See Mike Run

Ridge Running

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 12:28:00 +0000

A few weeks back Steve & I finally checked out a new route that we had often wondered about. As much as we all love running singletrack, the chance to run free with no trail at all is just too good to miss. This particular route in a nutshell is Bourgeau to Sunshine via Healy Pass. The options are endless but we took the ridgeline and it was a real treat.

Freedom

Despite the popularity of the Bourgeau Lake trail, that section is really not very inspiring, a long forest trudge to a fairly mundane lake. I look at it as the price of admission. Once you pass the lake the trail climbs quickly and then winds its way over Harvey Pass with spectacular views towards Sunshine.

Ridge Running

Once you hit the Pass you can pretty much take it any way you want using landmarks to guide you. We turned right and followed a series of ridges all the way over to Healy Pass before dropping down a fun scree slope and free-running it across the meadow. On the way we passed the wonderfully named "Lost Horse Creek".
Once we hit Healy we decided to continue along the ridge to the left. Neither of us had been there before and didn't really know where it went. After a couple of kms of amazing scenery we decided to drop down a gully and cut back to the trail and head home.

View From Monarch Ramparts

Once I got home I pulled out the books and figured out we had been on Monarch Ramparts and in fact there is a trail all the way along the ridge to Eohippus Lake.
Last week I headed out again on a solo run to check it out. The larch were screaming gold, several inches of fresh snow covered the entire ridge and the sky was as blue as you could wish for. I spent a wonderful 4 hour run covering the whole loop from Healy Pass. Now that we have it scoped it's time to go back and put the whole thing together for a super ridgerunning loop.

More Bourgeau to Healy photos here.
More Monarch Ramparts photos here.

Day 4 - Ball Pass to Banff

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:51:00 +0000

Ball Pass ended up being a really wet campsite, close to the river and out of the sun it was dripping with condensation when I got up in the morning. Good thing I was planning a late start so I could dry my gear in the sun. The only two trees I could find to hang the hammock were pretty thin and when I got in they both bowed over and the tarp flapped around in the wind. I spent the night expecting to get dumped on the ground and when I actually got up in the morning safe and sound I made sure to thank the trees for looking after me.

Early Sun

I had spent the night deciding on my plan and I settled on the smart option of bailing out through Redearth Creek and back to Banff a day early.
It's not like you can pick where you will have a bear encounter in the backcountry and while the Rockwall trail was probably a lesser risk, the Goodsir Pass/Ottertail River route that I had planned for Saturday is about as "beary" as they come. So I used the seatbelt analogy that yes I've driven a lot of miles wearing a seatbelt and never had an accident but there's no way in hell I'd ever not buckle up. From the stats I've read, the vast majority of aggressive bear encounters that involved the deployment of bear spray ended up without further incident. That's good for the hiker and good for the bear. Decision made.

Shadow Lake

I took my time over breakfast and dried my gear out once the sun hit my campsite and then I headed off on my new route. Shadow Lake is gorgeous and I was happy that I got to see it on such a fine morning. It was a view I would have otherwise missed so I made the most of taking it all in and enjoying the moment.

Campsite Welcome

I started to run into the odd hiker from Shadow Lake Lodge out for an early morning stroll in paradise. As I cruised down Redearth Creek I ran into a few people hiking out and a few hiking in. There was a big animal skull at the campsite setting an ominous tone but the day was turning out to be great despite the change of plans.
I hit the highway junction pretty quickly and tried my hand at hitching. Surprisingly nobody wanted to pick up a scruffy stinky guy so instead of getting annoyed I decided to run it home for some extra kilometres. It wouldn't be the first time I'd put in a bonus half marathon on the highway...

Homeward Bound

I spent a fair bit of time laughing at the irony of running on the highway after all the amazing time I had spent alone on backcountry trails but honestly even running the shoulder of the highway out here is pretty beautiful. The only drag was I had no water so by the time I finally hit Banff I was totally parched. I stopped into the gas station bought a half liter of coke and downed it. Headed home, grabbed a shower and took the dog out for a walk.
It was only 4 days but gave me a taste of how awesome it is to fastpack in the backcountry.

I'm hooked!

Day 4 - ~40kms, ~0m elevation

Day 3 - Assiniboine to Ball Pass

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:20:00 +0000

After the uncharted territory of the previous day I was actually quite happy to be heading out on some trails that were familiar again. I slept so well that I took a pretty leisurely start and didn't leave Assiniboine until 8:30ish.

Mount Assiniboine and Lake Magog

I stopped at the lodge for a few photos before cruising through the beautiful meadows alone. There was only one tent at Og Lake which was strange as it was completely full last year at the same time. As I headed into the Valley of The Rocks I caught up with a fast paced pair of hikers who had left Magog before me. It was cool to see some lightweight fast moving hikers out there. They seemed to be having a great time too.

Empty Meadows

The trail soon starts to climb over Citadel Pass and it is just the kind of Pass that we know and love. Steep narrow switchbacks through glorious wildflowers finally hitting a flat saddle before disappearing into a completely different world on the other side. I met a couple of ladies who said they were on their inaugural hike, they seemed to be having a blast too.
When I got to the top of Citadel Pass I stopped for lunch and aired out my gear. A group of day hikers walked over and amongst them was the Parks guy who had registered my trip. We chatted for a bit before his group headed off for lunch. Then I heard someone call my name from higher up. Turned out it was a couple from the Springs where I work. I headed up and chatted with them for a bit before bombing down the other side and into the joyous singletrack to Sunshine Village.

Sunshine Singletrack

Before I hit Sunshine I headed left over Simpson Pass. I'd never been on this section before and it turned out to be pretty cool. Started out on the weird moonscape of Sunshine's outer limits before hitting a rocky and then forested section before finally breaking out into a beautiful open meadowy lake section.
Once it joined the trail to Healy Pass I was back on familiar ground.
The wildflowers were nothing like last year at this time. We are 2-3 weeks behind this year and not much was showing. I stopped to refuel at the top of Healy and then cruised down to Egypt Lake. As always there were lots of people at Egypt so after a water refuel I moved on, up and over Whistling Pass. At the top of Whistling I ran into a solo backpacker on his way in. We were both surprised to see anyone else at 6 in the evening. He seemed to have a great backcountry attitude of taking it as it comes and after talking for a while he plodded off toward Egypt and I dropped down towards Ball Pass.

