Laborday '08

I had a couple days off work, so naturally I took off running in the Columbia River Gorge....

It was a weekend of running, hiking, swimming, relaxing, playing, sweating, smiling, grimmacing, and enjoying the beautiful North West.

Words wont do it justice, so I'll leave you with a couple videos and some of my favorite pictures I took.

Leaves are already changing color!

Nutrition!.... (I did have some healthy stuff too)

Enjoying being up there

Sunset

Another view of the Sunset

Sunrise against Mt. Hood

Sunrise in the Columbia River Gorge

Watching the Sunrise

The cliffs I slept atop (1,000ft sheer drop and the rock fallout extends another 1,000ft) reflecting the sunrise

I love it out here

I slept at the precepice of that cliff!

These little guys were all over the place!

YAY!!!!

Long Weekend: Oregon Track / Obama / (Almost) Clear Trails

After working the last 10 days in a row, I was in much need of a break, and it just so happened that I had been given tickets to Oregon Twilight, so as soon as work finished on Friday, I took off for Track Town USA.

I got to Eugene with about an hour to spare, just enough time to find a parking space in a university town, but I did eventually find a spot, and then my seat. I was seated right in the middle of the Old East Grandstands at Hayward Field (which also happens to be the logo for the ’08 Olympic Trials at the same venue) and I had a perfect view of the Track.


I was thoroughly enjoying the events (the Steeplechase is my favorite) and then something perplexing happened. It was the middle of the Women’s 5,000meter race, Tasmin Fanning of Virginia Tech was on her way to setting a school-record time of 15:47.90, and in this city of track lovers, all the camera men were rushing into the SE corner of Hayward field away from the action. I soon heard murmurs from those around me, “Barak Obama’s here!”…. “Barak Obama’s here!” Sure enough, upon the conclusion of the race, Obama entered the arena surrounded by a throng of cameramen, journalists, and secret service agents. Several of those around me rushed down to the track to get a closer look, and Obama continued onto Hayward field, first over to the East Grandstands, where I was, to shake hands, and then across the field over to the West Grandstands again shaking hands, meeting the athletes, and kissing babies. On his way out of the arena, he even “jumped” a hurdle. It was all quite a spectacle for the 5,000+ spectators present (Oregon loves its Track), and worth the 20min delay of all running events.

As exciting as it was to see Obama show up at the track, I don’t know that it equaled the excitement during the men’s 1,500meter. Oregon’s own Andrew Wheating, Sophomore, hung in the middle of the pack for the majority of the race, but with 200meters left, he took off in a seemingly effortless burst of speed and seemed to fly by his competition. The roar that rose from the crowd was deafening, and cheered him to a commanding victory. Wheating’s time, 3:38.60, is not only the sixth fastest on Oregon’s History, but also the fastest time, set by any American, so far this season. What a way to end a meet!

I spent most of Saturday and Sunday with family and not doing a whole lot of running, but come Monday, I was ready to hit the trails.

I got out into the Columbia River Gorge about 7:00am, and was running at about 15 after. I took off down the beautiful Gorge Trail headed out toward Cascade Locks and jumped onto the Pacific Crest Trail, heading south. I have no better way to describe the run than “fragrant.” Wildflowers were blooming, and I didn’t even have to stop to smell them. I also came across quite a few little creatures: snakes and salamanders, and evidences of larger creatures: elk tracks about 5 inches wide and about 7 inches long. Some animals where acting quite comical: a robin pecking at a worm who, every time I got within 10ft, would pick up the worm, run down the trail a little way, and resume pecking at the worm. I took it easy, I was out there more to enjoy the experience than to beat myself to a pulp, and when I got up to about 3,500 ft I got to play in the snow a little bit. I found out that above that elevation, the snow is still a good 4 ft deep, so it’ll be a little while before I can run my entire loop (climbing up to over 4,300ft in elevation) but I did get a good 30 miles in. After I had to turn back, I started to get an intense headache which made running excruciatingly painful, so I did the best thing I knew how: I got some fresh mountain-spring water, found a comfortable rock off the path a little ways, and took a 2hr long nap. I woke feeling refreshed and ready to run.

I spent about 10hrs up there taking pictures, playing in the snow, doing a little running, having lunch, taking a nap, chasing wildlife, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the wilderness. Only a couple weeks till 20th century 100k, and I promise to pick up the pace a little. Ha ha. My goal is to run a Spartathlon qualifier after all.


For all pictures I took during the weekend..... go here

Until next time,
Tim

Labor Day Trail Run

Well yesterday I tried out a new trail, and it was incredible! I ran over 40 miles with a cumulative elevation change of well over 12,000ft!

I got out the door at about 5:20am to drive out to the Columbia River Gorge just before Hood River to run on Eagle Creek Trail. At 6:34 I was out on the trail. It was my first time on the route, so I decided to bring my little Olympus camera along so that I could share the experience with all of you. All the way up Eagle Creek Trail through Tunnel Falls and up to Wahtum Lake, there were literally dozens of waterfalls, and there were miles of cliff exposure! I was, by far, some of the most beautiful land I have ever run! With every turn there was a picture just waiting to be taken, but I did have to pass on some of them because, after all, this was supposed to be a trail RUN.

Once I got up to Wahtum Lake, I ran around it linking up to the Pacific Crest Trail, and climbed up and over Chinidere Mountain. When I reached the highpoint of the trail on Chinidere (approx. 4,300 ft above sea level, I had started at 110) I climbed up the incredibly steep hillside so I could get some pictures from atop Chinidere. From that point I could see Mount Hood, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens. I slid back down the embankment and continued on my way. Pretty soon I was saying to myself, “Wasn’t I just in a temperate rainforest!?” I had reached a part of the trail in which stone spires and dead, bleached-white trees stretched out toward the sun. I continued along the PCT up to Benson Plateau (elevation 4100 ft), and turned down Bensons Way to the Ruckel Creek Trail. Running on Bensons Plateau was a little nerve racking. The trails were so indistinct that had I strayed from the path… I doubt that I would have been able to find the trail again. And then I had to descend Bensons Plateau to get back to Eagle Creek. There were points at which I dropped a good 1,000 ft in elevation within about ½ mile. It felt more like a weight training session than it did a trail run. Some of the trail was so steep it almost felt like to go from standing vertically to sitting on my butt wouldn’t have been much of a journey.


I finally reached my car 9hours 15minutes and 41seconds after I had taken off. I defiantly want to go back and do it again, but I would almost rather make a weekend of it and bring a nicer camera and a tripod, than to just run. Some of the trail was fairly rugged, and there were some downed trees lying across the path, but that’s the fun of trail running. Next time I run this, instead of running all the way to Bensons Plateau, I’ll turn at the previous path to get back down to Eagle Creek and out of the hot sun, and it would add at least another mile to the route, but it would be an easier decent than to run down Ruckel Creek. Another thing about Ruckel Creek, there was no creek as far an I saw.

Until Next Time
-Tim Lawson-