NW Ultras Blog

Ira Spring Trail Hill Run

2010-09-25T15:04:00.001-07:00

Tag Bandera Mountain followed by Mount Defiance for a fierce hill workout in a relatively short day out.
Good evening or morning run on perfect Summer or Fall day (for views). Close to home: Exit 45 off I-90.

(click on image for hi-res)

Summary:
Out and Back: ~12 miles
Running time: 3-4 hours
Starting elevation: 2200 feet
High point: 5240 feet for Bandera Mtn and 5584 feet for Mt Defiance
Elevation gain: 4500 feet
Best time of year: mid-June to late Fall (to avoid snow)
Maps: Green Trails 206 (above map is more current)
Permits: self-register at trailhead, Forest Pass

Only one trail leads from the trailhead. It switchbacks gently for 2.8 miles before the Bandera Mountain intersection shown below. Elevation: 4180 feet.
Bandera Mountain is a 2.4 mile out and back from this point (1.2 miles each way - steep blocky trail but well worth it).

(click on image for hi-res)

From the top of Bandera Mountain you'll have this view to the Northwest of your second objective, Mount Defiance. That's Mason Lake in the foreground below. The final scramble to the Mount Defiance summit is in the open ground on the left skyline in the picture.

(click on image for hi-res)

This is the reverse view of Bandera Mountain taken from Mount Defiance. The Bandera trail follows the open ground on the right skyline in the picture.(click on image for hi-res)

Jamie Keizer took this photo at Mason Lake earlier in the same week.

(click on image for hi-res)

This is what the intersection after Mason Lake looks like. Left to Mount Defiance. 1.2 miles from here to the turn onto the summit track. Elevation: 4280 feet
The trail from the Bandera Mountain intersection and past this one to the final summit track for Mount Defiance is in great condition and very runnable.

(click on image for hi-res)

After a cool traverse run the rest of the ridge past Dirty Harry toward Mailbox Peak will come into view. Round about here is a cairn (visible in the center of this picture) marking a well worn track to the right which leads to the Mount Defiance summit. Elevation: 5140 feet.
The summit track is steep but well used (don't prematurely choose an erosion gully, you'll know it when you see it).

(click on image for hi-res)

This is definitely a blue sky day run. Early or late for best lighting for the pictures.

(click on image for hi-res)

McLellan Butte looks tiny from the summit of Mount Defiance.

(click on image for hi-res)

Looking West past Bellevue and Seattle to the Olympics.

(click on image for hi-res)

Looking North you get a good view of both Glacier Peak and Mount Baker. This picture shows Glacier Peak.

(click on image for hi-res)

Looking East, past the Alpental ridge in the foreground to Mount Stuart in the distance.

(click on image for hi-res)

Mount Adams visible left of Rainier. St Helens is supposed to be visible from here as well but it was too hazy this day.

(click on image for hi-res)

2010-09-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

Sunday September 19th - 8:00am

50K and 25K Course

.................. www.BD50k.com

Blanchard Mountain Ultra

2010-02-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

Where the Cascades Meet the Sea
50K, Marathon and Fun Run ~ Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Join us for the 7th edition of the Blanchard Mountain Ultra. The event will be held on June 5, 2010. Experience the largest remaining mature coastal mainland forest, including old growth, between Vancouver B.C. and Olympia: the only coastal Marbled Murrelet nesting area remaining in the Greater Puget Sound Region.

New website: http://www.blanchard50.com

Online signup. T-shirts.

BIG DABROWSKI 50K - RESULTS 2009

2009-09-20T20:30:00.000-07:00

www.bd50k.com

1st time ultra runner Tim Jaureguy on the Big Dabrowski 50K

On Sunday September 20^th, 2009, under partially sunny skies and perfect temperatures ran the first official Big Dabrowski 50K. Runners hit the trail in two fields with a 7:00am and 8:00am start from Tiger Summit and began making their way across the first 16 miles towards Issaquah. Early reports came in from the first aid station that a couple of veteran runners Van Phan and David Coates might have veered off course. Chris Fagan was confused as to why she made it to the first aid station ahead of Phan and Coates since Fagan knew they had passed her earlier in the race. Later it was discovered that it was Chris Fagan who zoned out and got ahead of Van Phan and David Coates by missing a turn and cutting out about a mile of trail. Chris just kept running straight ahead at one turn and fortuitously found herself back on course at the TMT turn between summit 2 and 3. One other incident on the Tiger section of the run involved Roger Riffle who claims that he “fell” through a section of trail and twisted his ankle badly around mile 14. He made it to the first aid station in a respectable 3hrs and decided to push on. This guy is as tough as nails and finished the run in just under 7 hours with a nasty looking high ankle sprain.

