FSTPKR

GET UP TO GET DOWN - Trailer

2012-01-16T11:45:00.000-08:00

Been working long hours in my spare time on a film of Team Krud Monkey's adventure on the Grand Enchantment Trail this past spring. The name of the film is GET UP TO GET DOWN! I have put up a trailer of the film above to stoke the fire on this one. I have over 6 hrs of footage to sift through... so consider the trailer the tip of the iceberg. Who knows when I will get the film completed, I still need to get up the rest of my journal entries from the trip. You can see what I have completed of the journal here. Definitely turn this one up. You can watch it in full screen mode at home, I recommend opening the film and letting it set until it completely loads on YouTube. Then you can let it rip without any hiccups! It also looks good in the normal size, but since it is HD you might still benefit from letting it load completely then watching it. Make sure and turn it up, bang it! That second song wasn't as loud as I hoped.

We got scorpions, cowboy music, elk, incredible scenery, old rust, antelope, fox, rattlesnakes, javelina, bear, desert bighorn, raptors, hummingbirds and much more...get your GET on! Special thanks to my sponsors for supporting this film! Also special thanks to Brett Tucker of Simblissity for putting together this excellent route! By the way Brett makes the lightest wallets for fastpacking on the market, dig those here (go to travel wallets and click on Litefold T Line). I have been rocking the same bright pink one since 2006. I get plenty of comments on it.

Oh and by the way I put up a new FKT enroute... more on that later after I get all the journals up.

Echo Summit Challenge 2011

2011-12-29T20:20:00.000-08:00

Long over due I have two trail running race reports to share here at FSTPKR. The first race, the Echo Summit Challenge went well minus the fact that most of the entrants didn’t show due to a little rain in the forecast. That is their loss as the rain made the running much cooler and it kept the dust down as well. Ended up being a really pretty race course and one I would hope to run again if the field is a little deeper than just me.

Micro Monkey and I went up and checked out the course and aid stations a few weeks prior to the race and a write up of that is here. I was glad we did this as it gave me an excellent idea of how to pace myself for this course. It also gave me a good battle plan of how to break up the race and how to best make use of Micro Monkey who was kind enough to support me in this race.

Micro and I headed up to South Lake Tahoe the night before the race and shacked up in a Motel 6 there. We where able to get off work early Friday night which allowed us to get settled in at the motel well before bed time. Micro had found a really cool little pasta place that was a couple blocks away from our motel. I have done really well recently getting a nice pasta dinner in me as a pre race meal. We walked it back to our motel room and feasted on the excellent made to order pasta dinner.

After dinner I got on the roller and worked out some kinks in my back from the ride up in the car. I had also taken my melatonin with dinner so my lids where feeling heavy as I worked my body over good for an hour with the roller. I crawled into bed at 9:PM and it was lights out.

The next morning @ 5:AM I was up and getting my pre race meal together. I like to get that meal in me a good 2.5-3hrs before lift off. My pre race meal consists of a rice cake with almond butter spread on it and Hammer Caffe Latte Perpetuem mixed with soy milk (about a 16 oz drink). I love the taste of the Caffe Latte flavor and it mixes well with soy milk. After this quick breakfast it was back onto the roller for 45 minutes to work out any kinks I had developed sleeping on the soft motel bed. I also did a little bit of stretching too. Then it was time to get dressed for battle. I couldn’t believe it but outside it actually looked like it was trying to rain a little. I was unsure of what running gear I would need as Echo Summit is a little higher in elevation than South Lake. I stuck with what had been working for me recently though and got on my spit shorts, Hammer Nutrition singlet, Hammer Nutrition brim and my trusty NB 101’s. I wore some track pants over the tops of my shorts and a windbreaker over my singlet for warmth pre race. I also dusted off my cojones and the inside of my thighs with Zeasorb powder. I had been finding recently that the powder helped with chafe on the longer runs.

Out in the parking lot Micro and I where a well oiled machine. We where packed and in the car in minutes. I was amazed that it was actually looking pretty rainy up higher and it was attempting to drizzle as we left South Lake to drive up to Echo Summit. I was thinking this would be to my advantage though as the temperature would be much cooler and the light rain would keep the dust down.

Up at Echo Lake Summit though, most of the entrants had second thoughts about racing in the rain. I ended up being the only guy running the 20 mile distance and only 2 women where running the same race distance. At first I started to have flashbacks of my first half marathon trail race where I was passed by the first place womens runner with only a couple miles to go to the finish line. Women runners are definitely badasses, it just hurts Kruds delicate ego to keep getting beaten by them! Since I was the only guy toeing the line at this race the women where joking with me that I would most certainly win. I let them know that my race history was quite the opposite and we all got a good laugh out of that. We waited a little past the start time to see if any stragglers might show up. I quickly switched in to racing mode ditching the track pants and windbreaker. I would toe the line in shorts and singlet today with my trusty Hammer Nutrition visor ready for sun or rain. I took a quick lap out of the parking lot and up to the single track just to get a feel for the start of the race. When I returned the race was ready to start. It was an informal start, but I was racing against the clock as no one showed up to race against me in the mens field.

the start finish line is the crack

Once the RD said go I leaned into it and basically sprinted out of the parking lot. I immediately opened up a gap on the field and everyone was laughing as I bounded up the first hill onto the single track. I used to race mountain bikes (the cross country being my specialty) and the entire raced really came down to getting the hole shot in the first few seconds of the race. The “hole shot” is when the race course narrows down to single track. In mountain bike racing the first 10 people to get the hole shot are really the contenders in the race. It is just too hard to pass 50 people to catch a person off the front who is cruising at full tilt unhindered. I am approaching trail running with the same mindset. Plus to me it is a huge mental advantage on a course I already know to be running off the front.

Now Micro and I had a battle plan for this race and it was in effect since the start. Micro was going to hand off a water bottle to me at aid station 2 which is approximately 10 miles into the race. This freed me up to run without anything in my hands. It was working excellent as I went as hard as I could. I honestly felt great from the start like I was floating up the first climb. Knowing the course was a huge advantage too as I knew where I could really open it up and where to conserve energy for climbs on the return trip. Once I crested the first climb up to Echo Summit Pass I put a match to it on the first downhills which where on old 2 track. I bottomed out on the downhill and began a series of climbs and back onto single track. This next segment of singletrack is some of the prettiest of the race course as it was so lush and green. Lots of flowers blooming and a little foot bridge to run across a tiny creek.

I made it to the base of a decent climb and switched into low gear grinding up it. I was so happy that the sun was hiding behind the clouds now as it was much cooler then when I had pre run it a few weekends ago. I made much quicker work of this climb today and dug in as I crested the climb and back into some nice technical descent. I recognized that I was coming into the 2^nd aid station ( I blew right through the first not even breaking stride) and let out a war whoop to Micro to let her know I was coming full steam. She whooped back and I was happy to know she was in position. I had to descend down into a ditch and climb back up the other side, which worked good as I climbed up onto the road not moving fast. Micro got to running slightly in front of me and handed off my small handheld bottle perfectly. I hardly had to slow up! She yelled at me that I was looking good and to keep it up. The volunteers at the aid station seemed a little thrown by me blowing through the aids like this and shouted at me down the trail asking if I was running the 20 miler. Fortunately Micro answered this question for me as I was trying to get my first Hammer Gels into me and my first Endurolytes all sloshed down with Heed from my handheld. I was able to do this with only needing to slow a little on a run.

kept on top of my hydration with my amphipod handhelds

After I got my hydration and fueling squared away it was time to dig in again. The single track popped out onto a graveled road and I let it fly down a long downhill. This was actually one of the sections of the race I knew to make time on. As I approached the 3rd aid station I again surprised the volunteers manning it by blowing right through. There was a short climb up to it then the course dumped back onto single track which was steep and overgrown. Instead of breaking stride I was on top of my hydration and just blasted through.

I made it down to the base of Lovers Leap (a climbing area) and picked my way through the roughest tread of the trail. I was able to dance a little further down than my training run, but finally I was reduced to a fast walk. This section of trail looks like the bottom of a dry river, stone cobbles everywhere. I had planned accordingly to push hard so that I would have time to descend this section safely. There where a ton of climbers approaching the base of the climb and they all looked at me oddly as I went down the trail. When I hit the campground I was on pavement for a brief moment and I opened it up again barreling down the road.

The RD (race director) mentioned a small re route over here in the summer home community of Strawberry. He was worried that the race would be dangerous running into on coming traffic around blind corners. Fine by me as it shortened the course slightly and made use of more single track vs. road running. I had actually got lost over here when I was pre running the course so I knew exactly where this little re route was. As I topped the climb up out of the summer homes I let out another one of my war whoops. Micro answered me so again I had the confidence she was in place as I came into the aid station. I quickly chucked my small handheld and again Micro was jogging out in front of me for the hand off of a larger handheld with a mix of Perpetuem and Heed with 2 more Hammer Gels in the pocket and some more Endurolytes too! Again Micro kept me moving forward and I didn’t even need to break stride.

Right after this aid station the course grinds back up single track behind Lovers Leap. I was already aware of the fact that this would be my second walk up of the race. I switched into low gear and managed to get some more Hammer Gels in me and to start sipping on the Perpetuem/ Heed blend. The climb actually went much faster than my pre run and when I topped out on the first leg of the climb I just switched into low gear and ran the last bit to the top. As I topped out behind Lovers Leap I took in the view briefly and then descended carefully down the backside.

Once I got off the rocky outcrop behind Lovers Leap I opened it up again. Unfortunately I almost blew out of an important turn in the trail. I am glad I caught this as I was going so fast I actually went down the incorrect trail several steps before I could stop and make the necessary correction. I definitely had to earn my win on the return trip back up to Echo Summit as I was generally climbing all the way back. I wasn’t even feeling any fatigue yet (the Race Day Boost working wonders again) so I just dug in and kept up the full tilt pace. I blasted through the 3^rd aid station again on the return and met Micro at the 2^nd aid station for my final hand off. I had now switched back to my small handheld with Perpetuem/ Heed blend and got some more Hammer Gel in me and my last Endurolyte. Micro was impressed at the pace I was moving and said she would see me at the finish.

climbing back up to Echo Summit

I did grab a small cup of water at the 1^st aid station on my way through. Sometimes I just want water to balance out all the Heed and Perpetuem I was consuming. What I can’t sip I just pour the rest over my head. I was now beginning the last of the big climbs up to Echo Summit. I switched into low gear for these, but in no means was I even near bottoming out energy wise. Once I topped the last climb to the summit I let it rip one last time down the small descent into the parking area. I looked at my watch and it looked like I might go under 3 hours on the course, but that wasn’t in the cards for me. I definitely gave it my all though and the proximity to the 3 hour mark spurred me on all the way to the finish.

still sprinted to the crack (finish line)

The RD was definitely very supportive of my run even though I had no competition. I appreciated that. He was asking why I ran so fast, was I trying to go under 3 hours? He also asked why I ran through all the aid stations too. I explained this was all part of the game plan. No awards or anything at this race, but I was satisfied with the excellent course, excellent showing, excellent weather and the satisfaction of a race ran well. I will be that much more prepared to go under 3 hours when I find myself running this race again. This was also the first time I have had dedicated support at a race and Micro Monkey did an excellent job. I am actually pretty dead on with my splits at the aid stations so she has an idea of when I am coming through, and visiting all of the aid stations in advance helps too. She saves me time, effort and distraction filling bottles coming into the aid stations. Not breaking stride and being able to stay in a rythym works well for me too. This gives team Krud Monkey a good idea of how to execute the Lake of the Sky Trail Run a few weeks after this race. Huge shout to my sponsor Hammer Nutrition for helping me fuel properly for the race! I don’t think I have ever felt better during competition in my entire life! I also ran to the finish savoring my victory drink (Strawberry Recoverite), which helped me recover properly post race. The race results may be viewed here. By default I hold the course record at 3:04:59.

Recap on the gear worn and the fueling:

Clothing

Hammer Nutrition brim

Hammer Nutrition Singlet

Pear Izumi Infinity Split Shorts

Amphipod Race Lite Number Belt

New Balance MT 101’s

Anklet running socks

Hydraform Handheld Lite

Hydraform Handheld

Fueling

Hammer Perpetuem Latte and Orange Vanilla

Hammer Heed

Hammer Gel

Hammer Endurolytes

Hammer Race Day Boost

Black Panther Cubs on the FT with Tatu!

2011-12-26T10:38:00.000-08:00

Suwanee River

12/19 7:AM

Tatu is busting miles out to get to St. Marks where he has his last resupply. He has new shoes and pack in this next resupply which is good as he has a giant rip in his pack that he has been sewing and taping with duct tape. He has really enjoyed walking along the Suwanee River. His last few days have been monotonous walking through tree farms and rails to trails segments. He had to walk a rail to trail segment to get around a recently closed section of trail. He is trying to keep his mileage in the high 30’s. He hasn’t had a 40 since early on in the trip walking in the Keyes, his highest mileage day being a 39. He has been trying daily to get a 40, but some obstacle comes up every day that eats up time. On top of that he only has 11 hours of day light to work with. When he gets to St. Marks he has to flag down a boat to get across the river. Problem is his schedule will put him at the river Friday night the 23^rd. He might just try to get across the river Saturday morning. He also only has a few hours to get his package Saturday at the Post Office. This is shaping up to be tight time wise coming into St. Marks. He was going to try to get there earlier, but the mileage isn’t working with him. He is looking forward to walking through the St. Marks Refuge which he has heard good things about. He will also be crossing the I-10 Freeway north of St. Marks (probably means more to thru hikers as several long distance trails cross the I-10 corridor: PCT, CDT and AZT to name a few). He is looking at turning around on 12/3-12/4. This would be a 33 day trip which puts him about 3 days behind schedule. He does have a large storm rolling in though. Depending on how bad the storm hits him this will affect his time turning around. He is still having issues following blazes which are hard to see and when he does see them they are misleading. The worst blazing is on roads. If you aren’t on top of the map and FT paperwork you might lose a lot of time. He is finding it hard to make time on the trail.

this bastard is about 2 1/2 inches wide and was all over it 2 minutes after I crawled inside

12/?

Tatu is almost at the end of his north bound journey on the FT. He got a 43 mile day yesterday which is his first 40 since the Keys. Today he is up 22 miles by noon. He is finding he can put in better mileage days if he is up early while his eyes are fresh and he can make the blazes out better. He is having a little bit of a shin issue for the last 300 miles, but nothing a little Advil and caffeine pills can’t fix. He has been hiking as late as he can, which involves him walking until he is only making 2 MPH and it becomes monotonous before he looks for a camp. Water has been a big issue in this section. He has been walking a bunch of backcountry roads. He hasn’t seen anyone navigating the roads though. Tatu is finding that if he doesn’t pay close attention to the blazes on the roads though he is screwed. He is pretty set on finishing 12/2-12/3. He has gotten lucky with storm as it only brought a little mist. It did get colder though. One night he woke up freezing. He ended up having to bail off the trail to hitch into town and pick up some thermals. He felt stupid for having bounced his home earlier in the trip. On top of that the only thermals available where cheap cotton ones. He is also finding due to the recession many of his resupplies have been closed. He was bummed the 1^st time he had to get into a car (as he hoped to do this trip without any mechanical advantage). He ended up walking 3.5 miles into town and picking up a hitch back out. Another issue is that he doesn’t have some of his resupply phone numbers and he can’t call them to verify hours or if they are even open or not.

a crystal clear lake in the middle of a limestone quarry

12/23

Tatu went through an 80 mile stretch with the worst water. The water sources where basically just mud holes filled with filth. Even the clear water tastes horrible. He isn’t even sure you can filter these water sources. Strangers really helped him out though. Tree planters, hunters and power guys all gave him bottled water. On top of that he lucked out and found a little tiny bottle of water un opened. The last few days he has laid out some big miles: 41, 43 and today a 45. He started today at 3:30 AM from a hunters tree stand. He was worried the hunters may return and that he would freak them out. At 5:AM he ended up getting on the wrong road. Now he is 17 miles outside St. Marks. He is actually looking good time wise to get into St. Marks in time to get his resupply. He really needs this resupply as his pack is falling apart with a huge rip in it he has been milking for several miles now. He worked really hard to make it to St. Marks at a good time as he has to take a ferry across the river. He is exactly 1.5 days behind schedule now and doesn’t see pulling any more time of the NOBO leg of his journey to the rough trail north of St. Marks. The hardest part of the FT is coming up which is Bradwell Swamp.

walking through marshes on Christmas Eve

12/24

Tatu called as he was leaving St. Marks his last resupply. He has new shoes, shorts and pack! He feels great! He saw the most wildlife so far this morning. He was seeing a ton of alligators and videoing them. The all of a sudden right next to him the bushes started going crazy. Two black panther babies came out looking for their mom and crying a bunch. Tatu kept spinning in circles as he was concerned where the mom was. Still 1.5 – 2 days behind schedule. He is planning on ending his north bound journey of the trip on December 3^rd. He has a really bad stretch coming up though, which is the trail around Bradwell Bay.

Merry Christmas from bone dry Bradwell Bay

12/25

Tatu wished everyone a Merry Christmas! Unfortunately the phone cut in and out repeatedly. What I could pick up though was that even though this section of trail was rough, he was digging it.

Updates from Tatu on the FT

2011-12-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Southern Terminus of Tatu's FT adventure

11/30 @ 3:30PM

The Florida Trail Databook is wrong and has put Tatu back 10 miles. The databook follows the road mileage which is incorrect. This mix up has caused Tatu to miss his first mail drop. It is his last resupply before he starts the Florida Trail proper. He is currently about 35 miles out from the beginning of the FT. He thinks he will hit the FT @ noon on 12/2 to start his record attempt.

Tatu has enjoyed the first leg of the walk. He is looking forward to walking this section through the Florida Keys on the return leg of his journey and hopes to see a bunch of the NOBO’s ( north bound FT hikers). The pavement walking was brutal though. First day he laid out a 43, then 42 miles day 2. Day 2 though he started feeling sore from walking the pavement. He then laid out a 38 mile day on day 3, but he was definitely hurting at the end of the day. His fourth day on trail he was able to walk on the shoulder some which helped.

Good night from the Everglades

12/4 9:AM

12/2 12:35 Started the Florida Trail. He has made it through the worst of the swamps in a day and a half. He then picked up some more roadwalking. He had an excellent walk through the swamps and shared them with many snakes. Coming from the coast of California it was definitely a first for him. Trudging 9 miles through waist deep water. Tatu is an older guy and his eyesight isn’t the best any longer. The orange blazes of the FT aren’t always that visible. He finds himself hoping he sees the next blaze. In a old burn he got lost off trail for about 3 hours. He has been relying on his map and compass a ton. It has been some of the roughest trail he has ever walked so far. He said that Survivor guy Bear Grylls doesn’t have shit on him! Now he is doing dirt road and had recently walked a section with a nice mix of pines and palms. He is actually on the Miami Canal now and hopes to be at Lake Okeechobee tomorrow. He is hoping over the next 4-5 days to pull at least a half day ahead of his itinerary.

Tatu went to take a dip this evening and a decent sized alligator popped up

12/10 10:AM

I was actually home this time Tatu called. He sounds like he is definitely having an excellent time on trail. He mentioned it is more of an adventure then a race track. He has to constantly navigate via map and compass. At one point he spent 3.5 hours just to go 5 miles. If he was doing the trail again he would definitely do a southbound trip. Today he was skirting Orlando on the trail. He is doing the eastern alternate here instead of going to the west. Tatu told me the eastern route is longer too. Tatu is staying on the true FT the entire way. The biggest issue affecting his mileage is the short days. There is about a 12 hour window of daylight he has to work with. From what Tatu was able to research before beginning his trip the FKT is between 40-45 days. He shouldn’t have any issues coming in well under that. Water has been an issue too. He is using a straw to filter the water he is drinking. He also saw his first boar yesterday!

if it wasn't for the cobwebs Tatu would swear he is walking in circles

12/?

Tatu is pulling in on his miles a little, but he definitely has to give it his all to get a 38 mile day in. Main factor working against him is the short days. He definitely has to stay on top of keeping his gear dry from the condensation. He is usually walking in the morning with tons of gear hanging off the pack so that it dries. The thorns have been really bad, and the thorns on are on the grass that he has been walking through daily. He has a tiny blister on the back of his heel about the size of a dime. He hacked part of the inside of the heel out of the shoe. He is wearing gators on this trip and glad to have them for all the thorns and weeds. Yesterday he walked in weeds past his knees all day. The stems were bad where they had recently mowed for 12 miles which slowed him down. He is happy to be getting his first new pair of shoes in his next resupply. 3 more days to those new kicks. So far things are going good for him, he is staying relaxed and saving his energy so he has enough to turn around. He really doesn’t have any ones time to beat so it isn’t weighing heavy on him currently. The bugs have been bad lately, it sounds like a war going on constantly. They are around his head going “WHHHHRRRRR RRRRR RRRRR RROWWWW” non stop going through the swamps. The sierra have nothing on Florida as far as bugs go. It has been wearing on him mentally having to deal with them non stop. Even the locals say it is bad this year.

