Chapter 1 – Delayed With the Stars
The silence was
broken by the click of the overhead speaker. The mundane voice that we have all
come to expect drifted across the airwaves and filled the cabin of Flight 5315.
“Good afternoon
ladies and gentlemen... this is your captain speaking...”
That was my cue. I
slid my 1st generation Ipod out of my North Face Pinyon pack
and thumbed the old school wheel dial in a clockwise direction to pick out the
next hour’s playlist. My Chemical Romance’s “I Brought You My Bullets, You
Brought Me Your Love” was the winner. About half way through “Honey, This
Mirror Isn’t Big Enough for the Two of Us” I saw the girl sitting next to me
perk up and remove her ear buds.
“Sorry folks...
looks like there is some inclement weather just outside of Birmingham. We are
going to be delayed an hour.”
Great. I only had
about 40mins to catch my connecting flight to Seattle when we landed in
Charlotte and this delay basically meant I had no chance of even catching my
flight. The flight attendant explained that the delays are pretty much across
the board, so the flight in Charlotte would more than likely be delayed as
well. My adventure mentor Greg had messaged me saying he was actually in route
to Charlotte from the Sunshine State... so there was a slight chance of meeting
him for a beer. The delay immediately turned from an unfavorable strike out to
a single up the middle.
I pulled out my
phone and clicked the tweety bird icon on my home screen. I needed
entertainment… and not just the normal stroll through your feed and laugh at a
few Vines kinda entertainment. No sir! I
was in need of some bona fide Dancing with the Stars level
entertainment... and since there was a celebrity on our plane... I thought why not?
Now most of you guys
know the Noah Galloway that is entertaining millions by cutting a rug inside
your television set…
Or you know the "Ultimate Guy" Noah Galloway that graces the front page of Men’s
Health...
But a lucky few (me
being one of those lucky ones) know the super friendly, down home, laid back,
sincere, always encouraging Noah Galloway from an Alabama YMCA.
After a fun back and
forth with Noah… the 1hr30min delay was over and we set off for Charlotte.
In college... I
always had a knack for falling fast asleep as soon as the baseball team loaded
the bus for weekend conference games. It was my super power. Obviously it still
was. I awoke to a swarm of people
grabbing their bags from the overhead compartments and pushing towards the
exit. I wasn’t about to fight the crowd so I pulled out my phone and checked
the status of my next flight. It had been delayed 45mins... which meant
absolutely nothing because my first flight ended up being delayed a total of
1hr30mins. I calmly grabbed my bag and strolled over to Gate B.
“We can get you on
the 10pm flight to Seattle. You’ll be in Seattle a little after
midnight.”
My original flight
was long gone, so I had no choice. I grabbed my ticket and headed to the
airport bar.
I was greeted with a
smile, a hug and an empty seat. What were the freakin odds that I would run
into a member of our local BUTS running group at a layover in Charlotte?
Well... I’m sure if I really wanted to know... Greg could whip up some intel
and give a damn accurate probability of our meeting... that’s just the kinda
guy he is ;)
We ate, drank and
were well into merry storytelling when our waiter swung by and said his shift
was ending. We tabbed out... but not before G ordered us one more round (thanks
again G)! We promptly packed the beers away into a bag and quietly exited the
bar. Power vultures I know.. but our lifelines were dying and we needed a
charge! Plus... terminal beers are the best beers.
As midnight quickly
approached (our flights were delayed 2hrs more)... we said our good byes and
parted ways. I crawled onto my 5hr flight and situated myself in my window
seat. Once we got up above the clouds the night was calm and beautiful.
Unbeknownst to me at the time… there was a meteor shower that God had scheduled
for the night. I had counted upwards of 17 shooting stars before falling fast
asleep for the rest of the flight. Originally Brandi had planned to pick me up
from the airport… but since there was such a massive delay for my both
flights… I went the Uber route. As soon
as the plane landed I booked a driver.
My Uber pickup was
like a scripted scene straight from a movie…
Like a boss… I
casually walked out of the airport, slipped through a crowd of 10 people
waiting for taxis, handed my bags to a sharply dressed man, entered through an
already opened back door, and slowly rolled away into the night via a blacked
out limo tinted Chrysler 300. Like. A. Boss.