Whistling Pass

Whistling Pass is a sweet descent through rocky debris and I had fun winding my way down. Once I hit Haiduk lake at the bottom I started to get that late in the day "something is watching you" feeling so I did a quick bear spray check.
Panic! No bear spray... It had been on my hip belt the whole trip and suddenly it wasn't there.
Holy crap! It's not like I think it is some magic invisibility shield but all of a sudden there were too many checkboxes with big X's through them. Solo [check], runner [check], food on back [check], bear country [check], no bear spray [check]...
All I knew for sure was I had it 6 hours ago and now it was gone and it made no sense to start backtracking at this point in the day. I figured out later the weird process that led me to lose it but at this point my first concern was getting to camp and seeing if anyone else was there. I was surprised how naked I felt without it. I've only seen a few bears in the backcountry and only drawn my spray once (didn't need to use it though) but I felt like a dumb tourist out there without it.

Camp for the night

Half an hour more running and I hit the Ball Pass Campground, fortunately there were 2 other couples there so I felt safe to camp the night and figure out my game plan.

Day 3 - ~50kms, ~2000m elevation

Iron Legs 50 Miler

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:36:00 +0000

I'm still working on the last posts from my trip but in the meantime I just got back from the Iron Legs 50 Miler and another classic day of running in K-Country.
I took part in the inaugural race last year, loved it and couldn't wait to get out there and battle it out again. The race has grown from fewer than 50 last year to sold out with 150. This year it was also the official 2010 National 50 Mile Championship so I was anticipating a pretty strong turnout and some fast times.

Honestly the course is spectacular with a ton of elevation and ridge running in the first half and a really tough muddy bog section on the way back to the finish. It's the kind of race where finishing is victory enough but if you're looking for an easy flat bike-path type of course or if you don't like getting wet feet or getting covered in cow shit then you should probably look elsewhere :)

Cox Hill (Start of 7km descent)

After all the rain we've had lately I was pretty sure we were in for a mudfest and despite the optimistic forecast I had my rain gear with me. The TransRockies Bike Race ran through the ridgeline part of the course yesterday and they were dealing with crazy exposure level temperatures. In the end we got lucky and had great cool running temperatures with a little rain but awesome views. No helicopter video for us though...

TransRockies Bike Race video from previous day

My goal this year was not to worry about position but to try and match or beat my time from last year. I was hoping I could make up some time on the Tom Snow section or at least run it stronger this time around. I wrote down my splits from last year and adjusted them for the shorter course (last year it was about 85kms) hoping to have some kind of guideline for the day.
In the end it was bizarre as I nailed each split within one minute. Every single split was identical to last year, I guess I have a very steady pace. With so many more participants on the course it was a great chance to catch and be caught, unlike last year where I ran alone for 6 hours talking to myself... Overall I was really happy to pick people off through the course and I ended up working my way up from 14th and finishing in just under 10 hours for 7th overall which I was delighted with. I felt good the whole day and even though my time didn't seem any better I felt so much stronger on the last half of the course compared to the previous year.

So long and thanks for all the shit

The mudfest that I had anticipated didn't disappoint. It was craziness, slopping through endless kilometers of boggy mud and cow shit. Anyone who had started out the day trying to go around the wet spots would have given up long ago and settled for running right through the middle. It certainly brought out the kid in me.

There was a lot of this

The post race scene was excellent. Lots of chili and other treats and a pretty steady stream of runners to cheer home. The sun stayed out so lots of people hung around relaxing and sharing stories.
Hats off to Jamie Nott and all the amazing volunteers. It takes a huge amount of work to put together an event like this but I think it's already proven itself as a classic Canadian ultra. Be prepared though it's going to sell out real fast next year!

By the way, Blaine Penny absolutely crushed the field despite having a very challenging finish. Read his account here. I guess he's the National 80km champion and 100km champion both at the same time...

Day 2 - Turbine Canyon to Assiniboine

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 04:30:00 +0000

Today was going to be an adventure day. New trails, a "potentially difficult" river crossing and likely lots of bushwhacking was enough to get me out of bed super early.
I was up and gone before anyone else even stirred but I had the pleasure of a moose and a deer wandering through camp while I was drinking my early morning coffee.
It was a 2km climb to the top of North Kananaskis Pass and on the way up I watched a huge truck sized lump of ice/rock crash down off the nearby glacier. I thought about how it would suck to get up early only to be crushed by a falling glacier. Fortunately someone was being nice to me today.

North Kananaskis Pass

The transition from Peter Lougheed Provincial Park into Height of The Rockies Wilderness Park was amusing. There was one ominous wind battered sign that marked the line and the trail magically switched from clear and well defined to vague and buried by deep ankle and body biting bush.

Height of the Rockies Wilderness Park

The drop down into the valley was pretty steep and I realized I was still following the same horse from the day before. I marveled at how the hell anyone could get a horse through this section, it was steep, slippery and obviously not well used but sure enough some crazy bastard had been through here with a goddamn horse!

Height of the Rockies Trail

After a few kms the trail flattened and became a little easier to see and after about 5kms I hit the river crossing that I had read about. Basically everyone seems to get horrendously lost here. The river wasn't too high so the fording was OK, if a little sketchy. I tried to follow the instructions from Dustin Lynx's "Hiking the Great Divide" book for a while following various game trails that seemed to evaporate into thin air (to be fair to Dustin I think a. some of the trails had washed away and b. I'm a dumbass). Somehow the instructions and the map didn't seem to jive. It was a very similar feeling to last year when I successfully guided Brenda and myself to the top of the wrong pass in White Goat Wilderness Area. I was determined to learn from my mistakes and get it right this time. After what seemed like about an hour (but was probably only 30 mins) of crashing around in the bush and crossing the river numerous times I called a timeout and sat down on a rock to eat and get my head together. I laughed when I looked down and saw fresh bear prints in the silt.