12/?

Tatu has now dropped 17-25 miles behind his itinerary. Nothing bad, but he can’t navigate at night in the rough terrain. Going in and out of the woods, then swamps, then grasslands. Very little tread and very little trail work. The only nights he can make up some time are nights where he ends on a road. Still hoping to post a low 30 record, and not worried since the record he is attempting to beat is 45 days. He just hopes he can keep the NOBO leg of his yo yo under 35 days so he has enough time to turn around. He has a job opportunity he doesn’t want to miss. He is still having fun though and highly recommends the trail. It is definitely worthwhile for all the wildlife he has been seeing: armadillos, snakes, skunks, boar, alligators and tons of birds. More wildlife than on any other trail he has walked so far. Some of the birds are huge, the size of pterodactyls. He has also seen a ton of carnage. Today he saw 3 dead hawks. He has been video taping the wildlife encounters. So far he has seen every critter except the puma or the bear. He has seen a ton of bear scat, but no bears yet. He is amazed that bears live in the swamps. This evening he is in a really cool camp in Hickory Hammock. This area is his favorite so far on trail. This stretch is about 100 miles long with only 8 miles of road walking. The vegetation goes from pines to palms to hickory stands to swamp to grassland with just enough swamp to soak your feet and piss you off. Going through the swamps have been some of the biggest adventures of his life. Where he is tonight the area is about half underwater most of the year.

12/?

Tatu is now in a section where there is finally some decent tread and he has been able to put in some good miles, many 38’s. It is good and has put him back in a good mindset. (Unfortunately much of this message Tatu’s phone was cutting in and out)

12/?

Crazy people out on the trail! He stumbled into some raccoon hunters who started yelling at him, “Hey boy! You boy with the light! Come here!” They ended up following Tatu by parrelling him on a road while he walked the single track. They kept yelling at him while he darted down the trail while holding his handheld light low so as not to be detected easily. He has a new Coleman flood lamp he has been using at night and that has definitely helped increase his daily mileage recently. It really lights up the trail good at night and he doesn’t mind how much battery it eats up as long as he can navigate at night. Killer! He is definitely looking at a 33-35 day NOBO on the trail. The last few nights have been really cold on trail with dew. The days have been hot so a extreme difference between the night time lows and the day time highs. He is now traveling without a foam matt and he is relying on raking up thick beds of duff to sleep on to stay warm. He has also been setting up both his bug shelter and his tarp for warmth at night. He is now entering the northern part of Florida and he expects it to get colder as he continues north. Tatu is now thinking he will finish the NOBO leg of his FT yo yo on or around 12/1 (New Years) or 12/2.

Rails to Trails segment around Lake Butler

FKT action on the FT with TATU JOE!!!

2011-12-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

Florida Trail route

FKT action in winter? Yeah, why not. This November/ December finds Tatu Joe on the Florida Trail attempting a yo-yo of the trail and a new Unsupported Speed Record as well. Some folks who follow FSTPKR may not be aware of Joe Kisner/ “Tatu Joe”. I first met Tatu Joe in 2006 on the PCT which was my first thru hike of the trail or of any magnitude for that matter. I had already become aware of Scott Williamson through one of his slide shows here in Truckee, CA. 2006 was to be Binks (Scott Williamson) 2^nd successful yo yo of the PCT. A yo yo by the way is to walk a trail from its beginning to end, then turn around and return to your starting point. This time though Scott was to hike with a friend of his, Tatu Joe. Tatu Joe lives in Huntington Beach, CA and is a surfer and ultra runner to boot. I will never forget this first encounter with Tatu and Bink as it has had a direct impact on where I would take my long distance hiking.

Tatu Joe and Bink PCT 2006

I remember I was camped just north of Cajon Pass, CA and had already broke camp and was walking when I heard folks talking below me on trail. Tatu up and moving before Bink had passed my buddy Stormin' Norman behind me on trail. I had a feeling this was Tatu as I was acutely aware of his and Bink's yo yo attempt and their start date. I had a hunch they would be catching up to me in this section. Sure enough it was Joe, but he was ahead of Bink. I ended up hanging with Joe for a while and hearing about his adventure so far. Bink caught up with us near a side trail down to a spring house. I ended up walking with Bink and Tatu after this and they encouraged me to hike and camp with them. I was blown away at the end of the day when Bink took over the lead and surged ahead on the climb over Baden Powell. There is a ton of short steep climbs in this section causing me to slow my pace. Finally I caught back up to Bink after he had long since stopped and was in camp for the night.

Tatu Joe charging off the front PCT 2006

Next morning before dawn, in the dark I heard Tatu rustling in his campsite. I was kind of taken back a few minutes later to see him taking off in the dark. Later once the sun had come up Bink came by my camp asking if I had seen Joe take off earlier. I mentioned I had, but now looking at the trail realized that he had gone on a side trail, possibly mistaking it for the PCT. In the end that was what happened.

That was 2006. In 2007 Tatu would return to the PCT to claim the unsupported speed record. Tatu put up a time of 79 days 21 hours and 42 minutes. Tatu kept a detailed account of this trip here. 2008 Tatu was back out on the PCT again and he was walking with Bink too. Tatu and Bink put up a strong time of 71 days 2hrs 41 minutes. I hadn't looked at these numbers recently, but they are distinctive in that this is the first big jump for the hikers.

Tatu Joe @ the Lost Boys 50 Miler

Since 2008 Tatu has run several ultra races and has continued to long distance hike. Most recently he walked the Appalachian Trail in 2010. This winter Tatu has a break between jobs and he has decided to put up the first unsupported speed record on the trail and hopefully to do it fast enough he has time to turn around and walk back south.

Tatu and the Big K!

Tatu will be the first to yo yo the Florida Trail and also the first to put up a unsupported speed record if all goes well. Tatu details some info on his 2,585 mile journey here on his blog. His time frame for this trip is to start in Key West on 11/26 and arriving at the northern terminus on New Years Eve. He plans to be back in Key West on the 1^st of February.

Tatus Jammy Pack for the FT

There is also a detailed discussion of the gear he is using for this record attempt here. I will have live updates from Tatu shortly and will post those as they come in. I am looking forward to following Tatus adventure while at work during the crazy retail holiday season. At least Tatu will help me keep the fire going through the holidays!

Some of Tatus gear

Hanging in Virginia City

2011-10-16T16:00:00.001-07:00

Hanging in Virginia City,and trying to catch my breath after climbing up Six Mile Canyon. Decided to short cut this way as I got tired of bucking the headwind. One more climb to the top of Geiger Summit then downhill into Reno.

That was hands down the steepest grade I climbed on the entire route! I survived it though. I pedaled over to a gas station and got a bottle of water just so I would have enough to get me down into Reno. Crazy to think after 1,300 miles I am now just an hour or so away from home. I have gone nearly full circle.

V is for Virginia City

After the brief break in VC to catch my breath it was time to pedal the rest of the way to the top of the climb up Gieger Grade. Tons of traffic out it being a weekend and all, and of course people driving like idiots. This road has plenty of shoulder on it, but people still need to come as close to me as possible without yielding any road.

fun bombing down Geiger Grade

Fortunately on the top I timed it good to bomb down the west side without a bunch of traffic around me. I descended confidently spinning out my highest gear. Again it was time to play the game of descending all the way to the bottom without using my breaks. This time I succeeded. I leaned the bike hard into several of the tight turns. Good fun bombing down this steep section.


I stayed to the East of HWY 395 here following Veterans Parkway

Down at the bottom of the climb I made my way onto familiar roads that I trained on all summer. I had a decent bike lane to follow here which was nice as it was overwhelming riding with city folks all of a sudden. I decided to take another short cut off McCarran onto Lakeside vs climbing to the top of McCarran and bombing down Skyline back to my home. I was feeling like I had covered plenty of miles and didn't need to throw in one additional climb.

bagged the last climb up McCarran to Skyline and took Lakeside all the way home instead

As I rolled into my driveway at home I thought back on the 1,300 miles I had just covered point to point from my front door. Pretty crazy and I definitely know the road better than I would having drove the same route.

elevation profile for return leg from Nampa to Reno

Couldn't believe it was actually trying to rain

2011-10-16T12:43:00.001-07:00

the ride near Stagecoach, NV

Couldn't believe it was actually trying to rain this morning in Fallon. I made the correct choice getting a room as I didn't have to break camp in the rain. I was able to wait out the rain in my motel room. I enjoyed the shade though this morning. I am now in Stagecoach, but heading into a pretty solid headwind. Got about another 30 miles to go to Carson City. Looking forward to rounding the bend. Might make it home tonight.

This morning in Fallon it was trying to rain out. I decided to stay put and drink hot tea and eat danishes. Around 9AM it started to clear up to the west as the storm moved east. It was a good call to get a room as it meant I could leave town dry for the possible final push home to Reno.

good shoulder finally on the west side of Fallon

Fortunately the shoulder on HWY 50 finally widened quite a bit to the point where I had an entire lane all to myself. Traffic was pretty light on HWY 50, but I was pedalling into a stiff headwind. I decided to take my helmet off which I can clip just so on top of my handle bar bag. It rides really nice here and I found myself doing this on steep climbs or lonely sections of roads where my speed was quite low.

pedaled near the shore of Lahontan Reservoir

I saw a new store in Stagecoach, NV that had a nice front porch on it with tables out front. I pedaled over to here and purchased some ice tea to go with my left over pizza. The folks who ran the store where quite nice and definitely interested in where I had been riding.

Stagecoach, NV

Out front I enjoyed my left over pizza in the shade and sucked down plenty of iced tea. The wind was still pretty stiff out of the west and I started to think about branching off my intended route into Carson City and head up to Virginia City instead.

shortly after Dayton I turned onto Six Mile Canyon Road

Back out on HWY 50 the wind made up my mind for me. I could see the large V for Virginia City up on the east side of the Virginia Range. I had an option of continuing on from this point into Carson City, then back to Reno on old HWY 395. Or I could head up Six Mile Canyon the back way into Virginia City from Dayton, then down off the front of Geiger Grade into Reno. I decided to do the Six Mile Canyon alternate as it would cut off some miles, save me bucking a headwind and allow me to explore another road I have been eye balling for a while.

climbed up to Virginia City via Sixmile Canyon Road

The climb up Six Mile was a good choice. It was quite scenic pedaling along the canyon bottom with the cottonwoods providing ample shade. There where some of the steepest short climbs of the entire trip on this road and I was just hoping I could keep the momentum going. Surprisingly enough I made it all the way up the canyon with out stopping, although my chain was starting to skip near the top. I am sure it is stretched pretty good after about 2,000 miles riding on the same chain. Near the top I saw a heard of wild horses lumbering through the neighborhoods.

Made it to Fallon and got a room

2011-10-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

pretty morning here with the Desatoya Range in the distance

This morning was probably the prettiest morning of the entire trip. Really nice views out the front of the shelter across the dry lake valley and into the Desatoya Range. I could see the road clearly now entering a small notch in the range.

across the basin HWY 722 enters an awesome little canyon

It was warm last night in camp. I slept all night half in my bag with no snow hat on. It was still warm this morning. I rode my bike back down the dirt road to the highway and continued on west. Once I reached the foot of the range I entered the small canyon I could see this morning from across the valley. Hidden right at the base of the canyon was quite an old looking ranch. I could see now that there was water draining this canyon too.

dry lake out in the distance

black and white version of camp

The road started to climb right away after entering the canyon. The vegetation changed from night to day here too, from sage in the valley to suddenly pinyon/ juniper forest. Neat rock formations too. I found a nice little pull out where I had access to the creek. I couldn't believe it, but even in this little hop across creek there was some trout! If only I had time to fish for them! I instead used my time to clean my glasses and take a quick sponge bath. The water was ice cold!

Duomid and Desatoya Panoramic

Back out on the highway I continued up the last bit of the climb through this range. There where really nice stands of aspens flying their fall colors in here. The top of the pass was quite scenic. I could see my road winding down out of the mountains and into the flats below. I pedaled hard off the top of the pass to get a nice head of steam going. Again the game ensued with me trying to make it all the way down without breaking. This road had too many tight corners though! That and there was a little bit of loose gravel, so I used my disc breaks to control my speed. I was most of the way down off the steepest part of the descent before I noticed my AAA maps had blown out from under my GPS on top of my handlebar bag! Dang, but I can assure you I wasn't about to turn around and climb back to look for it. The only downside now though would be that I wouldn't know my exact mileage for the rest of today and tomorrow home to Reno. I didn't really need the map to navigate as it was onto HWY 50 from here. Once I made it to Carson City I would know the rest of the route home no problem.

downhill all the way off the pass to the canyon mouth which is in the photo below

The road continued dropping all the way out through another canyon. The canyon was quite scenic and at the canyon mouth was a picturesque ranch. Ends up long before the ranch was here the local Indians used the spot as a permanent camp.

cool ranch at the mouth of the canyon

Still more downhill yet the rest of the way out to HWY 50! I couldn't believe it, but I had almost a 20 mile downhill off the pass all the way out to HWY 50! One of the longest downhills of the entire route. Out on HWY 50 I again pointed my bike west.

end of HWY 722 and onto HWY 50

I quickly came to Middlegate which was a little bar/ rv restaurant off the highway. Looked like a good place to water up for the day and maybe purchase some more snacks. I wasn't sure at this point minus my maps if I would make it to Fallon or not before nightfall. Pretty rough crew in the bar, nice enough and all, but reminded me of the toothless wonders you see around Reno if you know what I mean. There was a kitten hanging around my feet who was really begging hard. He finally jumped up on the table once I opened my can of tuna salad up and I had to shoo him away. Again I was quite the focus of attention sitting out front of the bar. Folks where pulling up in there little four wheeler deals and asking me where I had rode from. People where impressed, but I was surprised as hiking is much harder than bike touring.

Middlegate Station is where HWY 361 heads south off of HWY 50

I finally got back out on HWY 50 and headed west again. I made it to a long dry lake valley and noticed a giant dune off near the foothills of the mountains. It was obviously a magnet for the motor sport folks. At this time I started to run into vehicles coming right at me in my lane who where passing slow vehicles. Two times on the way into Fallon I was run off the road by monster trucks. Funny thing is the driver would look right at me and just keep flooring it like their concern was the car they where passing not some cyclist they might hit. I had to do a fast exit across the rumble strip which was definitely pissing me off. No sooner did I settle down after the first of these incidents than another monster truck was coming at me. It is always a shocker to me as I am more in tune with what is approaching from behind. I am not always looking ahead to see if a car is passing and threatening to run me off the road. Usually not too much of a problem, but the rumble strips here didn't make it fun.

Sand Mountian was a giant sand dune that had a lot of motor vehicle yahoos surrounding it

I stopped at a rest area and ended up visiting with some guys who where interested in my adventure. Told them a little about the clothes and gear I was using. They where definitely amped on what I was up to. I downed a bar as I was getting hungry. I was fixating on getting into Fallon, NV now and getting a room and ordering pizza to be delivered.

pedaling along a salt marsh in here

I pedaled the last bit into Fallon and the motorists where behaving poorly. Some kids tried to throw a pen or something out the window at me as they passed by. I had long since wrote off the idiots though. If they weren't threatening a collision I didn't care. Doesn't surprise me one bit that folks where behaving poorly as Fallon is a grim town. At one point my Grandma followed my Grandpa here when he was stationed in Fallon. I am sure it was even that much less appetizing then back in the 40's. I stopped at one chain hotel and the price was ok, but since it didn't have laundry on site I decided to see what my other options where. I located a small motel that was much cheaper. No laundry, but I could suck that up for the price. I unloaded the bike in the room and fished out all my dirty gear.

ah, Fallon... what a garden spot

Pedaled the bike to the laundromat and got my laundry in. While my laundry was washing I pedaled out to see what my dining options would be. Pizza Hut it is! Ended up getting some cheese sticks and rode back to the laundromat to eat those. When laundry was done I pedaled back over to my room and called in my pizza order. While pizza was on the way I walked over and got me a tall boy of yuppy bear at the liquor store. Shortly after I started sipping my beer my pizza arrived. Man! Pizza, beer and Jersey Shore!

Ate big at this joint in Austin

2011-10-14T14:17:00.001-07:00

Toiyabe Cafe has some excellent eats

Ate big at this joint in Austin. Awesome downhill into town. I had to work for it though coming up the far side. Going to do a detour from 50 and head out Hwy 722. It comes well recommended. Looking forward to another night in the pinyon juniper forest. Really enjoying the lovely fall weather.

First business I passed in Austin was the Toiyabe Cafe. It had a nice picnic table outside where I could keep an eye on my bike. I walked in and ordered iced tea, fish and chips, side of onion rings and a dinner salad. The woman working the counter here was quite friendly and got me all dialed in. Surprisingly enough the fish was really good. You could tell they battered and fried their own here vs just frying some pre made frozen fish. I took my time eating this heavy meal and enjoying free refills on the iced tea. I saw one other bike tour person climbing up out of Austin while I was out enjoying my lunch. I hollered at them that they where going the wrong way. I hadn't seen another person bike touring since I was on HWY 395 on day 2 of the trip.

dropped down the last of the descent and headed south onto HWY 722

I walked next door and picked up a few snacks at the gas station/ grocery store. I got some info from the woman working the store that there wouldn't be much water in the Reese River. I went back to the cafe and topped off all my water bottles for this dry leg. I also called Micro Monkey and got some beta on HWY 722 which is a lonelier highway yet than HWY 50. Sounded like a nice alternate and the idea that it took my higher into the mountains than HWY 50 was a plus too. The folks inside at the cafe seemed to think I would like HWY 722 more than HWY 50 too. HWY 722 it is.

I pedaled on through the last bit of town which was definitely cool. I guess I didn't do any of the touristy stuff folks mostly do in Austin. I just ate and split. The nice downhill continued way out of town all the way to my split onto HWY 722. Nice views of the snow capped peaks here. It was hot out here so I unzipped my entire jersey and continued on this bumpy road. There where some pretty big cracks in the pavement so I bumped along. I was still happy to be over on this highway though as there was no traffic on it at all. I crossed the valley and continued to the base of another range. From here I climbed up again to a minor pass.

the ride up ontop of a minor pass

On the other side of the pass I descended a short ways, then continued on at 6,000 ft in a dry lake valley. Really nice views off to the west of the Desatoya Range. I started to look for a place to set up camp for the night and settled on another old two track road leading east up into the foothills of the mountains. I was able to pedal my bike in granny gear up most of the road which eventually dead ended at a fence line. I ended up riding part way back down the road and setting up the Duomid at a nice flat spot.

camped below Iron Mountain

It was nice and warm out this evening. Completely still too. I enjoyed more of my wine with my dinner and looked out across the valley in the moonlight. Very quiet out here other than the cows balling occasionally.

Was able to cowboy camp last night

2011-10-14T14:13:00.001-07:00

cowboy camp in the pinyon/ juniper

Was able to cowboy camp last night, only dropped to 34*. Lovely morning peddling thru the big expanses. Hwy construction rad as cars come in clumps every hour or so, but between them nothing.

