REPORT: 2nd Alpine Lakes Grand Tour Failure

Christof Teuscher

The Movie

Yes, this time I managed to keep the GoPro alive like a hero. Here’s some footage that I hacked together: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AfUfF5SgXw

The Route

Here’s the route overview map again (from Strava). It starts at Snoqualmie Pass (Snow Lake trailhead) end ends near Leavenworth (Snow Lakes trailhead on Icicle Creek road). The total distance is about 75mi (120km) with up to 25,000ft (7,620m) of elevation gain (EG). The challenge is part of the 2014 UltraPedestrian Wilderness Challenge (UPWC).

al_strava_2nd

To the best of my knowledge, someone has yet to complete the entire route.

Logistics

I didn’t have a ride this time, so I gave Leavenworth Shuttle a call. Their quote from Leavenworth to Snoqualmie Pass was $78.50. They were willing to pick me up and drop me off at the trailheads. I said “sure, that’s a deal!” They picked me up at the Snow Lakes trailhead 4mi outside of Leavenworth at noon on Fri, Oct 10. The driver was super chatty and I was happy to get some distraction because I was nervous about the next 30h or so. I was ready to head out on Snoqualmie Pass by 2pm the same day.

Day 1

There is something special about the feeling of being dropped off at a point of no return. When you see your last opportunity to bail out drive away and all you have is a path into uncertainty, you realize that it’s all about you now. I decided not to carry a cell phone. It adds too much weight and is mostly useless in the mountains.

I turned the SPOT on, started the GPS, and embraced the fear.

amazeballsThe weather forecast according to the AuthenticWeather app. That did not apply to Saturday. Hell no.

The first few miles climb up to Snow Lake. The pack was heavy and I had trouble finding my rhythm. In fact, it took me several hours to get into the zone. For the first time I realized how much a heaver pack actually changes your gait. I kept a positive outlook because the longer I was going to run, the lighter the pack would become. Water is not an issue on this route at all. There is water pretty much everywhere. I treated it as I always do. Better safe than sorry.

I did not see a single soul until Lake Caroline after passing Snow Lake near Snoqualmie Pass, where the crowds frolicked.

It was nice to see the first part of the route during daylight. On Sep 19 I started in the dark. For some reason, time passed quickly and despite my rather slow overall pace, I was almost 1.5h ahead of my expected time by the time night fell.

Night 1

The climb up to Deep Lake, which I dreaded because it felt like it took forever on Sep 19, was easy and smooth. I hopped over Cathedral Pass and bombed down toward the Easy-Go-Paddy trailhead. That climb was steep, but I felt good and knew I had to accept a slow pace.

I was worried about tackling the bushwhacking sections at night. Two other factors added to the challenge: strong winds and rain. Besides trying to find my way at night, I had to be careful to stay dry and warm. Bushwhacking and staying dry and warm are not very compatible. Despite my rain gear, I got very wet. Luckily it wasn’t too cold, so I was able to stay warm while moving. The gear dried rather quickly too.

This time I managed to follow the entire trail from the French Creek to the Meadow Creek trail. On Sep 19 I had lost the trail completely and bushwhacked my way on the right hand side of the valley, then crossed over to the left on the pass. This time I was more careful with my search when I first lost the trail. Instead of just following some random faint game trail that looked good enough, I found the actual trail on the opposite of a creek, hidden under bushes. I did hang on to it like a dog who smelled an animal track. Several times I had to do extensive searches because the trail was blocked by downed trees.

Much faster than anticipated, I ended up on the Jack Creek trail. By then, I was almost 2h ahead of my schedule. That felt very motivating. Jack Ridge turned out to be very easy too because most of the vegetation that covers the trail was now leafless.

I’ll save you the details about emptying my stomach in the middle of the night. The reset felt good and after that I was good to go and had no digestive issues anymore.

Apart from a few deer butts and a rabbit, I didn’t see any animals. My plan to fight back a possible attacking bear was to blind him by sticking KT tape over his eyes. I hear it has never been done. The exact details on how to accomplish that are yet to be worked out, maybe during another long night run. Some people get really good ideas under time pressure. I hope that will be me.

Day 2

At Trout Lake I took care of my feet. Hot spots don’t disappear, so it’s better to treat things right away. I also indulged in the luxury of changing into a fresh pair of socks. They felt like heaven. The climb up to Windy Pass was new terrain to me. I was not sure what to expect except possibly some wind. The pass lived up to its name. On the other side the trail looked like a superhighway. I got my hopes up and started to bomb down. It didn’t last long. Soon the trail became quite technical and was winding endlessly through some burnt forest. It was all downhill and nothing hard per se, yet the entire Eightmile Lake trail and maybe a mile above completely drained me mentally. By the time I reached the road, I hit rock bottom. I ignored all aspects of civilization and carried on.

