ended on top of Vineyard Mountain, but there was still 3 miles to go.  First, windy Dave's (High Dave's trail).  I thought the multitude of switchback on the second half of this trail would be a bit slow in the mud, but all the corners were dry so I had no problem rounding them at speed.  The only problem, was the downhill corners weren't that popular with my quads at that point.  Didn't matter, faster!

Upper Dave's trail only had 2 switchback and is faster running.  This went by quickly.  I was on 500 Road.  There about a half mile on the road before the final trail descent.  The first part of the road is downhill and goes by fast.  The second part is flat and doesn't go by fast.

When I reached Section 36 and the 1.6 miles to the finish sign, I turned right and started the short climb up before the final descent.  As I began the climb I took a brief glance up 500 Road to see if anyone was coming.  All clear.

The climb only takes a minute or two and soon I was headed down to the finish.  Last year I reached the top of this climb and started bombing downhill right away.  This year it took me a little bit to get in gear.  My quads were definitely feeling it at this point, so it took a little encouragement to get them going.

I ran the downhill fast, but I definitely had to push myself.  My legs wanted to slow up anytime the trail got a little steeper, but I did my best to keep them moving fast.

The two short climbs near the finish felt easy and soon there was nothing but downhill between me and the finish.  And not much downhill either.

Crossing the finish line of the Mac this year felt great!  Every year it feels great, but this year was special to me because I really wanted to run well.  This time the race meant quite a bit more.  The course was terrific and we finally had another muddy day on race day.  I knew this combination might never come again so I really wanted to deliver.

The Finish

Thanks to my Mom and Mike Rosling (the race directors) for putting on such a great race.  I'm always impressed at how much effort goes into putting on the Mac!  Thanks to all the volunteers out there who helped with the race.  It's this incredible community that makes the Mac such a special event.

Jamshid Khajavi running his 26th Mac!

Karen King running her 26th Mac!

WHAT I USED ON RACE DAY:

Shoes: Salomon Sense Pro 4 (discontinued)

Socks: Injinji Compression socks

Shorts: Sense 5

Shirt: Sense Tee

Pack: Sense Pro 5

Anti-chafe: SNB

Gels: VFuel

April

Flowers

This year the fairy slippers arrived until March 22 which was a bit later than previous years.  We had a lot of cold clear days in January and February, so while daytime temps were often in the 50s (at least above the fog), it was still freezing each night.

The warm spell that brought out the fairy slippers, also led to the arrival of glacier lilies and one iris just a few days later!  While this weather slowed down the fairy slippers, the glacier lilies and iris were out earlier than usual.  The trillium came out in early March which was on par with previous years.  Here's some pictures:

Gorge Waterfalls:

This April, the Gorge Waterfalls 100K and 50K happened for the first time since 2017!  The Gorge Waterfalls course, and the entire Columbia Gorge trail system, were severely damage by the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire so it was exciting to see the race finally happen again.

However, there is still a long way to go in reopening all the trails in the Columbia Gorge.  Even after massive efforts to clear trees, rebuild trails, and clean up landslides, many of the trails in the Gorge are still closed.  All the trail in red on the map below are still closed.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/crgnsa/alerts-notices

The Columbia Gorge trail system has a good chance to make a full comeback from the Eagle Creek fire for a couple reasons.  First the fire was close to Portland so there's a big population center nearby to help clear and rebuild the trails.  Second, most of the trails are easily accessible from Interstate 84.

While the Columbia Gorge trail system is likely to make a full comeback in a few more years (hopefully), a lot of the trail systems that burned in Oregon's 2020 fires will probably be lost forever as many of the 2020 fires were much larger than the Eagle Creek fire and in far more remote places.

Snow

This April we had snow in the local hills around Corvallis.  On the 11th and 12th, there was a little snow on McCulloch Peak, half an inch to an inch.  On the 13th, I ran up Vineyard Mountain (about 700 feet lower than McCulloch) and was in 3-5 inches of snow for most of the run.  The next day I went up McCulloch Peak and ran in 4-6 inches of snow.  Crazy!  In McDonald Forest (hills above Corvallis), 4-6 inches is a lot of snow for December or January!

