On Friday I drove up to the San Bernardino National Forest to take on the San Bernardino Traverse / 9 Peak Challenge as my final peak training weekend for the Vermont 100 Endurance Run . I checked in at the ranger station, cached a jug of water at the Angelus Oaks trailhead (5,960’), set up camp at the Vivian Creek trailhead (6,080’) and prepped my gear. I decided to go with a 2 a.m. start time to try and reach the summit of San Gorgonio for sunrise, so I slept at 7:30 p.m. and set my alarm set for 1 a.m.

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I never sleep well at altitude, and this time was no different. After quickly breaking down my camp, I geared up at my car and was on the trail by 2 a.m. for a 5,400’ ascent up the 8-mile trail to the peak of [Mount San Gorgonio |

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Gorgonio_Mountain], the highest peak in Southern California (11,500’). My pace was fast because I was convinced I was going to be mauled by a mountain lion or bear, so I wanted to reach higher altitude where I know they don’t travel often because there isn’t an abundance of “food.” On the way up, the only wildlife I encountered (thankfully) was a little scorpion and a sizable spider. Besides that, when I got above the tree line, I was greeted with an unreal view of the crescent moon—so big and close, it felt like I could reach out and touch it.

Above the tree line, the wind gusts picked up speed, and I started to get cold. That was when I noticed the distant glow of a headlamp on the trail above. Humans! I overtook the pair of hikers in the final half mile before the summit. One was in really bad shape from the altitude. He was resting his head on his trekking pole when I greeted him. His speech was slurred, and he struggled to complete coherent sentences. His buddy was in better shape and wanted to chat but I was freezing at this point and told him I had to keep moving. Here’s a video of the final stretch to the top:

I thought that watching the sun rise from the highest point in southern California was going to be a treat but it was painfully cold at this point with powerful wind gusts cutting right through my clothes and chilling my sweat. So with one peak down and eight to go, I set off to the west across the ridge of the San Bernardino mountain range.

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Once the sun got high enough, it was comfortable. Well, as comfortable as running at 10,000+ feet above sea level can get :). I ran the flats and downhills, but walked the uphills to keep some energy “in the bank” for the long day ahead.

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San Gorgonio (11,500’)

Jepson (11,205’)

Little Charlton (10,676’)

Charlton (10,806’)

Alto Diablo (10,563’)

Shields Peak (10,701’)

Anderson Peak (10,864’)

San Bernardino East Peak (10,691’)

San Bernardino Peak (10,649’)

This was pretty much the story for the run across the ridge, until I accidentally took a wrong turn and ran a half-mile in the wrong direction. Luckily, I crossed paths with a group of backpackers. Our conversation helped me determine where I went wrong, so I backtracked--only adding an additional mile to my day.

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Aside from this group, I was alone on the ridge until the descent to Angelus Oaks after San Bernardino peak. My knees started to ache on the long and technical descent, so I was excited and relieved to reach the trailhead just after 10 a.m., having just completed the 26-mile San Bernardino Traverse / 9 Peak Challenge in under 8.5 hours (actually traveling 27 miles) and gaining more than 10,000 feet according to my Gamin data.

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Looking back over the peaks

But my day was far from over, so I filled up my hydration reservoir with the water cache I left the day before and ran to highway 38. Most folks who attempt the traverse shuttle their cars, leaving one at each trailhead. But I traveled solo, so 10 miles separated me from my car at the Vivian Creek trailhead. Running this section of the 38 would have been too dangerous because it is a winding mountain road with little to no shoulder, so I hitched a ride with a local and got dropped of 5 miles later at the turnoff for Forest Falls.

With 27 extreme miles and well over 10,000’ of gain already under my legs, I had five more miles of uphill to travel with 1,400’ to gain. My Achilles tendon was inflamed from the 10+ times I rolled my ankle earlier so I walked the whole way, determined to suffer through it. I took a break at the Elkhorn general store and treated myself to a root beer (my favorite ultrarunning beverage) and was back to my car at the trailhead before noon. The 32-mile adventure took roughly 10 hours to complete.

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I went straight into the mountain stream and soaked my throbbing feet in the crystal-clear, cold mountain slow melt while lying on a warm rock in the sun. After that, I was feeling good to go, so I packed up my car and drove back to San Diego. I treated myself to a huge fish burrito and downed a few tasty beers for dinner

The hardest of the work is done, so now it’s time to recover, maintain, taper, and get super organized mentally and logistically for the VT100 on 7/18 – 7/19! My trip back east starts in a little over two weeks, and I feel like I’m on target for a solid performance on race day!

