Trail Running in Washington's Finest

After questioning enough local endurance fiends about trail running and pulling together all the information, I found a gorgeous and intense trail only 5 min from work. (That's 10 minutes from home).

Just past Northwestern Lake, our local kayak instruction spot and take-out for the Middle White Salmon rafting trip, there is a mountain. I knew there were mountains around here but it seems as though the grandiour of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams caused me to overlook the ones in my backyard.

Bouncing on Red Rock Canyon Floors in Arizona, December 2009

A similarly great find in Sedona, AZ.

First, I drove a friend to the top for a downhill bike shuttle. He had kindly taken me and friends up to the put-in for the Green Truss a few days earlier. And it took forever. The road kept bending and climbing for a solid 10 min. longer than I expected.

Next I ran into a friend, returning from a run up the same mountain. After some general directions to trails, I found a trailhead and went with it.

Running along a clear blue creek then slicing up the lush mountainside, my legs just couldn't stop turning. I would cross another trail, wanting to turn to explore but also feeling pulled ahead. Next time, I'll go there, I would tell myself. The air seemed to be filled with the crispness of the dew still on the bright green foliage.

It doesn't take much to find some beauty around here that I can go and run around in.

Rivers in the Columbia Gorge

Its official:

P.O. Box 334

Husum, WA

98623

I'm in love with yet another place.

Washington living, thus far, is like the tropical ecosystems of Ecuador merging with tall, thick Ponderosa Pine groves of Idaho, sprinkled with the snow-capped volcanos of Peru with Pennsylvania's meandering roads through lush farmlands, add an outdoor sport community that rivals Asheville, Fayetteville, Vail, Flagstaff and Jackson Hole COMBINED.

Not to mention some of the best kayaking I've ever seen.

Curt heading toward the take-out on the Miracle Mile, outside of Eugene, OR

Taking part in the Eddyflower Total Vertical Challenge (check it out if you havn't heard about it) has allowed me to paddle more rivers in a shorter amount of time than I could have imagined. I essentially dropped into a community of already motivated paddlers who won the competition last year.

We've lapped lots of local stretches of river as well as traveling to a few more just for fun. The photos in this post are from the Miracle Mile stretch of the Willamette outside of Eugene OR. I did 6 laps of this short but intense stretch, each time trying out new places and growing more and more familiar with every move.

Warm-up stretch on the Miracle Mile, typical Oregon/Washington full green coverage on the river banks

More local to me is the White Salmon, a stretch of spring and glacial fed river that flows through lava tubes that once carried the magma flows off of Mt. Adams. The river canyon is deep, jagged and like nothing I've ever seen. And its in my backyard.

Heading toward a boof, Miracle Mile stretch of the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette (love the names of river stretches here)

Most incredible Washington River Moment:

Two Bald Eagles followed us around a bend of the Wind River, landing on tree branches nearby with the food they just caught for their young. The juveniles soon joined the party as we sat in a nearby eddy and watched it all go down.

This kind of stuff happens every day here if you are looking for it.

For a list of all the rivers I've hit since arriving in this paradise check out the Eddyflower page where I have to enter in each river I hit. A great way to look back on the past few weeks and remember how lucky I am to be here right now.

Don't forget you can show your support by donating to my team, Femme 45. We are almost at our goal of $1000! Its a great cause....tax deductible!

Total Vertical Challenge: Raising Money for Kids with Cancer

Kayaking may seem selfish at times, but for the next 32 days I'll be kayaking with a whole lot of purpose.

Taking on the Total Vertical Challenge, I am paddling as much as I can possibly manage (while working and carrying out normal life tasks) to descend as many vertical feet as possible and raise money for First Descents. This organization teaches cancer survivors to kayak, a sport that forces an individual to be aggressive and overcome any obstacle.

I am taking on this challenge with 4 other ladies. We are the Femme 45 team and plan to not only descend more feet than all the other female teams, but raise the most money for this incredible organization. By just raising $1,000, our team can send one cancer survivor to a week-long camp through First Descents.

And you can help!

Any donations are welcome. Consider sponsoring me for every foot I descend (I already have 2,665 on Day 5 of the competition!), or just a flat donation. It's EASY!

Just click here to reach the offical Eddyflower TVC Donation site. Don't forget to list me as the competitor that you are sponsoring!

