Girls Gone Wildwood

Top of Saltzman 2024   Susan and I decided to run 24 miles to kick off 2024. As I was looking through our previous routes, I found one called ' 24 mile taper run ', which seemed perfect - how hard can a taper run be? I didn't scrutinize the route closely. Nine miles in, I realized we had to run from the bottom to the very top of Saltzman. Who does that as part of a taper? Apparently, we did, ten years ago. Upon reaching the summit, I had Susan take a photo in the same spot as before. It felt great to push ourselves, which we plan to continue in 2024. Same route, different year -- 2014 Honesty, I love that we are still running routes we created 10 years ago, may be a bit slower though but who cares. I love that for us! 

Before we dive in let's level-set on the fun scale. Many outdoor enthusiasts use it to measure the type of fun they have or have had. Here are the different levels of fun ( borrowed from REI ): Type 1 Fun: Enjoyable while it's happening. It's straightforwardly fun and pleasurable. Type 2 Fun: Not necessarily enjoyable in the moment but becomes fun in retrospect or when sharing the story with others. Type 3 Fun: Not fun at the time and not fun in retrospect, but often leads to personal growth or a sense of achievement. 2023 started as type 3 fun for me. I was dealing with the loss of my mom, working for a toxic, gaslighting boss, and then losing my job at the end of January. I wasn’t upset about losing my job– it was an awful situation– but that is a story for another time. I was not excited about looking for a job when almost every tech company laid off folks. But this is a running blog, not my life story blog (though sometimes these things are very intertwined). Some peopl...

Welcome back to our blog and our only race review of 2023! This time, we're sharing our experience at the Deception Pass 25k – a true PNW trail runner's dream in the heart of Deception Pass State Park.  A Weather Miracle! We feel incredibly fortunate about the weather during the race. Having known the 50k runners battled through some pretty tough conditions the day before, we geared up for the worst. But, as luck would have it, we were greeted with near-perfect weather on race day. Clear skies, gentle breezes, and just the right amount of sunshine made our run more enjoyable than we could have hoped for. Lollipop Loops: A Sweet Surprise One of the most exciting aspects of the Deception Pass 25k is its infamous 'lollipop loops'. These trails, winding and unpredictable, add an element of surprise and fun that you don't often find in other races. Every twist and turn brought a new landscape into view; we ran through rocky trails, dense forest and a seaweed laden beach...

Life got in the way of our usual summer of adventures, but we made time in early September for two nights camping AND RUNNING in central Oregon. The second day, we decided to do a loop near Mt Jefferson to Pamelia Lake and Hunts Cove. I had still never been to Pamelia Lake, despite trying for YEARS-- between permits, wildfires, and other disasters, we always had to change those plans. Our happy place We got to the trailhead in the evening and settled in to eat dinner, relax, and enjoy the company of a family of deer who came to hang out. It was peaceful and perfect. We made a tentative plan to head out in a clockwise direction to get Jefferson views first, in case we didn't feel up to the full 17 mile loop after the previous day's run. Cedar explores a creek Spoiler alert: the day was perfect and we did the whole loop. It was absolutely magical, with glorious weather, perfect conditions, and the absolute joy of spending time together. I hope this becomes a September tradition f...

mom & me - Maui 2022 I can’t believe it is already April 2023 and I haven’t written the 2022 recap blog post. The year end recap blog posts are always my favorite to write. We always have so many adventures that it’s a lot of fun to remember everything we did and accomplished. 2022, isn't different in that regard but what is different is how 2022 ended for me. My mom passed away at the end of 2022, which made it hard for me to do much more than get through each day and reflecting on the year was the last thing I wanted to do. She has only been gone 7 months and it is still hard for me to think back to last year and write this.  Six years ago my mom was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a condition in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult. The doctor told her she had 3-5 years to live, well she showed them wrong. Despite the diagnosis and outlook, she remained one of the most positive people I knew, even up to her last day....