Awesome night last night. Slept nice and cozy up here above the highway under the moon. Waking up wasn't too tough this morning either as it was nice and warm out. I was able to get going at a pretty decent hour as I didn't have much to break down. Had fun rolling back down to the highway loaded up.

these basins in the morning had some cold air lingering

Back out on HWY 50 I continued westbound. Traffic was very light and the views where awesome to the west. It is amazing how warm I am up on a hillside and how quickly I get cold when the road comes down into a valley. I can actually feel the cold air resting in here and it is definitely helpful to have sleeves to push up or down as necessary. The sun was already intense for how early it was in the morning. I spied a rest area that was being repaved, but the trash cans where still open for use. I jettisoned my first fuel cartridge here. I can't believe I have traveled close to 10 days on one tiny container.

nice new pavement along this section

Shortly after the rest stop I rode up to a road crew who was repaving the highway. There was a pilot car here and that explained why I would see cars in a string, then nothing for over an hour. Worked great for me as I would have to be aware of traffic as the string of cars passed me then nothing for another hour. I timed it just right to get through the road work too. I sure liked humming along on this new pavement too.

first pass of the day

Pedaled up to my first pass of the day. Nice grade so I didn't have to work to hard to get up. Nice downhill on the other side and when I reached the valley floor I was treated with really nice views of the mountains outside Austin, NV. From here I had a huge climb though. It definitely forced me into my granny gear and it seemed real hot on the backside of this climb. I sweated my way to the top of a false summit, then took a break on top. I got a gel in me and some more water here. From here I bombed down about 600ft, then the road did a sharp turn back up to the south for the final climb. I sweated my way back up the final climb and enjoyed the aspens up here which where starting to turn. On top of the pass I took in the views and got all situated for one of the funnest downhills of the entire tour into Austin, NV.

lonely HWY 50 outside Austin, NV

I pedaled into the downhill hard and made it a game to see if I could make it the entire way without using my breaks. I was doing really well on this challenge until the final corkscrew 25 MPH turn above Austin. I can now see the benefits of using a pannier system like I am for bombing downhill. I can actually lean into the turns comfortably much like I would without a load on the bike. I couldn't imagine descending faster with any other touring set up.

fun section of road here with a big climb followed by challenging descent into Austin

5PM Finds me reaching Hwy 50

2011-10-13T17:23:00.001-07:00

end of 278, now west on 50

5PM Finds me reaching Hwy 50. Just outside Eureka , NV. Now to head west a few more miles and locate camp.

little frosty in camp here near the Humboldt River

This morning it was a little frosty outside my shelter. Fortunately it wasn't dewy. It didn't feel so great to put on damp bike shorts though. I had done laundry in Carlin yesterday, but I don't run my bike shorts through the dryer. I let them air dry and they where still a little damp when I hung them out to dry last night. Now they are damp and frosty.

I pedaled my bike up out of the Humboldt River Canyon and into Pine Valley

I was back up on the highway at a decent hour this morning. I was happy to pedal my bike up into the sun as I was down in the shadow of the canyon wall in my camp. I pedaled around a corner leaving the Humboldt River behind. I climbed up into a valley that ran along Pine Creek. Pine Creek had water running in it, but so much cattle ranching up here made it less than appetizing. I still had a ton of water that I had lugged out of town though so I was looking good.

my rest area lunch stop with drying bike shorts

After a few hours it warmed up enough to ditch my tights and other warmies. I was enjoying how lonely this highway was. Virtually no traffic on it other than the occasional ore truck. I rode non stop all the way to a rest area along the highway. Took a long lunch hear and hung my bike shorts up to dry the rest of the way. One of the truckers stopped and visited with me for a while. He explained the situation with the mines in this area. It was nice to sit in some shade and I also used this as an opportunity to lube my chain up again.

heading south and up out of the valley

back out on the highway I climbed to a really nice pass

Garden Pass 6,686 ft

Back out on the highway I climbed up to a really nice pass. The climb was nice and gradual and the mountain scenery at this end of the highway was really nice. Once I topped out on the pass I had an awesome downhill all the way into Diamond Valley which is just outside Eureka, NV. The peaks along the side of the valley where freshly dusted in snow.

up over Garden Pass and then down into Diamond Valley

Diamond Valley just outside Eureka, NV

I didn't want to have to pedal into Eureka as it was off my route to the east on HWY 50 plus up a significant climb. I spied what I thought was a bar, but upon entering the place found out it wasn't a functional bar any longer. It was now just a weigh station for the trucks I had shared the road with all day. The woman who ran the place was kind enough to allow me to water up though. I topped every container I had off as I had a hunch I wouldn't have another opportunity to do so until Austin, NV tomorrow afternoon.

Shortly after the truck stop I reached the intersection between HWY 278 and HWY 50. I hung a right and headed west on HWY 50. Pedaled through a neat little canyon and out into another large basin. To the south of me was a mountain range whose foothills spilled down to the edge of the highway. I pedaled on into the sunset and right about that time saw a little road leading off into the juniper forest to the south. There where no private property signs on the barbed wire gate so I figured it was ok to ride my bike up to a likely camp.

I didn't have to ride up to Eureka as it was off route and I had water

Having a road touring bike made by a mountain bike manufacturer is a bonus in my opinion. My bike is great for road touring, but when I need to ride some dirt road I can. The bike rides and handles like a mountain bike on rough roads. I was able to get my bike into granny gear and spin up the little road to a nice height of land. From here I spied a likely camp spot that I pushed my bike down to off the road. My campsite was a excellent little spot down in between a stand of pinyon and juniper. The night was so still and it was warm in under the trees so I decided to cowyboy camp. Got a quick sponge bath in before doing dinner. I sipped some wine with my dinner. Then did a little night photography by light of the full moon. This is one of the nicer campsites I have had on the entire tour.

my camp in the pinyon/ juniper and the Twilights in full effect

In camp outside Carlin, NV

2011-10-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

In camp outside Carlin, NV. The Humboldt River carves through a canyon here. Very nice weather today. Liked bombing down off Adobe Pass into Elko. Ended up blowing right thru and peddling on to Carlin. Just 15 miles west on I80. Ended up going through a tunnel outside Carlin that was sketch, but in the future I could bomb down an old road that is barricaded to vehicles, but a bike could definitely make it around and save the sketch tunnel. Heading to Eureka next. Filled up with water and have a bottle of merlot so I should make it to Austin in style. Looking forward to more lonely highway.

It was 19* when the first light touched my shelter this morning. I couldn't believe it other than my feet where pretty cold. I am using a very light summer bag and it is long due for a good wash. I decided to stay put in bed until the sun was on me.

waiting for the sun

Once the sun hit the shelter though it started warming up in a hurry. I got ready in slow motion enjoying the views to the west of the snow capped peaks. There ended up being a ton of condensation on everything from wet ground from the past few days rain. I put up the tarp, sleeping bag and my bike cover on the sagebrush to dry out in the sun. My stuff was dry in about a half and hour tops.

Got the bike all situated and pedaled back out to the highway where I pointed south towards Elko. Really nice riding this morning. I was happy to be warming up from the effort of riding and taking in more nice views to the south. Passed some need old ranches along the way too.

back out on the highway I pedaled away from the Humboldt River

passed some neat old ranches along this part of the highway

Outside Elko I climbed to the top of Adobe Pass. I enjoyed bombing down this pass all the way into Elko. Elko was a little congested and the locals didn't give me much room on the road so I stayed pretty alert and just ended up blowing right through town. I picked up a frontage road and took that all the way to the outskirts of town before I was forced up onto I-80 where I was now heading westbound. I-80 sounds scarier than it actually is. There is a full lane shoulder on it and there was construction going on so the traffic was moving slower than normal.

down off Adobe Pass and into Elko... then west on I-80

I took an off ramp up to an exit in the middle of nowhere to take a small break. I wanted to make it into Carlin, NV to do laundry this afternoon so I kept the break short. I continued west on the highway and eventually came to a tunnel. There was a frontage road here along the Humboldt River I should have taken, but instead I was impatient and took the shortcut through the tunnel. Everything went fine, but inside the tunnel was huge bumps in the pavement that slowed me down quite a bit. At one point while I was inside a semi passed me in the passing lane going close to 80MPH. As I watched the semi go by I realized how vulnerable I was in here and vowed to take the frontage road the long way around next time. If something went wrong in the tunnel I just wouldn't have anywhere to go.

I made Carlin shortly after the tunnel and found a coin op laundry. Did a quick load in here and had another snack break while waiting for my clothes to dry. After doing laundry I found my way over to the grocery store and stocked up to capacity on water. I also picked up a tall boy of beer and a bottle of Merlot. This next leg south out of Carlin to HWY 50 looked pretty dry so I wanted to make sure I had enough water. I asked many folks going in and out of the store about the water situation here, but none seemed to have much knowledge of the road I was taking. I had to pedal around town and try to bum a corkscrew of someone as I didn't want to lug the entire bottle of wine with me. I have these nice soft sided wine containers I have been using as of late which also do a good job of preserving the wine by allowing you to squeeze all the air out of the container. I found a nice Hispanic couple who gladly let me borrow their bottle opener.

into Carlin, then south on HWY 278

I made my way south out of town on a lonely road and eventually found a road leaving the highway down to the base of a canyon wall near the railroad tracks. I pushed my bike down the dirt road and found a decent camp. Lucky for me the train traffic stopped after dark too. I got another solid camp set up and enjoyed my tall boy of beer with my dinner.

in the Duomid with my Twilights on

Left room at 9:30am with the sun shining

2011-10-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

had a nice stay here

Left room at 9:30am with the sun shining and the clouds lifting. Had awesome ride along the Owyhee River canyon. Ended up trying to fish out of a campground along the Owyhee. No luck, but met a guy named Carl camping there. He gave me water, brandy and beer. Rode on some more . Saw a heard of antelope near the reservoir. Rode down a dirt rode with access to the Humboldt River. Got a sweet camp pitched with views of snow capped peaks and big moon.

No need to rush this morning. I was still enjoying the comfort of the warm room and it looked like it might rain more even though it let up last night. I got some nice green tea going and had that with my danishes. Excellent. After that it was time to get the show on the road. I did a quick bike chain lube as I can't stand a squeaky chain and the chain was definitely squeaky after yesterdays downpour. Nice to pack up all the gear dry this morning though and to leave the room with all warm gear.

geared up to get down

Outside the sun was starting to try to peak through. I rolled out of town and quickly entered the Owyhee River Canyon. I really enjoyed pedaling along the river and the entire time I was scoping the river for likely fishing spots.

just outside Owyhee, NV the road follows the river in a nice canyon

Owyhee River just outside Mountain City, NV

I climbed up to the town of Mountain City, NV. The sun was out now in full force, but still a little breezy in the canyon following the Owyhee. Not much going on in Mountain City other than a bar/ RV park. No stores or businesses other than that so I just kept on pedaling on through.

Outside Mountian City I rode by the remains of a ghost town named Pattsville. I would have liked to get out and poke around and maybe fish in the river here, but I decided to keep on going. Eventually the canyon boxed up again and I kept a keen eye on the river. I saw a few guys in the river fly fishing and just past them I spied a campground on the other side of the river. I pulled in and found a secluded camp sight to call home for a spell. The canyon was gorgeous in here and the campground had excellent access to the river. I decided it was time to finally break out that fishing rod.

Unfortunately there was no fish to be had. I still had fun trying the waters in this area. I didn't see any fish rolling or rising though. I worked a pretty decent segment of the river here to no avail. On my way back up to my campsite I visited with one of the two fly fishermen whom I had seen earlier downstream of the campground. He mentioned the fishing had been tough for them as well. We got to talking about the town of Owyhee and I mentioned it was a dry reservation, no where to purchase my beer. He offered me some beer and a shot of brandy. His name was Carl and he was from Reno. He works for Washoe County as a carpenter and had been coming to this area since he was a kid to hunt and fish. I sipped my Brandy and he pointed out some cool spots for me in his Nevada Gazetteer. Nice visiting with him, but I had to wrap it up as I wanted to get down the road and find myself a camp for the night.

excellent riding in the canyon along the Owyhee, then up to Wildhorse Reservoir

Again really nice riding up the last bit of the Owyhee River Canyon to Wildhorse Reservoir. Once up on top the road flattened out quite a bit and I was treated to some nice views of snow capped peaks and the reservoir. I pedaled alongside of it and as I came close to one of its shores spied quite a herd of antelope coming down to sip water.

south through some flats away from Wild Horse Reservoir

the light towards evening was really nice

Towards evening I passed an entrance to and active mine and the truck traffic increased. It wasn't a problem though as I had plenty of shoulder. I saw a Forest Service sign pointing out a road down to the Humboldt River so I decided to explore it for a possible camp. Unfortunately all access to the river was blocked off by barbed wire, but I found a nice spot down in the sagebrush to set up for the night. I ended up trespassing momentarily down to the Humboldt to get some water. I could hear coyotes off in the distance yipping. Nice big moon tonight in camp. I had a nice cozy camp set up here in the tall sage.

the road at the bottom right off of HWY 225 is where made camp

Made it about 90 miles first day

2011-10-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

Made it about 90 miles first day of the return trip. Woke day two to high winds. After reaching the remains of Grasmere I rode into driving rain to Riddle, ID. Got warm near the heater then continued on another 20 Miles to Owyhee, NV. Ended up getting a room at the Feather Lodge. Ate a couple of egg sandwiches at the diner. Stayed up watching tv in the room, but was warm and cozy after riding in difficult weather all day.

little did I know how much weather those clouds would bring

This morning I was surprised to wake up to high winds rattling the tarp. When I peeked my head out of the tarp I noticed some ominous clouds moving in fast, but they seemed really high and unconsolidated. I kind of hung in the tarp not in a big rush to go out into the wind first thing in the morning. Once the sun came up and peeked under the clouds things got real pretty. I had to go out and snap a few photos of my camp in the morning light.

MLD Duomid and my ride in the morning light

I finally got back out on the highway and finished off the rest of the climb I had begun yesterday evening. Traffic was very light, and I was buzzing along on new pavement. I was on the prowl for water though as I was out beginning the day today. I totally lucked out as I rode up to where a road crew was out painting new lines for a fake cattle guard. I asked one of the crew if I could bum water off of them and they said no problem. I tanked up with enough to get me to Riddle another 20+ miles distant.

finished the rest of the climb and ran into the road crew in the flats

The wind was definitely slowing me down as I was driving directly into it now and up higher than I was this morning so that magnified its force too. I climbed up to another plateau higher yet, and the rain began in earnest. I had to stop and completely suit up in my rain gear. I got a little cold during the transition, but once I had it on I was dry and toasty. It quickly occurred to me that in this terrain I wasn't going to have much of an option on places to get out of the weather so I really just had to keep riding. Stopping here wasn't much of an option.

I made the outskirts of the remnants of Grasmere which is just a settlement now. I found a tore up old store that I could go inside of and change the lenses on my glasses to a lighter color as the clouds where darkening the sky as I continued south. I wish I had more time to root around in the old store as there where several outbuildings and what not to explore. I felt like I was in a post apocalyptic world hanging inside here.

into the remnants of Grasmere

Back out in the weather it continued to get colder and the rain became more intense. I tucked my head down to try to keep as much of the rain out my face as I could. As I started to make the outskirts of Riddle I began to notice several hunters vehicles stranded in the mud off the sides of the highway. I wasn't about to fall for the getting out in the mud deal I did on the way out to Nampa!

When I finally made it into Riddle I noticed it is much the same as Grasmere in that the town is really more of a settlement than a town. I noticed a little highway sign that showed a gas pump on it and looked back behind a large tree in front of what looked like a home to spy a open sign in the window. It didn't look like a gas station or a store from outside but inside it sure was. Lucky me to as I was getting really cold after peddling into this stiff breeze and rain for several hours. There where two nice women in there who told me to come sit by the heater and get warmed up. They gave me some warm coffee while I shed all my wet layers to dry by the heater. I purchased a few goodies to snack on with my coffee. They asked if I was vegetarian and the younger woman was proud to say she was too. I appreciated them keeping me company and I liked visiting with them and learning more about Riddle. I started getting a hunch I would want to sleep indoors tonight. They mentioned that Owyhee on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation 20 miles up the road had a hotel. I decided that is where I wanted to be this evening.

I got back out on my bike and the rain had started to taper off. As this occurred though the temperature was plummeting fast. As I reached the boundary of the reservation I noticed about 50 wild horses running alongside the road to the east of me. They where moving a little faster than I could in the headwind. Eventually the string of horses got out in front of me and crossed the road in front of me. This was such an unique experience riding on an Indian reservation with wild horses escorting me in. Shortly after this I ran the dog gauntlet as I reached the outskirts of Owyhee. Lots of dogs running loose here. I snuck past one that wasn't paying attention and by the time he noticed me I had such a lead that he didn't do much but run a few steps behind me before giving up. As I got closer to town yet though I had to start timing my sprints. I had been bucking a headwind all day and was pretty spent and didn't have much leg left. There where several dogs in one yard mucking around in the mud who gave me my last chase of the day. They really wanted to chase me, but where so deep in the mud they had a hard time getting going. I managed to get a sizable gap on them so all they could do was bark half hearted at me.

the boundary of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation where the horses ran with me

As I came into town I spied the grocery store. I went on in and picked up some tortillas and danishes. Not much else looked appetizing here. I have been on some Indian reservations in the south west where it seems the locals don't care much for gringos (not that I blame them at all). Here though everyone was quite outgoing and friendly. I got back on my bike and lazily carried my groceries in a bag dangling from the handlebars. I only had a mile or so further to go to get to my hotel.

on into the Duck Valley Indian Reservation where I sprinted passed dogs

Fortunately the hotel had plenty of vacancy and was quite reasonable. I had to make a quick dump of wet gear in the room as I needed to get to the diner before they closed. I had plenty of room to spread out my wet stuff though and even fit in a quick hot shower that felt good.

Owyhee, NV

Over at the diner my menu was limited so I settled on a few fried egg sandwiches. I also got a side of potato salad. Again the locals where quite friendly and very interested in what I was up to. I made the silly gringo mistake in asking them if Owyhee was a Indian name and if so where did the name come from. The locals said they had no idea what it was from, but commented that it sounded Hawaiian. They where entirely correct check this.

Back at my room I just vegged out and took in some fine programming. Actually I did get to watch a interesting documentary about how the Army Corpse of Engineers is primarily responsible for the flooding in New Orleans. It was a low budget independent film and unfortunately I can't find any additional info on it. I did learn a bunch from it though. Glad I don't live near any Army Corpse of Engineers projects though.

Left Nampa, ID @ 9:30am

2011-10-09T14:21:00.000-07:00

Krud ready to roll

Left Nampa, ID @ 9:30am. Blue bird day. Felt great after almost 2 full days off the road. Was able to clean my bike up after riding it in rain for 3 days. Had an excellent dinner in Boise with the family. Yesterday we put my grandmas ashes in the Snake River. Today I said goodbye to my mom and pedaled south out of Nampa. Crossed the Snake one last time and said a final goodbye to my grandma and grandpa whose ashes are now both in the river. Probably got in an 80 mile day today. Camped on a rise above the highway.

out of town and south towards the Snake River

across the Snake River and heading upstream now

Today was a wonderful day to be alive on a bike! Got up at a decent hour at my mom/ grandmas place to get out of town. I was packed and ready to go without to much effort. I said a quick goodbye to my mom and I think she understood my wanting to get out of town without much fuss. I am not good at goodbyes and I had a lot to think about rolling out of town. We had put my grandmas ashes in the Snake River yesterday where my grandpas are. I had also visited with my sister and her husband whom I hadn't seen in 5 years. For me Nampa is like a second home since I had been visiting here since I was a teenager. All the memories of the summers spent with my grandparents here and my visit with my family where swirling through my head as I rode south out of town on my bike. The bike and the open road are really good places to reflect, it is almost like a moving meditation.

looking down onto the Snake River

Had plenty of shoulder and light traffic along the highway as I made my way off the Snake River Plains and down to the Snake River. I stopped above the Snake River and said a final goodbye to my grandparents. I know someday I will come back and visit the spot where my grandparents ashes are and visit with them.

I got a killer downhill to bomb down and across the Snake River bridge. Across the other side of the bridge I continued south on my road which followed the Snake River upstream. Really nice views of the Silver Range and even of the Sawtooth Mountains newly capped in snow.

Sawtooths fresh dusting of snow

nice riding in here with views towards the Sawtooth

and nice views to the west of the Silver Range

nice smooth pavement too

coming closer to the Snake River again

along the edge of CJ Strike Reservoir

leaving the Snake River here and heading due south towards Nevada

and the climbs begin

Towards 4:00PM I turned away from the Snake River and headed due south towards Nevada. Initially the road was pretty flat, but that gave way to some pretty big climbs. As I was climbing I started to look around for a good place to camp for the evening. I spied a road leading off up to a rise above the highway. I pushed my bike uphill to a perch above the road. It was a pretty cool spot as I could look back out over the Snake River Plains or south towards the plateau I would be climbing up to next. There was also a canyon to the east of me. I could here coyotes calling in the distance. I got a bomber camp set up for the night and was plenty cozy. Feels good to be back out on the road again.

Out near Lake Lowell enjoying a cup of joe

2011-10-07T08:31:00.001-07:00

little roadside coffee hut, nice hot cup of coffee and homemade granola bars

Out near Lake Lowell enjoying a cup of joe. Rained a little last night and again this morning but I will take that and 50* temps over freezing temps any day.

apple orchard camp outside Homedale, ID

Little slow getting moving this morning in the light rain. Only had about 22 miles to go to get to my grandparents home in Nampa. I was so close last night. Slept well in the orchard though.

Decided to skip breakfast in camp and just pedal in the remaining 20 miles or so to my grandmas house. It was trying to rain a little as I packed up, but nothing bad.