Tselus was my
driver…. a sweet and funny man with a very thick Middle Eastern accent. We chatted
as we cruised through the empty 3am streets of Seattle. He pointed out Boeing
and other various companies that call Seattle home.
Tselus pointed.
“Over there… all
those buildings. They amazin.”
I didn’t see
anything too impressive about the buildings.
“Yea… they look
pretty cool I guess.”
Tselus chuckled.
“No! They are
amazin!”
Again I took a look.
Still… the buildings just looked like normal city buildings.
He laughed harder.
I took one last
look…
“OH!!!! BWHAHAHAH!
AMAZON!!”
We both busted into
laughter and continued until we reached the apartment. Tselus retrieved my bags
and shook my hand in the sincere two hand handshake kind of way. I creeped
through Brandi’s apartment door as if I was a high schooler… sneaking in hours
after curfew. She greeted me with a sleepy hug and a couch. I was out like a
light.
Chapter 2: Formation of the Trap Crew
Originally the game
plan was simple. Me, Brandi and Brad go run Fat Dog 120 crewless. Simple enough. Well… you
know what they say about best laid plans…
I ended up getting
hurt and have been down since practically April. Since I was in recovery mode I
opted out of running the race because I didn’t want to further hurt my foot and
slow down my recovery in any way. I decided to still make the trip up to the
Pacific Northwest to crew Brandi and Brad with hopes of getting some good runs
in between crewing duties. Somewhere along the way… a crew full was created…
We set out of the
apartment complex to pick up Highwater (Bryce). Brandi met Highwater during a
weeklong hike on the PCT a few weeks prior. Highwater was dealt a bad hand and
had hurt his foot along the trail, so he had taken a few weeks off to recover
in Seattle. We were going to give him a ride up to Manning Park where he had
planned to hop on the trail and head Southbound to finish his thru hike. I
liked Highwater immediately. He’s just one of those genuine souls that
constantly expelled good vibes to those around him.
We then picked up
one of Brandi’s BFF… Violeta. Though I had never officially met V before… I
felt like I had known her for forever thanks to social media and common
friends. Once we had the entire crew aboard and our bags situated…
We made a quick stop
for lunch and beers… boats of beers…
After sinking our
boats… we set our sails for the great land of Canadia. We all instantly bonded over some good ole rap... and after multiple
listens of Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen”… we
dubbed Brad “Trap King” and Brandi “Trap Queen” and just like that the "Trap Crew" was formed…
#traplife #heywhatsuphello #trapcrew.
Chapter 3: Frosty Mountain Hornets
We checked into our
room at Manning Lodge and I immediately changed into a pair of shorts and
started stuffing my Mountain Hardwear vest with snacks and water. I was dying
to get into the mountains. Everyone else had planned to nap and to have dinner.
I handed some cash and a credit card over to Highwater and with simple
instructions… “cheeseburger and a bottle of whiskey.”
I got dropped off at
Lightning Lake at 5pm and headed towards the trail head. A trip to the summit
and back would be roughly 14.5 miles with a bout 4000ft of gain (I’ll save my
American friends the conversion of kilometers/miles and meters/feet)… so I
figured 4hrs would be plenty of time to snap some pictures and truly enjoy a
run in the mountains before the sun set. I started to fall in love about half a
mile into the first climb.
I love to climb.
It’s probably my favorite part of trail running. There’s just something so
ridiculously satisfying about climbing to the top of a mountain. Don’t get me
wrong… blasting down a mountain is a lot of fun as well… but climbing is just
so much more enjoyable to me for some reason. Within minutes I had beautiful
views at my disposal…
British Columbia is
literally what my singletrack dreams are made of…
I mean… just look at
it… perfection… and it also smelled like Christmas.
Eventually I passed
a shelter and a camping area. I was in a good groove, so I decided to hold off
and stop for a picture on the return trip. I waved to a father/son duo that was
setting up camp in the area and continued up the mountain. A few switchbacks
later the trail opened into a field and Frosty Mountain came into view…
I got to the end of
the field and stopped at an overlook to take a quick peek at the ridgeline…
The trail quickly
turned into mostly rock as I started my final ascent to the summit…
I finally got to the
Windy Joe/Frosty Mt intersection and gazed up at the setting sun and rocky
ridgeline…
I took my time
navigating the loose rock… mainly because I wanted to stay on this trail
forever.
