bear country

I spent the week in Kalispell, Montana hanging out with some old friends. I logged 45 miles on foot, and got two days on the river. We did a burly hike on the east side of Glacier National Park, hiked Mount Aeneas, and hiked Big Mountain. I paddled the Middle Fork of the Flathead and the Wild Mile on the Swan.
There is still tons of snow in the mountains out there. People were back country skiing on Aeneas. Montana is as wild as it gets in the U.S. We saw mountain goats, big horn sheep, a wolf and some crazy ass people. It was a cool trip. For more Montana pics check out my Flickr account.

hell fuck 2008 a smashing success

The Hell Fuck lived up to it's name once again, putting the beat down on Jed Hinkley, Stephen Kimmel, and I. The course was different this year. In '07 we started in Johnson City and road biked to Carvers Gap (Roan Mountain). Then we ran the AT to Indian Grave Gap near the Noli. We stashed bikes at the trail head and rode them to the put in, ran the river, and road biked back to JC. Alenda shuttled gear from Roan Mountain to the takeout while we were running. This year I eliminated the need for a shuttle by starting at Carvers Gap. We ran the same 25 mile section of AT, biked to the put in, paddled the Nolichucky (at 300 cfs), and finished with a long road bike ride back to Carvers Gap. Before.

After.

This years course was shorter by a few miles, but the bike ride was insane. We rode from Erwin to Iron Mountain. Iron Mountain Gap is a 6 mile, 7% climb. It kicked my ass all over the place. It was another 16 miles to Bakersville, where we started the climb to Carvers Gap. Highway 261 ascends Roan Mountain for 12 miles, and the last 6 miles gain nearly 3000 feet. Jed attacked it like he was racing, but I was in survival mode, crawling along at 7 miles per hour. We were all in severe pain at the end.

Stephen was hurting the worst. Here he is purging himself of the Hell Fuck and swearing he will never do it again. He will change his mind before next year.

The 2009 Hell Fuck will take place in the Northeast, but I hope that someone steps up to keep the torch burning in the South.

more fun at the fork

I ran the Russell Fork at 200 cfs after a rescue class I participated in at the takeout. I had never seen the river below 600, but local guru Gerald Delong assured me I would have a good time. He did not dissapoint. The Fork is a blast at any level. David Howard double boofing Tower.

Jim Janney

We camped near this overlook in the Breaks State Park. The rescue course took place against the big wall on river left.

I dodged coal trucks on my road bike Friday before the class started, and I stayed until Monday morning. On my way out I stopped near Norton, Va and ran a thirteen mile stretch of the Chief Benge Scout Trail. It parallels this creek for several miles. It ends at the waterfalls on Little Stony, one of Virginia's finest steep creeks.

a trip to virginia, and a new toy

I looked out my window last Friday morning and I could not believe my eyes. My neighbor was having a yard sale and her parents were hocking a sailboat. I knew I had to buy it. Now I just have to learn how to sail. It should be a fun summer at Watauga Lake.

Alenda and I took a short vacation this week. We started with a 10k run on the New River Trail. Ultramarathon badass Annette Bednosky is organizing a 50k foot race there in October. Too bad that's Russell Fork season.

Mom and Dad got us a couple of nights at a cabin on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax, VA. We spent day 2 hiking and trail running on the Parkway. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Southern VA gnar.
On the way home we stopped at the Virginia Creeper Trail. We did 30k in 3 days. We are both recovering from ankle injuries, so we were happy to be back on our feet.

Alenda blew hers out running at Buffalo Mountain a couple of months ago.

I was looking through pictures I took earlier this year and found a couple I liked:

Pond Mountain as seen from Iron Mountain.
Riley Cathcart in the middle of the shit (Linville Gorge).

Dr. Seuss on Linville.

nolichucky bi-tri

On Sunday Caleb, Russell and I completed the first installment of the Johnson City Summer Series. The Series consist of the Bi-Tri, the Hell Fuck and the 40-40-40 (more about that later). This was the second annual Bi-Tri. It started with a 9 mile paddle down the Noli Gorge. The light at Quarter Mile is spectacular early in the morning.At the take out we transitioned into running gear and ran 7 miles up the AT to Indian Grave Gap. We picked up bikes left at the Gap and rode 5 miles down the mountain back to the put in.

Soon we were charging down Quarter Mile for the second time. Photo by Joe Huggins.

After our second paddle down the Noli, we got on road bikes and climbed Spivy Gap. The 30 mile ride brought us back to the put in, and our vehicles.

The only thing left was gear retrieval. We had a mountain of boats, bikes, shoes and paddles at the take out. Photo by Joe Huggins.

The 40-40-40 is going to be the most brutal of the 3 events. It starts in Hampton, TN where the AT crosses 321. I am going to run from Hampton to Damascus (40+ miles) where I will stash a road bike. Highway 91 will bring me over Holston Mountain and back to Hampton (40+ miles). The final 40 will be a cold 40 oz Steel Reserve that I will drink upon completing this punisher...if I finish.

the baddle

Jerry's Baddle was a blast last Saturday. Over one hundred racers competed despite the rain. The party/transition area was at Wilderness Cove Campground. It was a great venue. Steep descents and bad weather made road hairier than the river. At one point both of my feet were unclipped, my chain was off the chain ring and I was swerving across both lanes of traffic on slick pavement. Somehow, I pulled it all together.

Transition area.

Later in the day the kegs were tapped and the sun poked out, providing a perfect setting for a kick ass party. Jed Hinkle and Clayton Gaar were fired up about winning the team event with the fastest time overall.

I was excited to bring this trophy back home. It will continue to be passed around the winners circle.

Green Man:

1. Adam Herzog 1:57:22

2. Mefford Williams 2:06:21

3. Tim Bell 2:07:44 (Tim crashed his bike on one of the hairpin turns)

Green Woman

1. Mariah Noakes 2:22:22

2. Jennifer Cribbs 2:25:30

3. Robin Betz 2:25:53

Teams

1. Clayton Garr/Jed Hinkle 1:56:37

2. Nathan Silsby/Nathan Wyatt 1:57:20

3. Brian Douglass/Adam Douchac 2:03:33

Full results.

Thanks to Brooks, Brid, Stephen, Liquid Logic, Pro Bikes, Wilderness Cove and all the volunteers, timers, and coordinators for making it happen.

russell fork "off season"

The off season is on in Elkhorn City. Drew Austell and I made the trip yesterday for some high water action. The level was 2900 cfs (fall releases are 800). Tower and Fist were scary as hell, and when we got to Triple Drop we portaged the first one. This is Drew lining up for Second Drop.

Triple Drop is one of the most serious rapids on the Fork at high water. The bottom of Third Drop is nasty.

Me at Second Drop. All pics of me were taken by Drew.

Buried at Third Drop. The Grande performed well on the big water.
Calm before the storm at El Horrendo.
The storm.

The only thing sketchier than running the meat of Tower and El Ho at three grand is walking through this tunnel to get back to the put in (to do some more sketchy shit).