Deliverance

I decided the best course of action was to go back to the last place I knew was right and then follow the map. I simply walked through the river upstream to get back to the trail and all of a sudden I came across a small creek that I'd missed previously (since I had been buried deep in the fricken' bush on the other side of the river). It wasn't anything like the size I was expecting for the Palliser River but it was worth a shot. I saw a faint trail which I followed and within seconds I was in a beautiful wide open meadow which I recognized from the book description.

My horse(s)

Before I could even think I saw something in the bush. It was a couple cooking pancakes. They were as surprised to see anyone here as I was. Turned out I had finally caught my horse. Actually 4 horses - so much for my brilliant tracking skills but it explained all the horse crap... The guy was German and along with his Austrian partner were on a huge trek, driving their horses all through the US & Canada on the Great Divide Trail. He had started 11 years ago in Argentina with some other horses and they had picked up these Mustangs from the US Government. They were on their way to Alaska. Holy crap, now that's an adventure. They have a website here which is well worth checking out. We chatted for a while and then bid our farewells as I headed off into the void again.
The trail was narrow but identifiable and the climb up Palliser Pass was typical of most passes that we see around here, steep, rocky, narrow, winding and hot. I was loving it.

Palliser Pass

The top of the pass had a couple of beautiful lakes and a kind of dip in the middle before hitting the boundary with Banff National Park and a (very) slightly clearer trail. The scenery was stunning, a wide open lush green valley that ended up lasting for 20kms all the way to Bryant Creek. At least 15kms of it was in the open and I ran on a narrow pathway meandering through the meadowy grassland. At one point a deer hopped up out of nowhere just as a bird of prey swooped down while butterflies flitted about. I felt like I had stumbled into an air freshener commercial... Surprisingly there were frogs everywhere, I must have seen 50 at least and it was a struggle not to step on them. I've seen a few around the Mystic Pass area before so it wasn't a total surprise but probably not something most tourists expect to see in the Rockies.

Spray River Flood Plain

Anyway I spent my afternoon cruising through this gorgeous terrain before hitting Bryant Creek around 4:30. I finally saw a few hikers on the "Assiniboine Highway" and headed off up and over Assiniboine Pass. It was thundering a little and started to rain but nothing too long lasting. I crested Assiniboine Pass around 6:30 and as I dropped into the meadow 2 young grizzlies popped up out of the grass looked at me and scuttled away to the back of the meadow. Holy crap what a day!

Mount Assiniboine

I got to Lake Magog, looked aimlessly for a vacant campsite and then found the overflow section. Actually it's nicer than the regular section. I slung up the hammock with a view of Mount Assiniboine grabbed dinner and slept like a very content and happy baby.

Day 2 - ~55kms, ~3000m elevation

Day 1 - K-Lakes to Turbine via Northover Ridge

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 04:13:00 +0000

I got dropped off in K-Country on Monday evening all ready to go with my pack and a nice fat Subway sandwich in hand. Checked in at Mount Sarrail campground which turned out to be a really nice clean and secluded "tent only" campsite. Set up my hammock, had dinner and then took an evening stroll around the Canadian Mount Everest Expedition Trail. It was a nice little interpretive loop but at 2kms and 100m elevation failed to invoke the spirit of Everest in me. Oh well, there's always tomorrow...

My home for the week

Indeed tomorrow arrived quickly after a really good nights sleep. I gulped down breakfast, packed up and headed off for a 2km stroll on the highway to get started.

Kananaskis Lakes

Hidden Lake & Kananaskis Lakes

Pretty quickly I was on familiar trails. I've run Northover Ridge a couple of times from North to South. This was my first time heading the other way and I was a little nervous about the snow coverage. I hadn't been able to find any reports of anyone else going over this year and judging by the delayed Summer I wasn't totally sure if I could make it.
I'd adopted a pretty carefree attitude for this trip. I had a plan but I was quite happy to let nature take its course and if the plans had to change I really wasn't too fazed so off I went through Hidden Lake and up to Aster Lake.

Aster Lake

By the time I hit Aster Lake the sun was blazing down hard and it was a glorious day. The first thing I saw was a big griz walking from right to left on the other side of the lake. It was almost exactly the same place we saw 2 griz a couple of years ago. My trail of course was headed around the left of the lake and straight towards him. Since I knew it was a very enclosed trail I decided to ford the river and bushwhack around he right side of the lake to avoid the bear. As I did so I got to watch him climb up the gully from a safe distance which was a pretty cool start to the trip.

Trail goes over the saddle in the middle

As I climbed up into the scree I realized there was a lot of lingering snow and as I approached the start of the ridge I noticed I was following a melted set of bear prints.

Looking Back

The view from top was just as awesome as I remembered it but way more snowy than I'd ever seen it before. I was a little panicked but I knew that the worst case scenario meant simply going back the way I had come. Each ridge of the traverse looked like it had too much snow to cross safely but each time I found that the snow stopped directly on the ridge and I could cover the whole thing without stepping on the huge cornice.

Just follow the line...

It all worked out and I made it across the ridge and down to Three Isle Lake with no problems. I was happy that I knew this route already as there's no real trail going down, you just eyeball the lake and make a b-line for it.
I finally ran into my first and only hikers of the day on the way back down to Forks campsite. Amusingly they were smoking and muttering about how tough the trail was. I agreed and carried on. Once I turned onto the Maude-Lawson Trail and headed up to Turbine Canyon I was on new territory. The trail climbed steeply for what seemed like a heck of a long way. I was following the trail of a horse which seemed to crap a lot. Everywhere I looked there were fresh manure piles and the afternoon sun seemed to make this section extra tough. I soaked my shirt in a creek and got a new lease of life, carried on and hit some really pretty lakes before finally getting to my campsite for the night.

