For this Saturday’s training (Jan 30, 2016), I was torn between the Baker Lake 100k Fat Ass, running the Gorge 100k course (why not?), and doing some insane hill reps on Dog Mountain. I figured that a Dog Mountain hill rep challenge would prepare me the best for Orcas 100 because of the elevation gain and the mental aspect of doing nonsensical loops. Also, I was likely going to get a wide variety of trail and weather conditions. And I did.
“Because of its steepness this is not a trail for young children or unfit adults (10-25% grades).” Forest Service.
I decided to go for the Dog Mountain loop: from the Dog Mountain trailhead, head up the Dog Mountain trail to the summit on the easier and longer route because it’s more runnable, then traverse over and connect to the Augsburger trail, which leads back to the Dog Mountain trailhead on a nice gradual descent. In the summer, you can bomb down and make great time. The entire loop is 7.4mi long and has an elevation gain of 2,800ft. If you’re good, you can run it all, if you’re like me, you pretty much power-hike most of the uphills.
The stages of my octuple Dog Mountain trials and tribulations. Total distance: 59.2mi. Total elevation gain: 22,400ft.
Dog Mountain loop. 7.4mi long with 2,800ft of elevation gain.
Based on my previous single, double, and triple Dog runs I established a pace table and figured that I could possibly do 6 climbs in 12h and 12 climbs in 24. I accounted for a 5% slow-down per loop and included time for refueling too. The plan was to start at 5am. My first loop was supposed to take 1h41min (with a 10min refueling stop). Overall, I thought that was pretty conservative. But I’ve only ever done triple Dogs in the summer, never in the winter. I should find out soon that my times were not quite realistic.
Nothing beats a realistic pace table. Especially when it’s not realistic.
I don’t always shop for crap food, but if I do, I do.
Prophylactic foot treatment.
My alarm went off at 3:15am. I got ready and drove out to the Dog Mountain trailhead, where I had 15min left to collect my scattered brain and gear. At 5am sharp I took off. It was raining hard and I put on all the rain gear. The forecast said conditions would improve throughout the day. I opted for the La Sportiva Crossover, which I wanted to test on longer distances in rough conditions. They are designed specifically for running in winter months and have an integrated gaiter and a Gore-Tex membrane.
La Sportiva Crossover. They worked much better than I anticipated.
I forced myself to go slow and steady on the first loop. The old body felt good and I was moving easily. The advantage of doing such loops is that you can go with a minimal pack. Soon the rain turned into snow and I got a little worried about how things would look toward the summit. Yet, there was only about 1 inch of fresh snow. The rest was hard-packed snow still laying around. Because of the strong wind, the cold, the dark, and the snow, I ended up moving rather slowly. It took me about 1h to reach the summit on the first loop. It usually takes me 45min in the summer. The Augsburger trail connector was in much worse shape than the Dog Mountain trail. There was tons of snow, downed trees, and lots of blown-down branches. Luckily things improved further down.
I got back to the trailhead in 1h49min. According to my planning, that should have taken 1h31min at most. Oh well, there wasn’t much to do about it and the day was still young. I refueled quickly and headed up again.
That continued. Then some more. Compared to doing reps on Mt. Defiance, Dog Mountain reps felt almost like a piece of cake.
After finishing loop #4, I had caught up a little on my plan and was only 30min behind. It was great to see Rachel at the trailhead, who had decided to come out for one loop. There’s nothing better than some distraction if you do loops. Time passes so much quicker. On the way up we met a gentleman with a dog who told us about several folks who did Dog Mountain reps for 24h. He said they managed to do 8 loops. By then I knew I wouldn’t be able to do 12 loops, but I figured 8 well below 24h would be within reach.
The trail just below the summit.
That’s the connector “trail” between the summit and the Augsburger trail. Not much fast running on that surface.
I think that was loop #3. It’s a Double Latte gel. It works.
The one and only view I got of Mt. Defiance. I think that was loop #6. And no, I did not shave at 3:15am.
A runnable section somewhere on the lower part.
Great views all day from the summit. Not!
Several people commented on my binge-eating fast-food setup at the trailhead. I guess that’s how you spot the crazy hill-repper (is that even a word?).
A tree. I said hi 8 times.
Throughout the day I experienced lots of rain, snow, hail, fog, sun, darkness, and everything in between. Trail conditions also varied widely. As always on Dog Mountain, there were a bunch of people (and dogs) on and besides the trail. Some prepared, others not so much.
I finished loop #6 about 5min past the 12h mark and embarked on loop #7 in the dark. As I got back to the trailhead I was 50min behind my pace table. But I really didn’t care anymore at that point. As I got to the car I was shivering and sure that this was it. But sometimes a little break can change the world. I changed into dry layers, made hot coffee, broth, and oatmeal, and sat in the car for 15min. I usually give myself a fixed amount of time, otherwise you end up with a million excuses to stay in the warmth for a little longer. The break helped and it was like the sun came out again. I didn’t quite start singing, but I nevertheless faced the dark and cold night and headed out again for loop #8. It feels good when you overcome your weaker self.
Loop #7 completed. Stretching some sore muscles.
Tasty food, which I later threw up.
I felt revitalized and listened to music for the first time. The feet were holding up great (I had changed into dry socks 3 times), the legs were still moving, but I had some pain in one arm because of the heavy use of the poles.
On the last two loops it started snowing again pretty hard. Because of the new snow, strong winds, and almost zero visibility I was unable to see any of my previous footsteps above 2,000ft or so. I had to pay close attention to where I was going.
I made it to the summit, celebrated for 1 second, then slowly headed down through the dark night. The visibility was terrible and the snow was blowing hard. Halfway down I suddenly started to feel really nauseous. I’ll spare you the details of what followed shortly thereafter.
As the saying goes, everything eventually ends. I made it to the trailhead, threw my few things into the car, and drove straight home, where I crashed hard. In bed, not into the garage.
FKT?
I don’t know if the 8 loops in 17:20:06 is a new FKT or not. I can’t find any information about the group who apparently did 8 loops in 24h. If anybody knows more, please let me know.
[Update, 2017]
I was informed by group members and friends that 8 loops were completed. Thus, my time does count as an FKT.
Some stats:
- Date: Sat, Jan 30, 2016
- Distance: 8 × 7.4 = 59.2mi
- Elevation gain: 8 × 2,800ft = 22,400ft
- Elapsed time: 17:20:06
- Average time per climb (including refueling stops): 2h10min
- Style: self-supported, solo (except loop #5)
- Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/482747923 (GPS was on 1min interval)