Oyster Dome 50K

The Oyster Dome 50K caught my interest in late June, despite the July 8th start date. It seemed to be the perfect final tune up race before Fat Dog 120 on August 10th. The plan was for the race to act as both a long run and pushed effort. Apryle and I have run in the Chuckanut Mountains many times since moving to Washington in 2015 but our first run to the Oyster Dome did not occur until 2021. Additionally, this would mark my first race in Skagit county since the Chuckanut 50K in 2017.

The race takes place in the Chuckanut Mountains which are the western most extension of the North Cascades and the only section of the range that borders the Pacific coast line. The Chuckanut Mountains are made up of 55 million year old layers of sandstone, conglomerate, shale and bituminous coal, which is referred to as the Chuckanut formation. Although Larabee State Park (Washingtons first state park; 1923) is the most popular place in the Chuckanuts, there are several other prominent regions, most notably Blanchard State Forest (which is where Oyster Dome is located). 

Blanchard State Forest is a 4500 acre site that is a working forest which is managed by Washington State Department of Natural Resources. The forest was extensively logged in the mid 1800s but was handed over to the state in 1925 following a major fire. Although most of the forest is second growth, it is still an impressive forest punctuated unique geological formations and serene upland lakes. As a part of the Puget Lowland Forest Ecoregion, the climate is characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters (800-900 mm annually). The forest is dominated mostly by Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, and Western Hemlock. Whereas the understory is occupied by Oregon Grape, Salal, and Western Sword Fern. 

Apryle, my father, and I made our way to the Blanchard State Forest lower trailhead for the 7am start. Both Troy Haeseler and Rob Sundine were also at the starting area. Rob was signed up for the 50K and we convinced Troy to enter the corresponding 25K race. The race started under cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 50s. This was ideal conditions considering most of the week was sunny with temperatures in the 90s. 

Within the first mile the group was narrowed to Troy setting the pace, followed by me, and then Charlie Lahud-Zahner. As we hit the course we started up the Lower trail and then turned onto DNR B-1000 before jumping onto the Lily Lake trail. On the lower Lily Lake trail we crossed over the Whitehall Creek twice and ascended to the high point on the trail (1976 feet) and at mile 3.8 we turned onto the Max’s Shortcut trail. Around this time Troy peeled back and left the pacemaking to me. At mile 5.2 we continued downhill and turned onto PNW trail. As we descended, Troy caught back up to Charlie and I and we reached the Sammish Overlook aid station at mile 6.2 (0:56:13). 

We continued down the Sammish Bay trail and hit a low point of 1033 feet. From there we began our ascent up to the races namesake: Oyster Dome. It was a steep switchbacking climb and I had distanced Troy and Charlie by the time I reached the summit at mile 8.1 (1:18:45). There were no real views of Bellingham Bay due to the cloud cover but I was not too concerned. I returned back to the junction and took the Oyster Dome trail to the Lily Lake trail. After passing by the left side of the lake I continued on the Lily Lizard Connector trail. Around mile 9.4 I made a left onto the British Army trail and Charlie caught back up and we descended to the British Army aid station. The British Army trail passed by Lizard Lake and was quite narrow passing through a dense forest. We reached the British Army aid station at mile 10.5 (1236 feet) in 1:43:07 and ascended back up to Lizard Lake (1800 feet). 

After passing Lizard Lake we descended back to the start/finish area via Alternate Incline trail. Then we turned onto the DNR B-1000, followed by a turn onto the Lower trail. We reached the start/finish aid station in 2:18:38 (14.3 miles at 600 feet). At this point I was feeling very fresh and ready to tackle the second lap of the race. Charlie and I began the ascent back to up to the Max’s Shortcut Junction, but unfortunately our run together came to an end as he fell off the pace. I reached the Sammish Overlook aid station (mile 20.5) in 3:18:21 which was only 3:30 slower than the first lap. On the second trip up to Oyster Dome I passed several dozen groups of people and reached the summit (mile 22.5) at 3:42:00, only 1:07 slower than the first trip. Fortunately the skies remained clouded over and temperatures cool as I descended towards Lizard Lake. I passed my dad who was hiking down towards the lower trailhead, I gave him directions and continued back down to British Army aid station. I reached the British Army aid station (mile 24.8) in 4:06:46, which was only 24 seconds slower than my split from the first lap. 

I managed to keep a running pace back up to Lizard Lake and then began to really increase the tempo as I descended back to DNR B-1000. My watch became a little glitchy but I believe I managed a sub 7 minute pace in the closing miles and I reached the finish line in 4:40:38 meaning that I positive split the race by 3:22; which is significantly less than my usual positive split for a looped course. In fact, on the last split between British Army aid station and the finish I ran 1:39 faster on my second loop. Overall, I felt great, perhaps even well enough to do another two loops! I really enjoyed my time on course with Charlie and Troy. They helped keep the conversion lively, which made the early mile melt away. 

Thanks to Apryle and Dad for joining me for the run and thanks to the race directors and all the volunteers for making it an excellent event.

All Photos by Walt Szablewski