Trans-gorge solstice run

For Solstice, I decided to treat myself to my longest training run in preparation for UTMB in late August.  And for some time I’ve had my eyes on a fantastic route transiting the Columbia Gorge from Mt Defiance on the east side to Angel’s Rest on the west.  The so-called Trans-Gorge idea came from a group of fellow trail runners (of course) who ran a similar route a few years ago.  Thanks for inspiring me, guys!  My adventure became a quest to link up my favorite spots in the Gorge (on the Oregon side) on the longest day of the year.  I really enjoy group runs of all lengths, but I kept pretty quiet about this one.

 

My route in blue

The basic idea for “Trans-Gorge” is to use the more remote interior trails of a vast network of trails through some of the most unspoiled wilderness around.  There are excellent viewpoints, beautiful foliage, pristine streams, lots of critters, and solitude.  But with these come challenges of steep, difficult-to-follow and overgrown trails, not to mention 60ish miles.  I’m not the first to do this, but it is seldom done even as a backpack let alone a day trip, and it seems that each attempt has a different spin.  Also there is a proposal in the works for the Mark Hatfield Trail, but the Eagle basin section doesn’t even exist yet (and is actually in the Bull Run Watershed and “off limits”), plus that route skips Mt. Chinidere (one of my favorite summits) and terminates at the ultra-popular Multnomah Falls, missing out on Devil’s and Angel’s Rests further west.  In the end, I settled on the endpoints of the trail system, and peakbagger that I am resolved to bag the important (to me) summits: Mt Defiance, Green Point Mtn, side trails up Chinidere, Tanner Butte and Nesmith Pt, Larch Mtn, Devil’s Rest and Angel’s Rest.  There are also countless lakes, ponds and streams of all sizes thrown in.  My variation is 60+ Gorge miles and 16,000’ ascent, or thereabouts (you know what I mean if you’re a Gorge adventurer).  This would be my longest unsupported run ever.

Once I decided on Solstice, I got to thinking that gee maybe I could do it all by daylight.  Sunrisesunset.com assured there would be about 17 hours of daylight.  Well, let’s see how it goes.

The start

Hitting the trail at first light (~4:30ish) meant waking up at 2:30 a.m.  I dropped my car at the Angel’s Rest Trailhead (near Bridal Veil Falls), where my awesome pal Phil picked me up and drove us to the Mt Defiance (Starvation Creek) Trailhead.  By 4:40am, morning’s glow had come and we were on our way.  I was lucky to have Phil join me for the first 13-14 miles. 

The front side of Defiance is a popular Gorge testpiece, yet it was my first time.  Nothing like starting a run with a 2+ hour steep hike.  On top around 7:00am and right on schedule, we had a decent view (albeit marred by shacks and antennas). Running down the backside of Defiance was our first chance to hit our stride. 

From Mt Defiance

Looking north from Chinidere

We rolled past North Lake hurdling downed logs and cracking awful jokes.  We climbed over Green Point Mtn, which has a surprisingly sweet view from the top of a bluff.  Onward toward Mt Chinidere we took the Rainy-Wahtum trail, an old forest track following a ridge with stretches of open views.  The final scramble up Chinidere is fun, and the summit opens up completely just before the top.  The 360 view is fantastic, and we could see Mt Hood (of course), Mt Jefferson, Ollalie Butte, Mt Adams, Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, and of course all the local hills.  I could have stayed there for hours, but not today.  After a few minutes of eating, sipping, and an “I’m alright so far” text home, I parted ways with Phil at 9am and continued west. 

The 7 mile descent to Eagle Creek was some of the most runnable terrain of the entire route, taking me just over an hour.  But the pace quickly changed when I turned onto the obscure Eagle-Tanner cutoff.  After a mile or so of weaving through Oregon grape and such, the trail fords Eagle Creek.  I startled some guys camping creekside when I splashed across without hesitation and scampered up out of sight on the far side.  After a quick sock squeeze and a few gobs of Trail Butter, I settled in to the long 3000’ climb up Tanner Butte. 

This is a really nice section of trail, just used enough to follow, and only somewhat overgrown.  Gaining the ridge south of Tanner, the trail joins an abandoned jeep road toward the summit.  Finally, I scrambled ½ mile up an unofficial path to the peak proper.  High noon, and about 28 miles so far.  What a view!  And for a summit almost 10 miles from the nearest trailhead, I was surprised to see maybe several hikers on or near the summit.  I was still feeling strong but some general aches were starting to make themselves known.  I decided to treat myself to a 10 minute break (which may have stretched a little longer) to eat, drink, air my feet, etc. 

