Archive for May, 2016

Chena Dome..

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

In a moment of weakness, I signed up for the Angel Creek 50, a local 50 mile foot race. The cut off for the race is 13.5 hours for the last checkpoint at mile 42, which is pretty close to my walking pace. To see if I could make it, Tom and I headed out to hike Chena Dome trail, a very hilly local 29 mile hike.

The weather was fantastic..

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I ran the easy bits, but alas, my knees didn’t enjoy the downhills.. fortunately there was still some snow, which felt so good on them..

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The trail was in great shape, but it was baking hot. I am not really a hot weather person, so climbing up some of those hills nearly scrambled my brain.

There was a fair bit of water on the trail, and a bit of snow still. In a few weeks it might be hard to find any water besides what is in the catchment system at the shelter.

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The shelter at mile 17 was looking a bit beat up.. and, alas, the hole in the floor was a bit bigger than it was when I last visited, and lots more had been chewed on by porcupines…

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The last few hours were even hotter.. Fortunately a few hours before we finished we ran across a small clean snowfield, which we used to top off our water supplies. The cold water was heavenly.
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Tom, Shiloh, and I were very happy to reach the car, and headed off for a sock and dinner at the hotsprings.

In end, it took us 9 hours to do the 29 miles, which is just barely over the cutoff. I was beat when I finished! Hopefully I can run of more of the actual course than I can of Chena Dome!

This was the first time in a very long time I have done a hike without Remus. Remus is now 13, and getting a bit too old for long days. When I left in the morning with Shiloh, he started barking and was not happy to be left behind, but was consoled by being let into the house and being given a huge rawhide chew. Rumor has it when the twins woke up they gave him an old bagel with bacon and provolone. It is tough getting old..

Thanks for the company Tom!

Pinnell Mountain Trail, 2016

Friday, May 27th, 2016

On a late Sunday afternoon, Tom and I headed off to hike Pinnell Mountain Trail, planning on a last minute overnighter. I have written about the Pinnell Mountain trail before.. and it is a fantastic hike, truly worth doing.

There was a bit of snow..
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But nothing major, and most of the trail was snow free.

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The trail is a bit wet, but nothing major for this early in the season.

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The dogs had a great time, and enjoyed the mellow, relatively short day.
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The sun set around 11:30pm, and it was beautiful. I want to come back and run or hike the trail in the evening, so I can get the full midnight sun experience.

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BLM has improved both shelters, and they are in fantastic shape. We stayed at the shelter near mile 17…
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In the morning we awoke to a near white out, which came and went for the rest of the hike.
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The trail is well marked though, so we didn’t have issues following the trail.
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I think by memorial day weekend the trail should be snow free. I hope everyone is enjoying the fantastic spring weather!

I have been neglecting the blog a bit… more coming soon!