This past weekend, I escaped the confines of society (including cell service — oh, how peaceful that was!) and made my way to Calaveras County. Famous for its giant sequoias, this park is nestled between Yosemite and Lake Tahoe. And even though it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as these two big-name destinations, it’s still well worth a visit.
It was colder than what the weather forecast predicted and my PB&J mix froze solid, but it made the hot morning coffee all that much more enjoyable!
Without any further ado, here’s a short video from the journey. See you next week when we’ll continue our Hawai’i adventure!
Love, —P
If video embed doesn’t work on your device, here’s a LINK.
I am a slow runner. This is not a complaint, and it’s not a critique. It’s just a plain statement of the truth. I can hold a 12-minute/mile pace for about 10 kilometers, and a 15-minute/mile pace for 20 miles, but that’s about it. After giving it absolutely everything, I was able to finish my first 50-mile race in just under 25 hours. Yes, I did spend roughly four hours in aid stations and getting my foot iced and taped so that I could keep moving, but still, this is SLOW.
And so it might come as a bit of a surprise that I do, in fact, enjoy seeing people chase FKTs (fastest known times), even though I know that nothing like that will ever be possible for me. (Well, unless I establish a route and keep my snail-paced FKT until someone comes to take a stroll and beats it.)
Today, I wanted to share with you two of my favourite FKT documentaries (oh wow, saying I’ve got a favourite FKT documentary feels like choosing a favourite child), both of them from the wonderful Wonderland Trail (most up-to-date FKTs can be found on this link).
The first Wonderland Trail FKT film I ever saw was about Gary Robbins who got his FKT in 2015, made by Ethan Newberry, also knows as The Ginger Runner. I re-watched it several times since. Gary is a beyond-inspiring runner (seriously, watch “Where Dreams Go to Die” to see what real grit is).
The second film I’m going to recommend today is also by Ethan Newberry, and follows Kaytlyn Gerbin, the current holder of the female supported FKT, and Dylan Bowman, who held the male supported FKT on the Wonderland Trail for just five days.
I hope you’ll enjoy these, I hope they’ll motivate you, and I’ll be back next week, hopefully back from the dead so I can tell you all about my Cool Moon 50-mile race which I haven’t recovered from yet. Just a little teaser: I totally got my money’s worth, having experienced it all; hallucinations, chafing, unstoppable nosebleed, nausea and throwing up, ridiculous heat, being stripped naked at an aid station to be brought back from the dead, and having to walk downhill backwards because legs gave up on me.
Despite the year that 2020 has been, in the past two months, a few new ultra/trail running films were released. And even though every single one of them tells stories of perseverance and resistance, there are two that spread the message more than others, accompanied by stunning visuals and featuring amazing humans.
For Rangers Ultra
For Rangers Ultra is a stage race through the beautiful and wild plains of Kenya. This race was put on in support of the rangers that roam those plains and are the last frontier between poachers and the wildlife.
Golden Trail Championship 2020
The Faial island in Portugese Azores hosted the 2020 Golden Trail Championship despite all the hurdles. With races being canceled left and right this past year, the championship pushed through. Jim Walmsley, Stian Angermund, Maude Mathys and Tove Alexandersson take the audience behind the scenes and through all the adrenaline-filled courses.
There are films and then there are films. Yesterday night, I realized that I haven’t watched a “normal” movie or film in literally forever – instead, I… Read more “5 Great Trail Running Films”
I put this short video together while Point Reyes National Seashore is ravaged by the Woodward Fire. Let’s consider it a ind of a get-well-soon card to this place that have become my home.
I’ve spent what are now hundreds of hours volunteering as a trail patrol there, walking the very trails that are now covered in the ash of all the beautiful trees that offered me cover from rain and sun alike, and sung songs in the breeze coming from the ocean. My heart is heavy with sorrow; Woodward Valley Trail where this fire started was my very favourite trail and I’ve walked it more times than I can count.
If you can and want to donate to the Point Reyes Disaster Council, you can do so via the following post on Facebook.
What is the Six-Pack of Peaks Challenge? Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Depending on your location or where you want to take this challenge (of course, you can take them all if you have the time!), you sign up for Southern California, Northern California, Central Oregon, New England or Colorado Rockies. Newly, there’s a winter challenge for Arizona. I write more about the Six-Pack of Peaks challenge in my first log from Mission Peak.
My log
Completed: December 25, 2018
It was a beautiful Christmas Day and… and instead of staying with family or friends and stuffing my belly with good food and Christmas candy as any other sane person would do, I got up long before sunrise and drove to Stinson Beach to hike up Mount Tamalpais.
That peak used to scare me; I did not believe I was fit enough or had the physical ability to hike all the way up from the sea level. But again, who says what you can and can’t do? And so I stopped thinking about my in/ability to get up there and just did it. And it was the best thing I could have done that Christmas.
The hike was just pure pleasure. The trails were so beautiful that I wanted to get back on them the moment I got back to my car. Mt Tamalpais instantly became the best hike I’ve done in 2018.
Trailhead: Stinson Beach
Trails: Dipsea Trail Steep Ravine Trail Old Stagecoach Fire Road Railroad Grade Fire Road (and back)
The previous Six-Pack-of-Peaks-Challenge article is HERE.
In the Name of Life – a video from my May visit to Yosemite National Park. This time, I brought a friend of mine who’s never been there – and who’s never been camping, either. However, she fell asleep in the tent the moment she closed her eyes and, according to her words, had a great sleep. Maybe Nature is really where we belong…
Spring in Yosemite is the embodiment of young life full of energy and potential. What did the place teach me this time?
Hit the Road with Me 