Day One complete - ~40kms, ~3000m elevation

Solo Fastpack

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:53:00 +0000

Well I finally got out there and did a solo fastpack and it was everything I hoped for and more! My plans changed a little but I still got in about 185kms in 4 days. Spent 4 nights camping and 4 days running and "hiking with purpose". Saw very few people but lots of wildlife and some spectacular scenery. Found some new places to explore and paid my respects to some familiar areas too. Got a taste for something that I want to explore further. There's something very primal about moving across the land with everything you need on your back. Keeping it light means that it's not only fun but you can cover lots of ground quite quickly and easily (and make heavily laden hikers weep with envy and disbelief).

My Route (South to North)

Just getting my photos sorted out and I'll throw up some posts about the trip. I might add a post on the gear side too since a lot of people have asked me about it and it took a lot of research to figure out what I needed in the first place.

In the meantime here's a photo of one new place that I found. It's a tiny little lake near Turbine Canyon which I hit late in the afternoon on my first full day of running. Check out the singletrack on the right. It was all mine and it was glorious :)

Rush Hour

More to follow...

Brazeau Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:57:00 +0000

Wow!
Yep after 14 hours and 80kms the best I can come up with is three letters. Wow!
A week has gone by already but last Saturday I spent a day in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The Brazeau Loop is a big "lollipop" loop that explores the backcountry around Columbia Icefields. Part of it is on the Great Divide Trail and it connects with the White Goat Wilderness area where I ran another epic last year.
Leslie, Brenda, Steve and I spent a frosty night camping at Columbia Icefields campground so that we could get an early start on this rather long run. We were up at 5am chowing down the oatmeal and by 6:30 we were on the trail.

Jonas Pass

Turns out we picked a spectacular day to be out there. We got a blue sky screamer with enough cloud to keep the temperatures in check and help the scenery stand out even better. A lot of places we visit require a bit of a slog through some kind of "less than stellar" approach, 10kms of enclosed forest trail to get into the high country is quite typical. In the case of this run we were slap bang in the middle of spectacular scenery from the moment we set foot on the trail at 6:30am until well into the afternoon where we finally hit a slightly less exciting section. Even that didn't last long before we were back on the same section we had started in the morning, 70kms and more than 12 hours later.

Poboktan Pass

Most of the passes we usually run are crazy steep ups and crazy steep downs. In the case of Jonas Pass it was like this endless cruise up through the green meadows and then a climb up and over the shoulder. Poboktan Pass was an equally gorgeous cruise through yet more stunning scenery. We only saw a couple of hikers on the trail in the whole day. There were a few tents at some of the campsites but once again we were in paradise and we had it pretty much all to ourselves.

Steve on Nigel Pass

It was definitely a long day but really if you ever need to flush all the crap out of your brain and fill it with glorious beauty I can't think of a better way to do it.

I drove home afterwards with Steve to get ready for my fastpack trip while Leslie stayed on for another night with plans for more adventures on Sunday. Brenda headed north the next day to start her epic North Boundary Trail trip. We all had big smiles on our faces.

More photos here.

Cascade Mountain

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:29:00 +0000

After the amazing Rockwall run on Friday the weather changed on Saturday and we had one of the best days of the year so far. It was really hard to resist the temptation to do something silly but I managed to settle for lots of dog walks and an easy spin on the bike out to Canmore and back. I'd already decided that I had to get up early on Sunday and hit the summit of Cascade to make the most of my weekend.

Cascade Panorama

I hit the trail at 8am and with 12 cars in the parking lot I expected to pass a bunch of hikers on the way. Turns out there was some kind of function at the ski hill the night before and 12 people must've got too drunk to drive home... I didn't see a soul until the false summit where I ran into a random guy who had camped on the mountain and was napping in the sun (I think I scared the crap out of him).
At the start of my run just before the junction down to the river I almost literally ran into a bear. I'd just let out my bear holler and came around a corner right into the ass of a smallish bear. He was no more than 20 feet away but he never heard me and I must've been downwind. I let him go ahead and followed along a safe distance behind since I knew there was a three-way trail junction ahead where I figured he would split. In the end I have no idea where he went, maybe he picked up my scent and hopped off the trail but I never saw him again and that was just fine for the both of us.

Bear Delay

Ended up hitting the summit in 2:09, spent a little while on top and then barrelled down in 1:28. My legs are feeling better than ever and I'm thinking all this elevation is really working out. Can't wait for Iron Legs this year!

More photos here.

Rockwall

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 04:04:00 +0000

When Leslie said she had a Rockwall run planned for Friday I scrambled to wangle a day off work so I could join. Ended up getting up at 5:30 just like a regular work day but instead of trudging off to work I got to go and enjoy 10 hours on the trail with Leslie and Tina. Despite the continuing questionable weather we had an awesome day in the mountains. 55kms, 3000m elevation gain and 10 hours of fun.

Floe Lake Panorama (24 photos)

This was my second full Rockwall run and I have to say I could run this trail a hundred times and never get bored of it. The terrain changes in the space of one day are crazy. Dense jungle-like foliage, glacier fed lakes, bare rocky passes, wildflowers, rushing streams, I'm sure no two days are ever the same. We noticed that the wildflowers were way behind last year when we ran this trail at the end of July and there were still a few lingering snow patches along the way to remind us that we were amongst the first to cross the trail this year.

Leslie & Tina Climbing Numa Pass

We somehow dodged the rainstorms despite the threatening clouds. The skies cleared a little as the day went on but crossing Rockwall Pass it was almost time to pull out the gloves before we dropped back down to civilization and a calmer climate.
In 55kms we saw 8 hikers and a few random campers at Floe Lake and Helmet Falls campgrounds. It's mid-July on one of the most popular multi-day hikes in the Rockies and we saw fewer than 20 people... ah I love this place.

