The inspiration for this little project came from coach Jessica Kelley way back in 2015, who that year was ticking off routes in the UltraPedestrian Wilderness Challenge. Jessica did a point-to-point hike/trail run from Easy Pass trailhead to Thunder Creek trailhead. In her trip report she mentioned that some folks bike back to the start to make it a loop. Did someone say … [Read more...] about The Easy Pass Duathlon
Backcountry travel
Hiking Gothic Basin
Starting at Barlow Pass on the Mountain Loop Highway, the hike to Gothic Basin rewards a strenuous effort with a gorgeous dual cirque dotted with ponds and lakes. Unless you do an early season hike, in which case the basin is a vast snowfield. In the Cascades, the timing of "early season" conditions varies depending on the winter's snowfall. The drive from … [Read more...] about Hiking Gothic Basin
XWA 2021: Day 3 on the SVT
Tuesday May 25th, was day 3 of XWA21 (Cross Washington Bikepacking). Most of the riders had finished the ferry ride to Edmonds, and were headed towards Snoqualmie Pass. The contenders were a day ahead, and making their way to Wenatchee. I drove to the Tokul Tunnel then pedaled northwest on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail to see who'd be willing to do mid-ride … [Read more...] about XWA 2021: Day 3 on the SVT
XWA 2021: Ride Leaders at ~36 Hours
Sunday morning, 45 riders began the ~697-mile two-wheeled adventure from Rialto Beach to Tekoa near the Idaho border. Andy Leveto and Fabien Le Gallo were first to make the Kingston-Edmonds ferry at 9:35 Monday morning. Fabien was having trouble getting his rear tubeless tire to seal. Unfortunately he wasn't able to get a shop to help with a fix, so he put a tube in the … [Read more...] about XWA 2021: Ride Leaders at ~36 Hours
Gearing up for a Bikepacking Epic
Although Jamie Van Beek and Corbin Hudacek had to alter their Hood River to Canada bikepacking plans because of the 2020 smokestorm, they meticulously planned on being self-sufficient for seven days. Here are their gear lists with an important caveat: For a ride this long, it's likely that the food at the start of the ride will outweigh all the other gear combined. Jamie's … [Read more...] about Gearing up for a Bikepacking Epic