Rolled quietly out of the orchard and back onto paved road. It was a good thing I didn't continue on any further last night as I would have blown out of my turn. I continued straight across the intersection and had to wearily dodge a dog running loose. I was still a little sleepy head as I hadn't had my green tea yet, luckily it worked out.

last 20 mile leg from Homedale on into Nampa the back way along Lake Lowell

Still trying to rain, but I continued on in my windproof tights and windbreaker fine. I was consistently surprised on my back route into Nampa near Lake Lowell by how many new neighborhoods and golf courses had been put in since my last visit. I kept trying to turn south towards Lake Lowell, following the path I had laid our for myself on my GPS, but would be shut down by gates or no trespassing signs. I figured out quickly what was going on, but that is a good example of how GPS can only be as accurate as the newest revisions of the base maps it uses. Mine is pretty up to date, but obviously these golf courses and neighborhoods didn't spring up overnight.

I figured out a way to get down near Lake Lowell though and it brought back memories as a child fishing out there with my grandpa or swimming with my friend Janette. It was almost like a homecoming peddling around the one of edge of the lake and on in to my grandparents place.

elevation profile for the 642 mile outbound leg from Reno to Nampa

At my grandmas my mom greeted me. She had left me a little corner of the garage to pull my bike into and spread all my gear out. Long story short today I was able to get all my gear clean, shower and shave and relax. I was a little tuckered out after putting in 100+ mile days for the last week so I just wanted to get everything taken care of first then relax.

Camped in an apple orchard

2011-10-06T20:24:00.001-07:00

in camp with my Twilights!

Camped in an apple orchard outside Homedale, ID. Just have a 20 mile leg left into Nampa tomorrow morning. Riding today was nice again. Once off HWY 20 traffic very light coming into Idaho. Nice riding along the Malhuer River too. Definitely enjoying the new form of travel. Pretty worn out though covering over 100 miles a day for the last six days.

It was becoming apparent at this time of the evening that if I would have just gotten an hour earlier start this morning I could have probably made it all the way into Nampa by tonight. Oh well. I was still enjoying this back road approach into Nampa and was enjoying the lonely road too. I finally crossed the Idaho state line at the town of Homedale, ID. I kind of screwed up here as I was really tired and kind of bonking from the days push and riding in a headwind for part of the day too. Honestly if I would have just kept on riding I would have made it to Nampa no problem. However I became fixated on seeing if my mom would come get me in Homedale, then I could return tomorrow and ride the last bit into Nampa. I couldn't get a hold of her, but I ended up eating at a little mexican food joint here. The owner was very much so into what I was about and where I rode from. Him and his wife came out and checked out my bike and such. Really nice folks.

on into Idaho and across the Snake River

After dinner here I pedaled on across the Snake River and left the highway I had been following and onto a back road. This road would lead me in the back way near Lake Lowell into Nampa and more directly to my grandparents place. It was starting to get dark now and I realized it was becoming dangerous to continue on into Nampa. I kind of got frantic for a moment as the camping opportunities where limited here in this farm country. I saw a fellow walking around his barns and processing plant for apple cider and approached him about the possibilities of a place to camp for the night. He kindly obliged suggesting I set up in his apple orchard across the road. He also was kind enough to let me refill my water bottles.

Up across the street in the apple orchard I set to putting up a bomber camp. Little worried it was going to rain again tonight. The apple orchard worked well for this as the ground was easy to get stakes into. I could actually make out Lake Lowell from here and enjoyed my evening in the orchard. I guess I have learned another skill for finding a place to camp for a night while bike touring.

At the Oasis eating huevos rancheros

2011-10-06T10:53:00.001-07:00

eating huevos rancheros in Juntura, OR

At the Oasis eating huevos rancheros and getting some hot coffee in me. Might have some more eating this afternoon. Slept off the road in a gravel shack for sanding the road. 37* last night and I could see fresh snow up in the mountains.

This morning I woke up warm and cozy in the gravel shed. I wasn't sure if the wind was going to work with me and I was already mentally prepped not to make it all the way into my grandparents place in Nampa before days end. I kind of lazily got going after sipping my green tea for breakfast.

It was still damp outside from the rains we had, and I could make out snow on the mountains to the north east of me in Oregon. I was happy to sleep in the shelter last night as at least I was leaving my camp dry instead of wet and dewy.

Back out on HWY 20 I pedaled down the rest of Stinking Water Pass and crossed the Stinking Water River. Right across the river I began another long climb. This would be repeated several times this morning until I made it over Drinking Water Pass. After Drinking Water Pass I entered some long valleys and pedaled my way into Juntura, OR.

first leg of the morning, nice to get warm on these climbs

I rolled into the Oasis, a little cafe for a late breakfast. The waitress was quite surly here even though the food was good. She finally blew up on me at the request of : "may I have some more coffee with my meal?" Many of the other patrons inside kind of laughed at the situation and I just let it go not engaging with the waitress anymore as I just wanted to enjoy my food. Not sure why she took it out on me as I always tip well for good service and I am not a bum. I guess she didn't like the bike touring guy or something... she was definitely having a bad day and down right nasty to me though from the time I showed up until the time I left. Bizarre. The food was excellent though, so that off set any negativity coming from her.


now I am following the Malheur River

It tried to rain half hearted again leaving Juntura, but it never amounted to much. Didn't even have to put on my raingear. Just outside of town I crossed the Malhuer River and began a long slow descent following the course of the river almost to the Snake River. It was really pretty and quite scenic along the river canyon. I would have really liked to fish some of these waters, but was interested in making time today and getting as close to Nampa, ID as possible.

now the terrain is flattening out a little and I have left the Malheur River

Stopped in to refill my water bottles at a small store. It was all farmers in there shooting the breeze. Good folks. Back out on the highway I was bucking a little bit of a headwind so it seemed to take forever to make it to Vale, OR. I finally did though and pedaled slowly through town. I almost missed my turn off here to the south on Water St. This ended up being my back way into the town of Owyhee, OR. It basically followed the route of the historic Oregon Trail. Virtually no traffic and really cool desert scenery. I made a pass here and had a awesome long downhill to almost the crossing of the Owyhee River. I don't know why but I had a strange craving for candy bars and stopped at one small store and ate a Snickers, then pedaled 10 miles and got another candy bar. I guess that just goes to show what a flash in the pan high fructose corn syrup is for someone like me.

now south out of Vale along the old Oregon Trail

Rainy and windy night last night

2011-10-05T07:22:00.001-07:00

cozy inside my MLD Duomid

Rainy and windy night last night. Had a bomber camp though and slept warm and dry. Yesterday was some of the best riding visually yet. With the storm rolling in and hidden canyons and streams. Sketchy descent into Frenchglen,OR but the disc brakes did me well. Crazy day riding from well outside Denio, NV and up along the west side of the Steens. Probably be riding in all my rain gear for a bit this morning.

rainy morning outside

Couldn't believe for how dry the terrain I was traversing how hard it rained last night. It was quite the soaker, but I was completely dry and happy inside my MLD shelter. The wind had chilled a little but the rain was still coming down hard. It had saturated the ground pretty bad outside and the road in was pretty muddy. I called my mom and checked in and called Micro Monkey too.

Then it was time to get this show on the road. Fortunately right about the time I needed to get going the rain started to chill out a bit. Only real hitch was my shelter was quite wet and heavy from the rain. I got my bike loaded up pretty quickly though as I was getting cold standing there in my raingear.

I ended up riding down a bunch of the road I had to push my bike up. Took one last look at the dead coyote on the boulder. My bike rides like a champ off road as the company that manufactures the bike has its roots in mountain bike designs. Although my bike has geometry for a touring bike, the sloping top tube and stoutness of its build make it perfectly suitable to ride off road. The wheels are sturdy too, but definitely not mountain bike wheels so I am more careful with them than I would need to be with the frame. The mud was really sticking to my wheels and flipping mud and vegetation all over the bike and disks. I was a little worried about this and in the future would be more reluctant to push my bike off road in the rain to only have to deal with a messy bike the next day.

Out on the road it wasn't so bad. It was raining still, but kind of tapering off and it felt good to be getting some heat going. I encountered a coyote running along a fenceline. He kind of felt trapped by me riding up on him and no where to go to get over the fence. They are the masters of disguise though as he ran into some tall grass and ducked under the barb wire fence where it had been twisted up for the antelope to get under.

left HWY 205 and headed east into Diamond Craters

I then turned of the highway I had been following yesterday evening and headed east towards Diamond, OR. I only went east for about 20 minutes before I needed to turn north into Diamond Craters. Cool lava flows out here with pine trees poking out at odd angles. Definitely plenty of spots in here to camp so I will have to remember that next time. After climbing a small pass I left the volcanic environs of Diamond Craters behind and moved back out into the open prairie. I spied a gift shop/ info center for the Pete French Round Barn. If I had time I would have checked out the Round Barn, but again it had started to rain really hard. I was able to fill up my bottles from the spigots outside as the owner of the gift shop was cool about it. He even let me hang out inside his entry way and munch a bar out of the weather.

Outside and back on the bike I pedaled through the hardest rain yet of the trip. I managed after about an hour to ride out from underneath it. The clouds in general seemed to be breaking up and moving on. Only problem now was a pretty steady side wind soon to be headwind as I turned north onto HWY 78. I just put my head down and tried to spin as much as I could. Lucky for me I can actually vent out my bike rain shell. As I was pedaling along I got a good glimpse of a golden eagle that had been perching on a telephone pole on the side of the road. I looked up and thought it was another red tail at first, but when I noticed it had a 6ft wingspan I knew exactly what I was looking at.

On HWY 78 briefly then the back way into Buchanan, OR

I finally made it to the outskirts of Crane, OR and spied a nice gas station/ cafe on the side of the road. Looked like a good place to warm up for a bit. I parked my bike against the front and spent a few minutes trying to knock as much mud off the bottom of my shoes before going in. They had a nice boot brush out front so I took advantage of that to lighten my shoes. Inside the women who ran the place where very accommodating. I ended up ordering a fish burger with fries and a nice hot cup of tea. I hung out in one of the booths and was able to keep an eye on my ride out front. The women who ran the place where plenty interested in what I was up to and I liked the dead pan humor of the one woman. She wasn't even trying to be funny, real stern and just called it like it is. I heard her and the cook talking about riding bikes. They asked me how far I had been riding daily and I mentioned about 100 miles a day. She said to the cook if she did that they would find her out beside the road dead in a ditch somewhere, but totally serious. About the time I had finished my fish burger and was getting ready to leave a nice local rancher asked me about my route from there. He also asked me what I look for in a camp site. Out there pretty much just some trees or something to give me a little wind break. He mentioned that as I headed east on HWY 20 just over Stinking Water Pass would be gravel shed on the left side of the road. The kind that the highway crew uses to sand the road in the winter. I kind of perked up at mention of this as I was into sleeping warm tonight and being somewhere that I could dry out my wet gear.

I said goodbye to everyone and took a minute out front to lube my chain again. I can't stand the sound of a squeaky chain! I basically crossed the road onto a back road and took that all the way to Buchanan, OR. Nice riding in the evening light and not in any particular rush. I finally reached Buchanan which had a little store gas station on HWY 20. I stopped in and topped my water off and drank a cold coke. It was almost warm while moving on the bike, which I was now in my wind gear having ditched the rain gear back in Crane. However if the wind picked up just slightly or I went into the shadows I was too cold. This made me want leg warmers... next trip.

Now onto HWY 20, over Stinkingwater Pass to my gravel bin

I pedaled out of Buchanan uphill to the beginning of Stinking Water Pass. Nice shoulder on HWY 20 which was good. I finally made it to the top of the pass and started bombing down the other side eyes peeled for the gravel shed. Just shy of the bottom of the hill I spied it and made my way over to the shed.

camp all buffed out in the gravel shed

At first I didn't think it would work out good as the gravel was piled almost as high as the ceiling inside. I ended up finding a way in the back of it though and found a spot that was already almost level. I unloaded my bike outside then pushed the empty bike up inside to be out of the weather and with me. Inside I flattened out and area and got around to drinking some of my white wine. The wind finally set down which was blowing in the back of the shed. I noticed a sure fire ravens nest in one corner of the roof. They are such shitty nest builders ravens! I also took a few minutes to sting up my wet tarp and bike cover. They where dry instantly. Kind of interesting how the gravel in the shed seemed to muffle all noise. I was out pretty early this evening due to the cold/ rainy riding I had done most of the day.

view near sunset out the back of the shed

Made it to Fields, OR

2011-10-04T11:37:00.001-07:00

The ride out in front of Fields Station, OR

Made it to Fields OR. Wild night last night running low on water but ended up finding a hot spring behind a rest area. Ended up throwing down in the restroom. Worked fine and got an early start today.

Lucky for me it stayed about 55* in the outhouse last night. No visitors came by after dark so I had the place to myself and could sleep sound. No one came by the entire morning either.

nice downhill off big spring table to the valley floor

HWY 140 to HWY 292 and back into OR

Outside the outhouse it was overcast and a little windy, but that would be a tail wind for me. I was suited up and rearing to go as I was excited to get to ride a new road along the front of the Steens Mountains. Out on HWY 140 I climbed Dufferena Grade and had a sweet downhill first thing. Near the top of the grade where several signs for an opal mine nearby. Might check that out next time...

Back in OR now between Denio and Fields

Again really enjoyed the volcanic scenery on my way over to Denio Junction, NV. Once HWY 140 met HWY 292 I swung north again through the little town of Denio. Nothing was open and I was wanting to top my water off for the possible dry stretch ahead. Fortunately I found some nice clear creeks draining the Pueblo Mountains in Oregon. I had again crossed back into Oregon and was now on HWY 205. Real scenic in here and obviously virtually no vehicle traffic and no truck traffic today.

foothills of the Pueblos mountians on the left and the road ahead into Fields, OR

I had visited Fields, OR before on the way to my grandparents several years ago. We ended up visiting the Alvord Hot Springs which where awesome. This time thought I would be going up the west side of the Steens Mountains. I stopped in Fields hungry for some hot food and on the prowl for wine. Fields Station had it all. I visited with a nice woman named Charlotte who gave me some beta on the water situation on the west side of the Steens, some fishing info and was quite interested in my route.

Fields Station is near wear it says Williams Canyon on the map and a big climb begins after here

I ended up eating a meal called Wallys Creation ( I think that is what it was called). It basically involved a base of hashbrowns with cheese on top and 2 fried eggs. It was definitely a heavy hitter as I was full after woofing this meal down. I had a nice visit with all the hunters and the staff here. Really nice folks. Ended up purchasing a bottle of white wine and some cheese here too as my supplies where running low.

really nice folks here and good place to stock up on supplies or grab a bite

Back out on the bike I was sloshing a little from the meal. I took it slow and easy on the climb up out of Fields up to the west side of the Steens. I was pretty psyched once I dropped down off the pass and had a steady tailwind at my back. Really big views to the west across the hi plains, and I liked watching the incoming storm clouds forming with rays of light filtering through. It was pretty dramatic to say the least. The west side of the Steens at first glimpse seems like volcanic mesas that are uninterrupted, however there would be all these cool little canyons draining the high country and each had its own stream. Pretty cool to peer up in there and dig on the forest and again the light filtering through the storm clouds.

my route took me along the front of the Steens... notice how flat it is off to the west here... awesome views

I was really covering good ground in this section as the tailwind was so strong. I ended up getting some water from a roadside spring near Roaring Springs Ranch. It was trying to rain lightly, but I just kept trucking ahead of the storm. After this I climbed up again to a low pass and was surprised by a steady downpour that was just shy of turning to snow. It was also quite windy up here. I was kind of frantic out on the open road trying to get out my raingear and get it on while be soaked by the rain. I was nice and cozy in my raingear once I got it on though. I had a little dicey descent down into Frenchglen, OR as the road was starting to become wet and the first drop of the road was steep. This then gave way to some tight 20MPH turns. I just controlled my speed from the get go and was happy to have disc brakes to rely on for this instead of rim breaks. Frenchglen was pretty cool, but with the weather deteriorating I decided to keep moving.

up near the top of the map is the sketch descent into Frenchglen, OR

From here I started to look for a place to camp for the night as there wasn't going to be much good camping near Malheur Lake as it is very swampy. I spotted a dirt road about 5:30PM that lead up and away from the highway. I pushed my bike up this slowly and was a little disturbed by a coyote carcass that had been left on top of a huge boulder. I can only assume a local rancher had trapped it or shot it and propped it up there just to send a message to other coyotes to stay out of there. I doubt an animal would crawl up on top of a boulder and die like that. It was pretty out of place and I didn't like the looks of it, but at this point I had given so much time to this road to camp off it I wasn't about to abort.

I found a nice spot at the top of the road in the sagebrush. Fortunately the rain had stopped so I was able to get a bomber camp set up before it started to cut loose again. I was happy on my first rainy night bike touring to have a cover for my bike. The idea of my bike laying out in the dust and rain day after day didn't sit well so I purchased a cover for the bike. I of course had to cut it apart to make it lighter, but the bike cover more than earned its worth on nights like this.

My MLD Duomid killed it in this evenings storm. It was a solid pitch even though the wind was howling. The space inside was more room than I needed, but it was nice to have room to cook, bathe, and sort gear inside without being cramped. I also had been using my Twilights from Eagles Nest Outfitters every night I camped in the shelter. I found a cool way to string them up which is basically to double them up running up my converted trekking pole which is the center support for the Duomid.

It continued to blow hard all night and I couldn't believe the rain never quit. It just kept on all night long. Kind of nice to hear the patter of rain drops on the shelter all night and be inside cozy and dry with all my gear.

Doing a quick load of laundry in Lakeview

2011-10-03T11:14:00.001-07:00

laundry mode in Lakeview, OR

Doing a quick load of laundry in Lakeview OR. Cold last night, just above freezing but the wind set down which was nice. Heading out a lonely HWY 140 now and looking forward to it.

The wind completely set down after I went to bed last night. 37* this morning in camp. Overcast and threatening to rain, but it didn't. I wasn't back out on the highway until a little after 9:AM, but I wasn't too worried about making the miles.

Back out on the highway I was surprised how quickly I crossed into Oregon. I couldn't tell I was that close on my maps. There where some cool old buildings in various states of disrepair out here. Nice shoulder again as I approached Lakeview, OR.

crossed the border of CA/OR early then headed east off of 395 to 140

Pedaled through town slowly. Spotted a grocery store where I got some yogurt and gallon of water. Then pedaled over to the laundry mat so that I could clean my bike gear. I have 2 pairs of bike shorts that I wear 2 days each, but beyond that they need to be cleaned. I could do backcountry laundry in the bucket, but if I am going through a town why not make use of the laundromat? I ate my yogurt while my clothes where in the wash, then spied a diner across the street that offered some waffles with peanut butter. That was a good way to stoke the fire in mi estamago.

Better shot of the laundry situation and the diner across the street with gigantic waffles

After that I left the town of Lakeview, OR fat and happy and still rocking a tailwind. I only pedaled a few miles out of town before I picked up HWY 140. This would be where I left the 395 and now started back east towards Nevada.

Initially I had a big climb up a pass, but it was pretty and forested. Down the other side of this pass I picked up the headwaters of Camas Creek. Looked like good water to fish, but I was interested in making miles. I really enjoyed following the creek which eventually turned into a river.

I had by now learned to be alert of vehicles approaching from behind as the road had no shoulder here. Traffic was light though and I wasn't to worried. A trucker approached in a giant moving truck (think longer than a 18 wheeler). He was nice and passed me on a blind corner but way over in the oncoming lane. Well dumb thing doing that on a blind corner as this was a corner with a rancher in a dually pick up going the other way. Yikes, basically almost a head on accident right in front of me. Nice that the trucker was giving me plenty of room, dumb to be doing it on the blind corner. Of course the rancher was driven off the road into the ditch, but he somehow recovered and got it back up on the road. I later found out semis aren't even allowed on this section of highway due to the sharp curves coming down into Adel, OR.

Coming down Sweeney Canyon into Adel was fun

As I followed the creek downstream I finally got to a gorge where there was a waterfall plummeting over some volcanic rock. This is where an awesome downhill began with cool curves and turns into Adel, OR. I started running into cows wondering the highway so it was definitely open range here. I stopped in Adel briefly to see if I could purchase some wine, but that was a no go so I just hopped on my bike and continued on into some real lonely terrain.

As I was leaving the town of Adel I rode directly into a cattle drive. The cattle drive was coming right up the highway westbound at me. It was pretty funny weaving my way through the cattle and cow pies. I enjoyed seeing the cowboys who looked like they might be basque. Even though I am not as enthralled with the cowboy lifestyle anymore due to the impacts of cattle on the land.