The view from the
summit was incredible…
When my body started
cooling down… I decided to start my descent back along the ridge…
On the way down… I
noticed a little bright orange speck in a field where the rocks started…
The orange speck turned out to be a tent and I waved to the
campers as I cruised by. I eventually passed by the shelter and stopped for a
quick picture… and apparently I picked up a passenger here…
A few minutes later…
something sharp pinched my right buttocks. Like a perfectly normal and calm
human being… I stripped off my shorts, threw them 10ft down the trail and
screamed out every single foul word I could possibly think of at the time.
There I was… naked from the waist down, clinching my right ass cheek, and
screaming curse words into the beautiful British Columbia wilderness. My mother
would be so proud.
I walked over to my
shorts and watched a hornet crawl out. In 29yrs I had never been stung by a
hornet… and I’ll be damned if I hadn’t been stung twice in the past 2 weeks. I
kicked some dirt towards the hornet, grabbed my shorts and shook them out. The
only thing that took my mind off of the sweltering pain in my ass was the
beautiful glow of the final moments of light over Lightning Lake…
Chapter 4: Patience in Princeton
We slept in as much
as possible before heading over to the lodge diner for a fantastic
waffle/bacon/coffee breakfast. It was mandatory pre-race meeting day and
we had a lot of things to get ready before heading over to the gymnasium. But
first we drove up to a lookout to check out a clear view of Manning Park
mountains.
Frosty Mountain is
the highest mountain in Manning Park, so it was really cool to see a different
perspective of the mountain I climbed the day before.
The Trap Crew
dropped me off at a trailhead near the lookout for a quick run while they went
down to pack and grab a campsite for our tent for the next few days. I
had planned on running a bit longer but a late start left me with only an hour
to get a run in.
30mins out went by
waaaaaaaaaay too fast…
Unfortunately I
didn’t make it out to the alpine meadow that Brandi spoke so highly of… but
held out hope for another trip up to the area to tag the 3 Brothers. When my
hour was up… Highwater picked me up at the trailhead and we headed back down
the mountain to pick up the crew for Princeton.
After eating a
delicious pizza at a local eatery, we checked into the hotel and made our way
over to the gym for the pre-race meeting.
It’s always cool to people watch at these types of races opposed to the
smaller scale local races because there are representatives from all different
countries. I believe there were people from USA, Canada, Italy, Hong Kong,
Australia, Great Britain, Mexico, Switzerland, etc. We overheard a fella behind
us talking about going sub 24hrs. This was a pretty hefty goal… so I turned
around to check this guy out. It was later determined that although he sounded
super serious about it… he was probably joking (I couldn’t tell he was joking).
Regardless… we referred to this guy as “Sub 24” for the remainder of the trip.
The pre-race meeting ended up starting about 45mins late and lasting a lot
longer than I anticipated. The sweet mayor spoke briefly welcoming everyone to
Princeton. He said that the merchants of the city were aware that we were there
for the weekend and that they would be ready for our business. We determined
that to be a lie. We spent a looooooooooooooong time waiting for food
after the pre-race meeting was over… but nothing a few local brews couldn’t
fix.
Chapter 5: Releasing the Fat Dogs
Finally… the day had
arrived to release the Fat Dogs into the wild for an epic 120 mile adventure.
We arrived at the starting location an 1hr30mins before go time.
The forecast called
for some weather for Friday night… but it started clouding up a little earlier
than expected. This is when we were introduced to Brad’s true identity… Sir
Bradford Poppins…
After a quick Trap
Crew picture… we walked our Trap King and Queen down the half mile gravel road
to the starting area.
There was a colorful
array of runners gathered at the bottom. The Trap Crew immediately started
naming our favorites (ie: Mr Universe was the man with the brightly colored
spandex pants). This would continue throughout the entire race. We watched the 200 (of only which half would actually finish) or so runners head over
the bridge to begin their adventure.