I have set a personal goal to raise $1,000. If my teammates do the same, we could sponsor 5 cancer survivors to learn to congquer their fears in the most unique way possible, through kayaking.

Keep an eye on the standings, updated daily, to see how me and my team are doing. The women's division is at the bottom of the screen

Thanks!

Compliments from Teammate Brian

Check out Brian's post on the Adventure race on the TeamSOG blogsite. Its great to hear his point of view about the day's events, especially since they were so flattering!

Another gas station

She stepped out of her Legacy parked at the next pump and said to me,

"Your Subaru looks like an adventure commercial."

She went on to tell me how her car salesman said that the target audience for the Legacy is woman between 40-55 making over $70K. "Subaru must target young, active woman looking for fun."

Pretty spot on.

Adrenaline, Endurance, Pain, Pleasure, Torture

At hour 6 ½ in the race, my naive enthusiasm for physical activity mocked me.

It was not until I found myself fighting through the 1500 ft climb, knowing that my body would endure another 3 ½ more hours of this addicting form of torture, that I wondered what I had gotten myself into. At the last minute, TeamSOG asked if I would jump on board to fill out the team. As a the major sponsor of the Yough Extreme 10 hour Adventure Race, TeamSOG needed to be represented even if not by the top members of the team.

My teammates, Brian and Jennie, and I looking fresh at the start

Pre-race meeting

Several factors were in my favor to make the jump into Adventure Racing so blindly.

First, my two teammates, Brian and Jennie, are US National Champion Adventure Racers.

So they’ve got some experience and a little passion for the sport. When Brian asked me to race, I knew that he was aware of my capabilities--or lack thereof. Technical mountain biking is a skill I have yet to acquire fully. However Brian had met me and therefore knew that I would be excited to dive right in and figure it out during a full day of playing in the woods.

Second, I almost never go about an activity via the well-established route of progression.

What is a better way to learn a sport than under the pressure of competition? For example, as I rode across the finish line of an off-road triathlon this past March (the last time I had been on a mountain bike) I noted that the course had been longer and far more technical than anything I have ever ridden before.

Lastly, I was really excited.

This trait might get pushed into the “naive” category, but I consider it a serious asset as I knew it would stay with me through the majority of the race. The night before I made little snacks with all my favorite high-calorie foods and I filled my camelbak with my best brew of green and ginger tea. I thought of pushing my endurance farther, and I mean way farther, than before and wondered how I got to be so lucky that all the pieces fit together for me to slide into the sport.

Race Day

When we could finally take another look at the gash in my arm, 5 hours after the bike bucked me off, I was ready to look at it without getting sick. At checkpoint seven Jennie cleaned it again while I ate a burrito and listened to Brian tell me about the next leg of our journey. Multitasking being an essential skill when not in motion.

When I crashed, our team had only fallen slightly behind the leads. I had been biking for almost an hour and a half, testing my handling skills on a freshly slick 1000ft climb. By the time we reached our first checkpoint, I had already felt more comfortable on the bike.

I told the race staff that it was a lovely day to learn how to mountain bike as we rode away.

Similarly, during the descent I quickly learned some key points to going fast down a mountain. The hardest one being to just let go more. “Don’t use your brakes” Brian suggested. Fairly simple. Reminds me of Andrew Holcombe saying to just paddle faster. Speed is simple, no matter the media.

However, the deep rut my tire dropped into stopped me before any thought of using the brakes. As I breathed through the concentrated surges of adrenaline my body as ever experienced, Brian and Jennie practiced their field first-aid skills. Liquids, betadine, ace bandage and pain killers revived me enough to walk the remainder of the descent to the bike path.

Admittedly, lying on the ground and yelling through gritted teeth at the pain, I did have the thought that this might be the end of the race. Yet being in a remote setting allows you to postpone such a decision. No one would come to carry me off that mountain. Just like when a difficult situation occurs on the river, most often you have to just pick yourself up, brush yourself off and keep going.

By the time we arrived at the paddling transition area, I could grip my right hand. I didn’t even remember that I had the thought of quitting. Not before the river component of the course.

Somehow the ten miles of class I/II in the big and awkward Double Duckie Kayak gave me an extra spring in my step. I didn’t have to think about going downhill on my bike for at least another 3 hours.

We were machines on that river, and brought that energy with us into the long run and hill climb we completed after. By the time we reached that last checkpoint before the orienteering course the top teams were not far ahead.