The last few weeks have been low-mileage rest weeks with a focus on putting the finishing touches on my training plan for the Vermont 100 Endurance Run and gearing up to start training next week!

The lessons I learned at the San Diego 100 Mile Endurance Run continue to help dial in my strategy for the VT100. The first item of business is fine-tuning my method of fueling, not the actual content of my fuel.

While I was running with a handheld bottle of Hammer Nutrition Sustained Energy mix and a Fuel Belt with Nuun electrolyte replacement tablets, my race crew was laboring over filling bottles and mixing powders all day and night.

By using a hydration backpack with a custom-made fuel by Infinit Nutrition, I remove the handheld bottle and the Fuel Belt from the equation. My special blend, “

Beast Mix

With an extra water reservoir, I can be drinking out of the one in my pack while the crew fills, mixes and chills the other. So when I come through an aid station, all the crew has to do is pull out the empty reservoir and replace it with the full one. This is going to save valuable time and energy for the team!

Here are a couple shots from my last two adventures:

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Camping and trekking in Joshua Tree National Park

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Relaxing in Scottsdale, AZ

Mount Whitney rests at 14,505 feet above sea level, making it the highest summit in the contiguous United States and a highly coveted ascent to hikers and climbers alike. There are multiple routes to the top ranging from day hike to alpine ascent.

In the video below, my good friend Albert Yu-Min Lin and his climbing partner Charles Ince, embarked upon what may have been the first winter “ukulele” ascent of Mount Whitney’s East Face. Enjoy this one-of-a-kind video of that climb…

[Whitney East Face Winter Climb | http://vimeo.com/] from Albert Lin on Vimeo .

They made it look easy, didn’t they? What about you – what would you bring with you to the top?

Check out more punishment reports from the Pullharder.org crew at www.pullharder.org

Overview: The Thanksgiving holiday afforded my friend and I the opportunity to explore southeast Utah where we logged over 1800 miles on the road, backpacked amongst ancient ruins, mountain biked 2 famous trails, slept in a solar-powered yurt and only showered once!

Kane Gulch: The 12-hour, 750-mile drive from San Diego to Utah finished atop of the Mokey Dugway just outside of Mexican Hat, UT at 4:30am. We parked the truck off the road, pitched the tent and got 5 hours of much needed sleep. We awoke to a grey sky and a breath-taking view of the Monument Valley and the Valley of the Gods.

With rain in the forecast we knew our backpacking trip through Kane Gulch and into Grand Gulch was risky since flash flooding can occur from .2 to .5 inches of rainfall. This route is best known for the well-preserved collection of Anasazi aka Ancient Pueblo People ruins in this canyon from 1200 BC. Tim and I really wanted to explore this area so we decided to give it a shot despite the eminent danger. To safeguard, we shared our itinerary with our emergency contacts, registered with the Kane Gulch ranger station and designated an escape route through a side canyon 11 miles into the loop.

Here's the trip plan:

The scenery was beautiful as we made our way through the flat and into the wash which led way into the canyon. Our pack weight was a reasonable 40 pounds which made for a pace of roughly 3mph. At mile 7, we came across the first set of ruins. It was fascinating to see the small little dwellings, the petroglyphs and the pot shards. It was like an outdoor and interactive museum. After a few more miles of trekking, we set up camp and ate dinner just as the rain started at 6:30pm.

Thanksgiving Day: By morning, the rain hadn't let up and was only getting worse. The tent was beginning to leak and water was flowing down the trail like a stream. Our camp site was at the junction of the side canyon we designated as our escape route so we made the logical decision and called off the rest of the trek. Our escape route was by no means a walk in the park. This was rugged third-class scrambling over boulders, through streams and up steep and slippery cliffs. By the time we reached the highway and started trekking alongside the road, we were cold and wet but knew we made the right to get out. A mile later, 2 cars stopped and gave us a ride back to our truck at the ranger station which was a much needed morale boosted. The group was from Arizona and they were planning to do the same route we were until our story convinced them otherwise.

Here's the slideshow:

Once we were back on the road, the rain turned to snow as we climbed in altitude. Our friend's yurt in Monticello, UT sits at 7,500 feet and already had a couple inches of accumulation. It was a relief to take refuge in the warm and dry yurt and to eat our backpackers Thanksgiving feast.