I ran into my
Instagram friend Solana who is a Vancouverite that was up crewing some of their
runners. She was incredibly sweet and it was so good finally meeting someone I’ve
followed for so long! Most all of the people that I’ve become friends with via IG
have turned out to be genuine and authentic people. Their accounts actually
represent who they are as a person… which in today’s world of phonies and posers…
is welcoming and very encouraging
Chapter 6: All Hail Ashnola
After a quick trip
back into town for Indian food and wifi… we made our way over to the first crew
access point at the Ashnola River aid station (mile 18). It was good seeing
Kilian and the rest of the Salomon crew out supporting the Fat Dog race…
The Trap Crew all
had slight injuries… so we relaxed in the chilly river to pass the time.
We were basically
trolls… cheering runners crossing the bridge above us all while continuously
handing out silly names to them. “Big Bird” looked strong as she crossed over
the bridge in her bright yellow attire. “Sub 24” was most definitely not at a
sub 24hr pace… “Fist N Cuffs” was the manliest of all men. The old brute
strolled into the aid station shirtless with his pristine silver chest hair and
long curly mustache. He only had one nipple clamp (aka a band aid). Why just one? Real men
only need one nipple covered. This is fact.
We eventually
resurfaced from our under bridge dwelling and went to get supplies from the
car. And by supplies… I mean a bright gold letter “B.” Only the presence of
gold would lift the spirits of our Trap King and Queen.
Brandi finally
emerged from the woods looking strong.
A quick snack and we
saw her off.
Now Bradford Poppins
mentioned that we didn’t necessarily have to wait for him at the crew access
aid stations… but the Trap Crew was having none of that crazy talk. We would be
by our Trap King until the end! I hiked into the woods a bit to try and grab a
few photos of Brad as he came into the aid station. The weather worsened the
further I hiked in…
By the time Brad
crossed the bridge… there was lightning and thunder.
Brad was all smiles
at the aid station and was in and out fairly quickly. We wished him a safe trip
as he headed down the road and up towards the exposed ridge.
By the time we got
situated in the car… the weather took another turn for the worse. The rain picked up… as well as the
lightning… and of course... the hail. I shot a few prayers up for the safety of our Trap
King and Queen as they traversed the high exposed ridge through the storm. We had a lot
of time to kill since we didn’t have to meet them again until Bonnevier (mile
40). We stopped in Princeton again to
grab some food, stock up on beer, and update the social media world of the
status of our Trap King and Queen before making our way towards Bonnevier.
Chapter 7: Beers, Bonnevier and Bad News
Before heading out
to the Bonnevier aid station... we made a quick stop at the campground where we set up our tent.
We had set it up a day early so we would have a spot but we couldn’t prepay.
The ranger at the campground would come around to collect our money. Well…
since we were off doing Trap things… we hadn’t spent any time at the
campground…. and when we arrived at our site… everything was gone. We quickly
made a Trap Pact to keep this under wraps until we figured it out… there was no
need to put any additional stress on our Trap Queen.
We grabbed a beer
and walked over to the Bonnevier aid station to await our King and Queen. The
moment we walked across the road we heard an aid station worker yelling for
“Brandi’s Crew! Are you here?!” Ugh. We were not “Brandi’s Crew”… we were the “Trap Crew.” I
immediately walked up and slapped the peasant of an aid station worker and
pointed in her face… “No. That’s not our
name.”
**For the record… I am joking of course. No
slapping or finger pointing happened… the aid station workers were
unbelievably amazing throughout the entire race.**
We were so elated to
see our Trap Queen that we sorta, kinda rushed and overwhelmed her.
After discovering we
had left the one bag that she needed in the car… Highwater headed back to grab
it while Violeta grabbed Brandi food/drink and refilled her pack. I started
cleaning and doctoring up her feet (which actually were in really good
condition considering the wet conditions that she’d been fighting for the past
hours). We sent Brandi into the cold, wet night and started the wait for our
Trap King. Our wait consisted of huddling under a tiny umbrella, drinking beers and
singing Disney tunes and the "Cup Song" with the occasional playing of “Trap Queen” and Rich Homie Quan's "Type of Way" to keep our
minds right. Yea… we were that crew.
A little after 1am we
saw Bradford Poppins emerge from the darkest road known to man.
Brad was all smiles
as we brought him food, his drop bag and of course… the sweet nectar of the
trails gods…
We watched Brad
disappear into the night before we headed back to the car.
