The sky was painted was painted in pastels and the rock walls were glowing in the sunlight creeping over the horizon. Wow, I thought, this is absolutely incredible. The second morning of our Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim adventure was already a complete 180 from our first day filled with rain and thunderstorms.…
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Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim – Part 1
Read moreA flash of light above us, and I instinctively started counting under my breath, “One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, four-” BOOM! Thunder reverberated off the canyon walls. I dug in with my poles and tried to hike faster up the trail that had become a river of water. Who would have thought the first…
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Ultra Pedestrian Wilderness Challenge – Chinook Pass Loop (32 miles) – 2019
Read more“I am not throwing away my shot.” Step, step. “ I’m just like my country, young, scrappy and hungry, and I’m not throwing away my shot.” Step, step. Singing along loudly to the soundtrack of Hamilton is a totally normal bear deterrent, right? My friend, Sarah, and I had been on the trail for only…
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Running Around Mt. Hood on the Timberline Trail
Read moreRunning around a volcano was not something I ever expected to do – the explode-y kind or not. But here in the Pacific Northwest we have some majestic volcanoes that happen to have trails circumambulating them. The trails all feature breathtaking views, a variety of wildlife, and all the wildflowers you could possibly want. None…
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UltraPedestrian Wilderness Challenge Owyhigh Lakes Loop – 36 miles
Read moreTwo years ago I did my first UltraPedestrian Wilderness Challenge of 32 miles, and it was a very fun, challenging, and inspiring experience. I’ve been itching to go on another, and was so tempted by another loop near Mt. Rainier that I was able to work it into my training this year. My friend Ellen…
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Sunrise to Mystic Lake
Read moreYou guys, today was THE BEST. Taking a personal day from work to go run in the mountains? Highly recommended. My friend, Heidi, was crewing for two of her friends running the Wonderland Trail in three days (!!!), and she asked if I’d be interested in a run at Mt. Rainier National Park. I love that…
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Image Lake via Miner’s Ridge Trip Report – 31 miles
Read moreWOW, what a fantastic day on a beautiful trail! My friend, Ellen, is training for her first 50 miler (yay!), and both she and I needed some big mileage for training purposes. She heard of this runnable route up to Image Lake, boasting great views, and it was exactly what we needed. 31 miles and 4,400…
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UltraPedestrian Wilderness Challenge: Chinook Pass/Ohanepecosh River Loop (32 miles)
Read moreWow. What a fantastic day with my friend, Rachael. At the end of the day we sat in the car, still sweat-drenched, cold, and achy, gorging on wonderfully fatty pizza and quesadillas. We reflected how for both of us, this was our favorite ultra to date. And isn’t that awesome? The day started early –…