Cryptic trail sign at Tanner Cr

While the Tanner climb was challenging, the real fun was still to come.  After about 3 miles of working down the mellow Tanner Ridge through bear grass and pine forest, my route took a sharp left onto the notorious Tanner Cutoff straight down to Tanner Creek.  This trail is hardly ever used, usually by backpackers traversing the interior.  Fortunately for me the trail has seen some TLC in the last few years, and while it was rough with lots of obstacles, it wasn’t hard to follow.  More challenging was the Tanner Creek trail up to the ford.  This little gem claims to be only 0.9 mile but probably took me over 20 minutes of thrashing through brambles and countless creek crossings.  This section mercifully ends at the ford, where the equally obscure Moffett Creek Trail starts.  I was surprised to run into one of the Gorge’s Guardian Angels, one of those guys who just happens to pack loppers with him in case a trail needs some TLC.  He was the only one I shared my plans with, because I think he was the only one who would comprehend.  Sir, thank you for your stewardship.

Digested trail sign

I knew the Moffett Creek climb would be long, so settled into a steady hike.  In fact I took a little off the pace so I could consume a delicious Amy’s burrito while walking.  The trail was covered in thick moss (remember it sees very little traffic) and lots of big fat slugs.  Eventually the trail tops out at the Von Ahm rim, with striking views of Hood.  Once on the plateau, there are a couple miles of mostly runnable trail and some delicious water from McCord Creek before the moderate climb to Nesmith Pt.  I was still feeling good enough to run well, maybe not jumping the obstacles quite as exuberantly, and walking more of the uphills.  The Nesmith summit is not spectacular, but there is a nice view to one side.   I had actually considered skipping the actual Nesmith summit because the view is so-so, but as the highest point along the Gorge rim, it is a landmark so it made the cut.  Plus it has cell coverage, and the last place was 7 hours ago!  So at mile 41, Nesmith tagged, text sent, 5^th or 6^th lunch eaten, poles stashed, I continued on at 4pm. 

Old growth log

After a couple of miles of nice running and more log-jumping along the Nesmith rim (nice overlooks of the Gorge), and another couple miles heading into Bell Creek, I felt good about the pace.  But the Bell Creek Trail had other plans.  It traverses a vast primeval forest wetland at the headwaters of Oneonta Creek.  It is also miles from any trailhead, thwarting most day hikers.  Topping it off, the trail had the nastiest overgrowth and navigation I encountered all day.  Anybody near me would have heard a rich vocabulary of epithets, but I’m positive there was no one within 5 miles.  Well the birds heard it anyway.  I’m no stranger to bushwhacking, but these nettles were not fun.  The middle mile of this 3.3 mile segment took over 30 minutes.  This may not sound outrageous in a different context, but with 15 miles to go at dinnertime, it was a little frustrating. 

When I finally popped out, the connecting trails seemed like superhighways.  I half-ran/half-hiked the moderate climbs, using the poles to help.  And a few miles later, I reached the top of Larch Mtn.  This was a strange setting.  There were maybe 100 people there in the parking lot and at the overlook, mostly Russian, just hanging around.  I realized they were probably celebrating a beautiful solstice, but for me it was culture shock.  The overlook is a cramped affair, the size of a bedroom, so I picked a corner and shoveled a few calories in.  I must have looked and smelled awful to them (or anybody, for that matter).  Without a word and avoiding eye contact, I gratefully scurried off down the Larch Mtn trail around 6:30. 

The Larch trail is quite popular, but I was surprised to see a number of people strewn up and down, heading both ways.  What kind of fool would be out so late, miles from the road?  Oh, wait… 

Although sore, and with my right ankle feeling pretty bruised or something, I still kept a reasonable jog on this steady downhill section.  The ankle was sore enough that I favored certain cambers and would choose the line carefully.  The Larch Trail heads straight down to Multnomah Falls, but my variation had me adding Devil’s Rest and Angel’s Rest.  Besides, the car wasn’t at Multnomah Falls now, was it?  So I came to a crossroads (literally and figuratively) at Multnomah Basin Rd.  This is a dirt access road to the secretive Nesika Lodge.  It also serves as a shortcut to Devil’s Rest.  I thought about taking the single-track option, which dips lower before climbing Devil’s and adding a mile or so.  But by now my ankle was feeling beat up and I was smelling the barn (or was that my feet?).  So I hung a left, and headed up the road.  A purist might take the trail.  I hear it’s very nice (it is actually). 

The poles came out one last time to help me up the road, hiking almost the whole stretch.  As the road crested, I looked for the short cutoff to the Devil’s Rest Trail which follows the top of a very tall bluff.  I got antsy, and could see the rim backlit by the setting sun through the trees.  I wound up bushwhacking 100 yards to the trail, only to find the proper cutoff just yards beyond!  Of course.  By this time any significant climb was hiked, and so I walked up the final climb to Devil’s Rest.  Now Devil’s isn’t a summit with a real view, but it’s an interesting summit.  There are a bunch of rocks to scramble on, and weird artifacts have been known to appear and disappear.  What appeared this evening were cryptic messages in the dirt, and what disappeared was one of my gels with 100g caffeine. 