The next day we met the rest of the folks staying at the yurt. The snow let up so we cleaned our gear, helped out with projects around the newly constructed yurt, made a run into town for supplies and feasted on real Thanksgiving leftovers with our friends.

Slickrock: The rest of the group went to rock climb at Indian Creek while we made the drive into Moab to ride the famous Slickrock trail. On the drive to the trail, we dropped off the recycling from the yurt at the Canyonlands Community Recycling Center. I couldn't believe how beautiful the terrain was with the La Sal Mountains to the east.

Our ride at Slickrock was a real eye-opener. I was pretty nervous when we first got going because the rock was still wet in places from precipitation the day before which made for some sketchy climbs and descents. My wheels were literally slipping and spinning out at times. I stayed in my easiest gearing for the majority of the ride because when we weren't climbing straight up, we were dropping into a freakishly steep descent met by another steep climb. I was exhausted by the time we completed the main loop but back at the mountain bike shop I purchased a 5-minute shower which really lifted my sprits (and 4 days worth of dirt). Where to get a shower in Moab

Here's the slideshow:

Porcupine Rim: On our final day, we decided to kick it up a notch and attempt the point-to-point mountain bike route known as the Porcupine Rim Trail. The four of us dropped a car off at the end point and shuttled to the top. The ride started with a few miles of very technical climbing before reaching the ridge and beginning the descent back into Moab. The entire ride took us four hours and was the highlight of our trip. The views from the top were incredible, the terrain was technical and fun and our group enjoyed the whole experience. We finished the day off with a great meal and a few pints at the Moab Brewery.

Here's the slideshow:

Recap: This experience was just what I needed to celebrate my passion for adventure, the outdoors and our beautiful country although it does seem unconventional in the traditional sense of Thanksgiving in America. I did have the chance to speak with my family back east while they were together for the holiday and continued the family tradition of finding the family Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. I am very much looking forward to joining them in two weeks to finish the year together, celebrate all that was 2008 and get excited for another year of adventure in 2009. Happy Holidays!

Visit Yurtcation.com for rental info

Preview: Conquered a 100-mile bike ride and then ran too fast on the track and pulled my hammy. After a bunch of massage work to fix it, recovered enough for a long swim and to race next weekend. Read the full story below:

Cycling: Airey and I tackled a scenic 100-mile bike ride throughout San Diego County last week. The ride included a couple significant climbs to simulate the insane bike course I’ll face at Silverman. I was like a sponge and soaked up all the cycling technique Airey taught me. I already have way more confidence in my abilities in the saddle, but have so much work to do to prepare. I’ll continue to focus on building fitness on the bike, specifically with climbing and then introduce long bike/run bricks next month.

Track: 2x1200, 2x800, 2x400 with 90 seconds rest between sets. The workout was designed to produce negative splits. I was killing it until I pulled my hamstring on the last 400. Perhaps it was lingering fatigue from the 100-mile ride but either way, not good.

Injury: With the race in Chicago this weekend (see below), I was very worried my hamstring was too damaged to race. I went to see Haunani Chong for a sports massage on Wednesday and Saturday. She worked her magic on my injury which has helped my recovery tremendously. I strongly recommend her to anyone in the San Diego area: http://www.sacredreturnyoga.com/

Chicago: With my injury under control, I’m off to Chicago for the Accenture Triathlon. I picked up the bike box rental from TCSD this weekend for the trip and I’m starting to get excited. Stay tuned for a full-feature race review from yours truly.

Swim: Jesse and I hit the surf for a 2.2-mile open water swim this weekend. He’s training for Gatorman, a 3-mile open-water race and I’ve got Silverman in my sights for November (See previous blog post). The weather and conditions couldn’t have been better—it was a beautiful San Diego summer day. 

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Camping: The highlight of my weekend, besides the above-mentioned swim, was the car camping trip Marie and I took Friday night. We drove east to the Mt. Laguna recreation area, set up camp at dusk and ate dinner next to the fire as the full moon was rising. We were up super early as usual and caught the sunrise from the Sunrise Highway:

AC100: I got my pacing assingment from Eric Lee and I'll be supporting him for his final 25-miles of the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run on September 13-14.

Recap: I'm hoping this hammy won't hold me back from a great race in Chicago. I'm planning on a solid race, but if my hamstring acts up, I'll pull back for sure. There's no use damaging myself for all the other events and commitments I have this year. None the less, it's my first Olympic-distance triathlon so I'm excited for the experience. Check in with me next week for the recap.