The good thing of hitting rock bottom is that you are suddenly ready for the worst. That’s what I expected of this road part. Yet, it ended up being a short hop on a gravel road that even offered some shade. By that time it was about noon and the sun felt rather aggressive, so the shade was most welcome. That did not last long, however.

I didn’t stop at the trailhead and continued directly on the Stuart Lake trail, which eventually turns off to the Colchuck Lake trail. Shortly after hitting the Colchuck Lake trail, it started raining quite heavily. I quickly put on my full rain gear and continued without worrying. Several times during the steep climb up to Colchuck Lake I told myself how glad I was that I didn’t have to come down this way.

Once I reached the lake, I was soaked and the trail was in a rather miserable state. The last big climb I had to manage is Aasgard Pass (a.k.a. Colchuck Pass), which leads into the Enchantment area. Its elevation is 7,841 feet (2,390m) and the highest point in the Alpines Lakes route.

As I started to make my way around the lake to tackle the steep and rocky climb up the pass, the rain transformed into snow. I still wasn’t too worried and thought it was some freak thunderstorm that would go away quickly. I was very wrong. It took me maybe 30min to reach the boulder field at the bottom of the pass. I continued slowly and carefully, but suddenly slipped and fell on a slippery boulder. I was able to catch my fall with a pole, but it broke apart as a result.

The sound of the breaking $160 carbon pole was quite heartbreaking. It sounded like it tried really hard to endure the stress, but failed. In hindsight, it feels like a good metaphor of my ongoing journey. Needless to say that I was happy to hear the shattering sound of a breaking pole instead of the sound of breaking bones. I bet the fall looked funny, but there was nobody around to laugh. Neither did I.

Shortly after my fall I met several groups who either just made it over the pass before the snow started or had to turn around on the way up. They all looked at my shoes and without hesitating said I should just forget about it.

Here is how steep Aasgard Pass is on the descent to Colchuck Lake:

aashard_descentSource: http://hikingtheenchantments.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.html

You add snow to this terrain and you are either in trouble or well-equipped and experienced with proper mountaineering gear. The descent on the other side is even worse. There are large granite slabs that get super slippery. Some spots are exposed and a fall could be deadly.

There are only two access points to the Enchantments. Aasgard Pass is one. The other one is where my car was parked. So an alternative route was not an option. To realize that this may be the end of this 2nd attempt hit me like a granite slab. This was one of the lowest points in all my running and adventure trips so far. People talk a lot about the mental aspects of long distance endurance running. That seems like a rather narrow-minded approach to success actually. What I believe is equally important, if not more important, are the mental issues of failing. Having to turn around definitely put those issues to the test. I was not ready for that step that I had not anticipated in any way.

A woman at the bottom of the Colchuck Lake trail had asked me if I thought I was going to make it up to the lakes. It didn’t rain yet, but she looked at the black clouds that moved in. I said without hesitating that I would go to the Snow Lakes trailhead just outside of Leavenworth and that I was fully prepared for some weather. That’s how wrong one can be.

Before heading back to the Colchuck trailhead, I briefly considered some alternatives. One was to wait and see if the sun would break out again and melt the snow away. I had enough time and food to wait a couple of hours in the worst case. I gave up on that idea quickly because I was already wet and freezing. Some other factors that ultimately contributed to accept defeat were:

  • The boulder fields by the lake were already very slippery with a thin layer of sleet. There was no question the conditions would dramatically get worse higher up.
  • I had already slipped and broken a pole. Taking more risk sounded like looking for more trouble.
  • My iQ M2 trail running shoes have a pretty worn out sole. They have close to 500mi on their back, so need to be replaced.
  • If I was already wet and freezing, how was I going to warm up again?

I have a deep respect for mountains. In case of doubt, it’s always better to turn around. So I did. And I was not alone. Many folks who had hard-to-get permits for overnight backpacking trips in the Enchantments had to give up too.

Was I not appropriately equipped? Yes, I was not planning for snow because the forecast did not mention any. Could traction devices have saved the adventure? Most likely. I would have at least attempted the climb.

What is for sure is that if I would have been an hour earlier, I would have made it over the pass without any issue. I would have still been hit by a few hours of rain through the Enchantments, but nothing that would have required an abort. At least that’s what I like to believe. But who knows, there are so many unpredictable things when you go on a journey like that.

