Stuke Sowle: #everysinglesummit
Although 44-year-old Stuke Sowle has only been running for about five years, he has been feverishly working on ambitious projects that are animating the PNW running community. He dubbed his most recently completed adventure #everysinglesummit. The #everysinglesummit idea was based on a Strava trend in which folks cycle every single …
Team UltraPedestrian Completes First UP North Loop
Although 100-mile ultra runs are a relatively popular “thing” these days, several regional athletes are upping the ante just a tad. A few recent “ultra-ultra” projects include: 1. In the summer of 2017 mother/daughter duo Tania and Martina Halik became the second team to ski the entire 2,300km length of …
Hummel and Miller Traverse the Cascade Crest
A traverse of the Cascade crest from Mt. Baker to Mt. Rainer was first envisioned in the early 1980s by legendary Cascade skier, mountaineer, and historian Lowell Skoog. Skoog’s version of the traverse was comprised of ~18 segments, and after working on the project for 25 years, he finally completed …
Wonderland Trail 3 of 3: White River to Longmire
This is the third of a three-part series about doing a 3-day trail run/hike on the Wonderland Trail. It’s typically done as a week-long backpacking trip, or at the fast end of the spectrum, as a fast ultra run in under 1.5 days. To understand what is involved in a …
Larch Season Hike: Maple Pass Loop
Among the most popular fall hikes in the Cascades are those with abundant larch trees. The Maple Pass Loop near Rainy Pass on Highway 20 (aka “The North Cascades Highway”) offers a great mix of larches, views, meadows, and lakes. Larches are an unusual “deciduous conifer” whose needles change a …
Wonderland Trail 2 of 3: Mowich Lake to White River
This is the second of a three-part series about doing a 3-day trail run/hike on the Wonderland Trail. It’s typically done as a week-long backpacking trip, or at the fast end of the spectrum, as a fast ultra run in under 1.5 days. To understand what is involved in a …
Jessica Kelley: Solitude and Longing in the Yukon
I first got to know Coach Jessica Kelley in 2013 when she was a Cycle University coach. At the time she considered herself a triathlete and was training for the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon, an Ironman-scale competition with the ocean swim in a Fjord, and the run including a long mountain …
Wonderland Trail 1 of 3: Longmire to Mowich Lake
Mt. Rainer is visible from the Idaho border and from space. It’s an icon of the Pacific Northwest: 14,410’ of rock and ice rising up from the sea in an immense display of majestic beauty. Less obvious is the thin ribbon of trail circling the mountain, the Wonderland. The trail …
Trail Running in the North Cascades: Festival 542
Highway 542, the Mt Baker Scenic Byway, runs east-west from Bellingham to Artist Point. It is the access point to some of the Northwest’s best mountain terrain: fantastic trails, North Cascades National Park, mountaineering, skiing at Mt. Baker Ski Area, and some of the best backcountry skiing in North America …
Tyler Farrar Sighting at Lake Sammamish Half
You never know who are might see at our local running (or bicycle) races. 33-year old Tyler Farrar is a Wenatchee-born bike racer who ascended to the highest levels of the sport. His accomplishments include stage wins at the Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Tour de France, Three Days of …