Squak Mountain proved to be a surprise in terms of the elevation it doled out after the first 16 miles were behind the runners. Not a very well known area for most, its’ deeply held secrets were revealed to the uninitiated and proved a bit exhausting for a few. As he was heading off to tackle Squak, Bruce Hoff accidentally exited the aid station and headed up hill into the Sycamore neighborhood for a few extra credit miles before realizing he was on the wrong route. Jess Mullen graciously stepped forward and took the blame but who could hold a grudge against her? Some route finding issues occurred near the Central Peak Summit where it seems a trail marker went missing but most runners consulted their maps and were quick to figure out the course from this point. The leaders dispatched this hill quite quickly and reached the second aid station in approximately 1.5 hours. Aid Station #2 was positioned at the end of the Squak Mountain section and was the site where all of the four runners who dropped did so.

In an exciting finish Andrew Lingbloom decided to leave the lead pack of Terry Sentinella and Alvin Crain some table scraps as he poured on the veggie power. He gained good ground until a navigation error put him off course and out into an adjacent neighborhood. Terry never gave up the fight and used Lingbloom's error to his advantage, continuing to push to the end and giving himself the honor of being the first in and setting a course record of 5:53. Crain followed up with a minute under 6 hours and then once back on track Andrew Lingbloom posted a 6:22 finish.

Special mention and congratulations goes to Heather Mar and Tim Jaureguy, both first time ultra marathoners and both who predicted their run times with great accuracy. Heather was 4 minutes off her estimated time and Tim was just over by 10 minutes. An exceptional run you two and big kudos for your first ultra. Welcome to the 50K and over club!

Thanks to all the volunteers that helped make this run a great success, to King County Parks, WA State Parks and the WA State DNR for their work in providing access to these public lands, to the runners who took part and to my sponsors MSR, Nuun Hydration, Outdoor Research, Platypus and Seal Line.

I look forward to seeing you out there next year and very much enjoyed spending the day with you all.

Warmest Regards,

Christopher "BIG" Dabrowski
Run Director

Run Results

More photos here: LINK
and here: LINK 2

Big Dabrowski 50K Ultra

2009-08-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

September 20th, 2009

7:00AM & 8:00AM Starts

It's official, the 2009 Big Dabrowski 50K is on! After lengthy discussions with the Washington State DNR, King County Parks and Washington State Parks, I've secured permission for running an ultra marathon from Tiger Mountain to Cougar Mountain.

The 2009 Big Dabrowski 50K is a point-to-point ultra running from the east side of Tiger Mountain and finishing at Cougar Mountain’s Red Town Trail Head. The route runs through varied terrain but is 95% on dirt trail and involves over 6000 feet of elevation gain and 7000 feet of elevation loss. This year the course runs to the top of the three mountain complexes and is an offering of the best of the Issaquah Alps. Space is very limited so if you want in make sure you sign up early.

Date: Sunday September 20th, 2009

Time: 7:00am & 8:00am Starts
You will be notified of your start time but if you have a preference please indicate.

Start: Tiger Mountain East Trail Head - Tiger Summit off of Hwy 18 Map Link

End: Cougar Mountain Red Town Trail Head Map Link

Fee: $30 ($5 insurance discount if you have already participated in a NWUltras event this year) checks can be made out to Christopher Dabrowski and mailed with your entry form.

Event Information: PDF download

Entry Form: PDF download
Please email me when you mail in your entry form to ensure receipt. You will receive confirmation upon receipt.

Volunteers: I'm also looking for a few volunteers if you are not up for running that day.
Please contact me below.

Christopher Dabrowski
chris@miraiusa.com

20th Century Trail Ultra - Car Pooling

2009-06-12T15:30:00.001-07:00

Start details:

100K early start in Easton at 5am
100K and 100K Relay start in Easton at 7am
50K start at Garcia (Exit 38) at 12 noon

We'll use comments at the bottom of this blog post to arrange car pooling to the starts.

