The Last Leg of the Journey

Well, sorry for such a delay on the latest entry to the blog! Between dropping Andy off in Portland and arriving back to Ohio it seems like I have hardly had time to sit down for any uninterrupted "blogging" time. Alas, now I have a little bit of time and am ready to compose this final (for now) piece of the puzzle. Also, a quick thanks to the beautiful, charming, smart, (insert adjective here), Chelsea Kilway for keeping my nose to the grindstone when it came to getting these posts up in a semi-regular manner.

In the last installment of this blog we were just getting ready to leave Joe and Chelsea's in Pleasanton, CA and head north. After the World Cup finale we loaded everything into the car and began making the trek. That night we stopped just outside of Shasta, CA. We found an old forest service road, drove up a couple of miles next to a creek and found a nice flat place to park and sleep. The next morning we took a little bit of time to attempt to explore the surrounding area and I say "attempt" because it was rather unsuccessful. After 15 minutes of bushwhacking up some incredibly steep, and loose, ground without getting any closer to the rock formations we kept seeing through the trees, we decided it would take too much time to get there and turned around.

Before long we were headed north once again and soon out of California and into Oregon. To keep with the theme of hitting all of the running meccas of America during our journey we stopped in Eugene to check out Tracktown USA. As luck would have it they were setting up for the IAAF World Junior Championships and a gate was open so we were able to get into Hayward Field and onto the track. We then drove up to Pre's rock (don't know who Pre is? Look him up.) and got some pictures before getting a run in on Pre's trail...You still haven't looked up Pre? GO DO IT! We ran a few miles on the trail before jumping back in the car and continuing our journey north towards Portland.

Once in Portland we decided to go check out Nike's world headquarters in Beaverton, OR. We parked in a spot specifically designated "Visitor Parking" and began wandering the campus. We spent some time on the 5 lane track which is surrounded by woods and which has woods on the infield as well. After a couple hours walking around the extensive campus we decided to head back (east) into Portland proper with the eventual goal of meeting up with one of Andy's friends who actually works at Nike. Just before pulling out of the parking lot we were stopped by a security guard who told us that we had "raised awareness" by taking pictures, etc. He nicely told us to leave and we obliged.

After meeting up with Andy's friend at a local brewery and talking training theories and about the American distance scene in general we headed towards the Portland airport. We dropped Andy off around 11:00 PM. His intentions were to sleep in the airport for a while before his flight. Gus and I were sad to see him go as the last ten days had been tons of fun. We headed east across I-84 for an hour or so before finding another old forest service road. We slept in the car for five or six hours and then continued east. After an 11 hour drive we found ourselves in the mountains of central Idaho near the Sawtooth National Forest. After a little bit of preparation for the next morning's hike in and playing a little bit of catch with our mits (something neither Gus nor I had done in a LONG time) we went to bed in the car (the back seats fold down to yield a "full" sized bed" with the setting sun in anticipation of our next backpacking adventure.

We saw no need to rise too early so we slept until 6:30 AM or so and were headed down the trail by appox. 8:00. We started around 7000 ft elevation at the trailhead and hiked to just shy of 9000 ft. It was a fairly gentle hike as it took a little over seven miles to make the ascent. We made it to Frog Lake around 11:00 and after a little exploring around the lake for a campsite settled on a nice spot. This was the first campsite at which a fire was allowed so that evening we made a nice fire and some good campfire conversation.

The next morning we headed out to explore Boulder Chain Lakes: a string of lakes which technically started at the lake at which we camped. We were much lighter on our feet than the previous day as we had our small daypacks on. After a small detour (read: we were talking and didn't pay attention to which way the trail was actually supposed to go) we gained the first lake of the day and marveled at the scenery. As we continued to hike we hit another lake in less than a quarter mile, and then another and then another. Each lake was just slightly higher in elevation than the last and connected by a creek which was mellow at times and raging at other times.

After the fifth lake or so there was a decent break between it and the next lake and by the time we reached the next lake there was a good amount of snow. While we were skirting one of the lakes we had to cross a snowfield in which I promptly fell up to my waist in snow. Gus initially thought I was trying to kneel on one knee. We skirted a few more lakes before finally leaving the trail and scrambling to the last lake called Lonesome Lake, which sits at 10,400 ft. The scramble up to Lonesome Lake was steep, but it was on solid rock and very fun. We pumped some water into our bottles and took a few pictures before heading down. If the scramble up to Lonesome Lake was fun and steep, the descent was a little less fun, a lot steeper, and much sketchier. The combination of mini-cliffs, loose scree and snow fields made me regret leading Gus down this way, but he handled it like a pro. I failed to get any good pictures of the route down which speaks to the concentration I paid to every foot and hand placement. Rule number one when leading people through the backcountry: always act like the route you chose is easily doable and relatively tame. The truth is, I was definitely a little nervous!

