Showing posts with label Moscow Mountain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moscow Mountain. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Private Lands Trail

Another beautiful run on Moscow Mountain. I'll let the photos express the beauty and solitude that can be found in the mountains during the winter months.







Sunday, November 18, 2012

First Snow

When people talk of their favorite time of year, my mind wanders to the mountains, to that first snow fall when the trails undergo a metamorphosis. Lost beneath a heavy blanket of fresh snow the trails take on a new beauty. The woods become quieter and there is a stillness in the air. It's as if the mountains go into hibernation. Waiting until spring for warmer temperatures to melt the snow and bring life back to their slopes.

It is this time of year, this first snow, that I anxiously await. As summer slowly turns to fall and leaves finally start to disappear from the branches of the trees, I know we are close. When the temperature starts to drop towards freezing I find myself waking early each morning and looking towards Moscow Mountain, waiting to see is grandeur hidden by falling snow. 

And when those first flakes do start to fall, I'm ready. Ready to run the trails. To be apart of the magical metamorphosis that is occurring. To say goodbye to the mountain until it awakes again in the spring and welcome the peace and serenity that winter brings to the mountains.








Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Asotin Creek Adventures

Starting the climb up to the ridge line.

This past Saturday Scott, Knut and I headed down to Asotin Creek for another trail running adventure. After logging a solid 24 mile effort on Moscow Mountain the previous weekend we decided to bump the mileage up to 30 to allow for a little more exploration of this beautiful area.

The run was amazing. We ran through miles of wildflowers as we ascended the ridge line, dropped down an over grown trail into Asotin Creek and then made our way towards Mt. Misery. Unfortunately, the NF trail had long since fallen victim to mother nature so instead we chose to take the unknown and slightly overgrown S. Pinkham trail back up onto the ridge line.

The trail was steep. And in just under 2 miles we had gained the 3,000 ft we had descended just 4 miles previously. The views were breathtaking and we were excited to see that the ridge continued for as far as the eye could see. (up next...the Asotin Creek 50 miler?!)

After enjoying the views we doubled back to the S. Pinkham trail and dropped back down to Asotin Creek and enjoyed a mellow 10 mile run back out to the car. All in all we netted 30 miles with close to 7,000 ft of climbing and a little over 6 hrs of moving time.

Below is a photo essay of our run :-)

Tracks through the meadow
Taking advantage of a long forgotten trail
Running through miles of wildflowers
Knut leading the way down to Asotin Creek
Scott descending from the ridge to Asotin Creek
Posing for a quick photo
S. Pinkham...a new trail!
Beautiful groves of Ponderosa Pines
Climbing the S. Pinkham trail back to the ridge line
View along the ridge line after ascending the S. Pinkham trail
Descending the S. Pinkham trail back to Asotin Creek

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Week of January 23rd-29th.



My week by the numbers:

Monday:
2 loops of Headwaters. Descent of 2nd loop via road. Poor snow conditions made for slow going.
1 hr 39 min, 7.3 mi and 1440 ft.

Tuesday:
2 ascents via East Headwaters and descent via the road. Poor snow condition made for slow going.
1 hr 25 min, 6.8 and 1,300 ft.

Wednesday:
Off-1.5 hrs of foam rolling and stretching.

Thursday:
3 miles easy at the Kibbie w/ a couple stairs. 1.5 hrs of foam rolling and stretching.

Friday:
Travel day to Orcas Island. 7 hrs driving and 1.5 hr ferry ride. Short jog and south bend and 15 min walk w/ everyone after dinner.

Saturday:
Orcas Island 25k Race. Tough course. 15.5 miles w/ 4,200 ft of climbing. 2 hrs 30 min. 16th place. Race report to come!


Sunday:
Travel day back to CDA and then Moscow. 8.5 hrs of driving and a 1 hr ferry ride. Short stops to walk and stretch.

Total:
5 hrs 36 minutes, 28 miles and 7,000 ft.