After the cattle drive I crossed a long dry lake valley then began some serious climbs. I would climb from 4,000 ft to 6,000+ ft to cruise along at 6,000 for several miles, drop down the other side and repeat. I had a good tailwind in the basins between the high terrain, but it would be still on the climbs. Even though it was quite overcast today it was kind of muggy and humid too. I had my jersey completely zipped open and I was moving so slow in granny gear up these grades I finally took the helmet off. I found a way to strap it to my handlebars so that it rested perfectly on the handlebar bag out of my way.

Right in front of Antelope Butte is one of the bigger climbs of the day that wore me out

I left Oregon finally at the end of the day and entered the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. I was well above 6,000ft here and could get some views off to the north east of the Steens Mountains which would be my next objective tomorrow. At this point I was starting to bonk from the long day, climbs and running out of water. This terrain didn't offer much in the way of water and I was hoping I wasn't going to be stuck out with no water tonight. I kind of got frantic towards dark as it didn't appear that I was going to find water even though my GPS and AAA map showed several creeks/ springs in the vicinity. I finally made it down to a rest area with an outhouse. I noticed just before the rest area seeing some cat tails, sure fire sign of water even though I didn't see any from the road. I ended up riding back up there and found a way down into a spring which was a hot spring at that. Nothing I could soak in unfortunately, but definitely coming out of the ground hot. I hoped it wasn't alkaline or anything, but I got a nice big bucket full. I pedaled back to the outhouse and commandeered one as my own. Only problem was that these outhouses had a solar panel on them and a light that stayed on all night. I was sure I could find a fix for this, but would deal with that later.

No mans land, lots of volcanic ash... found water right behind the rest area... this is NV now

I was surprised that it was now trying to rain outside and super gusty. Pretty nice hanging in the shelter of the restroom at 55* vs being out in the wind and rain. This was a big outhouse too so I was able to sleep on one side of the outhouse and have my bike on the other. I took a sponge bath inside and got to getting my dinner going. One nice thing was that there was a couple visitors during dinner and I just made out like I was using the one of the two restrooms, which I am sure freaked people out as there was no other car there. I ended up near bed time rigging the tarp I cover my bike with over the light and used one of my cam straps for my rack to cinch it tight around the light. No other vehicles came by all night and I slept sound and warm on my 2.5 inch thick air mattress.

Just outside Alturas and still rocking

2011-10-02T14:44:00.001-07:00

Taking a little break before heading out of Alturas

Just outside Alturas and still rocking the steady tailwind. Head up past Davis Creek and see if I can find some cerveza and trout.

By the way this trip is in honor of my late grandmother Wilhelmine D. Richardson. I am riding to Nampa, ID to return her ashes to the Snake River where my grandpas ashes are. She was a wonderful woman and I am going to miss her a lot. My high school friend Tabitha shared a poem she wrote for me on this journey...

Long Journey

Finding solace in journeys, the soul quiets, nothing but thoughts,listening to past and present intertwine on one another. Life is but wind drifting and merging; measured like melting snow and the climb of spent bloom on Fireweed. Keep the wind as your companion and the sun on your face, with closed eyes,remembering.

- Tabitha Parker
10/02/11

Left Likely and pedaled on really enjoying the scenery up here outside Alturas, CA. Still had awesome tailwind even though now it had become slightly overcast. Didn't take long to get to Alturas which had a cool old main street. I pedaled slowly through town and spied a small store to purchase some water to top off my bottles for the next and final leg of the day.

Route around Alturas, CA

I was on the hunt for beer as close to where I would be camping so I passed up the opportunity to get beer in Alturas for beer further up the road. I can suck down about one tall boy and then it is lights out for KRUD as I am a lightweight in the alcohol consumption area. In fact hadn't had beers/ wine all summer since shortly after the new year. Busy training and such, but with the relaxed pace of this tour a nice beer in camp sure sounded good.

Unfortunately the store up the road that was to have beer was closed it being Sunday evening and all. No problem though, I was busy enjoying the scenery. Outside Alturas the nature of 395 changed yet again. I was now in forest and pedaling along the Pitt River. Cool canyon here and traffic light which was good as my nice shoulder had finally disappeared just outside Alturas.

I stopped at one point and leaned my bike against a cattle gate so I could get some Hammer Gels in me. It was nice taking a moment here to enjoy the pine forest and the views. I then continued on and had started to get views of Goose Lake. I had one decent climb around a ridge that came right down to the lake and I had to stop part way up and get some bars in me as I was hungry and my butt was sore. Nice views of Goose Lake from here too. At this point it was kind of grey out and the wind was kicking up so I switched on my blinky light to have some added visibility. That little blinky light sure does the trick. Cars give me a pretty wide berth when that thing is flashing.

Just shy of the ORYGUN state line

I pedaled all the way to just shy of the Oregon state line before I saw the sign to Cave Lake Campground. I checked my GPS and realized this would offer some awesome camping and since I had now covered about 107 miles it was a good time to start looking for a place to hole up for the night. I pedaled up the road and entered a narrow canyon where Pine Creek carved through. I almost gave up early as the road turned to dirt quick and was rough. However I decided to just push it up the one bad rise, then the road was quite rideable for a mile or so. At this point a fellow who had a homestead just up the road. He stopped and asked where I was headed. I mentioned I was looking for a good place to throw down for the night. He said to come up to his place, only place on the road and that I also looked like I could use a beer. I tried to go all the way to his place, but it ended up being further than I wanted to go. I spied a nice camping spott off the road and beside Pine Creek. I decided to set up the MLD Duomid as the wind was starting to gust pretty hard in the canyon.
Got a sponge bath in at the creek, and while down there looked around for trout. It was getting pretty late after coming up off 395 this far and setting up camp. Just decided to get warmies on and get dinner in me. The wind was really howling now in the canyon, but I was cozy in my shelter.

Had to move camp last night around dusk

2011-10-02T14:42:00.001-07:00

the ride at an abandoned store near Termo, CA

Likely General Store

Had to move camp last night around dusk as the mosquitoes were bad. Note to self: camp away from the swamp. Today eating the miles up with crazy tailwind. Ran into another cyclist heading into the wind here in Likely who had enough and just hopped a ride south. Hope I get some fishing tonight.

1st leg of the day

I intended to get super early am start, but my morning scene isn't as dialed as I would like it to be yet with the bike deal. I think I was on the road a little before 9:AM. Fortunately the mosquitoes left me alone all night in camp and didn't return in the morning either.

Climbed up a beautiful pass first thing where there was a rest area with a piped spring. Nice pinyon/ juniper forest up here. Next time I will push to here to camp vs. staying in the swamp. Since I don't carry any topo maps and just use my homemade AAA maps with tick marks and my mileage on it I don't really know what the terrain is like up ahead. It is too time consumptive to try to do it on my gps so I just wing it when it comes to camp sites, however usually just up the road is terrain and vegetation I would rather have camped in.

abandoned store near Termo, CA

My first little break was at an old abandoned general store near Termo, CA. I could have spent hours digging around in the old stuff (which I love to do), but I still wanted to get some miles in today. As I was sitting on the front porch drinking some water and eating a bar my water bottle tumbled off the bench right on to a used diaper. I don't know what it is about diapers being one of the more common trash items along roadways and near trailheads. Kind of a rough thing to just throw out of the car and they aren't going to break down any time soon. Anyway my next top priority was to find some way to rinse the mouthpiece off before drinking any more fluids out of it.

Nice shady spot to take a break, just watch the used baby diapers...

I continued on north on HWY 395 with very light traffic on a mission to get my water bottle cleaned. Stopped in the next settlement north of Termo, CA which is Madeline, CA. I spotted a hunter sauntering out of his cabin and stopped and asked if I could use some water. He obliged and even told me to grab some soda out of his cooler. I mainly just wanted to clean that water bottle off after landing on the diaper so I got that all taken care of. I asked him how the hunting was going and he said they where trying to locate deer, but the population around there had really dropped off. He claimed mountain lions had put a dent in the population and the hard winters in the mid 90's killed many deer too. I mentioned seeing a bunch of deer laying down in the middle of a field about half a mile south of town. He jumped in a truck and motored off looking for them. I won't make that mistake again. I don't have anything against hunting, but I don't need to help hunters find animals to kill either.

2nd leg of the day

I continued up another pass outside Madeline and got a killer downhill into the town of Likely. The wind had picked up now and I could just stand up on my pedals and let the wind hit my back and blow along the road at 20 mph +! Crazy! Rocked the long downhill into Likely and felt I was up some serious miles for it still being a little after noon. As I pulled into Likely I spotted a general store with nice picnic benches on the side of the store and shade trees. There was even another bike rigged for touring here too!

Likely General Store

I did a quick bathroom break here and visited with the other bike guy who was heading from Portland, OR to La Paz, Mexico. He had been battling headwinds for several days now and asked me if it always blows out of the south along 395? I answered that it really depends on what kind of storm is coming in. I gave him some beta on back roads like Red Rock Road and old 395 around Washoe Lake south of town. He made notes on his map. He was able to hitch a ride for him and his bike up the road a ways to take a break from the wind. I was just glad it was at my back, but I decided to make hay while I could and get in as many good easy miles as I could before the weather turned.

End of day had some nice hi plains drifting

2011-10-01T17:58:00.001-07:00

Kona Sutra in all its splendor after its first day touring

End of day had some nice hi plains drifting...10 mile straight aways and tailwind. Got a nice tall Tecate waiting for burrito dinner. No fishing here tonight.

Historic Marker off HWY 395

After leaving Litchfield, CA I had some really nice terrain to cruise through. Climbed a small pass to a historic marker for the Noble Immigrant Trail. Got all learned up on that situation then cruised off into some really long valleys with a killer tailwind. Couldn't believe how many miles I ate up in the nice evening light. The terrain really changed just outside Litchfield to more open prairies. Traffic was very light on the highway now too with no truck traffic. Not much for farms up here or homes either.

Kona Sutra in camp in lovely evening light

Towards 5:30-6PM I started to look for a place to camp. Ended up heading west off HWY 395 on a road that I believe is called the Shinn Ranch Road. I rode my bike across a cattle guard and a stagnant creek/ swamp to a likely pull out in the sagebrush near a barbwire fence. I hung out a bit to check and see how heavy traffic was on the road, but no one came by.

Just couldn't be more pleased with this ride and the metal sparkles look sweet in the evening sun!

About the time I got camp completely set up I was swarmed by mosquitoes from the swamp. They had been hunkered down as the wind was keeping them down. As the sun set the wind set down too and I was going crazy dealing with all of them. I ended up doing an emergency evasive tactic and climbed a nearby rock outcrop back into the wind to get away from the. I learned a new trick too. If I can't get my bike someplace difficult I can push it off into the sagebrush and cover it up from any would be thieves. Worked fine. I finally could enjoy my tall Tecate with dinner and relish the first days ride out of Reno and pour over maps as to what was up next for day 2.

Hey dig on the vid of my first days camp and reflections on the days ride. Will post more vids daily as I get them uploaded at You Tube.

Up 65 miles before 1pm!

2011-10-01T13:40:00.001-07:00

Taking a short lunch break in the shade in Milford

Up 65 miles before 1pm, take that fastpacker! Took a short lunch here in Milford now on to Standish/ Litchfield for my beer. Should have no issues getting in a century. Red Rock road out of Stead worked nice this morning too.

15 miles outside Milford, CA on HWY 395

So I was able to lay out some good miles this afternoon with the wind at my back. Good shoulder on HWY 395 in this section too. I finally saw a little store in Milford, CA that had little picnic benches outside with shade built over them. Looked like a nice place to get out of the intense sun and water up for a bit. Owner of the little store here was amicable as well. Probably took a hour break then suited back up for some more miles.

2nd half of the days route around Honey Lake and then north again along 395

Pedaled on around Honey Lake outside Susanville, CA on a back county road which was also a shortcut. This cut off worked really well as it saved some miles and took me on some lonely back roads. It ends up coming right into Standish, CA where I checked on the store situation up in Litchfield. I didn't want to have to haul my beer any farther than I needed to. Ends up Litchfield has a small store too and it was 3 miles up the road. I was now back on HWY 395 after this short detour. Folks at this store plenty nice too and again nice picnic benches under shade trees on the outside of the store.

Leaving the BLC @ 8am

2011-10-01T08:16:00.001-07:00


Had to ride under the Reno Arch to begin this journey!

Leaving the BLC @ 8am, the adventure begins!

All decked out in my new kit... including killer old NWP jersey compiments of Rob!

Had a beautiful crisp morning to begin the journey. I was able to get off work early Friday so was pretty much packed up and ready to go this morning with out running around like a chicken with my head cut off.

First Leg of my Fall 2011 Bike Tour

Initially I was a little dubious about the load on the bike which wasn't light by any means, but well under the recommended carrying capacity of my rack at least. Once I got under the Reno Arch I got to business climbing up and out of Reno onto old HWY 395 or N. Virginia St.

Onto Red Rock Road

I took this all the way out of town to the end of the road and then crossed under the official HWY 395 and picked up Red Rock Rd. This road was a blast compared to dealing with traffic going out of Reno. I also got to explore some new terrain I had never seen before. Towards the end of Red Rock Rd you get to bomb down a sweet canyon and I am sure this will be part of my training rides in the future now that I know where it is.

Gonna be on this HWY 395 for a stretch

Red Rock Rd T's into HWY 395 just west of the California border with Nevada. Nice big shoulder on the highway and I gladly pedaled along it with a strong tailwind. I had made a purchase of a small mirror that attaches to my sunglasses and I appreciated it's advanced notice it gave me of traffic behind me. It is so light I don't even notice it is there and I got used to using instantly.

BKPKR

2011-09-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

BKPKR- Kona Sutra all suited up

So I begin a 1,300 mile loop ride from my front door here in Reno tomorrow morning. I have outfitted a Kona Sutra touring bike for the tour of Nevada/ California/ Oregon/ Idaho. I am traveling 650 miles from Reno to Nampa, Idaho, then back from Nampa to Reno. Picked out a pretty sweet route in my opinion. I will leave Reno on Old Virginia Street all the way out to the Red Rock Road exit off 395. I will pass under 395 then continue out north along Red Rock Road. I will take this road all the way out until it crosses into California and joins 395 north of the CA/NV border. Take a shortcut around Susanville then continue north on 395 until I reach HWY 140. From here I will jog east back into Nevada to Denio Junction. At the junction I will bear back north into Oregon along the western slope of the Steens Mountains. I will continue on to HWY 20 where I will again head east following the Malhuer River. I will take this route almost to the Snake River, then head upstream along the Snake before crossing into Idaho. I will then take the back way to my late Grandmothers house in Nampa.


Got plenty of reflective on the bike from reflective sidewalls on the tires to the big reflectors on all of the Ortlieb bags

Planning on staying the weekend in Nampa, ID with my mom. We will put my grandmothers ashes in the Snake River where we put my Grandpas ashes several years ago. This trip is in honor of my grandmother, who always supported me in my adventures. One nice thing about my route out of Idaho is that I will leave Nampa and follow the Snake River where my Grandmother and Grandfathers ashes are all the way east to near Bruneau. I will turn south though before heading into Bruneau and take a highway that leads to Mountain Home, NV. I will continue on this highway into Elko where I will take I-80 west 20 miles to Carlin. In Carlin I will head south on a lonely highway to near Eureka where I will pick up HWY 50. I will then take HWY 50 all the way back west to Carson City, then old 395 back to Reno.

Plan on doing plenty of fishing with my new 4 piece pack rod

Of course I have some goodies along to keep me busy, namely my fishing rod. I hope to eat some nice trout along the way. The plan is to cover at least 100 miles a day, get to camp early and get set up. Then hopefully I will have a few hours of light so that I may try my hand at fishing, and if lucky maybe I will hook into the nights dinner.

Hope to eat some trout like this guy I caught recently on a Sierra trip

The ride. I have been training on the Kona Sutra (play on words) for most of the summer. I have already racked up about 800 miles on the bike and have really enjoyed it. It is a very comfortable ride for spending long days in the saddle. Steel bike too so it absorbs much of the road shock.

Ortlieb bags round out the kit

I have purchased some Ortlieb bags for the rear and a dry bag too. I also have a handle bar mounted bag from Ortlieb as well. The bags are killer and I didn't realize until I was packing them today how much gear can actually fit in them. Likewise I didn't really appreciate the Sutras real niche as a touring bike until I had a full load on it. I will give a more detailed follow up on the gear including a gear list and some follow up reviews of how the gear performed for me on this trip. I will have mobile blogging capabilities on this trip so check in for a couple posts a day to see how I am progressing. The posts won't be long, but if I am lucky I can get several out a day cell reception permitting and a few photos too boot. I will have my trusty video camera with me and I will have my camera along for the ride as well. Hope to put together a short film of the trip later this winter.

The cockpit with the ever important bloodshot eyeball for navigational purposes

It has been crazy getting everything together for this trip. It all came together tonight though. I hope everyone who follows FSTPKR can forgive my tardiness following up on Binks progress, but it sounded as if he was on track to go under our record. Another of my records may have fallen recently too, but I will have to follow up on that when I return. I haven't been able to follow up with folks who have contacted me recently through the blog either, but I will definitely give a shout when I return. I also have several race reports from this summer I haven't been able to get up either. So the blog will function as BKPKR (bike packer) for the next few weeks, but will return to FSTPKR until the first snow starts flying when I return.

2011 Wild & Scenic Film Festival !!!

2011-09-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Nevada Wilderness Project is happy to announce their 3rd annual Nevada Tour of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival. The Wild & Scenic Film Festival is the nation’s largest and most prestigious nationally touring film festival of its kind focused on inspiring environmental awareness, conservation and wilderness appreciation.

You can catch the Wild & Scenic Film Festival at these three locations in Nevada the year:

Reno
7 PM Thursday October 13th 2011
The Grove
95 Foothill Rd
Purchase tickets online

Mesquite
7 PM Wednesday October 26th 2011
Mesquite Community Theater
150 N Yucca
Purchase tickets online

Las Vegas
7 PM Wednesday November 2nd 2011
The Rio - Brazilia Room
3700 W Flamingo Rd
Purchase tickets online

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Update!!! Looks like I will be attending the Las Vegas showing of this event!!! Come out and visit with the KRUD and enjoy some killer films!
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I wish I could take in at least the Reno event this year, but will be out of town on my first bike tour. I really enjoyed the festival last year at both the Las Vegas locations and the Reno event too. You can check out a list of the films that will be shown here.

Of course Walking the Line: New Energy in the Old West will be shown. Here is a trailer of that film:

Bink managing 41 miles per day for the first half

2011-09-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

Bink has made it through Seiad

September 2nd @ 5PM

The night Scott crossed from Oregon into California he encountered Bill Roberts in shock having been bucked from a horse. Bill is a trail maintainer for the PCT in this area surrounding Seiad Valley. Bill had broken his pelvis, ribs and his legs. Bill was in major shock. Scott mentioned that it was an intense situation, but another hiker, Bill's girlfriend and Bink went to work getting Bill stabilized and out of the backcountry. I guess they where able to lift him and walk him out to a road where they could get a truck in. Once in the truck they where able to move Bill to where a helicopter could get in to airlift him to Redding, CA.

The next day Bink had to jog a bunch to make up the lost time from the rescue the night before. He basically ran all the way down into Seiad Valley. One good thing that came out of the rescue was that the other hiker that was there was a doctor and gave him some antibiotics for his toe in case it gets worse.

When Scott called in this update he was in the Marble Mountains looking down into Eatna. He hoped he would get another 6 miles south of Babbs Creek for camp this night.

Bill Roberts has maintained the PCT in this section for 30 years

September 3rd or 4th (Bink not sure)

Bink called in his splits so far for the trail. He started at monument 78 on the 8th of August at 5:02 AM. He was able to cross into Oregon on the 20th of August at 6:45PM. This puts his time for Washington at 12 days 13hrs and 43 min a pace of 40.7 miles per day for the first 508 miles. In 2009 Scott and I covered this section in 12 days 1hr and 17 minutes. After 2 attempts this year it looks like this record stands for the state of Washington

He then proceeded through Oregon arriving at the OR/CA border on the 31st of August at 3:44PM. This put Bink through Oregon in 10 days 20 hrs and 59 min for a pace of 41.8 miles per day. In 2009 Scott and I traversed Oregon in 10 days 14hrs and 14 min. Lucky for me Bink and I where just 6 hours faster in 2009 than Bink solo this year. He knows he didn't beat our record from 2009 for the state of Washington, but he wasn't sure on Oregon. It has been really hot.

He was hoping to make it to mile 1524 this evening which is just a landmark marked Ridge in the PCT Data Book. He laughed as it was pretty vague. He is just trying to do 41-42 miles per day right now, but he is feeling like he doesn't have much juice. He thinks the heavy carry (6 day) out of Seiad was killing his momentum. He is a little behind on his mileage this day and is only moving between 2 - 2.75 miles per hour tops. Lo gear seems to be the only gear he has.