Since it was so
late/early in the morning… we made the decision to head out towards Manning and
just find a place to sleep near the back of the park. Highwater had all of his
gear for his PCT adventure so once we found a safe spot to park… he slipped off into
the woods to set up camp.
Chapter 8: The Cold Cascades Retirement
Let me tell you… I got the best night of sleep I’ve ever had curled up in the front seat with the steering wheel. #allthelies. I tried my best to keep warm by using my hammock as a blanket and was doing a fairly decent job until I had to get out of the car to use the outhouse. All the warmth I had worked so hard to keep disappeared into the cold, foggy mountain air. Highwater brewed some coffee and passed out Blue Raspberry Pop Tarts for breakfast. I was simply trying to enjoy a peaceful fruit filled breakfast when “Anger Bird” dive bombed me trying to apprehend my fruit! Silly bird…
Before heading over
to the Cascades aid station (mile 78) we headed down to the campground to
investigate the disappearance of our tent. We rolled up in our whip sitting on 24s with our 9mm heaters drawn demanding answers. Or we may have just rolled up in a blue Ford Edge with Georgia license plates politely asking nearby campers (the lack of sleep makes it fuzzy). After talking with campers in the
area we concluded that sometime between 5pm-6pm our tent was taken down. We
called up to the visitor center to see if anyone had turned in our stuff… but
no luck there. We were out of time. Our Trap Queen would most definitely ask how we
slept and V could not keep this secret for the last 40 miles she was to pace
Brandi… so I was tasked to give a cool, calm explanation when she arrived.
The relentless and cold rain pitter pattered on the popped trunk of the
SUV as we waited for our King and Queen to arrive. The rain had been going strong for the past 24hrs. Highwater set up the tent
for Violeta. She didn’t get a good night sleep the previous night and she had
to pace Brandi 40 miles through the second night. After V laid down… Highwater
and I indulged…
Eventually V woke up
and Highwater packed up the tent and we all sought refuge and warmth in the car. I was
feeling antsy so I decided to throw on some shorts and a rain jacket and go for
a run to see if I could intercept Brandi on the trail. A few moments later I took off down the
trail in search of our Trap Queen. Every single runner I passed had a smile on their
face and something nice to say. It’s really true… Canadians are the nicest people on
Earth. By the time I started to really enjoy the wet, slick, techy trail… I
bumped into Brandi. She was soaked but in high spirits. Before I sprinted ahead of her... I grabbed 2 layers of
clothes that she had strapped to her pack.
I repassed most of
the runners I had originally seen and stopped to take a few pictures for one
runner. I got back to the car and put the heat on full blast to dry out
Brandi’s clothes. By the time she got to the aid station most of her clothes
were completely dry. We went into full Trap Crew mode… and I calmly explained
the tent/pack situation.
We started to send
Brandi back onto the trail when a volunteer van pulled up. Bradford Poppins
hopped out smiling. After a very long and extremely harsh +70 miles of crazy
weather and technical terrain… our Trap King retired. We all wished Brandi off
and we left Highwater and Brad at Cascades for the time being. I drove Violeta
down the road a few miles to meet Brandi at the next aid station.
From there I wished
the best of luck to Violeta and the Brandi as they got somewhat of a break and set off for the flattest 20
miles of the course.
Chapter 9: No Hope on Hope Mountain
Since we now had
Bradford Poppins in our presence… we headed to the city of Hope to find a room
for the night. Brandi and V wouldn’t arrive at the Skyline (mile 99) aid
station until late… so we had time to kill. After many failed attempts at local
hotels… we finally landed a spot at the Slumber Motel. Thankfully we got there
when we did because they only had a few rooms left.
Highwater and Brad
opted for a nap. I craved a mountain run. I picked up a brochure in the
front office and decided on a trip up to Hope Mt summit. It was the #6 maple
leafed destination out of the top 10 things to do in Hope, so I figured it had
to be good. The brochure simply read:
“Drive 7km outside Hope heading East on Hwy
3. Turn on Hope Mt Forest Road and follow for 8km to the trailhead parking lot.
You will need a 4 wheel drive or high clearance vehicle.”
I didn’t have a 4x4
but I was in an SUV. I turned off onto the forest road and started making my
way through a very narrow road full of muddy holes.
