Wild Idaho Endurance Run 50K

Iliotibal band is a tendon that runs on the lateral side of your leg connecting to the top of the hip and to the lateral side of the knee. The band is crucial to stabilizing the knee during running, as it moves from behind the femur to the front of the femur during activity. The continual rubbing of the band over the lateral femoral epicondyle, combined with the repeated flexion and extension of the knee during running may cause the area to become inflamed.

I have been experiencing this problem for about three weeks now but it hasn't really been too bad. However its been limiting my capabilities. I wasn't even sure if I was going to do this race and didn't even decide until two days before the race. My deciding factor was not going and regretting the fact that I should have. So after a 4 hour drive through central Idaho and a cold morning there I was at the starting line, wondering what I was doing there.

Seventeen miles later I was halfway through the race and was ahead of my race pace, which was surprising since I had a bum leg. My leg felt good hiking up hills but it hurt coming down. Luckily everyone that I ran into was having problems of there own. My friend from college that blew me off the starting line I passed at about mile 18 because his calves were hurting him. I passed a few more girls that looked strong at the beginning of the race but they ran into a knee and GI problems. The uphills killed them but that's where I was strong, and the only thing that I trained on from my last race. I practically spent my weekends with a thirty pound pack hiking the hills.

Once I got to the last hill climb I knew I could no longer run. It was seven miles to the finish line and I had to walk the rest but I was happy that I made it this far because I just wanted to finish the race. If I made it to the junction at mile 4 without anyone passing me I could finish the race strong with no one going in front of me and putting me farther in the rankings. From the top to the junction I hiked like a mad man, trying to keep a 15 minute mile pace. I made it to the junction and did a fist pump because no one had passed me. But not a second later two girls where coming behind me, so I filled up my bottle with water real quick and hit the trail. A few minutes later the one girl passed me but I made sure to keep her in my sights because we still had a bit of a hill climb before the finish. Sure enough she burned out and I was able to pass her and I even was able to run downhill to finish strong. I crossed the finish line so relieved and overwhelmed by the  sweet finishing prize. I was also really surprised when I was handed a gift card for being the 3rd Overall Male, there must have only been 3 males that raced in the 50K. Not to bad for having a bum leg, I just wished I had a good leg to run that course to see what I could have done.

Official Race Results

Chip Time: 8:25:26

Gender Place: 3rd
Overall Place: 6/28

White Clouds: Some views are meant to be taken in with a shortness of breath

Four Lakes Basin

What can I say about the White Clouds, if you haven't been yet you need to because your missing out on one of Idaho's secret gems. I absolutely love the White Clouds and claim them as my backyard since I was practically raised there and what better way of getting back there by showing them off to a few friends.

Justin

Four Lakes

I really wanted to do the Big Boulder Chain since I have only been to a few of those lakes but I thought I would take these guys through the portion of the White Clouds that I know the best. So we started at the Fourth of July trail head and hiked up to Fourth of July Lake, headed over to Born Lakes and then over the top to Four Lakes Basin and down into Quiet Lake to camp for the night. The hike took us longer then expected and was harder than I had thought. The views were sweet though and I was stoked to be in the White Clouds again for a fun filled adventure. Above Four Lakes Basin I think the boys wanted to kill me since I told them that the first day would be an easy short hike just over two passes. When we got to Quiet Lake we set up camp as we fought of the mosquitoes and got a few hours of fishing in before we called it a night. I was surprised that we didn't catch much at Quiet since it produces some bigger fish than other lakes in the White Clouds.

Quiet Lake

Castle Peak

Scree Lake

Scree and Shallow Lake

The next day we were going to focus on fishing as much as possible especially with all the lakes that we were going to hit. I told Justin that if he came with me into the White Clouds I would get him on as many fish as he wanted. Even to the extent of being tired of catching fish. The first lake that we came across was Scree Lake. When we got there the fish were rising like it was raining. The first fish that we saw were maybe a foot of the bank feeding. So I turned to Justin to see if he wanted to have a contest of how many fish we could catch while we were in the White Clouds and after we set some grounds rules the fishing was on. Justin had the first fish on but it got off and his line got caught in the trees so that gave me the opportunity to catch the first fish at Scree. I caught at least ten fish at every lake that I fished because you just get tired after ten. We eventually left Scree and Shallow to head to Lonesome Lake via Windy Devil.

Little Boulder Chain

After having lunch at Windy Devil we dropped down to Scoop Lake to drop our packs and grab what we need to head to Lonesome. It didn't take us to long to get to Lonesome with Justin leading, he was a beast blazing up the hill, I even had a tough time keeping up with him. But after awhile we made it to the second highest lake in Idaho standing at 10435 ft, 3 ft shorter than Goat Lake in the Pioneer Mountains.

These Boys

Views from Lonesome

It didn't take long to start seeing fish. I missed a few in the first couple minutes but that wasn't going to stop me. After I hooked into the first one, the excitement set in and the fishing was one. Each one that I hooked into it felt like I hooked a rock but I just took notes from Jeremy Wade and felt confident in my equipment and set the hook hard. It was an awesome feeling to land these hogs. I just wish Justin would have hooked into one and watch him fight until his Tenkara Rod broke. I would have camped out all week to get tickets to that show.

