Trip, race & hunt reports
By Rud Platt, Krishna Dayanidhi, and Nathan Roseberry We met in Alaska in 2013 on a guided trip with Andrew and Alan Dixon, and have gone on several backpacking excursions in the lower 48 since then. This year we opted for Loop 8 of the Wind River High Route, reportedly one of the hardest and most spectacular section hikes. That proved to be…
“Notes for next time” has become a regular feature on this site, following major hikes and races. Its usefulness to readers is unclear to me, but I plan to keep it up anyway — I reference them often enough prior to future big hikes and races to make the effort worthwhile. Let’s get started. Links…
Even after a few days of recovery and a substantial amount of sleep, I do not seem to recall my Silverheels 100 race as vividly as others. This may partly be a function of the course, which favors many shorter segments over a few extended efforts. But I think it’s also a reflection of my…
The Silverheels 100 starting gun fires tomorrow morning at 4 AM, and I will be there. With a field of only about 40 and without an obvious ringer, this appears to be the lowest pressure and least competitive ultra that I have done. Furthermore, I’m no longer intimidated by the distance, the weather forecast is…
For my next trip on the Glacier Divide Route, what should I remember from this past one? Logistics The drive to Glacier National Park from Colorado is intimidating — about 15 hours, depending on the final destination. But it wasn’t terrible, and it’s eye-opening to know that I can reach Glacier in 1.5 days even if I’m…
When I first saw Dave’s sketch of a high route through his beloved Glacier National Park, its appeal was not immediately obvious to me. Unlike more familiar lines (Roper’s, Winds, Kings Canyon), which generally hug major watershed divides by hopping between lightly traveled basins via off-trail passes, Dave’s line appeared to be a contrived ribbon…
The qualifying requirements for Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), Europe’s marquee 102-mile ultra marathon, are unique and complex — and, some might say, brazen. They also underwent significant changes for the 2015 season. To help avoid disappointment or mid-season race shuffling (as I just went through), I thought I would provide an overview, and some insight…
San Juan Solstice 50-Mile Official race results When I turned off the gravel road onto the Alpine Gulch Trail (mi 2.3), I was in seventh place and my heart rate was unsustainable, in the low-150’s. In the lower reaches of this first 4,000-foot climb, three other racers (Frank Pipp, Owen Bradley, and Chris Marcinek) caught…
It’d been seven years since I last ran the San Juan Solstice 50M, and wish I’d kept a record like this one: Training After the Colorado Marathon, I increased my mileage and — much more significantly — my weekly vertical. Before the taper, I put in three consecutive weeks with 80+ miles and 15k+ climbing. I did not…
Somewhat reluctantly, I registered for the Colorado Marathon in early-January. If it had not been means to a Boston qualifier, it probably would not have been on my radar. Months of training on flat bike trails, country roads, and high school tracks? No thanks. Or so I thought. Now, two weeks removed from the race,…