In Corvallis, there was never snow in town, but just outside of town there was lots.  At the Portland Airport, there was snow in April for the first time since 1940 when the records started being kept!

Trailwork

The new Daves-510 connector trail got started on April 16!  About 1/4 mile of trail corridor was cleared (including weedwacking through big blackberry patch) and some sections were benched leaving those sections of trail completely finished!

There's still quite a ways to go, but it's exciting to see more new trails being built in McDonald Forest.  Hopefully the trail will be finished up by this fall so it can be used in the Condor 25K course!

 

Thunder River Loop

The Thunder River - Deer Creek loop starts from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Coming from Kanab, UT, the last hour of the drive is on dirt roads.  Forty-five river miles downstream from the Bright Angel trail, this portion of the Grand Canyon feels much more remote.

The Thunder River loop starts on the Bill Hall trail which follows the rim for about half a mile, then descends into the canyon.  Initially the trail is steep and rocky before contouring between two cliff bands, searching for a place to descend further into the canyon.

Another rocky descent leads to tight switchbacks leading down to the Esplanade, a plateau roughly 2000 feet below the rim.  Small rocks cover the loose, sunbaked trail making the descent slippery.

Looking back toward the rim from the Esplanade, it's not readily apparent how the trail made its way down.  So often the rock walls of the Grand Canyon make passage seem impossible.  At least from a from a distance.

Looking back at the rim, it is a puzzle to figure out how I ended up on the Esplanade.

My journey to the Esplanade was much longer than just the trail.  This November I ended up on the Esplanade for the 4th time.  The first time was back in 2016.  After years of hiking from the south rim, we discovered the Thunder River loop looking for new terrain to explore in the Grand Canyon.

From the south rim, we had hiked the Grandview trail, the Boucher trail, the Hermit trail, the Kaibab trail, and the Bright Angel trail.  Each of these trips we explored some new places and often covered some of the same ground we had in previous years.

Whether trekking along the Tonto platform or hiking over to Clear Creek on the north side of the canyon, we always preferred the more remote sections of the canyon.  Now that we've hike the Thunder River loop 4 times, I realize that solitude of the area was just as appealing as finding new terrain.

The unique geology of the Grand Canyon has always captivated my family.  Before we went to the Grand Canyon for Thanksgiving weekend, we hiked the trans-Zion traverse over the previous Thanksgiving.  After seeing the massive shear walls in the main canyon and endless red and white slick rock slopes, we decided to head back to the southwest the next year.

I'm not sure what drew us to the Grand Canyon.  Perhaps the chance to explore a new place or maybe the warmer weather a little further south.  In the high country on the west side of Zion, we hiked through snow and had our water bottles freeze overnight.

After our first trip to the Grand Canyon, we decided to go back again.  I'm not sure if the plan was to continue to explore new places in the southwest or if there even was a plan, but something about the Grand Canyon repeatedly drew us in.

With huge red-stone walls, stacked one atop another, the Grand Canyon extends thousands of feet down to the Colorado River.  Along the way, the compilation of cliff walls creates endless side canyons in country so rugged that I often wonder if there are places where no one has ever set foot.

Many of side canyons in the Grand Canyon have trails, but if you choose to leave the trail behind, cross-country travel is slow.  Loose, rocky terrain makes the footing challenging.  Prickly pear cactus guard the way.  Perhaps the biggest challenge is the lack of water.

The Grand Canyon is remarkably devoid of water for a place which was created by water.  As the power of water is more evident in the Grand Canyon than anywhere else, it is ironic that trips are largely dictated by the location of the next water source.

That's how we ended up camping above Thunder River for our first night of this trip in the Grand Canyon.  Thunder River was the first water source available.

Thunder River is more than just a water source.  Flowing right out of the cliff wall, Thunder River has an estimated flow rate of 21 million gallons per day.  The river descends quickly before feeding into Tapeats Creek which in turn feeds into the Colorado River.

We descended along Thunder River to Tapeats Creek in the morning cool.  There are two trails along Tapeats Creek: one crosses the creek, the other does not.  This year we chose to stay dry.