After we came off Lonesome, Justin and Colt had there time at Hummock Lake. After I caught my limit of ten fish while Justin was setting up his rod I told him to come over to my spot and fish with a dry. I just sat there and watched him and Colt pull in a fish on every cast until I had enough and we moved on to the next lake. That day we hit 9 lakes and fished all of them. The next day we had planned on dropping down into the valley and hike to Castle lake after we fished Hatchet and Willow Lake in the morning. We caught a few more fish here and there as we went but when we got to Chamberlain Basin where we had planned on camping for the night Colt wanted to hike out to make it to church the next day. So we made a group decision to hike out based on Colt buying us dinner when we got to Sun Valley. I'm glad it was Colts decision to hike out because it was brutal on all of us. I thought we would make it to the car in two hours but it really took us three hours of power hiking. When we got to Sun Valley it was way to late and everyone was tired. We eventually made it home at 11:30 pm, with one heck of an adventure. Oh yeah Justin caught 63 fish and I caught 98 fish.

"The Lord has blessed us all today... It's just that he has been particularly good to me".

--Norman Maclean

Castle Peak

Justin, Colt and Me

Boulder Lake: I Keep Myself So Lifted I Am Accustomed To New Heights

Head of Boulder Creek

So this weekend I had planned on doing an overnighter up into Wildhorse to hit a few lakes. Some of those lakes I have been to and a few of them I have not. I have been to a few for work but ones that I get paid for I don't count for my overall total number of lakes I have been to in the Lost River Ranger District. So far I have been to about 41 lakes and I have three lakes left to go to; Boulder and Washington being two of those three. The idea on Friday was to hike to Boulder Lake and fish for a bit and then proceed to go find Washington Lake.

Devils Bedstead Right

Boulder Lake

When I woke up Friday I was think about the day ahead of me and all of a sudden I remembered that there is a big stream crossing and it was going to be cold. So after thinking about that stream crossing my morning slowed down a bit knowing that I would have to cross one of the coldest streams on the district early in the morning. Ever since I got diabetes, stream crossings have gotten harder for me. I always have to be careful not to cut my feet up on the stream bed and about halfway through the stream all the blood rushes to my core making me feel shaky like I have low blood sugar. But after debating whether or not to leave my shoes on and cross or take them off I final took my shoes off and fought through the pain but I'm glad I took my shoes off because I hate walking in wet shoes all day.

Wolverine Print

Wolverine Tracks

The rest of the morning went pretty good. My legs felt solid even after a long week of busting out miles of trail work and going 10 miles the day before packing a chainsaw. I cruised up to the lake a lot faster then I had expected. When I got up to the lake it was just getting hit by the sun, perfect time for the fish to start feeding but that wasn't the case. They where feeding but they where also getting ready to spawn so they didn't want anything to do with me and after an hour of a few bites here and there I just continued to let them do there thing and moved on to find Washington Lake.

Boulder Creek

Little Boulder Lake, Unofficial Name

Devils Bedstead 11865 ft

Long-toed Salamander

Long-toed Salamander

From Boulder Lake the plan was to wrap around the mountain and just sidehill all the way to Washington Lake but that was easier said then done. I'm always worried about getting cliffed out on this rocky terrain because once you get cliffed out you lose all that hard work that you did keeping that elevation and even gaining some in the mean time. Well sure enough I did get cliffed out and finally had to make the smart decision and just drop down and go around the cliffs. This took longer then I thought and wiped me out. Once I got above the first ledge where the waterfalls were, I was tired enough to the point that I would probably hurt my chances off getting to Airplane and Arrowhead the following day. So I made the smart decision that costed me the opportunity of knocking Washington Lake off my list.

I only hiked a bit longer until I looked around and saw a bench where a lake could sit but my maps didn't show the lake sitting under the Devils Bedstead so I figured it wasn't going to be up there. I looked behind me and spotted a lake that I felt confident it was it, mainly because I didn't want to hike up to that bench, so I decided that was the lake. When I arrived to the lake there was no fish to been seen but I did see a ton of salamanders that took me by surprise. I didn't think that they could live that high up in a mountain lake but there was a ton of them so they must be doing well. On the way out I began having problems with a tight IT band. It has been acting up every once in awhile but I have been able to push through it. As I continued to walk out it just wouldn't go away and kept getting worse, so by the time I reached the trail head I decided to opt out of the Airplane and Arrowhead trip to try and focus on this problem so I could run in my upcoming races in a few weeks. When I got back to my car I pulled out my Backpacker TOPO and saw that I was about 100 yards from Washington Lake. With that being said I still want to go back up to Washington Lake and would still love to do Airplane and Arrowhead in a day. With those trips, I have a good excuse to go back to Wildhorse.