20th Century Trail Ultra (50k and 100k)

2009-06-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

20th Century Trail Ultra web site.

Save the date: Saturday, June 20th 2009

Blanchard Mountain Ultra 2009 - Results

2009-05-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

King Arthur taking another crown.

Social aid station at start/finish.

Tamara feeds the masses.

Thanks to Hammer Nutrition and Cascade Running Club and NW Ultras for their contributions to this fun run.

To see the breakdown of the 900 or so miles we ran on the day, download the Excel workbook: Results
For more photos (Michael an Tom's): Photos
Scotty Railton's 2009 race report

Blanchard Mountain Ultra

2009-05-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Blanchard Mountain Ultra web site

Date: Saturday, May 30th 2009
Start: 8am
Directions, etc: same as last year
Contact: michael@nwultras.com (or FaceBook event)

Ghost of Seattle Marathon 2008

2008-11-29T16:02:00.000-08:00

A selection of the photos of this year's run from Michael's point of view.
(click to enlarge)

More pictures on Michael's webshots album.
If you want a hi-res original, just ask.

Dumbing Down the Dumb Ass

2008-10-28T22:39:00.000-07:00

I'll give Eric credit for the title of this post. His reason for avoiding our Dumb Ass Training runs is that he doesn't want to dumb down his Dumb Ass experience. Fair enough.

Eric Barnes

Arthur was the one who encouraged me to schedule some "orientation" sessions on the course of the Tiger Dumb Ass 50k fun run. We've scheduled eight Tuesday evening runs leaving the lower lot at 6pm.

Arthur Martineau

Two down, six to go

Last week it was just Scott Krell and I. We didn't expect any other suckers and we decided to do one loop at a cheeky pace. Scott tore up Nook in about 37 minutes and then we settled into a cruise pace for the rest of the loop (we just made sure our night time loop time was better than Roy's PR).

Scott Krell

Roy Seliber

Tonight Scott is out of town and I was lucky enough to find one other victim to join me. Shawn and I did a very respectable two loop session: a mere half marathon with almost 5000 ft of gain in about 3 hours. "Not bad for a school night" according to Shawn. This was supposed to be Arthur's first session with us but he had some lame excuse (broken ribs from an accident or something). Hey Arthur, all you had to do was say "I don't want to run with you guys". No need to go to extremes.

Shawn McTaggart

Join us next week, November 4th 2008 at 6pm:
- condition your hill climbing muscles
- get familiar with the course
- have a good solid weekday workout

Click on the event on the calendar for details and contact info.

Michael Cartwright

PS - In case you hadn't noticed, I decided to add some faces to names. Something we should do more of.

Big Dabrowski - run as a marathon today

2008-09-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of trouble with the original version of this run so we adjusted a bit. Bellevue Parks didn't want us running the final stretch through Coal Creek until they have finished their trailwork so we adjusted the length down from 50k to a marathon. DNR didn't want us to have an "event" on Tiger so we went low key and gave up on trail markings and aid stations.
7am at the Highway 18 trailhead saw a group of 5 diehards who ignored the crappy weather and decided to run anyway. The gate to the upper lot was closed so we decided to start from the lowerlot and figure out later how to add some extra credit distance to get our marathon credit.

Yours truly at the bottom of the One View trail. By the time we left Tiger Mountain we had over 15 miles behind us.

We had a vehicle parked at the 15 mile mark on the course where we resupplied with water and other goodies. The coke was good.

There is a short section of street running between Tiger and Squawk.

Dean Kayler cruising on Squawk Mountain.

Van Phan clocking up another back-to-back with a smile: Baker Lake 50k yesterday, Big Dabrowski marathon today. She also kept us honest with a 1.6 mile side trip up to the Bullitt Fireplace to make sure we got the distance. This involved some extra climbing credit (about +600 ft) but Van pointed out that only half of the out-and-back was uphill.

Shawn McTaggart cruising Squawk Mountain. Also a long weekend starting with course marking on Baker Lake on Friday night.

Finishers at Red Town Trailhead - seemed like a long day for a a marathon until you factor in the nature of the trails and the amount of climb:

Dean Kayler - 6:39:19
Shawn McTaggart - 6:39:19
Tony Covarrubias - 6:39:19
Michael Cartwright - 6:39:19
Van Phan - 6:39:20 (DFL)

Thanks to Tamara for helping with the crewing and to Scott for being there in case we needed you. Sorry we missed you at the start, Craig.

