California /
Oregon Trip
Thursday, September 19 – Monday, September 23, 2024
Thursday, September 19
Thursday, September 19 – Monday, September 23, 2024
Uneventful
flight to Sacramento, with a brief connection in Charlotte. Arrived Sacramento airport just after Noon,
and was picked up by Matthew to continue the journey north from there, as he
had driven up from Los Angeles that morning.
Run: Chico, CA, 10 miles trail. We would break up our drive with a run in
Chico, with the unfortunate realization that it was going to be a hot one. Like 87°F hot. Parked at Bidwell Park, where upon getting out
of the car we saw probably 30-40 high schoolers out on a group run. Likely the local cross country team
practicing. We wore packs filled with
water and Gatorade we had just bought, and that move turned out to be prescient
in the heat and very low humidity of about 30%.
I really
struggled the first few miles, as despite being at the tail end of summer,
these just weren’t conditions I was acclimated to. Although it was only ten miles, I can’t imagine
if we hadn’t brought hydration packs.
Most of the upper part of the park’s trails were closed due to wildfire damage. I didn’t know it at the time, but wildfire damage would be a recurring reality on this trip. About halfway through the run I became aware that my butt and backside were just soaked. That seemed odd given the low humidity and also that my front side was dry. Hmmm. Stopped and examined my pack and found that the bladder had sprung a leak. Not good, especially as I planned to use it in Saturday’s race.
Accommodations: Hampton Inn, Red Bluff, CA. Comfortable, clean, decent breakfast with
fresh fruit.
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| Neat views in a very different environment than New England! Non-technical trails, but HOT. |
Most of the upper part of the park’s trails were closed due to wildfire damage. I didn’t know it at the time, but wildfire damage would be a recurring reality on this trip. About halfway through the run I became aware that my butt and backside were just soaked. That seemed odd given the low humidity and also that my front side was dry. Hmmm. Stopped and examined my pack and found that the bladder had sprung a leak. Not good, especially as I planned to use it in Saturday’s race.
Broke up our
5-hour drive to Bend, Oregon, with a stop for a run about halfway.
Run: Klamath Falls, OR, 7 miles road/trail
mix. Starting from a city park, Matthew
had mapped out a nice loop that was both quiet and scenic.
Accommodations: Days Inn, Bend, OR. Just awful. My cheap Scottish blood booked the $99 option instead of a decent hotel which were running about double that, but the old adage “You get what you pay for” rang true. Outdated motel with outdated rooms, sketchy characters in the parking lot who were quite loud, very old showers that weren’t the cleanest, and pre-packaged items for breakfast which we bypassed and went out to buy real food.
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| Nice view of Upper Klamath Lake along the run |
Accommodations: Days Inn, Bend, OR. Just awful. My cheap Scottish blood booked the $99 option instead of a decent hotel which were running about double that, but the old adage “You get what you pay for” rang true. Outdated motel with outdated rooms, sketchy characters in the parking lot who were quite loud, very old showers that weren’t the cleanest, and pre-packaged items for breakfast which we bypassed and went out to buy real food.
Race day! About a half hour drive to Village Green City Park in Sisters. This would be both the finish line and where we picked up our bibs and boarded the shuttle to the start.
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| Nice selection of bagels at Big O Bagels in Bend, on the way to the race! |
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| School bus to take us from the race finish to the race start |
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| Pretty nice view from the race start! Pretty much the best view was before the race even started. |
This was a very dog friendly race! In fact, the guy leading the pack out was running with his dog. As someone who likes to run with Brady, I found that very cool. We were on a dirt road for the first ¾ mile, and as Matthew had counseled me, I should try to get ahead of potentially slower runners before the turn onto single-track. A number of runners blasted ahead of me at the start. I feel this happens often, and while I think it’s largely runners who pace poorly, I’m not entirely convinced and wonder if I need to get better at race starts.
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| Start of the race. Matthew 2nd from left, me 4th from left, just behind the giant. |
I was also feeling a little awkward at the start, as this was my first time racing with two soft flasks instead of a bladder. (Note: the REI in Bend did not have a Nathan replacement bladder despite carrying Nathan packs, but I was able to pick up an additional soft flask.) There is a marked difference between the two scenarios, as the weight was on my front this time instead of my back. That sensation would go away after a while, but it did add angst to my start.