These are some of my favorite pictures taken last year. Enjoy the show!

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Yet again, my Thanksgiving festivities took me down the road less traveled. Last year, I ventured to southern Utah, hiking and backpacking throughout Zion National Park. This year, Grand Canyon National Park was at the top of my list.

John’s flight from Boston arrived in San Diego at 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday, he was at my house at 2 a.m. and we were on the road by 3 a.m. Driving through the night was effortless with no traffic and perfectly straight highway. Our conversation kept us entertained as we made our way east into Arizona. John and I have been best friends since kindergarten and this was his first experience in the Wild West. We’ve done well at keeping in touch over the years and this adventure was our way of reuniting and celebrating our friendship.

Our first stop of the day was the backcountry permit office at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. We were denied a permit for Wednesday night, but secured Indian Garden campground for Thursday night followed by Bright Angel campground on Friday night. Since we weren’t beginning our descent until the following morning, John and I cruised through the park and snapped a bunch of photos from the overlooks. We were both extremely fatigued from pulling an ‘all-nighter’ so we made our way out of the back entrance of the park and into the Kaibab National Forest where car camping is free.

Although temperatures dipped into the 20’s Wednesday night, this was the coldest weather we encountered because it actually gets warmer as you descend the canyon, causing us to shed layers while en route to Indian Garden campground. We arrived at our designated campground quite effortlessly, overtaking all shapes and sizes of travelers and tourists along the way. With our tent set up and permit visible to park rangers, we consolidated our gear to daypacks and set off on a hike to a plateau overlooking the Colorado River. As we approached the lookout area, a solo hiker informed us of his encounter with a California Condor. I immediately broke-out my camera and got into Steve Erwin-mode. The next twenty minutes made our 1,300-mile road trip worth every second.

Thanksgiving dinner consisted of precooked turkey from the market in the park village paired with instant garlic mashed potatoes. We sliced and diced the turkey and added the potatoes into my Jetboil cooking system to warm them. This was a slight improvement from the classic turkey sandwich I ate with my feet dangling off the edge of Zion’s Angel’s Landing. Check out the picture from last year:

The next morning, John and I arrived at the Colorado River by 8:30 a.m. This is when we decided to change our plans for the next stage of the trip. Since we had arrived to the river where our next campsite was located so quickly, we made the decision to hike the rest of the way out of the canyon. We consulted our map and searched for a trial that would allow us to return to the South Rim without back-tracking over terrain that we had already covered. While discussing our plan, we met a day-hiker named Jordan that had left the South Rim at 4 a.m. and was planning to ascend the South Kaibab trial. After further discussion of trail options, Jordan had invited us to join him and offered to drive us back to our car at the Bright Angel trailhead. This was exactly what John and I were hoping to do—hike all the way out, not cover any of the same terrain and not worry about getting back to our vehicle. The three of us set off from the Colorado River, ascending the Grand Canyon via the South Kaibab trial. This was a challenging hike because of our weighted packs and the countless switch-back trials but it was by no means difficult. We were out of the canyon a little more than four hours later and extremely satisfied with our experience and our decision to push ourselves to finish off the hike.

Somewhere during our ascent, I came up with the idea for the next stage of our adventure— Joshua Tree National Park in California. I had told John of my many camping and climbing trips to this park, but words and pictures still do little to describe its unique beauty. After pizza at the village market, we were back on the road. Our drive out of the park and through the National Forests while the sun was setting continued to add to the experience. We had to come to a stop when three Rocky Mountain Elk darted across the road.

The drive to Joshua Tree was tiresome and John and I took turns at the wheel to make sure we arrived safely to the park. We pulled into the south entrance late on Friday night and took the first campsite we could find in Cottonwood campground, marking the end of an epic day. Early the next morning, strong Santa Ana winds shook the tent until we were awake. I made a quick batch of coffee in my Jetboil cooking system and began the 45-mile drive from the south end of the park towards the northwest entrance. We made a stop at Jumbo Rocks campground and scrambled around on the gigantic boulders until our stomachs demanded breakfast. Crossroads Café in the town of Joshua Tree remains a favorite after a hearty breakfast for the final leg of our road trip. As soon as we neared San Diego, I cut west to the coast and drove the remainder of the way into the city on route 101. The sun was shining bright over the ocean and it was 70 degrees. There’s nothing like returning to San Diego from an adventure. Thank you all for joining me--I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving.

Yours in adventure,

Active Toby