View from Angel's Rest

At this point, I knew I could reach the car before dark.  I was still be able to run (albeit slowly) down the beautiful descent from Devil’s to Angel’s Rest.  Angel’s is not really a summit, but a promontory with a fantastic view of the Gorge.  Several dozen people were up there to catch the sunset.  I thought about hanging out too, but getting to the car seemed more important.  The last stretch from Angel’s down is  not my favorite trail.  When I’m fresh, I can handle the rocky and technical aspect, but it’s generally packed with all manner of people and pets and so the running is much interrupted.  Now the people were few, but my legs were getting iffy so I gingerly worked my way down at a slow jog.  My daylight analysis assumed at least ½ hour after sunset for usable light, like civil twilight.  But if you’re in a thick forest, it gets pretty uncivil a few minutes after sunset.  Thankful for not choosing longer variations, I reached the car in one piece at 9:08, feeling pretty badass.  A quick call home, then I hit the road while cracking open lukewarm cans of V8 and Coke.

The finish

I’m so lucky to have a loving wife who gives me the freedom to work these things through my system.  I’m also indebted to Phil for enabling the logistics, and to my fellow runners (Yassine, Joe, Nick, Willie, etc.) who helped plant the notion in my head.

 Stats:

~61 miles
~16k’ total ascent
16.5 hours
Consumed 3300kcal, 8-9L water, 4 S-caps.

Gear List:

-          Salomon S-lab 12 running pack

-          BD Ultradistance Poles (Minus left wrist strap which broke off previously)

-          2 quarts water capacity (including front collapsible water bottles that come with pack)

-          Buff

-      Maps

-          I-phone

-          Pedometer (don’t ask)

-          Just in case: Rain shell, wool sleeves balaclava, emergency blanket, first aid kit, headlamp

Food:

-          Amy’s burrito (yum)

-          Turkey/avocado on rye

-          Turkey/avocado on wheat

-          Trail Butter, Maple!

-          2 ProBars (350 kcal each)

-          6 gels, non-caffeine

-          3 gels, caffeine (not used)

-          1 PowerGel, 2x caffeine, Orange, magical

-          1 Hammer bar (not used)

-          hunk of Fontina

-          Ritz crackers

-          S-caps and Nuun

-          Jerky (not used)

Note to self: next time bring gummi bears.

why UTMB?

A few years ago, early in my trail running phase, my friend Joe was telling us about this race around Mt. Blanc.  For me, 100 milers were still in the realm of crazy stuff, but something about this particular event really grabbed me.  The idea of a route through alpine passes but also through villages with spectators cheering all day and night, the philosophy of self-sufficiency, and the sheer hype of the event, not to mention the physical challenge - all set this event apart.

So on the bucket list went UTMB.  It was 2-3 years more before I got serious about it.  Just getting registered is a bit of a process.  First you need to complete sufficient qualifying races over a 2 year period to be considered (a 100 miler plus a 100k will usually do).  Then you must enter the lottery.  Then you have to beat the odds - 1st year candidates probably have a 20-30% chance of being drawn; chances improve the 2nd year.  So this January, my 2nd year trying, I got in!  Then it's a mad dash to get flights and accommodations before they're gone - Chamonix is a very popular place that week.

Now UTMB is consuming many of my waking and sleeping hours.  Although I've completed a couple of reasonably challenging 100 milers, UTMB is out of my comfort zone for a few reasons (and that's a good thing!).  First, it's more physically demanding due to a very steep course (about 30,000' of climbing).  Second, it's in a region that is not familiar to me.  French is the main language, and English may be about 4th down the list!  Third, it starts at the strange time of 5:30pm, which guarantees lots of night running for everyone.  Fourth, the race style is quite different from races in the States - there are certain rules, required equipment to carry, and different kinds of food at aid stations.  Bring it on!

You might think I'm very focused on being ready for race day.  Okay, that's true.  But a bigger draw is the process that will get me there.  UTMB gives me an excuse to do epic training runs.  I'm very lucky to live in an area with fantastic running options, hundreds of miles of mountain and wilderness trails within an hour's drive.  It's a year of major exploration for me.

I've started this because people actually seem to be curious about this self-indulgent thing I'm doing.  I'm a trail runner in Oregon.  The UTMB race around Mont Blanc has been in my sights for a few years, and I'm in for 2014.  This has brought focus to my outings lately, and some interesting dreams too.

It's not just trail running!  There is plenty of hiking, thrashing through overgrowth, improvised stream crossings, or just plain bushwhacking.  I even run on pavement on occasion.  Hopefully you find these exploits informative, resonant, or just entertaining.