Heading Towards Limestone Peak

If you've never visited the Rockwall you really must, it's one of my favourite places in the whole world and there are so many ways to enjoy it (in a day, individual sections, multi-day hike). It sure beats a day at work!

More photos here.

Ball/Whistling/Healy Pass

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 03:09:00 +0000

Had an awesome weekend despite the continuing questionable weather.
Saturday I ran Hawk Creek to Sunshine with Leslie, Ed and Jen. We "key exchanged" with Hugh and his group of seven from Calgary so the whole car issue was solved. One group runs one way and the other group runs the other way. You meet somewhere in the middle and trade keys and when you finish he run your car is waiting. Definitely the best invention ever!

Killer Marmot

We saw very few people for a July weekend (albeit a crappy one) and no signs of wildlife other than the endless gangs of killer marmots. I've decided it's my goal to be reincarnated as a marmot, they seem to do very little other than drag their fat asses onto rocks once the sun is up and whistle at people. I'm pretty sure I could do that.

Ball Pass

I ran this route last summer during our 5-day BUTT Epic but we ran the other way that time. I wasn't sure what the difference would be but it turned out to be an extra 600m elevation this time around. That's like an extra Sulphur Mountain on top of the rest. Hawk Creek was great, a long steady climb to the summit of a snow free Ball Pass.

Whistling Pass

We dropped down from Ball and through the swampy meadows through the craziest swarm of mosquitoes I've encountered. Fortunately not a single one bit me, they seemed intent on suffocating us instead.

Scarab Lake

We ran into our key swap friends just before the ascent over Whistling Pass which turned out to have some lingering snow but really nothing to worry about. From Whistling we dropped down for a bonus loop into Scarab Lake. It really is beautiful and reminds me a lot of Floe Lake on the Rockwall Trail. From there we had a quick grunt up and over Healy Pass and back to our car. Keith and Angela met us just below the Pass as they were on a shorter recovery run. we hit a bit of a downpour on the way down but everyone seemed to enjoy it. All in all a great day out, 34kms and 1700m elevation gain.
On Sunday I ran most of the way up Cascade, didn't go for the top but I got in another good 1300m of elevation and the legs felt great.

More photos here.

Lard Asses

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:18:00 +0000

My friend owns the teahouse at the Plain of Six Glaciers and due to an ordering snaffu at the start of their season they were short on lard (well actually Crisco vegetable shortening but Crisco Ass just doesn't sound right....) They use it to make all the fabulous pies that everyone deservedly eats after their hike up and so people had been bringing up small batches here and there to tide them over.
It seemed to me like a perfect opportunity for a visit after work one night so Wednesday night Ida & I hiked up with 25lbs of fat strapped to our backs. When you live in bear country it does seem a bit odd to run around in the bush with fat but, well, it was for a friend you know.

The Chateau

I should mention that when you go to Safeway and buy 8 tubs of shortening you kind of lay yourself open for some general piss-taking. I had a guy from another aisle hollering about naked wrestling parties and a lot of people staring at me but it was all good.
It had been a few years since I was up at the teahouse and I'd forgotten what an incredibly beautiful place it is. Right from the shoreline of Lake Louise the views are spectacular. The mix of languages is so intense and all the tourists are so in awe of the experience that it really is a fun place to be.

A lot of fat

We got to visit with our friend, chow down on some wicked tuna sandwiches and chocolate cake and then turn around and cruise out on a warm Summer evening as the hordes of tourists dispersed.

Lake Louise

It was really a wonderful way to spend an evening and a good reminder that I need to spend more time up at Lake Louise.

Skoki Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 03:49:00 +0000

While most of the northern hemisphere treats early July as being the middle of summer, for us here in Banff it signals the very earliest chance we get to actually start thinking that maybe, just maybe, summer might start soon.


Snow on Deception Pass

After endless months of trudging around local trails we can finally start to broaden our horizons and test the higher ground. It's a bit of a gamble which often results in crotch deep post-holing but sometimes it pays off and our "early" runs turn out to be open and clear.

Singletrack

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with the Skoki Loop but it turned out to be a fantastic day in the mountains and a real honest taste of what we can gobble up over the next 10, maybe 12 weeks.

Packers Pass

I got to both run and ski into Skoki this winter and it is a truly amazing place. To be honest we didn't get the best weather on our run this weekend and I don't think you can beat the golden larches in the fall or the bluebird snow days from the winter but we were running in the mountains and life was good! It was a nice easy paced day with friends and a chance to shake out the cobwebs and start to think about everything that we can do in the next few weeks.

So, it's "Game On!" for us now and hopefully there will be many more runs to report on before we pull out the skis again.

Spring Has Sprung

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 02:00:00 +0000

If you follow Leslie or Deb's blogs you'll know how awesome the weather has been in Banff in the last week. We went from a big dump of snow less than two weeks ago to one of the most gorgeous days ever today. I don't even know what the temperature was today but it's April and I was out in shorts & sandals in Banff so that's good enough for me.

Rundle Today

For some reason I haven't been getting in too many miles running but I've been biking more than ever. Rides up Norquay and around Minewanaka on the single speed and a great spin around the trails on my mountain bike today which felt so good.

Minnewanka Ride

Anyway, time to be outside as much as possible and get a few more running miles on these legs. Life is good.

The Winter (So Far)

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:08:00 +0000

Well you might assume that I've just been sitting on my fat ass all winter doing nothing but in fact it's been one of my best ones to date. A great season of XC skiing, some skating and some great runs too.

Skoki run in February

I really don't panic after Summer is over, I just go with the flow and if the snow is good I'll ski, if the lakes are frozen I'll skate and if the trails are good I'll run. If none of the above apply then I'm happy to drink beer, eat chips and watch the Olympics.

Skiing near Castle Mountain in January

Anyway, this winter has been a great mix of everything and I'm really looking forward to the time change and the feeling of a new season approaching.