Today on trail someone thought he was the hiker Sam Fox. When Scott answered he was Bink the guy was pretty let down.

September 7th

It is a little after noon and Bink just left Burney about 40 minutes ago. Scott Wales who has been following Binks record attempt showed up at Burney Falls with a truck load of organic fresh veggies. So Bink ate a bunch of fresh veggies while packing his resupply into his pack.

Things are going well. Managing a few 43 -45 mile days, but mostly 41-43 is where he is trying to stay steady. Today hoping to lay out a 41. He got some new shorts in his resupply so he is styling. Today is really hot 100* when he left Burney. He is probably going to spend the night up on the Hat Creek Rim tonight. Still running into NOBO hikers and even bumped into Slim.

7PM

He is now just up on the Hat Creek Rim. 99* when he left Burney and the heat today has been shutting him down. He kept falling asleep while walking, feeling dizzy and needing to lay down. When he got to the fish hatchery he spent 2 hours swimming and trying to recover in the cold water.

He was bored and prank calling me. His day was killed wasting time at the fish hatchery, but he was thinking he could still get in a 40. He would have to walk until 9-9:30PM though. He will probably make it to the communication tower a little past the water cache. The sun was just about to go down, but the temps still in the 90*'s.

Bink with the Bink pack 2009 PCT Midpoint

September 9th

Friday at 2:51PM found Bink reaching the halfway point of the PCT. He reached it in 32 days 9 hrs and 49 minutes for a pace of 41 miles per day. Bink and I covered this section in 2009 in 30 days 15 hrs and 11 minutes. Again totally lucked out here as our record from the PCT midpoint to Canada still stands.

He had just hit the top of a climb and was breathing hard. It has continued to be hot and now it was quite humid. He had been having some thunder storm activity. He had never experienced it being this hot on the PCT this late in the year before. He was hoping to get to Cold Springs a little past Humbug Summit tonight. Joked about trying to take in some rave action in Belden tomorrow.

How far Bink has come (well not quite exactly)

September 12th

Really hard day leaving Belden. He only managed a 38 mile day. He is pretty sure he had heat stroke as he was dizzy and throwing up on the climb out of Belden. Once he got the 6 miles of switchbacks behind him and got on top in the cool breeze he started to recover from the bout. He has been experiencing some major thunderstorm activity the last few days. It rained really hard last night so he spent the night dry under his tarp.

He switched to size 14 shoes in Belden and will probably continue on in 14's for the remainder of the trip. He doesn't even feel the big toe that was painful anymore. He did notice he had blisters on the bottom of his toes. He probably burned them after crossing the Hat Creek Rim. He said they actually look burnt more than blistered.

He was hoping to make it to Jackson Meadow Reservoir tonight or at the least to climb up out of the Milton Creek drainage as far as he could.

September 17th

All of these updates so far where messages Scott left me. Today he actually caught me in person so it was nice to catch up.

He was on the other side of Echo Summit when he called. The day prior over near Sugar Bowl he was laid up for about 3 hours due to electrical storm. He said he was watching numerous lightning strikes on the ridge in front of him and he wasn't about to head up onto the ridge in weather like that. There is not much cover for several miles in this section.

He is ahead of his schedule now slightly, but still a day or so behind our time from 2009. He is also aware of some fires on trail south of him now near the LA aqueduct section. I laughed as there isn't much to burn down there. He started mentioning that if the fire situation was bad when he arrived he would bag the speed record and road walk around it. I wasn't to supportive of that as I think he has a really good chance of breaking our record and we have both been through numerous fires before and I am sure based on the vegetation down there he won't have any issues.

Bink taking in the view above Lyell Canyon PCT 2009

It is obvious in talking with him that he is still being humble, but I know he is capable of pulling off a record. He mentioned that he wasn't really considering doing a south bound speed record again. He believes it is harder. He also thinks it is a completely different animal doing it solo. He thinks we where able to bounce energy off one another in 2009. When one of us was feeling down the other could be uplifting or pace at the least. I agree with this 100%, but I didn't comment on it to Scott. I just told him to get after it and bring home another record. It occurred to me after talking with him that I could light a fire under his ass and tell him Sam is laying out 55+ mile days daily? Next up is the Sierra which will provide Bink with plenty of opportunities to cleanse his Chi and feast his eyes on!

Supported PCT speed record attempt moving at non record pace

2011-09-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile on the Pacific Crest Trail behind Scott Williamson on midnight August 25th another speed record began. However this record is of the supported kind. The runner Sam Fox laid out some big miles the first few days, but upon entering Glacier Peak Wilderness his mileage was reduced drastically. Sam's mileage has continued to fall daily since then.

"Beginning in North Cascades National Park in Washington, at the Canadian border, and ending in Campo (San Diego County) at the Mexican border, he will attempt to make the journey in 60 days to break the current world record of 65 days. To that end, he must average 44.1 miles per day along terrain that ranges from rainy woodlands to steep mountains." --San Francisco Chronicle 8/2/11

It has been difficult to really assess Sam's progress due to the gaps in reporting his progress and the fact that the info is spread out between his website, facebook page, and his film crews website. I have compiled all the info here into a linear timeline. It appears at this point 10 days into Sams trip, he would need to average 42.5 miles per day to maintain our record pace from 2009. If he was still planning on delivering on his record of 60 days he would need to maintain a pace of 46 miles per day. Each day Sams mileage drops below 42.5 he adds more miles that he must cover to his average.

Here is a detailed look at Sam's progress so far:

August 25th Sam leaves the border monument 78 at midnight (mile 2655.4). Sam sends a Spot beacon out at 11:07 pm (August 24th) to verify his starting point.

Monument 78 Canadian/ US border

August 25th Sam reaches HWY 20 in 21 hrs (mile 2594). Sam has managed to cover 61 miles his first day out. His support crew reports:

"Our headlights found the reflective fabric on his jacket first – he was collapsed sideways in a sort of stoic fetal position, just lying there on the pavement where he’d been trying to reach us on the handheld for 15 minutes. You guys- he was mumbling- I went...sooo...faast... We picked him up off the ground and threw him into the RV."

Rainy Pass

Sam departing from Rainy Pass August 26th

August 26th Sam sees his first bear and catches a shot of it on video tape around 6:38 pm. This is near High Bridge, the road here leads into Stehekin (mile 2574). Sam is now up 81 miles.

Sam sees his first bear near High Bridge/ the road into Stehekin

August 26th comes to a close with Sam up 89 miles or 28 miles for his second day on trail. Sam's Spot beacon has a message, "Tired safe, bedtime hi mom." Sam is near Swamp Camp Creek (mile 2566) for an average of 44.5 miles per day.

End of day 2 near Swamp Creek

August 27th we have no data from Sam's beacon so it isn't clear as to how many miles he made this day. His support team mentions receiving 3 beacons in 3 days, but they never shared the data.

August 28th Sam gets a beacon out at 7:00 AM stating that he is running late and hopes to make it to Stevens Pass by midnight (mile 2528.5). Sam has now covered roughly 127 miles in a little over 3 days for roughly an average of 39 miles per day.

Day 3 finds Sam in some rough terrain on the flanks of Glacier Peak

August 28th 10:08 PM finds Sam near Wenatchee Pass (mile 2493). It sounds as if Sam might be in trouble as he mentions it is getting dangerous and that he will push for 8:AM now and that he is sorry. Sam pace now is 40 miles per day for the 162 miles he has covered.

Running out of food and snow worse than predicted

August 29th Sams support and film crew goes out to find him. Around 9:30 AM the group spots Sam making his way to Lake Valhalla (mile 2481.8). Sam has now covered 173 miles for an average of 40 miles per day. However the effort may have set Sam back. The film crew reports:

"We watched as he limped to us, starved and sleep-deprived. Ben filmed as he collapsed in heap on the grass and absentmindedly swatted at mosquitos and scarfed down a sandwich. Sam was completely exhausted, but determined to get to the bottom of the section once and for all. "

Sam collapses near Lake Valhalla

Meanwhile Sams support crew had this to share on his blog:

"there he was across Valhalla Lake, moving painfully slow – hobbling. His gait was completely ragged, not nearly the precise swagger that usually leads him around these mountains. The film crew captured a long shot of him meandering his way down the trail while John and I hurried off to meet him. He put his hand on my shoulder to walk and said nothing, his head hung low. When he made it to the film crew he collapsed on the dewy ground, his face awash with pure agony. The hardest day of his life, he said. Yes, his rations ran out the night before. Yes, the snow worse than we predicted. He groaned and grimaced at his feet: “I think I got a lot of skin separation down there, dude, I’m so afraid to take these shoes off.”

It is apparent in the video above Sam wasn't aware of the fact that he was attempting to break a self supported record. Sam says, "How in the hell can anybody do this unsupported?". "That guy is such a beast"..."God!... How do they do it?"

August 30th Sam leaves Stevens Pass near 4:00 AM. Now that Sam has stayed put at Stevens Pass for the better part of the day though his average mileage has dropped to 35.6 miles per day.

August 30th at 12:24 PM finds Sam on Deception Pass (mile 2454.3). Sam is upbeat stating that he is feeling great, having lunch and hopes to update before bed. Sam has now covered about 201 miles of the PCT for an average of 36.6 miles.

Lunch time on Deception Pass

August 30th 8:37 PM Sam decides to make camp most of the way of the climb up from Waptus Lake (mile 2433). Sam has now covered a little over 222 miles for an average of 35.6 miles per day.

Camp most of the way up climb from Waptus Lake

August 31st Sam makes it out to Snoqualmie Pass by 2:00 PM (mile 2401.7). One of his ankles is stiff and swollen. Sam sleeps through the night here and plans to leave the next afternoon. Sam has now been on trail for a week covering 253.7 miles for an average of 36.2 miles per day.

September 1st at 3:38 PM Sam sends out a message on his facebook page:

"Right now I'm at my support location at Snoqualmie Pass. I managed to cover the 74 miles from Stevens pass in just over 30 hours. I ran big portions of it...almost 15 miles straight at one point. Never tired, never disheartened despite the cold and wet weather. But...I have sustained a potentially serious ankle injury. THIS WILL NOT TAKE ME OFF TRAIL. I am taking a little extra rest time (which is why I can report this to you now) and pushing out for another 70 miles early tomorrow morning. It will be a big test to see if I can maintain the pace I have set for myself so far."

At this point Sam is becoming aware of the fact that his record attempt might be over. Sam mentions to one of his crew members, "I know it sounds weird,” he told me, “but I can’t do this thing for myself. It just doesn’t motivate me anymore.”

Since Sam hasn't left Snoqualmie Pass 9/1 his mileage per day drops to 31.7 miles per day. At this point it has taken Sam 8 days to cover a section Bink and I covered in 2009 in 6 days. Bink and I did this section without any aid though, shouldering 6 day carries out of Snoqualmie as there where no likely resupplies between here and Canada that we could walk to.

Sam has sustained a potentially serious ankle injury

September 2nd Sam leaves Snoqualmie Pass at 4:00 AM. His ankle is stiff and extremely swollen which is causing him pain. He states to his crew quitting is not an option. His crew is hoping he can reach Chinook Pass safe and reasonably fast. This is a little under 70 miles south on the Pacific Crest Trail.

September 3rd 8:14 PM Sam makes it to Chinook Pass on Highway 410. This puts Sam up 323 miles for his first 10 days on trail or a pace of 32.3 miles per day. His Spot message says, 37m in 11h. some1 feels bak.

Sam makes it to his support vehicle at Chinook Pass

Any mileage in the 30-35 mile per day range is the mileage an average strong thru hiker would maintain on the PCT. It is becoming more common with light weight gear for thru hikers to be able to cover this kind of mileage and the fact that the PCT's tread allows for high mileage days when compared to more rugged trails like the Appalachian Trail.

Sam is attempting to break the current unsupported record Scott Williamson and myself hold of 65 days 9 hrs 58 minutes. Sam intends to break the record by 5 days. Sam is the first person to attempt a supported record on the PCT since David Hortons 2005 record. David Horton was 55 years old when he accomplished this feet and 2005 was a high snow year as well. When David Horton attempted the Pacific Crest Trail though he had already set numerous long trail speed records including the Appalachian Trail record and the Long Trail (my first long distance hike and in many ways a trail much rougher than the AT). David had run 110 + ultra races since 1998 which didn't hurt his preparation mentally for the PCT speed record attempt in 2005.

In 2009 Bink and I had excellent conditions for setting a speed record. Our record was unsupported in nature though even to the extent we refused any rides in cars, walking to all of our resupplies. Our last day on trail was a 51 mile day which was also our longest. Before attempting this record Bink had traversed the trail 12 times, 2 of the 12 being Yo Yo's (walking from Mexico to Canada and back to Mexico in a calendar year a distance of 5310 miles) and 1 of them being a speed record he shared with Tatu Joe (2007). I had walked the PCT 1.5 times ( .5 of them being my own failed speed record attempt), set the AZT speed record in 2007, and traversed several other long distance trails.

These are the definitions of supported and unsupported as per the website Fastest Known Time:

Supported means you have a dedicated support team that meets you along the way to supply whatever you need. This generally allows for the fastest, lightest trips, and for an element of camaraderie and safety, since someone knows about where you are at all times.

Self-supported means that you don't carry everything you need from the start, but you don't have dedicated, pre-arranged people helping you. This is commonly done a couple different ways: You might put out stashes of supplies for yourself prior to the trip, or you might just use what's out there, such as stores, begging from other trail users, etc.

Oddly enough most hikers consider our record to be the unsupported record, but using FKT's definition we are of the self supported brand. Even though most people assume that a supported trip allows someone to go faster, this doesn't always prove true on a trail that takes a little over 2 months to traverse. In fact quite the opposite is the case as of recently (since 2009), the self supported trips are proving to be faster.

One aspect of supported trip vs. self supported (unsupported) trips I have never seen discussed is the environmental impact of one vs the other with regards to carbon footprint. It is becoming more common to have a RV or several vehicles and any where from 1-12 people supporting a runner going after a long trail record. On a self supported trip a hiker walks to resupplies that have been mailed in advance so the impact is diffused by a vehicle delivering several packages daily. I have a hunch that the supported trips leave a much larger footprint than a self supported trip does. If anyone cares to join the discussion I would appreciate your perspective on this as well. I do hope that if someone is attempting a supported record that when it is all said and done it was worth it environmentally for the outcome. I am not suggesting success should be guaranteed from the outset as this is naive. However much like climbers leaving fixed ropes on a beautiful granite face in a remote location, or oxygen bottles in base camp... the supported trips leave a larger environmental impact on the planet. It may not be visible or tangible, however the more we become aware of our carbon footprint it isn't too difficult to visualize. For example I was reading yesterday in the book Hot, Flat and Crowded that every time a car drives one mile you can assume it is throwing a garbage bag out the window with 1lb of CO2 in it. Now every time a Hummer or another SUV drives one mile it is dumping two 1 lb bags of CO2 out the window. You can imagine what 2 vehicles following one runner is doing as quite often they must travel twice the distance the runner on trail does.

At first I was jealous of anyone who was able to line up support for a long run. I tried hard looking for a support crew for the PCT. It never materialized. Now I am committed to showing what can be done in the realm of the self supported vs supported speed record attempts just to prove it isn't necessary to impact the planet in such a way to pursue my selfish goals.

PCT unsupported Speed Record updates from Scott Williamson/ Bink

2011-09-01T08:14:00.000-07:00

Bink heading into the Marble Mountain Wilderness PCT 2009 photo Krud

I have gotten several more updates from Scott as he is approaching the Oregon/ California border. He has pushed through the whole knee issue thing and doing exceptionally well considering the conditions this year on trail regarding persistent snow pack. He has been steadily a full day behind our pace, but has of recent started to make a few miles a day on his deficit. He thinks he is up about 5-6 miles on that deficit now. I relayed all of your supportive comments to him and he appreciates the support I am sure. So keep them coming and definitely share the attempt with your friends! If you missed the kick off post about Binks speed record attempt you can check it out here. By the way if any 2011 PCT thru hikers have snapped a photo of Scott this year please email me a copy. I will post it here at FSTPKR and make sure I give you photo credit.

August 24th
Bink is behind on his mileage. He was dropping into Santiam Pass. He is on our pace, camping at our sites we camped at in 2009 or a mile either side (before or after). However, he is a full day behind our pace. Not sure if he can make that day up. His knee is better now. Although he did a 6 day carry from Timberline Ski Area to Crater Lake and that was a chore. It had been very hot. He is dubious about making up the lost day, but maybe in the Sierra. He mentioned that if he was doing a north bound speed record attempt he wouldn't even be to the Sierra yet and he wouldn't sweat it, so he is staying positive. It is still early in his trip. He was near Three Fingered Jack yesterday and there is still a ton of snow. He encountered a mule train near there. One of the mules started bucking and tons of Budweiser began to fly out of the mules saddle bags exploding all over the trail. His cohorts where totally unconcerned about his safety as he almost got thrown off and down the mountainside. The where just yelling, "you're beers Bill! Your beers!" They where jumping down and picking up the ones unexploded and drinking the ones that where broken.

Aug 26th 5pm
Bink is doing OK. He was approaching Willamette Pass. He was hoping to camp on the side of Diamond Peak. Tons of mosquitoes in the last section, he thinks everything is late this year and that is why they are still so bad. He had some bad weather in the last section, lots of heat and humidity and even a little rain. Electrical storms in the evening started a few fires. He is still pulling his mileage and averaging 42.5 miles a day. He is feeling OK, but not super strong. He thinks he is still recovering from Washington. He had an issue with his resupply itinerary coming into Crater Lake as he thought he would be there by 3PM. He was going to be 30-35 miles out from there and wasn't sure he was going to make it in time. That is going to put him 3-4 hours off schedule and he hopes he can make it up. He ran into a ton of north bound PCT hikers. 27 total so far and 15 today.

Aug 27th
Binks shorts have blown out. He is duct taping the rear end together. This happened in 2009 when we where on trail together. Don't worry he has a new pair in his Belden resupply! He was heading up Cowhorn Mountain and it was very smoky so there must be a fire near by. He is tired and running out of food coming into Crater Lake.

Aug 28th
Pulled some good mileage coming into Crater Lake and ended up making it there by 2:30PM. He didn't leave there until 5PM though as he spent some time destroying the buffet. He is still just trying to keep up with our 2009 pace.

Bink at the Oregon/ California border PCT 2009 photo Krud

Aug 31st
9:30 AM found him up near Grouse Gap behind Mt. Ashland. He was near a cache of soda pops a trail angel puts out in this section. He had himself a soda, part of a healthy breakfast. His knee is completely healed at this point. His big toe nail on his left foot is infected again, minor infection. That is the next situation physically he is dealing with as it has been getting worse. He has meant to have it removed for years, but just hasn't had the money for the operation.

Yesterday the weather changed drastically. The temps dropped 20*. It was foggy and real windy and pretty cold. This morning he has worn his mid layer all morning climbing up from I-5. He should be in California by late this afternoon. Hoping to make it past Bare Ground Spring by tonight. He has been slowly creeping up on our mileage as he needs to make up a full day. He has maybe made about a 5-6 mile dent in his deficit.

He has run into a total of about 350 north bound PCT hikers now and many are hoping to finish by November 10th.

Made it into Trail Runner Magazine again to Boot!

2011-08-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Trail Runner Magazine August 2011

A friend of mine made me aware of the fact I got a brief mention in the August 2011 issue of Trail Runner Magazine. I had a hunch I might get a mention, but wasn't sure when Peter Bakwin of Fastest Known Time mentioned the article. Sure enough on page 12 Peter Bakwin mentions the PCT Speed record:

Q: What current speed records do you consider the hardest to break?

Anything that Kilian Jornet, 23 of Sabadell, Spain has done, such as the Tahoe Rim Trail (165 miles in 38 hours 32 minutes) in 2009, is going to be hard to beat. That guy is a monster.

The Pacific Crest Trail record of 2655 miles in 65 days 9 hours 58 minutes, set by Scott Williamson of Truckee, California, and Adam Bradley of Reno, Nevada, in 2009 is pretty astonishing. They backpacked in classic thru hiker style, carrying all their gear, walking over 40 miles per day for 66 days, beating David Horton's fully supported, ultrarunner style record by almost a day.

Very nice of him to give us a shout in the article. Peter has been very receptive of the fastpacking speed records and has put no small amount of effort into making sure they are accurate. I find FKT to be a inspiration for people such as myself, I am always perusing it and getting ideas for where to focus my energy on next. Peter also has compiled a list of things to do to actually make sure your record counts and is verifiable. Check out the Read This First portion of FKT before attempting any speed record. There is actually an etiquette that is observed in posting records and I am finding most people ignore all of this and likewise their record is ignored. I will put a link up in a year when this article becomes cataloged as a digital issue with Trail Runner Magazine. Until then this screen shot of the article will have to suffice. Thanks again Peter! Very kind of you! To have my name mentioned in the same story as Killian Jornet is a honor, let alone having my unsupported record listed right under his supported record!