Vital statistics:

27 miles
7150 ft elevation gain
8000 ft elevation loss

Let's Get Sticky and Dirty - make your gaiters stay on your shoes

2008-09-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

If you are a trail runner in the US and you haven't discovered Dirty Girl Gaiters then you are missing out on a key piece of running equipment. Once you start using them, you wonder why they have not become as mainstream as socks and sunshades already.

(all images in this blog post can be clicked on for hi-res versions)

One issue I had early on with Dirty Girl Gaiters was affixing the Velcro to the backs of my shoes. You learn very quickly that the sticky surface of the Velcro is not enough. I've spoken to a few other 'users' and they recommend different forms of rubber cement and superglue variants for making the Velcro a permanent fixture.

I discovered the outdoor person's version of duct tape years ago: when on expeditions I usually carry at least one tube of SeamGrip: besides its obvious function of sealing tent seams, I've used it over the years to deal with crampon holes in snow gaiters, tears in Goretex jackets and even emergency ripped tent repair. It needs to dry overnight but after that, it bonds exceptionally well even on dirty surfaces and does not become brittle over time, even if exposed to plenty of UV.

What follows is my method of using SeamGrip to do a clean job of mod-ing your shoes for a permanent Dirty Girl Solution.

The tools required are some form of sharp crafts knife to cut the Velcro and a tube of SeamGrip (which you can get at REI).

Obviously you can cut simple square chunks and slop them on with great gobs of glue. this works if the shoe has a smooth surface on the back of the heel and looks great on black.

More complex surfaces and lighter colors require a bit more finesse.

Sculp your Velcro while still on the backing taking care to keep your fingers away from the business end of the knife.

Try it for size and keep sculpting till it fits in the right spot on the back of the shoe. I try to keep them as low as possible to get more use out of the gaiters.

Make a glob of SeamGrip on a piece of paper. Remove the backing from the Velcro and use it to scoop up some SeamGrip. I find this cleaner than trying to apply the glue to the shoe or to the Velcro directly. Wet your fingers before working with SeamGrip if you don't want the stuff all over your hands.

Place the Velcro and use a piece of paper towel to dab it into place and wipe off any excess glue. Because of the curved surface, the edges will curl up. Let them. Leave for 2-3 hours and then returns and dab again. This time apply plenty of pressure for the final stick.

Leave to dry overnight. Perfect.

Big Dabrowski 50k Trail

2008-09-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

NW Ultras, a Washington State based trail running group, has documented Chris Dabrowski's great link-up that winds its way through four distinct wilderness regions located only 30 minutes from downtown Seattle as the "Big Dabrowski 50k Trail". The route crosses three peaks of the Issaquah Alps; Tiger Mountain, Squak Mountain and Cougar Mountain, eventually making its way down Coal Creek Park to finish at Newcastle Beach Park on Lake Washington. With over 95% of the run occurring on trail, this course provides participants a chance to experience the enchanting wilderness green belt called the “Mountains to Sound Greenway”.

Runners are a legitimate group of low impact trail users who can also become conservationists if they aren’t already. A low impact activity such as trail running can provide the opportunity for its participants to experience vast tracks of wilderness trails and lands. This experience most often leads to an appreciation for these wild lands and naturally results in the desire to protect and preserve it for future use and generations. It also in turn creates a growth and strengthening of the community of advocates and conservationists that will provide a voice and the critical support when these important areas come under the threat of development.

Doing The Run

The Big Dabrowski 50K route is a fine point-to-point 50k for experienced trail runners. Consider this a wilderness run and plan accordingly. One benefit of this course is that there is almost 100% cell phone coverage and should something go awry help is not far away. However, runners should still plan on being self-sufficient and have the minimum essentials for the outing. Recommended are the following (weather depending):

maps - preview the course and get your own Tiger and Cougar maps (see below)
altimeter (helpful for route finding)
water bottle/pack
food (gels, bars, etc.)
communication device (whistle and cell phone)
emergency blanket and light jacket

Maps

Green Trails is THE authority on trail maps in Washington. In this age of instant internet mapping, we need to continue to support the guys who make high quality and accurate maps specifically targetted at trail users. Green Trails sells the Issaquah Alps, Mt Si and Rattlesnake Lake maps as a Map Pack which you can find here:
http://www.greentrailsmaps.com/store/mappacks/

If you really do only want Tiger and Cougar, you can buy them individually here:
http://www.greentrailsmaps.com/maps/search/mapid=203S
http://www.greentrailsmaps.com/maps/search/mapid=204S

If possible, please support Green Trails by purchasing directly online from them and avoiding the middlemen.