Devils Bedstead

Wildhorse Canyon

Lakes of the Lost River Ranger District

Swauger Lake                     Long Lake                       Clear Lake                            Wildhorse Lake #5

Pass Lake                            Rough Lake                     Bellas Lake                          Wildhorse Lake #6

Merriam Lake                      Big Lake                          Bellas Lake #2                     Wildhorse Lake #7

Carlson Lake                       Golden Lake                    Fall Creek Lake                   Wildhorse Lake #8

Corral Lake                          Green Lake                      Fall Creek Lake #2              Boulder Lake

Fishpole Lake                      Starhope Lake                 Angel Lake                           Kane Lake

Iron Bog Lake                      Baptie Lake                     Moose Lake                         Grant Creek Lake

Bobber Lake                        Goat Lake                       Moose Lake #2                     Lehman Lake

Brockie Lake                       Betty Lake                       Arrowhead Lake

Round Lake                         Bench Lake                      Airplane Lake

Gone to But Doesnt Have Fish

Surprise Valley Lake #1

Surprise Valley Lake #2

Bellas Lake #3

Still Left To Do

Washington Lake

Big Fall Creek Lake

Fall Creek Loop: Before I Lose My Mind

Head of Fall Creek

Fall Creek Lake #1

Fall Creek Lake #1

After every big race that I run I always take two weeks off of any running for rest but by the end of two weeks I'm just itching to go out for some long miles. So this week after our long road trip I needed to get out and get some miles in before I lose my mind. Since our trip didn't go the way we planned we ended it early, so at the last minute I decided to do the Fall Creek Loop. I have been wanting to do this trip for the last couple of years now and have done it but I wanted to do it all in one day because we did it in one day 13 years ago when I was about 10 years old. Its a hard loop to do with 3500 feet of elevation gain and decent over about 13 miles but I knew I could do it with all my ultra marathon training and racing background.

Fall Creek Lake #2

Fall Creek Lake #2

I wanted to start pretty early because it was hot the day before and it was going to be hot that day too, so I started at the trail head at 7 and I didn't get hit by the sun until 9, an hour later and I was at the first lake. What I love about Fall Creek is all the amazing views and how you never seem to run into anyone. When I left this morning there was 8 cars parked at the trail head and I only saw five people all day. But going to some remote places also helps. When I was hiking up to the head of Fall Creek I'm always on the lookout for mountain goats because its prime area for them; rocky cliffs, a few meadows and no people to worry about. I was also thinking that if I ever went hermit this would be the place where I would live. I would catch me a baby mountain goat and raise it as my own. We would hike all day over the Pioneers until one of us dies and I would be know as the man with a mountain goat. Just some food for thought, maybe after college.

Mountain Goats Point of View

Angel Lake

Angel Lake

West

North

East

When I finished the loop, it wasn't as tough as I thought it would be and I wasn't even that tired. When I got home I was comparing it to my recent ultra race and I would have to do the Fall Creek Loop twice to even come close to the elevation gain of the River of No Return 50K, and three times for the elevation gain of my upcoming race Wild Idaho. Over the years I have always been thinking about a unique race that I could come up with and this loop would be perfect for it. This race would consist of two things; running and fishing. In this race you would have to run the distant but you would have to stop at every lake and catch a fish before you could move on. I somewhat gave it a try today. I was able to catch a fish at every lake in a matter of minutes but I continued to fish because I needed to enjoy myself somehow don't I. If it was a race my time would be 10 hours, I started at the trail head at 7am and got done at 5pm, can anyone beat that?

Standhopes 60K Monster

Ultra Training

Moose Lakes

Moose Lake #2

Moose Lake

Golden At Fall Creek #1

Cutbow At Fall Creek #2

Cutbow At Angel Lake

Brookie At Moose Lake #2

Brookie At Moose Lake

After the day was over I was thinking on the car ride home about how light my backpack was and how it didn't weigh me down at all. So I thought I would write a list of what I had and what improvements I could make on it and some things I could add to make it into a lightweight overnighter. So here is what I have so far and on the side I wrote what I used. My pack weighed a total of 15 pounds and with my overnighter stuff it weighed at 20 pounds. I'm interested to give it a try, maybe this weekend if I can get someone to go with me.

My Lightweight Backpack Gear

Lightweight Backpack List
Gregory Z30--Used
Clothing:
Stoic Vaporshell Rain Jacket
Patagonia Down Jacket
Saucony River of No Return Jacket--Used
Minnesota Twins Hat
Gear:
Two Salmon-Challis Maps
Small Notebook with Pens--Used
Ruler/Earplugs
First Aid Kit--Used
TP/Sunscreen/Bodyglide/Chapstick--Used
Camera/Tripod--Used
Two Knifes/Fire starter
Para cord/Sunglasses
Ipod Nano/Yurbuds Ironman Headphones--Used
Petzl Headlamp
Wallet
Katadyn Water Filter--Used
Fishing Gear:
2x/3x Tippet--Used
Flybox--Used
Forceps
8wt Flyrod--Used
Food:
Nalgene 32oz--Used
Two PPJ Sandwiches
Two Poptarts
Two Granola Bars
Trail Mix
Pudding
One GU Brew Tablet

Stuff For Overnighter
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pad
3M Plastic Tarp
Pocket Rocket/Fuel
GSI Halulite Minimalist