Alive in the Gorge

This past week consisted of some active recovery from Chuckanut and now a week after the fast 50k I can say that I thoroughly feel good to go. I did some swimming and biking along with some gentle running earlier in the week and it reminded me of how I used to love the cross training aspect of triathlons. Luckily with spring break I was able to catch up on lots of quality sleep as well! I was also able to enjoy some solo time as the wife was out of town...it's nice to not have to clean up after yourself or get up out of bed if you don't want to! :o)

So Trevor emailed me a few days back and asked if I wanted to head out to the gorge on Saturday very early to do a long run. Initially I thought it was too soon and not necessary given what we just laid down at the Chuck. But then I thought, "how could I pass up an opportunity to get out there and connect with that special place?" We decided that we would knock the intensity back a few notches but still get in some good climbs and descents and really absorb the "aliveness" that the area has to offer. Not knowing the area all that well I turned to Joe for some suggestions. He passed me down one of his old gorge maps and pointed us in the direction of the Oneonta Trail. This trail starts on the Old Columbia Gorge Highway close to Multnomah Falls and climbs about 4,500 feet to the summit of Larch Mountain. We got there just after the sun came up, climbed to the summit while stopping every so often to enjoy the scenery, and were back at the car four hours later feeling very content for covering the 18 mile round trip on the beautiful trails.

I made a little video on our little jaunt...Hope you like it!

Spring is here officially and spring break is almost officially over. Back to the books on Monday but if you ask me to go to the gorge there is a good chance I'll make the time to join you! :o)

Next Ultra: Peterson Ridge Rumble 60k...April 11, 2010 Sisters, Oregon

Happy Trails!