Route Overview

The Big Dabrowki 50K is a 50 kilometer (31.25 mile) point-to-point course running from the east side of Tiger Mountain and finishing at Newcastle Beach Park on Lake Washington. The route runs through varied terrain of which the majority is narrow dirt trail and involves approximately 4600+ feet of elevation gain and about 6000+ feet of elevation loss. The route can be broken into four distinct sections each linked by a well defined urbanized area. Overall there are 5 major urban road crossings where cautioned needs to be exercised.

Course Overview Map
(Click image for a larger format)

Detailed Course Description

The four sections of the course are described in detail in the attached file or click on the PDF box below to download a copy. Each section of the course is depicted on an individual topographical map which corresponds to the areas outlined on the overview map above. Due to the large area encompassed by Tiger Mountain, the Section I map has been divided into an East and West Tiger map. The recommended self-support stash locations are indicated by a blue and purple target. They correspond to the start and end locations for each section as described in the distance and elevation summary charts found in the file below.

Safety & Integrity

Nothing is worth getting hurt for so safety comes first. Having a fun day comes second.

Getting lost on any of these mountains on a bad weather day can get serious fast. Common sense rules. Don't do anything dodgy.

Be low key and stay on the trails, absolutely no littering (no gel packets!) and be super-courteous to other trail users - no raucous behavior, slow down to a walk when passing and be friendly!

If thinking whether to being man's best friend on this run please research and conform to the rules and regulations of the various park areas which are governed by the WA DNR, King County Parks, WA State Parks and Bellevue Parks. Most require pets be leashed and that owners pick-up after their dogs. In addition, other trail users and runners should be taken into consideration as they might not feel as comfortable with animals about.

Updates

August 10

after a quick preview of the route this weekend it has become apparent that Bellevue City Parks is reworking the Coal Creek Park trail section where it crosses Coal Creek Parkway. This section of trail is being rerouted towards Forest Drive to provide a safer alternative to crossing the busy Coal Creek Parkway at a traffic light. Check back for details regarding where the course will be rerouted in this area and an update will be made to the Coal Creek Park map showing the new route. Thanks for your interest.

August 18

below is an image of the course reroute where it crosses Coal Creek Parkway and the Course Description file has been updated to show the changes on the Coal Creek Park map. The updated route is shown in blue where it runs along the sidewalk for 0.1 miles and crosses more safely at the traffic light. The dirt trail picks up again directly behind the traffic light post after the crossing but is currently not signed. It eventually leads back in to the Coal Creek Park trail.

August 29

The 2008 running of this event has been changed to a self-supported / self-guided trail run.

Alpental to North Bend 50k Trail

2008-09-07T08:38:00.000-07:00

50k trail run from Alpental parking lot to Mt Si trailhead via the Middle Fork valley. Click to enlarge map and profile.

Summary:
Point to point: 31 miles
Running time: 6-8 hours
Starting elevation: 2350 feet
High point: 3500 feet at 1.5 miles
Elevation gain: 3700 feet (6200 feet descent)
Best time of year: mid-June to late Fall (to avoid snow)
Maps: Green Trails 206, 207, 174, 175 (easily done with no maps - see below)
Permits: self-register at Alpental/Snow Lakes trailhead

Christopher and I hatched this idea when we were running the Middle Fork trail a few months ago. Actually, it is quite an obvious link-up if you study at a topo map of the area for 30 seconds. Another thing we wanted to do was find a great trail run that would leverage the service of Bus-up 90. Unfortunately, we caught the bus on the very last day the service was running just before it got shut down due to idiotic over-regulation by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC).