Skating on Johnson Lake in November

No big race plans this year but I'm hoping to get in a lot of great backcountry single and multi day trips and I have a big trip plan that I don't know if I can pull off this year but if not it's definitely on the list for sooner rather than later.

Bow Valley Wolf Encounter

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:14:00 +0000

On Saturday I went XC skiing with a couple of friends around Castle Mountain and as we were driving back along the 1A highway in the late afternoon, we came across three wolves walking along the trail just off the side of the road. It was an amazing sight to see, two black and a dark gray, walking slowly and methodically along.

We stopped the car and watched from inside, they seemed quite unconcerned with our presence. I noticed a couple of them yawning and then the gray wolf just laid down on the trail for a rest. She laid there for a few minutes just resting. As you can see in the photo she has a radio collar so Parks can monitor her.

Suddenly we heard howling from further back along the valley and before we knew it one of the wolves we were watching was howling back. It only lasted a couple of minutes but it was one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Check out the video to hear them in action.

I spent the rest of the weekend just shaking my head at how lucky we'd been to experience those few minutes of nature at its best and marveling at how we live right amongst this.
Last night I saw a tweet from the local newspaper that said a wolf had been killed on the Trans Canada Highway near Banff. I immediately thought of "my" three wolves and sadly after asking around today I found out that it was in fact the same gray wolf I had seen on Saturday.
I guess the three of them walked over the texas gate on the compound road and onto the highway. One of them was hit and killed and the other two jumped over the fence and escaped. The saddest part is that there is a wildlife underpass a few hundred metres away to the right of where they were which would have taken them safely across the highway.

So with a mix of joy and sadness I'm posting the photos and video of my brief encounter. Listen to the howling and tell me that doesn't send a chill down your spine. I'll never forget that.

Pipestone River/Skoki

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:09:00 +0000

Running a little behind on the posts here. This is a recap of last weekend's run: I first ran this loop a couple of years ago and I was really excited to get back and run it again. Turns out we were a couple of weeks later this year and hit the larches in full glory.

Early River Crossing

The Guidebooks all say that the Pipestone river is boring and should be avoided but honestly I think it is beautiful and seriously underrated. One of the advantages of its bad press is that we didn't see a soul for the first 30 kms.

Pipestone River Valley

It wasn't until we hit Skoki Lodge that we saw our first larch of the day and the next 15kms were a riot of gold and yellow. The section at Skoki Lakes was spectacular with the turquoise water and golden larch.

Fall Colours

All in all a great day out in perfect Fall weather. 50kms of backcountry beauty.

More photos

Molar Pass/Fish Lakes

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Wow! I just had another fantastic day in the mountains. On Saturday Brenda, Leslie and I headed up past Lake Louise to run the Mosquito Creek/Molar Pass/Pipestone River/Fish Lakes/North Molar Pass circuit. Once again we had an awesome day and once again the weather was perfect despite the pessimistic forecast.

Molar Pass

We started early and were on the trail by 8AM heading up Mosquito Creek towards the magical land that lies above the treeline. The route has about 7kms that we would cover going in and coming out but after that it was a 40km loop covering all kinds of terrain and going from 2000 meters up to 2300+, down to 1800 and back up to almost 2600.

Hector Glacier

We chose to run the loop counter clockwise which took us over the beautiful Molar Pass and then down into the river valley. Despite some hard to find trail we cruised down Molar Creek towards the Pipestone River. We met 2 hikers coming out and a small horse pack going in but otherwise we were not to see a soul until after Fish Lakes.

The terrain was so varied, from heavily screed passes to thick willowy brush, it was one of those runs that makes you feel like you really did something special.

Brenda & Leslie @ Fish lakes

We actually met a few groups hiking in to Fish Lakes as we were coming out. I was kind of jealous as it would be a really special camping spot.

Leslie Rocking the Downhill

We all seemed to be feeling really strong all day and it was a blast to cruise out over North Molar Pass and back to the car. Another day in Paradise...

North Molar Pass - Heading Home

More photos

Northover Ridge

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:30:00 +0000

On Saturday we ran a repeat of one of my absolute favourite runs of last year. Northover Ridge is typically a 3 day backpacking hike with a night at Three Isle Lake and a night at Aster lake. In between the 2 camps you get to cover the whole of Northover Ridge which feels like it is in a totally different world to everything else.

Climbing to Northover Ridge

By running it all in a day you get to leave all the heavy gear at home and cover the whole trip in a day and you don't have to slog up the steep scree with a huge backpack. I felt sorry for all the hikers as we definitely had it easier than them.
The weather was perfect, hot but not too crazy. The blue skies were a little hazy but we didn't even need any extra layers on the ridge it was that warm.

Brenda on Northover Ridge

Looking Back to Three Isle Lake

Last year we ran this in mid-September and there was fresh snow everywhere. It was fun to compare views and see how some of the trail was easier to run snow free while other sections were actually easier last year when we could kick steps to climb to the main ridge.

Northover Lakes

Aster Lake

All in all I had an awesome day running with Brenda and we were back at the car in 8 hours which was identical to our time last year. If you've never experienced Northover Ridge I suggest you mark it down on the "must do" list. Whether you hike or run it's a classic.

More photos

Iron Legs 50 Miler

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:20:00 +0000

I have a new favourite race, the Iron legs 50 Miler. Take part of the Powderface course, add in the whole of Jumpingpound Ridge and Cox Hill and finish it off with the boggy, swampy meandering Tom Snow trail and you have yourself an absolutely classic course. At closer to 85kms and with a total elevation gain of about 10,000 feet it's one of those races that you really feel like you've earned, finishing is victory alone.

This was my first 50 mile race although I ran the Blackfoot 50km last year and we've done a lot of fairly long fun runs this year. The weather was blissfully cool and I had gloves on for the 6AM start at Station Flats.