On our way back to camp we ran into some rain showers, but nothing too heavy. In total, we hiked 12 miles that day and saw 10-12 lakes. The heaviest rain occurred while we were trying to cook our Mac'n Cheese, but it never lasted too long and our fire lasted through it all. After some more campfire conversation we cleaned up and headed to the tent. I awoke fairly early the next morning and started a nice little fire to take the chill off. It was 44°F and a beautiful morning at Frog Lake. We were in no particular rush to get going but knew we had a good five hour drive to our next destination so we didn't waste too much time and were on the trail before long. It took just over 2 1/2 hours to make our way back to the car. Compared to the 11 hours in the car a few days ago, five hours felt like nothing and we soon found ourselves arriving at my Uncle Roice's place in Freedom, WY, about 50 miles south of Jackson.

We spent two nights at Uncle Roice's place and he was a great host. It was wonderful to have a bed, a shower, and great familial company. It had been six or seven years since I had last seen him so it was wonderful to catch up. It was also nice to be able to change my oil, as it was definitely time! We arrived there on Friday night and on Saturday decided to head up to Teton National Park for a little hiking and exploring. The place was a zoo, being a Saturday in July, but we hiked a seven mile route which took us by two lakes, Bradley Lake and Taggart Lake. We were told by multiple parties we met that there was a mama bear and a year old bear up near a trail junction, but after "searching the bear" (as a French girl we met called it) we never did see them unfortunately. It was a bit hazy due to some fires in the far west (California and Washington) but the view of Grand Teton and the surrounding peaks were marvelous.

The only snafu with the car came as we pulled onto Uncle's Roice's road on our way back from Teton National Park...a flat tire! Thank goodness it happened less than half a mile away from his place and thank goodness his place is like a tool factory! I had everything I needed at my disposal and switched the flat out for the full size spare I had. The plan was to get the tire patched somewhere along the journey the next day.

I woke pretty early the next morning and was afforded some time to sit in Uncle Roice's hot tub. It was a cool 46°F so the 105°F water felt great. After a little breakfast we re-packed the car, said good-bye to Uncle Roice and headed south along the western border of Wyoming, even crossing into eastern Idaho for a while, before heading east. We stopped in Laramie, WY to get the tire patched, and after an hour delay and $10, the previously flat tire was back on and in good repair! In total, it was a long, 13 hour, day in which 650 miles were covered. We finally arrived back in Divide, CO at the Gragg's house around 9:00 that evening.

The next few days we spent in Colorado, attempting to relax a little bit yet still use the last few days of our trip to our advantage. We headed up to Boulder one day, as it was the last great running mecca that we hadn't run at yet. Not only did we run in Boulder, but we ran Magnolia Road: a road made famous by Coach Whetmore at the University of Colorado for grueling 16-20 mile runs at 8100-8800 feet. Needless to say, we only ran 4, but that was enough to get our hearts pumping and our lungs gasping for air. In those last three days we were also able to tour the Olympic Training Center, run and hang out with Olympian steeplechase finalist Bridget Franek, and do a little bit of rock climbing.

We stayed at some good friends, the Cockrille's, house on our last night on the east side of Colorado Springs as that put us an hour closer to home for our long journey the next day. We left the Cockrille's place at 3:43 AM the next morning. We skated through Coloardo and Kansas quite easily before hitting a little bit of traffic in St. Louis, MO, but we decided to just pull off and get some dinner and wait the traffic out. We were soon back on the road and by 1:30 AM EST (11:30 AM MST) we were back in Mt. Orab, OH. In total, the last leg of the trip occupied nearly 20 hours of our time and totaled a little over 1200 miles.

In closing, the trip was a huge success. At the last minute we deiced to cut out our last backpacking destination in the Wind River range of Wyoming. It is somewhere I was very much looking forward to exploring, but I could feel myself getting tired and I want to do that place justice. I decided that it was best left for another trip when I was fresh and eager to enjoy it to the fullest. The adventuring partners I had along the whole journey, Calleigh, McCoy, Andy and Gus, were wonderful companions. Spending time in God's wonderful, mountainous, creation is something I think I will always enjoy. As the journey was coming to a close I found myself thinking about the upcoming school year and cross country season more and more. I think the trip legitimately revitalized and refreshed me for the upcoming school year. I hope you enjoyed keeping up with the adventures vicariously through this blog. A few statistics of the trip can be found below.

From Mt. Orab, OH back to Mt. Orab, OH:

Miles Driven: 8574.2 (I now have 240,000 miles on my 4runner and still going strong!)

Gallons of Gas purchased: 421

Average Gas Mileage: 20.4 (not bad for my 2000 4runner with an old 6 banger)

Distance Hiked: approx. 85 miles

Elevation Gain: approx. 25,000 ft


I would be remiss not to mention that since Andy and Gus arrived in Denver they set out to find all 50 license plates of the United States in our travels. Well, during our last full day in Colorado, Gus spotted the last plate of Delaware. He may forever hold it over my head that I wouldn't turn the car around to get a picture, but fortunately we did get a picture of what some may consider to be the hardest to find, and that is Hawaii. I will admit that I had almost nothing to do with the finding of these plates, other than doing a large chunk of the driving and allowing the two of them to devote copious amounts of energy in this endeavor. Congrats, boys! You truly achieved greatness.