I attacked the descent like a beaten dog. I felt like shit and had lost all mental and physical energy. Once I finally made it to the Colchuck trailhead, I had to solve the car issue. For a moment I considered running on the road to at least complete the circuit, although on a different route. It felt like a stupid idea.

Thankfully, a nice hippie dude from Seattle was merciful enough to give my dirty trail runner body and soul a ride back to the Snow Lakes trailhead, where my car was waiting. I didn’t manage to warm up in his car, which had quite an impressive showing of these little tree airfreshers. I could only guess what smell he was trying to hide. When we finally got to my car, I was shivering to the extent I had trouble opening my car door. I changed into dry clothes as quickly as I could.

Even though the Octoberfest was in full swing in Leavenworth, I was in no mood to celebrate. I got some coffee and drove straight home for another 5h.

Night 2

Sadly, there was none.

Data for the Data-hungry

Fuel

I based my fuel on 200cal/h for 32h plus some reserves. I consistently take too much food because I have a primal fear of running out. That feeling is consistently followed by regrets that I took too much and by thinking how much faster I could have been had I taken 3 instead of 4 waffles. Some people never learn.

  • Tailwind: 2,000cal (1,200cal consumed)
  • Gels: 22 x 110 cal = 2,420cal (15 consumed)
  • Stinger Lemon Waffle: 4 x 160cal = 640cal (4 consumed)
  • Fig bar: 6 x 110cal = 660cal (all consumed)
  • Power Bar Wafer Bar: 4 x 170cal = 680cal (3 consumed)
  • Trailbutter: 720cal (~300 consumed)
  • Some ginger
  • A few chocolate-covered coffee beans
  • Total calories packed: 7,120cal
  • Total calories consumed: 4,960cal (about 190cal/h)
  • Calories burned according to Strava: 8,620cal

Gear

  • Salomon ultra vest
  • Pearl Izumi M2 trail shoes
  • Black Diamond Z-Poles
  • Emergency/first aid kit
  • Lip balm
  • Water purification tablets
  • Emergency blanket
  • Compression sleeves
  • Compression shorts
  • Compression shirt
  • Long-sleeved 2nd layer
  • Long-sleeved 3nd layer
  • Extra socks
  • Salomon Bonatti WP rain jacket
  • RaidLight rain pants
  • Warm hat
  • Gloves  (thin + waterproof)
  • RaidLight waterproof overmitts
  • Buff
  • GoPro + extra battery
  • SPOT transponder with extra set of 4 AAA batteries
  • Petzl Myo-RXP headlamp with two extra sets of 3 AA batteries
  • Petzl E+LITE emergency headlamp
  • Suunto Ambit2
  • 2 7oz soft bottles with 400cal of Tailwind syrup each
  • 2 17oz soft bottles with 200cal of Tailwind each
  • Maps

Some reflections on my gear:

  • Rain jacket. I had bought a Salomon Bonatti WP jacket a while ago, but never had the opportunity so far to put it to a serious test. It’s supposed to be super lightweight and waterproof. It is indeed lightweight and packs small, but it’s not what I was looking for in terms waterproofness. It’s better than what I had, but in the heavy rain I experienced on this trip, my inner layer started to get wet after about an hour. Once that happens, the countdown to hypothermia starts. I wonder how much better their top of the line GTX shell is, which has GoreTex? The Bonatti is 210g and the GTX 290g, so not too big of a difference. It’s 30% off right now. Hmm, that probably means it will be discontinued or replaced.
  • Rain pants. I purchased RaidLight pants recently and used them for the first time: http://www.raidlight.com/en/waterproof-and-stop-wind/3290-surpantalon-stretchlight-lightweight-waterproof-breathable-.html. RaidLight claims that these are the lightest, waterproof, and breathable pants on the market: 105g. They worked out great and were really waterproof. They pack super small too and feel like they weigh nothing. Of course I already ripped them during the bushwhacking. They are extremely thin and not super durable. In fact, they are quite see-through, especially when wet, so be careful with what you wear underneath ;-).
  • Gloves. I’ve been using the Pearl Izumi Pro Barrier WxB Glove (http://shop.pearlizumi.com/product.php?product_id=1740274) for a few times, but never in heavy rain. I’m disappointed by their protection. They get soaking wet and real heavy quickly. And no, they are not really waterproof. I had these mitts in addition: http://www.raidlight.com/en/gloves-sleeves/2848-sur-moufles-mpu-stretchlight.html. They are super light and thin, but proved to be really waterproof. Combined with a fleece glove or something, they would be perfect. I may go this route next time.

I’m willing to pay quite a bit of money to stay warm and dry. Freezing fingers, feet, and core are a rather quick way to ruin your day and end your race prematurely.

Conclusion

I tried.