High Adventure and Misdemeanors
A couple years back, I finally was able to complete a dream vacation to the running mecca of Flagstaff, Arizona with my daughter and good friends during our April break. Then a teacher, I needed to fit my trip around the confines of my job, so April vacation it was. We were able to tackle some great runs that were great adventures as well. The piece de resistance was Elizabeth’s 37 mile Rim to Rim to Rim run across the Grand Canyon, leaving us lesser beings to enjoy a ten mile jaunt into the canyon to Indian Springs and back. We also tackled the Hangover Trail in Sedona as well as the Fatman’s Trail and the Nate Avery Trail in Flagstaff itself.
The scope had been to experience Flagstaff as a pro runner would, to train twice a day and thrash myself at 7000 feet of elevation. While that didn’t exactly happen (thankfully) we did gain a great experience I wouldn’t trade for the world. We did a bit more sightseeing, and truth be told, I wasn’t prepared for the intended thrashing. It turned out to be a really great trip with really great traveling companions. So, why not do it again?
This winter I’ve begun to plan a trip to Washington State. Traditionally our district’s eighth grade class takes a trip to Washington, D.C. to see the monuments and kind of cap their middle school careers by learning in person a little more about this United States. I had been down in D.C. in January of Amelia’s eighth grade year with tickets to visit the Capitol; however, my daughter didn’t want to go as she was supposed to go with her classmates. Then COVID hit. While I didn’t have a desire to recreate her eighth grade experience, I told her I’d take her to Washington, just the state, not the district.
When I was working on my Master’s program the capstone project was a weeklong trip to western Washington for field camp. During that trip we made a whirlwind tour of Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier, Mt. St. Helens and worked our way east across the Cascades. I got a snapshot of what the Pacific Northwest is like, but traveling with 25 other teachers is not the adventure experience I look forward to. So now that the opportunity arises, I look to make an adventure out of it.
At this point, Elizabeth and Jake are on board again, which certainly cranks the running amp up a notch or two. Amelia would be happy with less running and more sight seeing, so I am tasked with creating a solid running experience that doesn’t completely tick off my daughter. Elizabeth has requested, as expected, some epic run and I think I’ve figured out how to get her one (or maybe three!) without totally alienating my daughter before she goes off to college (or killing me).
The current plan is to leave NH somewhere around June 9th, with a return date by the 16th. The hope is to pick up our rental and get out into the Olympic Peninsula and sightsee/run/hike the switchbacks on Hurricane Ridge. The next day is a two mile run around Lake Crescent to Devil’s Punch bowl for a quick dip and a visit to the Pacific Ocean at Rialto Beach. The next day has one of the long run options, 18.5 miles into Blue Glacier on the Hoh River Valley Trail. I’ll be turning around at 5 Mile Island, still making it a long run for me.
Our fourth day, I will get some running respite as we leave the Olympic Peninsula and head out towards Mt. St. Helens and Mount Rainier. The hope is the next day to run 13 miles into Hart Lake via the Lily Basin Trail in Goat Rocks Recreation Area, where the alpine meadows will be extensively in bloom with wildflowers. For me, the next day is a short run on the Wonderland Trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier. Elizabeth wants to bite off a bit more, but it looks as if the heavy snows this winter might make long stretches impossible to navigate.
I’m sure things will shift and change over the coming months as things usually do. I’m looking forward to the adventure of it all, the time with friends of the same mind, looking for adventure in their travels. While I’m the type of guy who likes to manage the details, I am learning how to take in the experience when a well planned trip takes a wonky turn or two. And while much like my other running travel adventures have morphed along the way. I expect they will add to the adventure, not detract.
With five months to go before we end up in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve got some work to do to get this battered body into shape. With a 13 mile trail run at altitude on the schedule, along with other double digit runs and cramped car travel, I need to get my butt into gear. With snow falling outside the window as I write, I need to continue to link day after day of training, build up the mileage base, focus on stretching and mobility (so my back doesn’t size up like before) and put the training in. Like they say, hard work today for the gains of tomorrow. Make the work worth it.
See you out there.