Click to embiggen!

Oh yeah... and the first time I appeared in Trail Runner Magazine is here. Trail Runner didn't think much of our record back in 2009, but did give me a opportunity to be on their email newsletter Inside Dirt here.

Training Log 7/10-8/10...Echo Summit Challenge... 3 week taper!

2011-08-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Got my training logs up for the last month or so. Some new forms of training in the mix there. Been putting in lots of time on the bike (what? bike? save that for another post and the blog will be masquerading as BKPKR for a while!), plenty of roller, some yoga/ stretching and the Pilates which have been killing me. All has been extremely beneficial to my training regimen. I was putting in some pretty tough weekends biking/ running/ pilates all together. It would involve getting up and out of the house at 6:30 am, lay out a half marathon or more, come home hop on the bike and ride out to Verdi, then back home for a hour or more of Pilates/ roller. The benefit of this is it allows me to lengthen the amount of time I am doing aerobic activity without pounding joints running the entire time. I really like the spinning action of cycling, helps me work the kinks out from running and works muscle groups I don't use while running. When I purchased the bike the intention was to use it for bike touring, little did I realize I could also use it as a fabulous training tool. Pilates have been doing me a ton of good too. Strengthening and toning my core has helped my running a bunch. I can protect my lower back now by resting and using my stomach muscles more. I also feel like I run more upright than I used to. I also get very strong in a forward motion, but not much strength side to side (lateral?). Pilates works all the muscle groups my other training misses. I also like that it provides stretching too, which I am realizing is beneficial as well. I have to say though coming out of 3 of those weekends on Monday I felt hung over. In a good way obviously. I know I was doing myself a ton of good by putting in long weekends on my feet and bike. Monday would be tough though as I would be back at work and dragging ass. I would then claw my way back out of the hole I had dug all weekend to feeling good again by mid week. Of course still lifting weights here at work which I have worked my way up from 55lb reps to 60lb reps. Probably doesn't sound like much, but I do 120 reps (2 different ways)/ 12 chin ups and some other core strengthening exercises on my quick lunch break 30 minute laps. Hey those chin ups work wonders Floweasy!

7/10-8/10

Now lets talk about taper. When I did my first trail running race back in July I thought tapering meant to quit running 2 days prior to your event. WRONG! That left me feeling sluggish and not to fast on my feet. I have read a few books on ultra running recently (not that I have any intention of running over 50 miles in a race format ever... if it goes beyond 50 miles I am going after a fastpacking speed record.... save the cash and do what I love alone in the woods... leave the spectacle for other folks... I sure don't need it) and have stumbled upon a calendar with suggested mileages for different length races and how to taper that mileage for race day. After getting the input of several of my athlete buds on Facebook I realized the 3 week taper I am doing is a nice ling taper. Honestly if I would have planned it better I would have worked the race weekend in as week one of my 3 week taper. I have a 36 mile race coming up September 10th near Tahoe City on the Tahoe Rim Trail. It would have been good to taper for the longer race and make the Echo Summit Challenge 20 mile race part of the taper. I am not too bummed at the mistake as I am curious how well I will do in the 20 mile format. At first I wondered if the taper was going well or not. It is going extremely well. I don't really give myself true rest days (doing nothing), I always do something active on my rest day. So my training log is usually running 6 days a week, then on my off day I still ride bike 30 miles. After checking with friends about this 3 week taper I have going it was suggested to me to keep my rest days active and my non rest days at full tilt. These full tilt runs have been going good. I have been running hills as the course I am running on Saturday is very hilly. For training specificity I am running hills to be ready to race on hills. I have been running my work lap quite a bit which basically grinds up 300 ft of elevation right off the bat in less than a quarter mile. This hill is usually imposing no matter how I feel and I am able to run up it comfortably and not get short of breath. Usually when I hit the top of the climb and get to run flat on the ditch trail I am trying to recover, but now I get to this point and I just dig my heels in and let it rip. Of course coming down the canyon is like floating, just let the legs reach out as far as I can and cover as much ground as comfortable. Cardio/ strength/ and recovery are all in top form for me going into this race. I also got a pedicure, 2 hr full body deep tissue massage and visited my chiro so I am chomping at the bit for this race.

Totals again

So my goal is to be covering twice the distance of the PCT annually by running/ walking/ hiking/ snowshoeing/ skiing and put in plenty of miles on the bike too. Here is my totals so far this year:

Run/walk/ hike/ snowshoe/ ski = 3008.2 miles
Bike = 629 miles

Echo Summit 20 miler elevation profile

The race is the Echo Summit Challenge. I had the privilege of going out and pre running the course a few weekends ago. From here on out I will be prerunning all courses as I think this will be a huge advantage over someone travelling long distance for the race who has never seen the course. The route of the run is basically on the PCT for a short distance to the junction with the Pony Express Trail (or the XP). It then descends down to Lovers Leap a climbing area, does a small loop down here then climbs up steeply behind lovers leap to rejoin the XP and climb all the way back up to Echo Summit. Taking a look at the elevation profile shows a course that has virtually no flat/ traversing sections of trail. You are basically going up or down. Fortunately many of the climbs are totally runnable with the exception of one. I think based on what I have experienced and seen first hand at ultra races many people will be walking these hills right out of the gate. The hills are deceiving as they look like they just go and go, but most of them are really short compared to what I am used to. There are a few sections of trail where the route pops out onto a ski/ cat track run that you can really open it up on. The biggest trick in this race based on my scouting is going to be to save enough leg descending to Lovers Leap to be able to turn around and climb back up to Echo Summit. I am really good at descending as well, but there is one segment of trail down near Lovers Leap that is so rough it looks like you are running in a boulder choked river bed. I tried to run down it a few hundred feet, but realized quickly I was more likely to hurt myself and just tried to walk it as fast as I could. Now the climb up the backside of Lovers Leap will be my other walk. It is so steep back here and powdery I can see toasting my legs to the point of not having anything left for the return climb back up to Echo Summit. I plan on descending down to Lovers Leap as fast as I can and grind it out on the return. I plan on running every hill except for the two spots I mentioned. Even on the descent down to Lovers Leap the course reminds me of a saying I am fond of, "you mostly climb to descend." On the return though it just seems like one big climb with some steeper sections.

First leg of the race

Strategy for this race... battle plan... goes something like this. Micro Monkey is crewing for me (no snickering that I have a crew on a 20 mile race). Main reason for this is so I may run through all the aid stations and not linger. I obviously got this idea from watching guys like Tony K (who trust me I bow down to, I will never be a runner like him or Killian) just blow through. I like the idea of keeping the legs moving and not breaking my focus looking at all the people in the aid station or lingering there looking at treats. I learned in my first 13 miler race in July that a running race can really come down to seconds and if I can save my self several seconds here not doing anything in the aid stations the better. So the first aid station comes at about the 4 mile mark. I am sure many people will be using handhelds for a race like this and will have to run the first 4 mile segment with a handheld. I am foregoing this and will run with no bottle to the 1st aid station. Micro and I did a dry run and we visited the 2 aid stations I need her to be at to crew for me during this race. She will be at aid station 1 to hand off a bottle (my small one half full with Heed and 2 Hammer Gels and an Endurolyte). This will be huge in my opinion as I will be able to run unhindered for the first 4-5 miles, then grab my first bottle from Micro.

Echo Summit Challenge lower half

Then at the 2nd aid station I will pick up my second bottle which is at the 10 mile mark. Here I will be switching up to a mix of Perpetuem and Heed and have another Hammer Gel on board for the climb back up behind Lovers Leap. I will again see Micro at aid station 1 for my little bottle hand off for the last 4 miles back up to Echo Summit (this will roughly be the 16 mile mark). Now here is the kicker, I think the race will go well under the advertised 20 mile length. I only got 17+ when I GPS'd it and I talked with the RD who mentioned a shortcut to keep us off the road down near Strawberry Tract. I am fine with that, but it is nice to know when you are keeping track of your time/ pace if your race is going to be short or long. I am really excited to give this race a good go. I felt at my last race like I was unsure of my pace and spent most of my time running in no mans land between the front 3 or 4 runners and the rest of the pack. I paced part of the race with 1st place women's overall and if it wasn't for her I think I would have gone slower. That won't be the case this time. I am prepared to work hard as this distance race will be over before I know it. Plus the fact I have trained more properly and tapered correctly makes me really want to see what I can do this Saturday. Last secret weapon for this race is Race Day Boost. I have been dosing on this for 2 days and will do it all the way up until Friday so that I get the full dose this time around. I had really good results using it last time and am curious if the full dose will help even more.

Did I mention the race course is beautiful?

Couple more secret weapons... New Balance MT 101's ( 9oz mens size 14), Pearl Izumi Infinity Split Shorts and a visor instead of sunglasses. The NB MT 101's are light as a feather and keep me low to the ground. I find I have plenty of leg at the end of a long run in these. Looking forward to racing them again and this course will be perfect for them. I am finding I really dig the split shorts for running. Plenty of air flow and less chafing/ bunching/ rubbing. I actually feel like I extend more in a short like this. I have found the PI's to be plenty comfortable and airy. Well thought out running short. I had been wearing sunglasses running quite a bit, but this course is mostly under forest canopy and doesn't really get much direct sun. I find I am battling sweat on my glasses pretty quickly for a race, but I don't have to deal much if I just use a visor to cut the glare. So visor it is. I will probably pick this up from Micro at the 1st aid too. We leave at 8:am for the 20 mile race and the sun will be to my back and side descending the canyon. It will mostly be hitting me on the way back up. Wish me luck on this race and expect a full race report upon my return early next week.

Scott Williamson aka Bink on the PCT again

2011-08-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Bink on his successfull 2009 PCT Unsupported Speed Record Attempt just north of the Three Sisters Wilderness Oregon Photo Krudmeister

Scott Williamson aka Bink is at it again! He started the PCT south bound from the PCT's northern terminus on August 8th. This will be his 13th thru hike of the PCT if he pulls the trip off and his 3rd speed record on the trail if he can keep up his pace. His goal is to come in under our unsupported record of 2009, but if that isn't working out he will continue on attempting to best the southbound speed record which is currently somewhere in the 87-90 day range. So Bink is looking at anything below 65 days as a top end time and anything below 75 days as a lo ball time.

Bink dropped by work to tell me a little about his attempt and didn't sound to upbeat about it. This isn't uncommon for him as he is one of the most humble athletes I know. I think he builds himself up by tearing himself down and attacking every possible positive thing he has going for him. I think this is smart of course because it is his way of running through a mental checklist of things that could possibly go wrong. In 2009 I became acutely aware of the fact that you don't have a 65 day record wrapped up until you set foot in Canada. Anything can happen all the way up until the last day, hour, minute and second. Bink knows this from experience attempting to be the first person to yo yo the trail for over a decade. He had come close on so many occasions, but something always came up usually in the form of weather in the Sierra heading south late in the year. Scott never gave up though and like a true athlete was undeterred from attempting something so difficult that he had a very slim chance of success first time out. He came home each winter, regrouped and thought through what to do differently next time. All of this will be to his advantage this 13th time on trail. I kind of laughed at home thinking about how down on his trip he was because I know he will crush it and I have long thought that the biggest threat to our 2009 record is him. Kind of funny it isn't all the other people running their mouths about doing it, because as Bink says there is talking about it and there is doing it. In my experience any time someone is putting a much heavier emphasis on talking about what they plan on accomplishing vs. getting ready/ training for their attempt, their chances become slimmer and slimmer. That is my opinion on running your mouth about your record attempt. That is not to say I think it is inappropriate to announce your record or to let the media in on your attempt. However if you have never set foot on a long distance trail before nor run an ultra and your claiming your going to do 65 ultras back to back? Good luck...

Some of the things Bink has working against him on this trip:

- Diminishing light. In 2009 due to Binks knowledge of the perfect window for a speed record we finished on August 12th. We where dogged by rain storms and losing light daily. This became the most apparent in Washington. This involved walking all possible daylight hours and then some. It also involved loosing more sleep. Scott is starting only 4 days prior to our finishing date in 2009 so he will be battling diminishing light all the way south. This will involve him covering many miles in the dark.

-Snow. Bink had to start off on a tremendous snow pack. Contrary to popular belief in the PCT thru hiker community, starting in Canada on a high snow year and going south doesn't save you any effort. It may some years, but this year would be a perfect example of the opposite. Bink called me a week out from his departure date and mentioned that north of Stevens Pass he walked on snow all the way to Lake Valhalla (may be wrong on the exact lake so correct me if so). He was dubious at that point as to whether he would start or not. However in true Bink fashion he dug in his heels and went after the record anyway. Now snow can also be an issue in the Sierra when he gets down to the California section of the PCT. It will be mid September when he gets down near the I-80 corridor heading south. Bink has been dealt a blow several times on his yo yo attempts going through the Sierra late in the season. Although late here is more like October so this shouldn't be too much of a issue.

-Dry desert. The PCT skirts the Mojave for 700 miles. Bink will have the advantage of cooler temps here, but the negative will be much dryer conditions overall. Where one could normally count on seasonal water sources and water caches maintained by trail angels, these sources all become extremely iffy. Bink knows where to find water though as he has more first hand experience than any other human on the planet with the PCT. 13+ times!

-Bink is attempting this speed record solo. I have become aware of the fact how much easier it was to push with someone else in 2009 when Bink and I set the current all out PCT Speed Record. I am getting better at going solo, but honestly believe a team going after unsupported records has a tremendous advantage over someone going solo. Bink has spent more time alone on the PCT than anyone else though and I think he is perfectly suited for a solo speed record attempt.

Scott Williamson enjoying some June Gloom on his 2009 PCT Unsupported Speed Record Attempt just outside Hiker Town photo Krudmeister

The things Bink has working for him on the trip:

-Knowledge of the trail intimately. Every water source, camp, bend, fork, junction... he knows and has probably spent some time there poking around. He knows water sources that aren't in the data book and speaking of data book that is all he needs to navigate the trail. No maps, no GPS and no compass!

-13 successful thru hikes of the trail. 2 of these yo yos and 2 of them speed records (on the unsupported and one the all out speed record which he currently holds).

-Positive can do attitude. This is huge and Bink is someone regardless of what is going on pain wise/ weather/ gear always has a smile from ear to ear. He genuinely is a happy guy and happy to be dealing with adversity.

-He currently holds the all out speed record. Knowing what it took to set his current record and what it will take to break it are huge mental/ logistical advantage as well.

-High pain threshold. I have watched Bink walk 6 days through flu like symptoms unable to keep food down and water down. Sleeping through fevers, waking up wet with sweat to go out and lay down another 40+ mile day like it was nothing. The guy actually pushes harder the worse he feels. He has a theory that he is actually burning out whatever is causing the illness. On top of that he has issues with chewing/ and digesting food properly from a past injury. He also has some big toenails that are usually ingrown badly and infected by the end of the trip. Being sick one or two days is enough to pull my plug. I need everything going for me health wise to stay positive. Bink doesn't need this margin and is able to push through.

Bink hands down is the most incredible athlete I have had the opportunity to know. His skills on trail have definitely helped me out a ton. I tried to learn as much as I could from him in 2009. He is also a very humble guy. I feel he is beyond the entire public recognition thing anymore and is really just doing his accomplishments for himself. This is important as if you aren't doing a speed record for yourself your probably going to fail. You alone have to motivate yourself daily and if you have illusions about fame/ fortune your in for a big let down a month into your attempt when no one gives a damn. Let alone after you achieve your accomplishment. Bink knows this all too well. He received plenty of attention for his second yo yo, but after that as he has pursued speed records he really hasn't put much effort into working with the media to get word out about his accomplishments. He instead has focused all his energy on working/ training for another attempt. I am definitely in that boat as well. If a media opportunity falls into my lap great, if not I am not loosing any sleep or time training worrying about it.

So where is Bink now and how is he doing on this PCT Unsupported Speed Record SOBO (southbound) attempt? I got a message from him 8/22 that detailed some of what he has been experiencing. First off tons of snow. He said he was on snow continuously for most of Washington. The trail is difficult enough without snow in Washington so I can't imagine maintaining a 41+ mile a day pace up there. I was excited to hear that he made it passed the Bridge of the Gods ( a bridge that takes the PCT hiker from WA to OR) near Cascade Locks right on schedule. Part of me wants our record to stand, but now that he has put that much effort into staying on schedule for an all out unsupported speed record and the fact that he is my bud I am really pulling for him. At the least if he doesn't best our record he is well on his way to smoking the southbound speed record. He said he had one low mileage day going around Glacier Peak which is a extremely rough section of trail. He said he could only manage a 30 mile day which is still 2 miles more than we managed in 2009 but he is dealing with a ton of snow and no doubt much more dangerous river crossing conditions. His knees have suffered though. In 2010 his knees acted up forcing him to have to pull out very early (day 1 or 2) near Harts Pass in Washington. He feels it is the same thing again going on, exacerbated by walking on snow non stop for the first 2 weeks. Give Bink a shout of support here at FSTPKR and let him know your pulling for him. I am sure he would appreciate the good energy and I will post more updates as he continues on SOBO. YEE HAW BINK!

Outside Magazine mention again?

2011-08-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

50 Best places to work and the SWIP

Although I didn't get my name directly mentioned, looks like I made Outside Magazine again. A friend at work mentioned they saw it online and sure enough here it is (scroll down to flextime). Can't complain. If your interested in the SWIP Trip check out this link. This last link is like Krud in video game form! Missed the 1st time I got mention in Outside Magazine? Check it out here.

AZT 2011 Video Part II and III

2011-08-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

I have the last two installments of the AZT 2011 unsupported speed record videos uploaded over at You Tube. Unfortunately part 3 was blocked due to 3rd party content (music I used) contained in the video. That is the first time that has happened, but I think I have a work around by hosting it here at FSTPKR. It seems to be playing fine for me on the blog, but when I go to You Tube it is a no go. I will miss views at You Tube, but in reality my You Tube channel is really just to house my videos for use on FSTPKR. It takes a tremendous amount of time to upload videos and I am not about to figure out which song is being blocked or to re do the video. I apologize if your unable to view it in your country. If your unable to view it at FSTPKR let me know though as I am curious if everyone will be able to view it here as I am able to. I always appreciate a heads up on viewing issues so thanks for your feedback. For that reason I will only provide the link for Part II.

Also I wanted to give a huge thank you to my sponsors for making this trip possible. Not only do they support my adventures which is crucial, but I rely on their equipment quite a bit to get me through some pretty foul weather. As you will see in part 3 I encountered some rough weather. I was traveling with a 9lb pack in freezing temps on the N. Kaibab and if my gear and supplements didn't treat me well I wouldn't have pulled off the speed record. To have come so close (within 40 miles) and be defeated would have been a big blow for me. I dug in and relied on my gear and it pulled me through. So big thanks for making killer gear to:

Mountain Laurel Designs- 2900ci Prophet/ Superlight Bivy/ Silnylon Pro Poncho
Hammer Nutrition- Recoverite/ Hammer Gel/ Heed/ Perpetuem/ Hammer Bar/ Endurolytes/ Endurolytes Fizz/ Phytomax/ Tissue Rejuvenator
LEKI- Corklite AERGON SpeedLock
PETZL- Tikka XP 2/ Tikka 2
Western Mountaineering- HighLite
The StickPic
Dirty Girl Gaiters
Moeben

AZT 2011 part II

AZT 2011 Video part I

2011-08-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

Got the first installment of the Arizona Trail unsupported speed record 2011 video up over at You Tube. I will upload part II and III over the next few days. It had been a while since I had done this so it took the better part of this week to get the settings right so that the uploaded product looked good at You Tube. So check it out and enjoy! It looks good at the normal size, so don't expand it past what it is! You can watch it here at FSTPKR how I have it sized or at You Tube a little bigger.

AZT 2011 part I

Training Logs 4/17-7/3

2011-07-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

I finally got my training logs together from April through the beginning of July. It looks like I am up 2,716 miles for 2010/ 2011, which basically begins/ ends on September 27th. Pretty crazy to think it is only July and I am already up the length of the PCT. I have a personal goal to put in double the length of the PCT annually now.