An easy week of running leading into my first race of 2012. The race itself was spectacular and I can't wait to go back in 2013. I was thrilled to achieve my goal and finish in 2:30 for 16th place. Race report coming soon!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Bull Moose Video



Here's a short video of the Bull Moose I ran into last week on Moscow Mountain. Enjoy :-)

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Week of January 16th-22nd.

Below is a photo essay of this weeks runs on Moscow Mountain. Scroll down to my review of last weeks training and compare the above image with the one from a week ago. Winter has finally hit!

Monday: Fresh snow decorating the trees at the base of Headwaters trail. 6 inches at the trail head and over 12 inches at Paradise.

Tuesday: Another dumping of snow covered my tracks from the previous day. This shot was taken at the top of Deep V. 14+ inches of fresh snow at Paradise.



Thursday: Yesterday we received another duping, but overnight freezing rain came in leaving a 1/4-1/2 inch of ice covering 12+ inches of snow. This made for a slow and painful run. My shins are bruised and cut from breaking through the ice with every step.

Friday: Above freezing temps left the snow wet and heavy. Made for a slow snowshoe up the road to the Headwaters trail junction. However, blue skies and sunshine made the effort worthwhile :-)

My Dion 121 racers and Brooks Pure Grits. There's not a better combination for winter training in North Idaho!

My week by the numbers:

Monday:
Paradise (12+ inches of fresh snow)
1:43 hrs, 8.7 miles and 1900 ft

Tuesday:
Paradise (14+ inches of fresh snow)
2:05 hrs, 8.7 miles and 1900 ft

Wednesday:
Off

Thursday:
Headwaters (1/4-1/2 inch of ice over 12+ inches)
1:44 hrs, 5.3 miles and 1,100 ft

Friday:
Headwaters trail jxn and Paradise Rd (snowshoes: heavy, wet snow)
1:26 hrs, 6.2 miles and 1,200 ft

Saturday and Sunday:
Off-Heavy fatigue in left calf.

Total:
6 hrs 58 min, 28.9 miles and 6,100 ft.

I was hoping to log 45-50 miles with another 8,000 k of climbing this week, but it just wasn't in the cards. I woke up early Saturday morning to a throbbing left calf. Unfortunately this meant I had to abandon my plans for a snowshoe run up to Paradise on Saturday (sorry Scott and Damian) and a 15 miler on Sunday.

The calf itsself isn't injured, just fatigued from the training in heavy snow this week. I've had this happen once before and after 2 days off I was as good as new. Just a matter of listening to the body and taking time off when it's warranted.

This coming week will be fairly light as I'm racing the Orcas Island 25k this coming Saturday with my wife and a large group of my athletes. This will be a great race to gauge my current level of fitness after almost 6 months off due to shoulder surgery.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Bull Moose!


Less than 5 minutes into my run this morning I encountered a bull moose just a few hundred yards from the Headwaters trail head. I gave him his distance and he didn't seem to mind me following him as he meandered up the road, stopping occasionally to snack on some road side shrubs. After about 15 minutes he dropped of the road towards Pond 9 and I headed up the mountain for my run.

While not the largest moose I've come across on the mountain, he wasn't small by any means and I'm thrilled that I had the opportunity to see such a beautiful animal. He's the first moose I've seen down low so the snow must be getting pretty deep at higher elevations.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Week of January 9th-15th.

Monday:
Off

Tuesday:
2 loops of Headwaters
1:34 hrs, 9.05 mi and 2000 ft

Wednesday:
Paradise
1.56 hrs, 9.88 mi and 2100 ft

Thursday:
Off

Friday:
Paradise and a 2nd loop of Headwaters
2:30 hrs, 13.69 mi and 2700 ft

Saturday:
Marie Creek w/ TRIFORMANCE team
1:54 hrs, 7.73 mi and 1600 ft

Sunday:
Off

Despite logging only 4 runs this week. I still managed a respectable 7:54 hrs of running for 40.35 miles and 8400 ft of climbing. What made this even more rewarding was that each run was on snow covered single track!

Overall my body seems to be adapting well to the climbing and I'm looking forward to seeing how the legs do at the Orcas Island 25k in two weeks.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

My run in photos

A series of 15 photos from my run on Moscow Mountain yesterday.