Things felt great right from the get go and pretty soon we were cruising at a steady pace. The first 3 guys went out fairly fast and were out of sight after only a kilometer or two. I was running around 5th or 6th and there were a few of us who jostled around position over the first 10-15kms. I cruised through the first aid station feeling great and started the climb up Powderface Ridge. The trail was wet and it wasn't long before everyone was soaked with mud and cow slop. By the time we hit Ford Creek I was fishing out wads of mud from my socks. I never worry about wet feet but I was a little concerned as the mud started to form into weird shapes under my arches.

Yep it was muddy

After the second aid station it was pretty much a big bog and I managed to go off course for a few hundred meters before realizing and backtracking. I ran into a couple of guys who were also confused and figured I'd dropped a few places. We started the climb up Jumpingpound and I caught and passed them. A short while later I looked back and couldn't see them and I realized my climbing legs were going to be my strength today. Once at the top of Jumpingpound the course took a wicked and devious detour, dropping us all the way back down 2.5 kms of switchbacks to the 3rd aid station before turning around and climbing all the way back.
As I was going down I saw the first 2 guys going back up with a pretty hefty lead. As I neared the bottom I heard the unmistakable holler of Leslie and I popped out at aid station #3. As Leslie helped me fill my water she said "Erm, you know you're in third right?" She had that look of "I'm super pumped for you" combined with a faint hint of "I hope you're not going to blow up". Leaving the aid station I was definitely pumped but almost immediately I saw a bunch of strong runners coming down. I figured my best hope was to crank the uphills so I put my head down and power hiked all the way back up. The course took another fun detour with a trip to the top of Jumpingpound Summit before continuing on towards Cox Hill. I hit the summit of Cox Hill and stopped to look back across the singletrack. I couldn't see anyone behind me which seemed weird got me excited.

View from Cox Hill

I couldn't believe how good I was feeling and bombed down the back of Cox to aid station #4 at Dawson. To get here we turned off the main course for a few hundred meters and then came back the same way so I knew I had a good kilometer lead as I left since I didn't see anyone else. Aid station # 5 appeared faster than expected and it was a similar scenario with a few hundred meters of in and out. I laughed when I realized that we had to climb a massive stack of stairs to actually get to the aid station. Actually, first I swore and then I laughed.

Looking back on Jumpingpound

I don't think I was the only one who found the next section really hard. It was 13 kms to the last aid station and while the course was pretty much flat it was an endless meandering bogfest with a bunch of downed trees interspersed. I found it really hard to get any rhythm going and I started to check my shoulder pretty regularly, convinced that I was about to get steamrolled.
I finally hit the last aid station and after a quick regroup I was off on the final leg. I was absolutely determined not to lose my place so there was a lot of talking to myself going on. I found the final section way easier and before long I was hitting a section of trail that I recognized. As I opened and closed a cattle gate I heard a cheer close by. I didn't realize we were so close to the finish but I put on my happy face and bolted to the line.
Turned out I held my 3rd place but somehow I was only a minute behind second so I must have made up some good ground over the last leg.
At the finish line it started to rain which sucked for those still on the course but the finishers I saw coming in all seemed to share the same happiness of a great day on the trails and a part in the inaugural Iron Legs 50-Miler.

If you weren't lucky enough to be out there this year then mark it down for 2010. It's a race not to be missed!

Post BUTT

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:30:00 +0000

The Route

In a Nutshell

The B.U.T.T. Epic 2009 (part 3) Rockwall

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:30:00 +0000

Well we saved the best for last...

The Rockwall trail is like a letter "m" with an extra leg if you get what I mean.
You can do it in sections going in on one leg and out on another or you can do 2 sections at once or, as we did on Day 5 of the BUTT, you can do the whole damn thing at once.
Some might think this is foolish covering so much ground in one day and missing out by rushing through such spectacular scenery but really it is more like sticking your head in a visual washing machine. It's like an insane roller coaster ride that leaves you screaming "Stop! my eyes are full!"

Until a couple of years ago I had barely even heard of the Rockwall but since then I have run all of the sections at least once and some of them a few times. Every time I go there I am in awe of the beauty and immense majesty of the mountains. It is never the same, I have been there in deep snow, in full larch glory and in various states in between.

Rockwall (early September 2008)

Rockwall (late September 2007)

We set out early hitting the trail at 7:30AM. It was a little rude but we were planning to take some time to enjoy ourselves along the way and the 55km trail has crazy amounts of elevation gain along the way (close to 3000m) so we figured it was worth the early start to avoid a night run out.

Day 5 of the BUTT saw Leslie, Angela, myself, Miles and Bryon along with Ian who joined us for this last day to inspire us with some fresh legs.

Early morning mist

The run into Floe Lake left us soaked to the skin with fresh rain from all the jungle like undergrowth. Floe lake itself was spectacular as always with moody swirling clouds and breaking blue sky. From Floe we headed up and over Numa Pass, through more endless fields of flowers until we broke through the cloud and stared with awe at the land below.

Leslie at Floe lake

The trail was quiet although we did see the occasional hiker on their way between campsites, certainly it was surprisingly quiet for the last week in July.

Numa Pass

Into the void

From Numa Creek it's another big grunt up to Tumbling Pass through more jungle and across a barren rock slope. The reward is another incredible pass with a huge glacier. While we were refuelling a chunk of the glacier tumbled to the ground. On we went dropping down to Tumbling Creek and climbing yet again up to the junction with Whistling Pass. We carried on finally meeting a couple of hiking groups and enjoyed the amazing views of Limestone Peak before the final grunt up and over Limestone Pass. From there it's pretty much an 18km cruise down to Helmet Falls and back out to the car. We arrived back in 12 hours flat.

Bryon vs Rockwall

The BUTT Epic was over, 5 days, 170kms and a brain overflowing with images of the beauty in which we live.

Probably the best week of my life...