I kept eating and drinking, but I also noticed my energy and motivation levels start to fluctuate more rapidly. I went from grudgingly crawling up the side of the mountain to joyfully running down the backside. By the time I got only my bike to make the descent to the finish line, I had lost the ability to balance. My knee had gotten pretty painful by then so running was also awkward.

Problem solved: gallop down the finish line while Brian tows both our bikes behind. Not ideal, but it worked. Unfortunately several teams passed us at this point, dropping us down a few places in the final standings.

The next day I was toast.

Icing a swollen elbow and eating as much as I could, I have never enjoyed rest more.

Final Asheville Adventures and "New" Ones Ahead

Final days in a place are typically not enjoyable. At least when all belongings must be packed, family must be hugged and errands must be run. Fortunately, thats not how I work.

The last day in Asheville began with a pre-dawn drive down to the Green. We put on shortly after the sun came up with our friend Ben Edson. Morning air feels different on the river; as if no one has brushed past it. The rapids felt the same way, ready for kayakers to enjoy and happy to allow us a safe ride through first.

Getting home by 10am meant that all the loose ends of living in a place for 4 months could be tied with a satisfying smile.

That evening I set out on the road with 3 great friends; JP, Sommerville and Steven, for a long road ride on the Parkway. First time riding in pack, I could feel the ease of drafting behind the others as well as enjoy the Hollywood rode through town at the end of the day. The perfect ride really.

Our first stop on the road out west was actually north, in West Virginia. Adam has apparently led a sheltered life, not ever having visited this pristine Appalachian state before.

Perhaps one day you will find yourself driving down West Virginia's Route 19 and smile as you ride over the famous New River Gorge bridge, thinking "Wow, great bridge." Well, you have no idea. Take a minute and at least look at the thing from the visitor center overlooks and you will find yourself wanting to stay longer.

We camped down in the gorge by the river, and paddled down the New River the next day with an

old friend of mine. While we only really spent a day in the valley, we at least drank it in fully.

Next comes one of my favorite parts of the trip so far: Upper Youghiogheny Release. I have been looking forward to taking Adam down my favorite river since we met and finally it happened. Levels were perfect (although they rarely are anything but) and friends were abounding. Each boof and every line were my favorite, and Adam could tell. He said I was glowing (although I rarely do anything but).

And then I prepared for the most grueling, exhausting, hurtful day in the woods I would ever have. More on that later...

Moving West...Again

We hit the road this morning, saying our last goodbyes to all the things we loved about living in Asheville. We only just scratched the surface, making a return visit a must. Already thinking about being back in the fall.

I can't believe everything fit in the forester this time, both adam's and my stuff. I think my car was born in the same factory as Mary Poppins' trunk.


For now, those rushes of excitment about the new places and people flow steadily.

West Virginia hills, Pennsylvania friends, St. Louis museums, Idaho wilderness, and a Little White home.

This is Asheville

Enjoying Asheville

I'm sitting next to my open window with all the benefits of spring blowing right on into my work space. Birds, breeze, sun...the works. Asheville is popping right now. Unfortunately, a week from today I will be driving away from this funky valley. Up and over the Blue Ridge Mountains, I'll have a packed Subaru once again and be on my way North.

Luckily, it is silly to miss Asheville, as I know I'll return soon. Maybe this fall, maybe next spring. Who knows. However, the past few months in the southeast have been the longest amount of time I've spent in this region since I lived in Greenville, SC during elementary school. Experiencing this area as an adult, as a kayaker and as a generally curious person, I will certainly miss many wonderful things. Such as...

• The Green Narrows
• West Asheville Yoga
• Amazing Savings
• Running at Bent Creek
• A new coffee shop for every day (still havn't seen over half of them)
• SO MANY new, awesome friends
• Intellectual Raft Guide dinner parties
• The hanging bed
• The Watauga
• The Rivergypsies...oh wait, i'll see them all over the states
• The winding road to Marshall
• The French Broad (oh yea flatwater training)
• Live music all the time
• Orbit video
• People who want to run/bike/paddle all day with me
• Costume boxes bigger than my entire closet
• Porch swing
• Learning about Gardens with Rose

Plus a lot more.

I'll just have to enjoy the hell out of it all for the next week I guess. Such a hard life.