About a mile up the road… it started to get
really rocky and vertical. I finally got to the point where my tires were
spinning and the SUV started sliding. Since I was basically following a road
that was hugging the cliff side with nothing guarding a fall… I decided to not chance a tumble down the
mountain. I parked on the side of the trail and set off for the remaining 4
miles to the trailhead on foot. NO WAY IN HELL I WOULD’VE MADE IT UP THAT TRAIL IN A
VEHICLE!!! You literally needed a jacked up 4x4 jeep or truck to make it to the
top. I think they need to revamp their brochure a little. The road was a
consistent climb uphill which made for a fairly slow but steady ascent. Though
a jeep road… it was still a pleasant run passing a few small waterfalls and
good overlooks.
The further up the
road I ran… the more restless my soul became. There was a ton of bear scat and
trampled brush indicating there had been a lot of recent activity. The sign at
the beginning of the forest road flashed in my mind…
“You are now entering bear and cougar
country. Be prepared.”
I was not prepared. Nonetheless… I
continued up to the trailhead.
It was roughly 4km
up to the summit from the trailhead. I thought for a few moments that if the
trail was somewhat groomed… I could make a hard push to the summit, check out
the view and blast down the trail back to my car in time to easily get back and
make it out to Skyline. I was wrong. I maybe got half a mile into the trail and
still had that same uneasy feeling. The trail wasn’t marked and was overgrown…
I had zero service,
Highwater and Brad knew where I was in a general sense but would have no way of contacting me or
even reaching me, and the amount of bear evidence was just too much to risk. I've learned to always trust my gut in these types of situations, so I
promptly turned around and chalked Hope summit as a loss. The summit quickly
left my mind as I started the fast descent down back to the car… even the
gravel roads in British Columbia are fun…
Chapter 10: Magical Sleeping Bags at Euphoric Skyline
I showered up and
woke Highwater from a deep sleep. He sprung up and stared at me in silence for
a solid 10 seconds without moving. I froze. For a brief moment I thought he may
attack me. The lack of sleep had taken it's toll on everyone! Eventually he snapped
out of it and we loaded up the car for our final crew access point. We made it
out to Skyline (mile 99) and walked up to find Violeta sitting in a chair and
Brandi curled up in a sleeping bag on a cot inside a tent. We came bearing good news! We had found the
Queen’s tent/pack. A ranger had taken it down and turned it into the visitor
center. After a brief chat with V… we started
getting everything prepped for their final night while our Trap Queen slept. After
an hour or so nap… Brandi awoke in a euphoric state. She was just so blissfully
happy… it was almost as if she had smoked a pound of weed and was riding a
floating unicorn through a sea of rainbows. I’ve honestly never seen
anyone so happy and content in my entire life. Note to self: find out who makes
that sleeping bag.
Just before midnight
we wished Brandi and Violeta the best as they ventured into the final night and
final leg of the race.
Chapter 11: Lightning Sunrise
We left the Slumber
Motel in the wee hours of the morning in order to get back to Lightning Lake at
Manning Park to catch Brandi’s finish. We drank coffee and chatted until we
caught a glimpse of Brandi running through the finish!
After 45hrs36mins…
our Trap Queen had finished!
Brandi’s performance
and determination was such a huge inspiration. To
battle +24hrs of constant cold rain… hail and lightning… on one of the toughest
courses on the planet… speaks so much to Brandi’s character and to the type of
girl she is. I’m so damn proud of her and honored to have been a part of the
crew that got her that buckle!
After grabbing some
bacon/eggs/coffee for Brandi and Violeta… we started preparing to say our
goodbyes to Highwater. He decided to go ahead and hop on the Pacific Crest
Trail up in Canada and head southbound to where he left off. He made us all
friendship bracelets before we said our goodbyes. I’m so thankful I met Highwater.
Days prior he was a complete stranger… now… he’s a good friend who shared an
unforgettable adventure. There’s no doubt in my mind that the trails will bring
us together again one day…
Chapter 12: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Pizza
Brad and I drove out
to the airport to drop off the last remaining member of the Trap Crew. We said
our goodbyes to Violeta and headed back to Brandi’s Seattle apartment hungry
and thirsty. Both problems easily solved with pizza and beer. After no
convincing at all… Brandi’s roommate Stephen suggested we get one massive pizza
from the place down the road. Stephen and I strolled down the street, placed an
order for a pineapple-bacon pizza, and carried on a good conversation over a
local beer. I looked over at Stephen when the waiter brought out our pizza…
“You weren’t kidding
man…”
After furniture carrying the pizza down the street... we devoured its gloriousness while we watched Harry Potter. And now… I must watch every
single Harry Potter (thanks Brandi).