4/17-5/22

Most of these miles come from the Arizona Trail Speed Record and the Grand Enchantment Trail Speed Record. I am still getting up the last of the GET journals, but you should go back and check out what I have loaded up photo wise. Got some good panoramic shots in there. The AZT and GET have been an exceptional training base for my running which I am focusing on now. Currently I am also adding Pilates and bicycle touring to the mix. The Pilates have been really helping my core strengthen, stretch my tight muscles and work my body laterally which is a weak point for me. Cycling has been an easy way for me to pick up 60-100 miles a week in the saddle without the pounding. I got a new road touring bike which is part of some new adventuring I want to do, but that is for a upcoming blog post. You won't see any of the Pilates or biking reflected in these training logs as they are in the 7/10 spreadsheet.


5/29-7/3

I have been reading a few books on ultra running recently and have a pretty good idea of how to tailor my training regimen for some races coming up the end of August and beginning of September. I recently completed a 21hr day on my feet running the Reno Rim in one go. Still working on getting those blog posts updated with photos and a full report. I was amazed I paced myself well enough to still be running at the end of the 21hr push. I was also impressed with how quickly I recovered from that run. Although all week this past week I have felt kind of drained when it comes to doing my daily training runs and exercises. I felt like I was clawing my way back out of a hole despite getting plenty of rest nightly. I felt really strong while running though. I hope to get back to my normal routine next week and ramp up some bigger miles next running too.

Training log total Fall/ Winter/ Spring/ Summer 2011

Above is total for this fall/winter and below that is the totals for this spring/ summer. I came back from the AZT/ GET with very sore ankles and feet, but the rest of my body felt good. I also noticed I had virtually no extension in my legs when running. It took about 3 weeks to get my body back to being a efficient strong runner. Now though I am forging ahead and can really tell that my body is handling the increased mileage well. Last week was a 90 mile week running for me. Honestly the miles makes me more confident, but the other exercises are strengthening my core which helps my running more. I am also getting on the roller a bit more and since Pilates stretches my body too these have been a big help in my extension and ability to run faster. It is crazy to think where I am now and where I might be with a few more weeks training and then a good 3 weeks of taper towards race day.

Just topped out again @ 7200ft

2011-07-23T19:22:00.001-07:00

Top of the 2nd to last climb looking towards Reno and Peavine Peak

Finally topped out on my second to last big climb of the day. Really nice view of Peavine Peak and Reno. A little bit of a cool evening breeze up here too. I descended on more rough 2 track and after a few switchbacks got on a road that traverses the east side of the Verdi Range to Dog Valley. This was all in the shade of the Verdi Range which was a welcome relief.

On top of the Verdi Range for the last time... Peavine to the left and Reno in the distance

I finally bottomed out in Dog Valley, some of the flattest running of the entire Reno Rim. I spent a brief moment trying to determine if I wanted to mess with getting water here as I had past it up last fall and regretted it. The problem is the water looks stagnant and it is hard to get to without getting your feet wet. After poking around looking for a good place to get water I finally bagged it and set my sights on getting water on the backside of Peavine.

PETZL Tikka XP 2 Core

I did find a little pothole with some water in it farther up the road. I decided I would rinse my feet here and do my last clean sock change. Felt heavenly to get into socks with no grass seeds and to have clean feet for the final bit of this loop. Time for a quarter serving of Vivarin to keep me up and alert. It was dark now so I fished out my Moeben arm sleeves, PETZL Tikka XP 2 Core and my hand held flashlight. PETZL had been kind enough to offer me the Core to review with two Core batteries. I apologize for doing this in the middle of the Reno Rim race report, but I am going to review the Tikka XP 2 Core now that I have used it.

Core battery from PETZL

The main idea behind the Core is the simple fact that it replaces 900 batteries before loosing it's ability to hold a charge. That is a good thing as these won't end up in a landfill so that bozos like me can run in the night. The Core battery has software that may be downloaded off PETZL's website for charging the battery. The software is very intuitive and can be figured out quickly. It even has a step by step instructional to explain how to use it. All that you really need to do though is download the software, plug in the Core battery and select the output that you like to get from your headlamp. I was unaware of the fact that most PETZL headlamps are regulated. This means that the lamp maintains maximum brightness for how much battery you have. This really means it goes dimmer and dimmer from the get go. This is fine for getting the most lighting out of your batteries for the longest period of time, but if your trying to traverse trails after dark it isn't a good thing. I always thought it was me getting tired, but it was the bulbs going dimmer. The Core gives you the option of selecting maximum brightness based on how many hours you are going to need the lamp for. Or you can select regulated lighting for the longest possible lighting. For me being able to have the brightest light possible for 5 hrs is awesome. I can get 5 hrs of lighting at about 90% of lighting power on the highest setting on the lamp for one charge. This is a extremely bright setting for 5 hrs of lighting. It really lights up the trail well ahead of me and then I rely on my handheld to light up shadows on rocks and step downs. The 2 together make it possible to cover some serious ground in the night. I will be using the Core batteries a ton this winter as I don't want to burn up a bunch of AAA's. Since I have two Core batteries I can charge one for maximum output in case I am moving after dark and the other one for use in camp for chores etc. Or I could program both for maximum lighting and just switch when one is used up. It is quite simple to click in the battery and to remove it in the same fashion. Honestly it is easier to do then fumbling with 3 batteries. The battery comes in at 1.05 oz compared to 1.12 oz for 3 AAA's. So no weight penalty there. The battery does add some bulk to the lamp though, in that the lamp sticks out from your head a little further. This isn't too much of a issue once you get the headband snugged down properly, I felt the headlamp stayed put all night while running. Now for the nitty gritty on features:

- three white lighting modes (maximum, economic and strobe)
- two red lighting modes: maximum and strobe
- type of lighting (white or red) is selected by pressing for two seconds on the push-button (the last color used remains in memory for the next use)
- choose between wide or focused beams with the Wide Angle lens
- 60 lumens at maximum level
- shines up to 60 meters at maximum level
-weight 83 g including Core Battery 2.93 oz

Between the 60 lumens of the Tikka XP 2 and the 85 lumens of my handheld I have plenty of light for traversing difficult terrain in the dark. PETZL mentioned this Core Battery has been slow to catch on here in the US, but I hope FSTPKR readers go get one. It will more than pay for itself in saved battery money and will help the planet at the same time.

I switched back to running just with my handheld on though as it was plenty of light on its own for running on the old 2 track. I just hoped I remembered my approach to Peavine from last fall as I didn't have a trace of the route in my gps. It is pretty straightforward though and fortunately I made all the correct turns. I recognized the CA/NV state line and felt better that I was on the correct road. Slight downhill from here, but no sooner does the road bottom out than I leave it and begin a climb to the north. I could start to make out the hulk of Peavine Peak in the dark, but I wasn't sure if that was it or not. I also have to do about 100yds of trespassing in here, crossing a mining claim I believe. I snuck through last fall unharmed, but was worried about dogs and gun toting zealots. Fortunately I recognized the turn here and started seeing private property signs so I confirmed again I was on the correct route. Made it though here unscathed and then turned again onto another road. At this point I felt that I was going to make it. The 2 track I was running on in here got real powdery, but it only lasted for a bit.

Dog Valley and across Peavine Pk

I started to feel some blasts of cool air sliding down the backside of Peavine Peak. I think the cold air was coming down the little spring creek on the backside here and I was happy to have my arm sleeves on. Moeben was kind enough to sponsor me this past fall and send me two pairs of arm sleeves. One is spandex for warm weather and the other is the same but with a brushed interior. The second one is good for cold days and I have run the first leg of the Reno Rim in late fall with just these and a short sleeve shirt and done really well. I like the versatility of these sleeves, being able to wear them up when cold or push them down when warm. It only takes a few seconds to do this and I just leave them on my wrists while pushed down so it isn't like I need to take them on and off repeatedly. This summer I have been taking these on all my runs that go into the evening along with a windbreaker vest. The combo has worked really well for me. I brought these sleeves on the AZT speed record this spring and ended up wearing them daily to keep the sun off too. They are designed to give you sun protection as well as provide warmth when necessary as these sleeves have a 50 UPF. While I was going up the backside of Peavine around 1AM though I was wearing them in conjunction with my vest to keep me warm. This climb is very steep and I was walking which allowed me to cool off, but with the spring trickling through here I was getting chilled. Moeben sleeves have a little pocket on the side of them for sticking a few gels in, but I have never needed to carry anything in there. The sleeves have a self cuff at the wrist and the same at the top which keeps them firmly in place. I got a really masculine butterfly print on mine. Definitely adds some flair so I have got plenty of comments on them.

Masculine prints like these are available from Moeben

During the daylight hours it is actually really pretty back here with a nice aspen grove surrounding the creek. I am sure all of Peavine Peak back in the day was forested, and it would have been a real treat to live in Reno back then and be able to run in the forest this close to town. Unfortunately based on what I know it was all logged long ago for use in the mines. I had to stop at one point and water up here one last time for the last push home into Reno. This is where I started getting chilled which also made my bones ache a little bit. I knew not to stay put any longer than I had to because this pit stop could make or break me. I was feeling very cold here. I got out of the gully of the spring creek and climbed the last little bit to the top of the road on Peavine Peak. From here I switched on my handheld again and started a really nice descent down on gravel surfaced road with hardly any rough sections. About halfway down I saw a vehicle going up to shoot firearms and I am sure I freaked them out barrelling down the frontside with all my reflectors and lights going.

Dog valley/ Peavine Pk/ and on home

I kind of messed up in here a little as I forked back on a really old piece of 2 track that dumped me into a dry gully above Poeville Lake. I didn't know where I was, but I had a hunch. Ended up brush busting down canyon and then I saw Poeville Lake and I knew exactly where I was. From here I ran the Peavine 1/2 marathon in reverse until I got over to Keystone Canyon. From here I was ready to be done so I just bombed down Keystone Canyon all the way out to McCarran. From McCarran I headed east over to Rancho San Rafeal park. Had a little bit of a screw up here trying to get from McCarran over the fence and into Rancho San Rafeal park. This involved needing to climb the fence, but I did it. Bombed across the park to a faucet to do one last fill up to get me home.

Elevation profile for the second leg 12,000ft gain and descent for the entire loop

Out on Sierra St I was amazed that I still had plenty of energy and leg left to jog home. I was a little stiff in the joints, but hey I had been out for nearly 21 hrs at this point. I always get energized on the Reno Rim finishing on Sierra St as there is tons of lights with all of the casinos. Added bonus to finishing Sunday AM is all the drunks spilling out of the bars. I am sure I looked weird to them, but I just kept padding my way back home. I was relieved when I got in to my neighborhood and saw the light on on the front porch. I made my way inside and Micro Monkey got up and got me out some food while I hopped into the shower. I was in bed by 3AM.

Verdi Peak Look Out 8,000ft

2011-07-23T17:21:00.001-07:00

Verdi Pk LO 8000ft 5pm

Topped out near Verdi Pk at 5pm after 3 hours of climbing. The view of Reno is worth it though. Didn't mess with walking up to the Look Out this time around. Instead I sat on a rock and picked all the grass seeds out of my shoes.

After this short stop I was off and running again. Fortunately I wasn't stiff, and I was surprised how well I felt for having over 30 miles on the legs. Good descent on 2 track from here along the west side of the Verdi Range. Everything is so green this year with the record snow fall that we have had. Really nice views of Stampede Reservoir from up here too. I ran this road much faster than I had last fall. I noticed a small spring on the side of the road and eventually it crossed under the road by way of a plastic culvert. I figured it would be a good place to treat water and tank up for the haul over to Dog Valley. The mosquitoes tried to attack, but I made it a quick stop. Nice to have ice cold water. My reservoir on my pack finally started to leak though. Fortunately for me the holes where near the top so once it had leaked past the holes I was good. For a moment I got a little frantic thinking I had come this far and might get shut out because my ability to carry water was compromised. Good thing I took a new reservoir to do the AZT Speed Record as this one wouldn't have lasted but 2 days.

A little more descending on 2 track ensued where I T'd in with a maintenance road/ rough 2 track that follows a powerline back to the top of Verdi Ridge. This is a walk for sure, way too steep and rough tread to maintain a running pace on. Always tons of quail in here. Fortunately it was beginning to cool off a little so I didn't have the sun beating down on me.

2pm made it across I80

2011-07-23T14:11:00.001-07:00

On the north side of I 80 here

2pm made it across I80. Now back up to 8000ft @ Verdi Pk. 3000ft climb. Feeling good though.

Making it across I 80 had weighed heavy on me the entire way. The problem is judging traffic in 4 lanes on this busy highway, and as many know who live here it is dangerous enough just driving it. I made sure traffic was clear in my lane and ran out to the concrete divider in the middle of the 4 lanes. I hopped up on the divider and swung my legs up on top of it. In a way I am happy the divider is here as it gives me a safe place to be since I had to wait for traffic to clear before continuing on across the westbound lane. The divider is wide enough to set on like a sled. Fortunately everyone was chill, no semis tooting their horns or nothing. I didn't need this added stress as it was already sketchy enough with semis whizzing by inches away from me at 80MPH! The traffic finally cleared out of the westbound lane and I was able to cross to safety alongside the shoulder of the highway.

Big climb up to Verdi Ridge and then across the base of the Verdi Range

On the other side of I80 I begin just under a 3,000ft climb. This climb is a hidden, rough road that takes me to about a half mile shy of Verdi Pk. Look Out. It is so steep that running it really isn't a option. This makes for a good section to get solid foods into me since I won't be running much over the next few hours on this climb.

I made a much better approach this time to the Look Out than last fall. I was being bombarded by wind and rime ice on the trees here near the summit last fall and was wondering if I would be able to pull it off. This time I was dying in the hot sun. Right about the time I was questioning this 70 mile push I spied a snowbank. I walked over and packed my silk cowboy scarf with snow and wrapped that around my neck. It definitely kept me cool on the last 200-300 ft to the look out. I even found a better way around the scree slope this time which involved a little brush busting.

7240ft 11am just tanked up on water

2011-07-23T14:06:00.001-07:00

Making my way across a nice bench for dropping into Floriston

7240ft 11am just tanked up on water. Climbed my 1st 4000ft. On my way down to Floriston. Should be dunking in the Truckee by 1pm.

Elevation Profile for the first 27+ miles

Left home at about 6:30 AM this morning. I would have preferred to get going earlier, leaving in the dark. However it is hard to get to bed on a Friday night early enough to do this. Next time if I pack my pack and get ready the night before I can probably pull this off.

1st leg of the Reno Rim- approach to Mt Rose Wilderness from my home in Reno

The first 27+ miles to Floriston is a shakedown cruise for me. I have run this leg so many times now I know all the turns by heart and also have my pacing down. I left the house this time running a little slower knowing I was going to be out for just under 70 miles. What I didn't know was that the Reno Rim has 12,000 ft of ascent and the same of descent. I knew there was tons of climbing and descending, but was unsure of the exact numbers. I made my way through town and up into the Mt. Rose Wilderness. It was definitely getting hot as I topped out at 8,000 ft on the first big climb. I was lucky that since I was here last much of the snow has melted. There was still some snow under the trees alongside Big Meadow, but I didn't have to run on it.

Nice Aspen Grove on the way down into Floriston... a creek runs under the road ice cold here

Descending into Floriston went well. Someone has come through and cleared all the nasty blowdowns off the road, so that saves a ton of time scrambling over down trees on blown quads. I now have all the water sources down so I don't need to haul a bunch. I stopped at a creek that runs under the road I run down and filled up switching from Perpetuem to Heed. I continued on down into Floriston and the sun was definitely getting intense by now. I made my way down the maintenance/ frontage road along the railroad tracks. Once I got to the bridge across the Truckee River I had to take a dip and switch out my socks. Did this as fast as possible. Wanted to keep moving so I wouldn't get stiff.

Descent into Floriston

10 day Detox over/ Still running tons

2011-07-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

So I wrapped up my 10 day Detox on raw foods this weekend. It went much better this time than it did last year. I am guessing this is because I did a detox last summer. I definitely felt funky the first 3 days of the detox last year, which I attribute to all of the toxins leaching out of my body. After about the 3rd day I felt fine. The thing I like about a raw food detox is that I am able to continue to work and exercise, although I don't exercise as hard as I would if on my normal diet. I had done water/ juice fasts back in college and those where incredible, but required a lot of time off as I was unable to do much due to lack of energy. I was amazed at what came out of me during the water/ juice fasts, but these raw detoxs are almost as productive in my opinion. The thing I am attempting to achieve by the detox is to get rid of herbicides and toxins built up in my body and help my body process food better. I feel both of these things are achieved by the raw food detox.

I ended up dropping down to a solid 169lbs while on the detox, so a weight loss of about 5lbs. I was amazed on day 3 of the detox at how fast I ran on my normal 3.7 mile run. I went out that morning feeling really hungry, but after 10 minutes of warm up I realized I was just trucking along. I did have a few days where I had really loose bowels, and I am not sure what that was all about. I didn't feel sick like I would with diarrhea, but I definitely had watery bowel movements. I also had really bad gas from about day 5 on. Now that I am not taking the detox supplements it has subsided, but I am wondering if one of their ingredients might have been the culprit. I was amazed that by day 3 it seemed like my body was eliminating foods super fast. It seemed like I was having 3-4 healthy bowel movements a day which is unlike me. I am usually a one to two times a day guy.

Training has been going really well. I have still been able to cover 50+ miles a week running, 5 days a week lifting weights and doing my sit ups almost daily. I am about to embark down the Pilates path again too. I ended up getting a 3 DVD set and am really enjoying the workouts. They are broken into several different timed workouts which is great as I may pick and choose my workout. I am getting a thicker yoga mat for the mat workouts, a balance ball, dumbbell weights, and 2lb ball. These are all used as props for doing different Pilates exercises. The thing that makes Pilates really work for me is that it strengthens my weak core and stretches parts of my body I don't stretch often enough. I am basically strong in a forward motion, but when it comes to being strong for side to side movement I am very weak and stiff. Pilates works many of these muscle groups that are stiff and weak. I believe this will only help benefit my trail running technique. So when I post some of my training logs in the future you will see Pilates listed in there regularly. I hope to post my most recent training logs tomorrow as I have new totals for how my year is going.

Got some mileages on two more runs I do here in Reno. The first one is a loop I do here where I work. Basically across the Truckee River is a nice 300-500ft climb switchbacking up to the ditch trail. I like doing hill repeats of this climb as it is a doozy. I basically shift into a nice comfortable gear, but by the top my heart feels like it will explode. I really like doing this loop in the fall/ winter for that reason as you get warmed up quick. Up on top of this switchbacking climb is a little reprieve before the last 100ft or so of climbing to the ditch trail. Once up on the ditch trail I can let my heartrate recover a little bit as I make my way on flat 2 track along the ditch. Awesome views of the Truckee River and downtown Reno from here. I have quite often seen coyotes up here in the fall. After cruising 3/4 of a mile on the ditch I get to dump down some fun/ fast single track. It is very slalom like up top with lots of tight turns. Then it is a nice long descent down into a canyon with a little creek running through it. This is a fun spot to open it up as I can literally float down all of this section of trail. Quick hop across the creek, small climb and traverse, then more downhilling back to the front of the mountain and base of the big climb. Come to find out this loop is exactly 2 miles which I would have never guessed. I always assumed it was shorter than that, but it ends up being dead on 2 miles. I often do laps here so I get to repeat this steep climb several times. Moving into fall/ winter I will run this lap on my lunch break during the warmest time of the day. It is perfect and usually takes me right around 40 minutes for the 2 laps so that I have enough time to still get some lunch in me.

Work Lap

My next run is one my neighbor showed me a few years back and I had always wondered what the mileage was. This Sunday was a perfect day to do it as I need to keep my mileage up, but I wasn't committed enough to put in some big miles in the mountains. I had been a safety runner for a coworker on the 50 mile run at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 this Saturday. That put me home in bed at almost midnight. I have been really good about being asleep at 9:00-10:00PM regularly lately so this was quite a push for me especially considering I woke at 3:30AM to get up to Spooner Lake. I took naps and laid low all day Sunday and had a hard time motivating for a run. This seemed like the perfect run to fit in in the evening since there was a nice breeze and it was beginning to cool off. This run is basically the same as my Work Run commute, but when I hit McCarran Blvd I turn and drop down to Mayberry. I run a nice little park on the inside of Mayberry and McCarran, then blast across 4 lanes of traffic into a housing development. From here I take nice rolling bike path down to the Truckee River where I pick up the River Path. From here I run the River Path all the way back to my Hood Run loop which I run most mornings. This leads me back underneath the Arlington St bridge and up a steep climb into a park. I blast across California St and back into the Old Southwest neighborhood. Here again same as my Hood Run, but when I approach La Rue St I just head home instead of picking up another mile or so. My PR for this run is 54 minutes, but now that I know it is a even 7 miles (actually just a little under) I hope to start getting this run down well under 50 miles.

Hood Run 2

Hood Run 2 Elevation Profile