Craig Hanela and I started our day in the Mt Si parking lot where we were picked up by the bus. Les, our driver, was super accommodating about pickup and drop-off locations this day because he was running the service for free thanks to their problems with the WUTC. I would love to see a government that actually gives a damn about public transportation solutions in some fairytale future so that we could have a service like this that supports multiple trailheads in the I-90 corridor (please see the response from Sharon Wallace (WUTC) below). In the meantime, you'll have to do your own 25 mile car shuttle.

The start is in the Alpental ski-area parking lot and you head out on trail 1013 toward Snow Lake (This is not to be confused with the Kendall Catwalk PCT trailhead which is closer to I-90). The trail from Alpental to Snow Lake is popular and well maintained. In about 1.5m you reach the high point of the day on the saddle before descending toward Snow Lake. (There is a minor trail heading off left to Source Lake during your climb to the Snow Lake saddle. Ignore it.)

The descent takes you around the North shore of snow lake and after another 1.5 miles you arrive at one of the few trail intersections you'll encounter: Trail 1012 goes left toward "Gem Lake". You take a right, staying on 1013 and heading toward "Middle Fork Road".

The 4 mile section down from Snow Lake to the Middle Fork trail is a well constructed but underused trail. About 1 mile of it is overgrown enough to slow you down to a walk but still not unpleasant. The rest of this section is runnable.

You'll have the trail to yourself for most of the descent and the mossy forest path is much less trampled than the usual busy trails we run. Pristine.

At the bottom of the hill you'll arrive at your 2nd trail intersection of the day. At this point the Middle Fork trail is on an old road bed. This is trail 1003 and you want to turn left to head downstream for the next 10 miles. Points of interest in this section include:
- Dingford Creek Trailhead at 3 miles (you'll see a large bridge crossing the river to your right- ignore it)
- Wildcat Creek at 4.5 miles (good place for lunch and water refilling)
- Gateway Bridge at 10 miles (this is where you cross the Middle Fork)

Turn left on 1003 - head downstream along Middle Fork

Ignore the Dingford Creek turn-off and arrive at Wildcat Creek for lunch

Gateway Bridge signals the end of the Middle Fork Trail

Gateway Bridge is at a popular trailhead for the Middle Fork trail. This trailhead can be reached from Exit 34 off I-90 via the Middle Fork road (Road 56). It involves 9 miles of what is usually a nasty dirt road drive.

When you arrive in the parking lot, head straight through to the road and you'll find a well marked trailhead for the CCC extension trail on the opposite side of the main road at the entrance to the trailhead parking. Follow this trail for 3 miles. It is well constructed and super runnable. It ends abruptly, dumping you out on Road 56 (elevation 960 feet).

Turn right and follow Road 56 for less than 1/10th of a mile to an obvious blocked old road heading off to the right. There is room for a few cars here and you may see signs of ORV activity. This is the start of the CCC road and it will take you all the way to North Bend for the next 10 miles. The first 3 miles are scruffy and not well maintained but it is a road: how hard can it be? After a highpoint of 1500 feet you'll descend back to 1380 feet and exit on to the Bessemer Road.

3 miles of CCC trail to Bessemer Road (click to enlarge)

Run downhill on the road and when you encounter the major left turn in the road at just less than 1/2 a mile, look for a blocked old road off to your right: that is the CCC trail. As the trail starts again, there is a significant creek and it makes a good final water stop. For a more aesthetic water stop, hold out for a mile or two: there are a few more reliable sources ahead in more open locations. This last 5 mile section of the CCC trail is popular and well maintained.

Arriving at a gate signals the end of the CCC trail and the start of residential roads: you now have 2+ miles of road running between you and the Mt Si Trailhead. Half of this is dirt and the rest is blacktop. All of it is downhill. For the dirt, simply follow the downhill option when confronted by an intersection: this will keep you on the correct and larger road. Once on the blacktop, follow your nose.

Splits (approximate):

Alpental to intersection below Snow Lake: 3m+
Descent to Middle Fork: 4m+
Along Middle Fork to Dingford Creek trail: 3m+
Along Middle Fork from Dingford Creek trail to Wildcat Creek: 1m
Along Middle Fork from Wildcat Creek to Gateway Bridge trailhead: 5m
CCC extension trail: 3m+
CCC road trail to Bessemer Road 'crossing': 3m
CCC road trail to North Bend: 5m
Final roads to Mt Si trailhead: 2m+

That's it. My intention was to make it easy to do the run with just this description (even if you have the navigational skills of a dead hamster). Please e-mail me for clarifications, suggestions or if you have any corrections that I should make.