The dry route along the west side of the creek climbs high above the creek to avoid cliffs near the water.  The hike along the east side offers some scenic sections close to the creek.  After the trails rejoin, there is a spur to an overlook above the Colorado River where we stopped for a quick snack.

A faint trail follows the Colorado River.  Winding through jumbled rocks, brush, and sand, the route led us toward Deer Creek.  The midday sun was surprisingly hot at the river.

Halfway to Deer Creek, the river edge becomes blocked by cliffs and the trail climbs to avoid them.  Actually two trails lead up from the river.  One climbs up immediately while the other follows the river a while longer.

We thought about taking the lower trail this year, but did not give much effort looking for the start of the it.  We had looked for the trail before, but have never been able to find it.  At least, not the east end of the trail which starts down by the river.

Each year we see the west end of the trail where it ties in near Deer Creek and spend time wondering where the trail goes.  One day we will take the low trail.  Perhaps we just need to hike the loop in reverse, then we won't have to find the east end of the trail.

We reached Deer Creek early in the afternoon, so decided to hike down to the Colorado River in the evening.  The trail leads down a tight canyon with a few exposed spots before descending down wide switchbacks to the river.

The Colorado River flowed by peacefully in the afternoon while Deer Creek falls poured down from above.  We headed back shortly after arriving to have time to eat before darkness.

Photo: Jacob Miller

Photo: Jacob Miller

Like Thunder River, Deer Creek is also spring fed.  Unlike, Thunder River, the spring is off the beaten path, so this year we decided to find it.

The hike up Deer Creek was easy due to a recent flood which had knocked down much of the brush along the creek.  The walls of the creek bed grew tall and eventually we were unable to follow the creek without getting our feet wet.

We crossed to the west side of the creek and found a trail leading upstream.  Following the trail, we ended up back in the creek bed at the foot of a brushy hillside, the sure sign of water in the Grand Canyon.

Upstream the creek bed was dry, but water was flowing into the creek from the hillside.  We hiked up to find the source, but the brush was so thick that we only were able to get close enough to the spring to hear the rush of water.

After our detour to the Deer Creek spring, we hoisted our packs and began the ascent to Surprise Valley.

We stopped briefly in the shade to eat a snack, before resuming our climb out of the canyon.  Leaving Surprise Valley behind us, we began ascending to the Esplanade.

The climb to the Esplanade is short and the traverse along the Esplanade takes much longer.  Each year it seems surprising.  Regardless, we found ourselves at the foot of the final climb out of the canyon in the early afternoon.

Standing on the Esplanade looking back toward the rim, the route to the top is hard to pick out.  Which brings me back to how I ended up in the Grand Canyon to begin with.

Stumbling on the Grand Canyon after our trip to Zion was a lucky find.  November brings ideal weather in the Grand Canyon: reasonable temperature and minimal chance of getting snowed on.

Stumbling on the wonders of the Southwest was even luckier.  The summer before our trip to Zion, we went backpacking in Washington.  The plan was to start at Snowqualmie pass and hike across the Kendall Katwalk.

That year, there was too much snow to cross the Katwalk, so we found a new starting point and headed into the woods.

Our trip was brief.  Upon reaching our first campsite, we spend the afternoon sitting by the lake with all our raingear on to combat the mosquitoes.  The next day we hiked as far as we would before the trail became covered in deep snow and we couldn't follow it though the trees.

After that we headed over a ridge and descended down the valley on the other side in hopes of finding some bare ground to hike.  The river in that valley was swelled up from snowmelt and too deep to cross.  We decided to throw in the towel and head out.  It was the first time we bailed on a trip.

To make up for that, we decided to try for a trip in the fall.  Jacob and I had got the entire Thanksgiving week off that year, so we decided to head to Zion.  The trip was great and our Thanksgiving backpacking trip has been a tradition we've tried to maintain.

Looking back on it, it's amazing how one setback opened up an entirely new opportunity.  Well, Zion, the Grand Canyon, and a Thanksgiving trip were there all along, but sometimes it takes a little adversity to get you looking in the right places.