I had every
intention of getting out and having a few beers at the local breweries… but It
just wasn’t going to happen. I was too sleepy. Instead… I sipped on whiskey and
fell asleep to what Brad and I deemed the loudest neighborhood in Seattle. Who
the hell parties that hard on a Sunday night!?!?
Chapter 13: Defiance at Mason Lake
Blueberry pancakes
and coffee were the perfect start to my last day in the PNW. Bradford Poppins and I had
planned to head out of Seattle to the Snoqualmie Pass area to scope out some
alpine lakes. We parked at the Ira Spring trailhead parking lot and started up
the trail. The plan was for me to run ahead and tag Mt Defiance’s summit and
then meet him at Mason Lake. The out and back to the summit would
be 11 miles with roughly 4000ft of gain. If I made good time… I was going to
make a short side trip and tag Bandera Mountain on the way back down… but
Bandera didn’t happen. The trail started out more or less a logging trail that
gradually climbed up towards the singletrack… but once you were out of the tree
cover… the trail steepened and opened up to amazing views of Mt. Rainier…
Not a bad backdrop
for a Monday morning run…
The trail dove back
into the trees and cruised along a soft, pine cushioned trail…
I passed Mason Lake
and started the steep climb through the hemlock forest up towards Mt Defiance…
After a series of
extremely steep switchbacks… the trail left the woods and entered into open
alpine slopes…
I was so stunned at
the beauty of this trail that I completely missed the turn on the spur trail
that lead up to the Mt Defiance summit. Instead… I bombed a super steep descent
and after losing 1000ft in what seemed like no time at all… I quickly came to
the conclusion that I was in fact not on top of a mountain. For some reason… I
continued across the flat valley and began to descend even further.
I
eventually snapped out of the PNW hypnotic state I was in and turned around and grinded up the steep climb
back to the spur trail. Of course the trail was as clear as day when I was
paying attention. I climbed the steep spur trail to the summit and relaxed for
a few moments.
It was amazing to
see multiple alpine lakes that were sitting below at 4000ft…
My camera couldn’t
pick it up… but the sky was clear enough to even see Mt Hood to the left of Mt
Rainier!
After a quick snack
I started the trip back down to Mason Lake to meet Brad.
Because of the
1000ft of gain/loss bonus I received from missing a turn… I didn’t make it back
in time to chill with Brad… and apparently I missed a very revealing lake scene. I caught up to Brad and we chatted all the
way back down to the car.
Chapter 14: The Land of Humidity
A long, sleepless
overnight flight had me curled up in my bed most of the day Tuesday. I was
exhausted from time zone hopping and the lack of sleep that came with our crazy
adventure. It was good being home. I had missed Kati and Wobbles something
fierce.
I gave it a day
before venturing back into the land of humidity. My foot is feeling
much better. The slow recovery and time off has paid off tremendously. I’m
still nowhere near 100%... but progress has been made and I feel like it won’t
be long before I’m back training at full speed again. Fat Dog and the PNW were
inspiring to me on so many levels. Seeing Brandi and Brad’s grit and
determination to push through ridiculously bad mountain conditions towards an
amazing goal will be on my mind for some time. I had so much flipping fun with
the Trap Crew! It’s amazing how a complete group of strangers can come together
without quarrel or any drama and enjoy each other’s company while working
together towards one goal. The trail brings people together in the most magical
ways. I’ll forever be honored to be a
part of the Trap Crew! SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
The Pacific
Northwest was incredible and I can honestly say I’ve never seen such beauty. I
felt more at home there than I have anywhere I have traveled so far. Who knows… maybe we will end up there for
good one day? I don’t know much… but I am certain of a few things… the mountains feel
like home... the mountains excite me... the mountains make me feel alive... the
mountains make me feel wild and free... and in my book... that's a damn fine way to feel.
Run long, run wild,
and howl loudly.
