“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…
-
Ancient & Dusty Lakes Trip Report
It’s that time of year when we’re all itching to get up into the mountains, but the high country is still buried in snow, and our “regular” winter trails are feeling a bit lackluster. What to do? Head over Snoqualmie Pass to run on the dry side of the mountains (like we did for our Cowiche…
-
Chuckanut Training Run 2018
This weekend was the annual Chuckanut Training Run (thanks for hosting Balanced Athlete and Aspire Adventure Running!) I’ve run the Chuckanut 50K twice now (2016 race report and 2017 race report), so I knew what to expect on the course. However, I was grateful to have this opportunity to get reacquainted with it’s challenges and charms, and have…
-
Desert Runcation Part 1: Joshua Tree National Park
We have a tradition (does two times make a tradition?) of taking a desert runcation in late winter/spring to combat the dark and rainy Seattle days. Last year we spent time in Zion National Park (part 1 and part 2.) This year we went to Southern California with the goal of exploring Joshua Tree National…
-
A Lovely Little Run at Deception Pass State Park
It’s been a few weeks since my last post, and like many people, I’ve been swept up in all of the insanity extra things that the holiday season brings. More fun social events, more obligations, more excuses to eat cookies, less daylight, and the slightly dazed feeling that you’re on a sparkly, carol-blasting, cookie-driven ride…
-
Sunrise to Mystic Lake – now with (a bit) more mileage!
Another fantastic day running with friends on the Wonderland Trail in Mount Rainier National Park! 20 miles, stunning views, and excellent company. All of my favorite things in one day! First off, Ellen, Tara, and I left Seattle in the very early hours, but that meant we got a cotton candy sunrise (complete with alpenglow)…
-
Night Running
This weekend I had the new experience of trailrunning at night! A friend of mine, Ellen, (of the Image Lake adventure) is going to pace a runner at Cascade Crest, and I’m training for my first 100 miler. Neither of us had trail run at night before, and we figured it probably shouldn’t be a…
-
Sunrise to Mystic Lake
You 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…
-
Pacific Crest Trail 50K
This past Saturday I ran a wonderfully casual Pacific Crest Trail 50K that’s part of a training weekend for Cascade Crest 100. However, many folks running it were doing it just for fun or general training (like myself), and not specifically in preparation for Cascade Crest. It’s a point to point, so we carpooled to…
-
Image Lake via Miner’s Ridge Trip Report – 31 miles
WOW, 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…