The Eagle’s 33 Challenge consists of summiting all 33 peaks over 9,000ft (2743m) with at least 300ft (91m) of prominence in Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness in a single push.
I will make a 2nd solo and self-supported attempt at this challenge on Thu, Aug 8, 2019. The 1st attempt in 2018 did not go well, but I’ve done a lot of well-needed homework in the meantime. Or so I think.
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atC7A4M11D4
Based on my numerous recon missions since last year, I’ve completely redesigned and optimized my route. Compared to the famous Nolan’s 14 or the Sangre de Cristo Traverse (great reports here and here) there is no obvious and easy way to link up all 33 Eagle Cap Wilderness peaks.
[pullquote]What could possibly go wrong?[/pullquote]
My planned route is over 100mi (161km) long with over 60,000ft (18’000m) of vertical gain. Good training for the Highlander 100, I suppose. Given the lack of trails on my route, the terrain, and the massive elevation gain to conquer, I expect to be able to move at about one mile per hour on average, so that’s about 20 miles per day if I also want/need to get some sleep.
Bird’s-eye perspective of the area with the 33 peaks over 9,000ft. For a complete list of the peaks, see Eagle’s 33 Challenge.
This static overview map shows the location of the 33 peaks (blue circles with numbers) as well as the Eagle Cap Wilderness boundary (red line). The red line is NOT my route. My route is NOT pictured. Click to enlarge or use the interactive map that is embedded below. For a complete list of the peaks, see Eagle’s 33 Challenge.
Interactive map:
Tracking
You can track me in the embedded map below or go to: http://bit.ly/Eagles33II
The planned start is on Thu, Aug 8, 2019, sometime in the very early morning hours. I will start from the East Eagle Trailhead. The blue markers on the map indicate the 33 peaks that I will attempt to summit. My planned route is not shown.