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| Several miles into the race (Free race from race photographer) |
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| This picture not as clear with shadows |
It’s really pretty pine forests that we’re running through, but the view never got better than what we saw from the start line. About five miles in we did have some views to the left and I quickly snapped a couple of pics while running before folding and returning my phone to a front pocket in my vest. I was running as an island until about Mile 7 when I spied a woman running in front of me. I was very gradually gaining on her when she stopped at the only aid station at Mile 8 and I went past her.
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| About five miles into the course |
Crash! I’m not entirely sure what precipitated this as it all happened so fast, but I stumbled over something in the trail. A rock? A root? Nothing but a mirage or my imagination? I struggled to recover my gait but failed as I crashed into the trunk of a large pine tree on the side of the trail. Ouch, that hurt! I found myself lying on the trail and coughing in the cloud of dust that I kicked up in my wipeout. I looked around and saw two runners approaching me now. I got up and shook it off just as the first runner reached me and asked if I was OK, to which of course I responded that I’m fine. I was in fact, although my right knee really hurt (pine tree trunks aren’t very forgiving) and noticed that my fingers were also bleeding.
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| This ugly injury actually got worse before it got better. This took over 2 weeks to fully heal. |
I continued with the runners in tow, trying to pick it up slightly as my watch beeped to indicate 9 miles. Being hunted was the impetus I needed to not be complacent, as I hadn’t been passed in the race yet (except in first 50 meters) and I didn’t want to be passed now in the final quarter of the race.
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| Really nice bib! This one is a keeper. |
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| Finish line. |
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| Finisher "medal". (It's wood actually.) |
Crater Lake hike: I’ve repeated this many times before (that’s what old people do, after all!), but Chris Garvin once remarked to the effect of, “I guess Walker vacations are not for relaxing!”. No, they’re not! They’re about maximizing what you can see and do. So after a two drive to this famous national park, which all four of us had previously visited and hiked in eleven years ago, we went on a 4-mile OAB hike to the summit of Mount Scott at 8,934’. OK, now my legs are totally cooked, and the drive to the next hotel seems long and late before we arrive at 10pm, but is mercifully punctuated by dinner at a Mexican restaurant.
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| View of Crater Lake from Mount Scott |
This was supposed to be a day that we had a lot of free time and got to the next hotel early. But that presumed a relatively early wake-up, breakfast, and departure, which never happened. Part of that was due to the breakfast debacle just mentioned and the extra time to Einstein Brothers Bagels for “real food”, part of that was due to just being so tired from yesterday’s activities and sleeping in, and part was due to just lollygagging thinking we had all the time in the world
We never saw a mountain lion (thankfully!), but we saw so many hundreds of acres (thousands?) of burned areas.
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| Early on in the run through one of many burned sections |
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| Dip in Lower Twin Lake |
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| Intersection with the famous Pacific Crest Trail |
At about the halfway mark, I was getting tired. We had reached Lower Twin Lake, where I took off my socks and shoes and waded into the cold water. That was all I had planned until Matthew one-upped me by going fully in. Took a run and dive in. That was sure "refreshing"! Had another GU gel and ate a bunch of trail mix before continuing on. Truth be told, I'm already getting tired.
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| Fortunately, I brought my Salomon XA filter flask, so we were able to fill our water supply safely from ponds and streams along the way |
A good run in a great place. For this national park that until recently I had never even heard of, there was so much more that we never even had time to check out. Sometimes the lesser known spots truly have so much to offer.
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| Towards the end of our run. This was actually pretty easy to cross. |
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| Not all of the park was burned! |
Accommodations: Hilton Garden Inn, Folsom, CA. Nice accommodations, clean outdoor swimming pool (probably my last outdoor dip of the year), good breakfast buffet.
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Monday, September 23
Just had a few hours here before flying back to the East Coast.
Run: Folsom, CA, 8 miles bike path. Mostly paved bike path, with a little bit of manicured gravel path mixed in.
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| Nice paths |
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| Interesting view and shadows along the trail on the American River |
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Trip highlight: Running in Lassen Volcanic National Park.
Trip lowlight: Stay at a sketchy Days Inn in Bend, Oregon.
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