Alternate reference for the Snow Lake trail:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/95436_hike14.shtml

Alternate reference for Middle Fork trail:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/57261_hike07.shtml

Alternate references for CCC trail:

http://www.nwsource.com/outdoors/scr/of_detail.cfm?category=biking&rt=41175

http://www.bbtc.org/wiki/index.php?title=Trail:CCC_Road

Blanchard Mountain Ultra 2008 - Results

2008-08-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

We had 25 runners (12 women, 12 men, 1 canine). 9 runners did the full 3 loops (plus Jim but he did part of his day with a backpack full of puppies so that doesn't count). 2 runners did a marathon distance variation. Everybody had fun and I think those running fewer loops had the more social day since they got to hang out at the finish and gab while the eager went out in the heat for their 3rd loop.

The best time for 3 loops of 5:13 was run by Michael Verdonk. He had never run a marathon or ultra event before but had run longer training runs (and paced Bad Water). We hope to see more great things from him in future. His fastest loop was 1:35. Nicole Seana also delivered a stellar sub-six hour performance with 5:54. Her fastest loop was 1:46. They both had pretty darn impressive days despite the heat we experienced.

You can download the full results with splits from here: results.
(If there is a spelling mistake in your name, you need to improve your handwriting ;-)

Thanks for all the donations: after expenses, we PayPal'd $200 to the Chuckanut Conservancy (more detailed accounting in the previous post).

Nice to know folks out there are spreading the word. The contribution is very much appreciated.
- Ken Wilcox (Chuckanut Conservancy)

Get yourself a map of Chuckanut, Blanchard and more (and support the Conservancy): buy map.

And by the way, we appreciate all the positive feedback we've had.
- Jim, Tamara and Michael.

Blanchard Mountain Ultra 2008 - Accounting

2008-08-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the accounting from the event.

We raised $445 in donations. Thanks to all those who contributed.

Our food costs were about $113. It isn't that simple though since we took stock from the NW Ultras stash like water and cokes. We also have left over supplies that will go back into the NW Ultras stash.

At each NW Ultras event, we spend some money on assets and long term improvements. For this event, I made 6 "Trail Run" signs for driving directions from the freeway exit to the start/finish area. Each large sign costs about $5 which includes color print, lamination and other materials (like stakes). I also added 24 more "directional" (arrows and wrong way) lost dog signs (about $3.50 per small sign) to the collection.

Long story short: the "profit" was about $200 and I'll be sending a check to the Chuckanut Conservancy in the name of "NW Ultras" and "Trail Runners who care about Blanchard Mountain".

Blanchard Mountain Ultra - August 16 2008

2008-08-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Bill Ball is the man behind this great trail run that he hosted from 2004 through 2007. He no longer lives in the area so Jim and I have decided to keep the tradition alive in his absence.

Bill sending us on our way.

Glenn's photos from 2005

Info

The 5th Edition of the Blanchard Mountain Ultra will be on Saturday August 16th 2008. Start time is 8am. The course is a 11 mile loop being done 3 times for 33 miles. The route is on 2 miles of Forest Service roads and 9 miles of trails. Each loop has about 2000' of elevation gain in it. The course will be marked and there will be 2 typical NW Ultras aid stations. Please RSVP so we know how many to cater for. Contact us at michael@nwultras.com if you have any other questions.

There is no entry fee but we are recommending a donation of $20 per runner to cover aid station costs. Any "profit" will be passed along as a donation to the Chuckanut Conservancy. Accounting of donations and expenses will be published with results.

Come out and join us for 1, 2 or 3 loops. Canines welcome.

Directions from Seattle

Blanchard Mountain is South of Bellingham and North of Mount Vernon located a little west of the town of Alger off of Interstate 5.

From I-5 northbound, take Exit 240, the Alger exit
Zero trip meter. Left at stop sign to go over freeway.
At 0.5m take left onto Barrel Springs Rd.
At 1.2m take right onto Forest Service Rd. B-1000.
At 1.8m go straight past the trailhead parking lot on right.
At 2.4m go straight past Rd B-2000 (on left).
Pass trailhead sign on left.
Park in next parking lot on right (note the road is blocked with a gate just past this lot)

We'll mark the intersections after the I5 exit with NW Ultras 'Trail Run' signs.

