Mt. Hood Circumnavigation- August 9, 2011

(A great shot of me running down the trail catchin' a little air!  All photos: Joe Grant)

I had been wanting to do this run ever since I moved to Oregon back in August 2009 but something always seemed to get in the way. There is a short window of time when one can circumnavigate the mountain so the days are somewhat numbered. Coordinating with everyone's race schedule, personal schedules, and the condition of the mountain wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be.  I think everyone was just yearning to get out there and I am so glad we made it happen.  It was honestly one of the most special runs I have ever been on and from the pictures you can get a sense of why.  Words or pictures really don't do it much justice so I'm just going to leave you with a few pics, some links, and some facts and thoughts about our run.

(This looks like something out of "The Sound of Music"!!!!! Pictured: Me, Ian Sharman, Nick Triolo, Joe Kleffner.)

"The Crew": Left to right- Trevor Hostetlor, Joe Kleffner, Nick Triolo, Me, Joe Grant, Willie McBride, Ian Sharman)

"The Facts": 

• Start time 6:30 a.m. at The Timberline Lodge (6,000 feet above sea level) and we ran it counterclockwise. 
• About 41 miles with about 12,000 feet of climbing for the run.
• 10.5 hours at a casual pace for the entire circumnavigation.
• Elliot Glacier was tough to cross because of a major washout so we had to do a little "rock climbing"!

Joe Grant was like a hummingbird running ahead of us and lagging behind capturing the most quality pictures...I still find myself re-visiting his page over and over in awe of the beauty of Mt. Hood and it's surroundings.  

You can see the amazing photos by clicking HERE 

• A cool site called Volcano Running where you can find more information about these types of circumnavigation adventures here in Oregon.
• Click on members of "The Crew" to visit their own personal blog/websites:  Joe Grant, Nick Triolo, Trevor Hostetlor, Joe Kleffner, Ian Sharman, Willie McBride

We all bonded quite a bit during the 10 hour run, and before and after, and I feel that we created some really great memories out there.  I am grateful to have experienced that with you all.

 This run is an instant classic. Now...on to the next!!!