More photos from Day 5

The B.U.T.T. Epic 2009 (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:45:00 +0000

Day 4: Sunshine/Healy/Whistling/Ball Pass to Hwy 93 (~30kms)

Whistling Pass

I'd hate to try and pick favourites on this trip but day 4 was definitely well up there. The variety that we experienced in 30kms was incredible.
The day started at Sunshine Village. We lost Bryon to a hectic work schedule but gained Jen, Iris & Catherine as well as Miles who was back after his break.
The seven of us headed off up towards Healy Pass and it wasn't long before the crazy flowers started to show their faces. By the time we go to the pass we must have seen millions and millions of them and I can't recall ever being so blown away by such a display.

Floral Insanity

Leslie and I had run the other way over the pass about 6 weeks ago and laid the first human tracks in the snow so it was pretty cool to see what had happened in those few weeks.
The flowers continued as we dropped down to Egypt Lake before refueling and starting up towards Whistling Pass. On the way we took a worthy detour to Scarab lake and then carried on to the top of the pass. I hadn't been to Whistling Pass before but I think it is my new favourite in the area. The screaming cruise through the rock garden on the other side was just awesome. Once we were off the pass we were into lush lake habitat but it wasn't long before we were climbing again, up and over Ball Pass. Back in the rocks it seemed like the variety would never end. It didn't.

Into the burn

We carried on over the pass, through more crazy flowers and onto another open rocky section before suddenly crossing into the burned forest. Huge forest fires a few years ago left a large section of forest burned to a crisp. I actually love this area as it is such a great contrast of black charred trees, fresh green lodgepole and bright pink fireweed.
We cruised for a few more kilometers before hitting the highway at Floe Lake for another tailgate party by the river.
One day left and we saved the big one for last.

More photos from Day 4

The B.U.T.T. Epic 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:28:00 +0000

Well what a week that was...

Happiness is...

We covered something like 170 kms including 11 passes over 2000 meters.
We saw osprey, bald eagle, marmot, pika, moose, frogs, ermine, mountain goat and the cutest baby gophers you could ever hope to see.
We ran through dense, wet jungle vegetation, over bare rocky passes, through sweet meadow singletrack, into burnt forest, through endless meadows of incredible flowers and over crazy boulder fields. We met a few hikers along the way but for the most part it was all ours.
Apart from a few minor scrapes we all came out of it in one piece and with the same stupid ass grins all over our faces.

For some people a week at the beach is what it takes to kick back. For me this was as good as it gets...

Day 1: Galatea Lake/Guinn's Pass/Buller Pass/Spray Lakes (~21kms)

Lunch at Galatea Lake

Dropping off Guinn's Pass

Our first day was a relatively easy one with about 21kms of running and 2 mountain passes (both over 2400m mind you). We (Me, Miles, Leslie, Bryon and Angela) started at the trailhead for Galatea Lake and ran up to Lilian Lake and the higher up Galatea Lake before retracing our steps and grunting up Guinn's Pass. The last time I was here we ended the day almost hypothermic so it was a pleasure to see the rain hold off. After chatting with some locals on top of Guinn's we dropped down into the saddle and crossed over to Buller Pass. The last time I was here we ended the day almost hypothermic so it was a pleasure to see no snow today.
It was an easy cruise out to Spray Lakes road and the waiting van. Keith and Meghan were the hero's of the week driving our vehicle all over the place so that we would never have to worry about getting home. Thanks guys!
We stopped at Miles' place for awesome burgers and beer and then headed home to pack for the next stage.

More photos from Day 1

Day 2: Mount Shark/Wonder Pass/Assiniboine (~25kms + 6kms)

Marvel Lake

Mt. Assiniboine & Lake Magog

Miles couldn't join us for the next two days but he very graciously drove us to the end of Spray Lakes road and kicked us out. We were loaded up with bigger packs with sleeping bags and food for our 2 day venture through Assiniboine to Sunshine Village.
It was raining intermittently on the drive out but we started our run rain free.
The first few kms is much like many other approaches and it was good to chat with everyone and pass the time. Before long we were at the amazing Marvel Lake. Definitely a place to go camping with a good book and no real itinerary. From Marvel we started the steady climb up culminating in the steep push over Wonder Pass. As we hit the pass it started to rain but it was short lived and pretty much the only rain we had all week.
Way up above the pass we watched a crazy mountain goat doing his thing. Once we were over the pass we cruised into Assiniboine and hit the lodge for afternoon tea and loaves.
Our home for the night was a little cabin (one of the Naiset Cabins) so we dropped our stuff and went for a bonus loop around Magog, Sunburst & Cerulean Lakes.
We cooked up dinner in the awesome food shelter and hung there until it was getting dark. Off to bed for a good night's sleep before the next leg of our adventure.

More photos from Day 2

Day 3: Assiniboine/Valley of the Rocks/Sunshine (~40kms)

Bryon Leslie, Angela & Me

Sweet singletrack

We were up early and on the trail by 8:30. The rainy/cloudy weather from yesterday had cleared and we had blue skies and big grins.
This section was awesome and we cruised through the meadows, past Og Lake and into the Valley of the Rocks. I don't know the geological background but I'm pretty sure someone, or more likely something, just dumped a ridiculously huge pile of rocks into the valley. For a while there we were threading our way through massive boulders before breaking out into the open mountain side again. That signals the start of the climb up and over Citadel Pass. It's another big grunt but like them all the view at the top is well worth it.
From Citadel Pass we dropped down towards Sunshine, the singletrack trail is beautiful and runs past Howard Douglas lake before hitting the bussed in tourists at Sunshine Meadows. We cruised down the uninspiring ski-out to our waiting vehicle complete with chips, coke and cookies.

More photos from Day 3

Stay tuned for Days 4 & 5

Gone Running

noreply@blogger.com (Mike) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:25:00 +0000

Singletrack at Sunshine

Having a blast at the BUTT Epic.

Here are the photos from the first 3 days:

Day 1 (Galatea Lake/Guinn's Pass/Buller Pass/Spray Lakes)
Day 2 (Mount Shark/Wonder Pass/Assiniboine/Overnight at Naiset Cabins)
Day 3 (Assiniboine/Valley of the Rocks/Sunshine)