X marks the spot (ignore the "A"). Click to enlarge.

- Jim Kerby and Michael Cartwright

Local High School Foot Ball Team "Conquers" Tiger Mountain

2008-08-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

After taking a hike up the Nook Trail and Section Line to the top of T3 we discovered the source of the power bar wrappers on top. About 40-50 high school kids and their coaches from a junior foot ball team decided that Tiger Mountain would make for a good training hill. Unfortunately the level of testosterone on top of T3 did little for the fragile environment of the trees and litter left behind.

A few shots were captured showing what the players left in the tree tops, on the ground and coach yelling out for their departure back to the parking lot.

Knee Knackering - 2008

2008-07-20T22:15:00.000-07:00

These photos from Knee Knackering 2008 were taken by a variety of photographers on the day. This 50k is run every year in Vancouver, British Columbia. It follows the Baden-Powell Trail from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove - 30 Miles.

Click here to enter to 2009 Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run
The course provides runners with magnificent city, mountain and ocean views, as they go up and over the mountains which grace the North Shore of the city of Vancouver, climbing 8,000 feet and descending another 8,300 feet in the process. Running Wild magazine has recognized the race as one of 25 toughest races in North America.

Two hundred runners at the start at Horseshoe Bay just before 6am.

The course is notorious not just for the elevation gains and losses but also for the appalling trail footing. In short, an excellent trail running experience.

The first 7.5m include an unbelievably good hill climb. It feels like the equivalent of two stacked Nook climbs on Tiger Mountain. Trail quality varies a lot but is mostly regular trail running quality. As you can see from this picture, there are some exceptionally novel sections too.

The summit of the first climb is its own reward: the view is fantastic. We had great weather this year: wall to wall blue skies and mild temperatures.
The 2nd quarter or the course is one long downhill. This is me (Michael) enjoying the free ride. I'm no good at running on flat ground, can hold my own power walking uphill but, with the help of gravity and underdeveloped common sense faculties, downhills are a blast.

Here is Scott on his way to his 5th Knee Knackering finish. It was Scott that got me interested in the event in the first place. It's the most interesting 50k course I've run so far and should be on every Seattle ultra runner's hitlist. You need to run it at least once. Note: it will probably be habit forming.

Blanchard Mountain Ultra - 2007 Report

2008-07-04T12:52:00.001-07:00

This is the 2007 report copied from Bill Ball's GeoCities website.

It was a sunny clear day on race day. We had 22 runners and 3 trail dogs. This race seemed to me to be one of the funnest so far. We had plenty of food and drink for the run thanks to the pot luck style of aidstations. I want to thank all of you for coming out and running our run. Also i would like to thank all of our volunteers who came out and help. Stan Nakashima for helping out at the start/finish aidstation, Sheri Ball for working the aidstation up on top of the Lookout, James Kerby for course marking, John Pearch for helping out with various duties. Finally but not least Stacey Otter and Dianna Robinson for filling in as last minute trail sweepers. Next years run will be something special for our 5 years and running. We will have possibly 2 out-n-backs to some lookouts up above Kill Bill Hill. Stay tuned.

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2007 results
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James Kerby 36mi @ 6:55'

Matt Hart 33mi.@5:21'
Tim Stroh 33mi.@5:36'
Michael Cartwright 33mi @6:41'
Dave Dutton 33mi.@6:49'
Michelle Maislen & Brutus(canine) 33mi. @6:58'
James Varner 33mi.@7:16'
Charlie Chrissman 33mi.@7:19'
Mark Hartinger & Bruce(Canine division) 33mi.@ 7:24'
Janet Casal 33mi.@7:24'
Scotty Railton 33mi.@8:17'
John Bandur 33mi @8:45'
Stacey Otter (sweep) 33mi. @8:45'
Dianna Robinson (sweep) 33mi. @8:45'
Tom Ripley 33mi. @9:22'
Chris Ralph and Zenna (canine)33mi.@9:22'

Steve Roberge 22mi.@3:33'
Brie Hyslop 22mi. @4:27'
Alison Hanks 22mi.@4:22'

Jamie Gifford 18mi.@3:35'

Ericka Malone 11mi.@2:52'
Jolane Stroh (walking) 11mi @3:13'