On August 20th, I finished up my Neuroscience final in the morning; correctly answering 96% of the questions. This brought to a close my third semester of Physical Therapy school. To celebrate I hit the trails for one last ten miler in Austin before departing to Spokane, Washington. I ran my favorite route, which is a gravel path that skirts along Slaughter Lane and RM 1826. Post run I departed for the northwestern reaches of the country via a Boeing 747. Apryle greeted me at the airport and we departed in her 2001 Ford Windstar for a city campsite in Odessa, Washington.

Apryle showed excellent craftsmanship with her makeshift camping van. The van was complete with a comfortable raised cot in the back. The bed frame hinged and lifted to allow for storage underneath. The design maximized the use of space allowing for both comfort and practicality. As a final touch, the van also included some owl print curtains.

August 21st

Drove across the south central territory of the state and obtained trail/camping information in the town of Cle Elum

Hiked the Stafford Creek Trail and most of the way up the Navaho Peak Trail and where we enjoyed some great views of the Stuart Range.

The overall distance was 26 kilometers

Four hours.

Camped in the tent along Stafford Creek

August 22nd

Drove to Seattle

Toured the University of Washington Campus

Drove to Anacortes and paddled/waded in the Pacific Ocean

Had dinner on the shoreline watching the sun set over the San Juans

Camped near Washington Park

August 23rd

Walked over to the Ferry Landing in Anacortes

Ferried over to Orcas Island

Biked about 50 kilometers total into the downtown and into Moran State Park and back to the ferry

Hiked to Cascade Falls

Ferried back to Anacortes

Camped in Mont Vernon

August 24th

Drove to Marblemont

Toured the fish hatchery and watched some salmon swimming in the channels

Drove into the North Cascades NP

Hiked up Lookout Mountain

16.10 kilometer round trip

4000’ vertical elevation gain

2:20 to the summit and about 4 hours overall

Rode out a storm in the lookout tower

Drove to Johannesburg campsite near Sahale Glacier and set up tent about 200m up the trail

August 25th

Hiked to the Sahale Glacier camp; saw two or three black bears; even one swimming in Doubtful Lake

21 Kilometers total

Had some lunch near the glacier while a mountain goat attempted to join

Hiked down to Doubtful Lake and then back to the Johannesburg campsite

Camped in the tent at the Johannesburg campsite again.

August 26th

Drove to Gorge Campground and set up the tent right along the Skagit River

Went for a 7 mile run along the Steattle Trail and around Diablo

Walked back along Steattle Creek and Diablo with Apryle

Camped in the tent at Gorge Campground

August 27th

Hiked to Sourdough Mountain; 16.4 kilometers

5100’ vertical elevation gain (8:40am – 3:40pm)

Every trail had several raspberries, salmonberries, blackberries and blueberries, but this trail had overwhelming amount of berries.

Camped in the tent at Gorge Campground again

August 28th

Hiked the Maple Loop: 17 kilometers (Tangents to Ann and Rainy Lake, as well as a brief scramble toward Frisco Peak)

Camped at Maple Loop trailhead

August 29th

Hiked up Wallaby Mountain; 6 miles

Ran 6.5 miles in about 48:00 out and back on a country road in Winthrop

Walked around downtown Wintrop; got a waffle cone and had dinner

Camped at Kangaroo Range Trailhead

August 30th

Hiked to Cutthroat Pass near the Pacific Crest Trail

17.7 kilometers: Hiked/Ran to the top and Ran back to the van.

Traveled to Winthrop and toured the town historical museum

Had dinner in Twisp

Camped in Omak

August 31st

Drove to Republic

Walked around the downtown area and checked out the Ranger Station

Drove over to Ferry Lake

Ran 10 Kilometers with Apryle (6.02 mi 1:10:11)

Then ran another 6.6 kilometers solo up a steep grade and back to the van (27:32; 1600m progressions: 7:30, 7:15, 6:30, 5:38).

Camped in the van off the road near Ferry Lake

September 1st

Drove to the downtown Republic camp/picnic area and made some breakfast, did some drawing and relaxed.

Ran to the Golden Tiger Trail off 21;

10.5 kilometer warm up and headed down to high school track and did a quick workout

800m 2:32, 400m jog, 1200m 3:44, 400m jog, 1600m 5:24, 400m jog

1.6 kilometer cool down run back to the downtown camp

Had some dinner and some ice-cream

Drove out to 2156/300 junction and attempted to find the wolf call camp; hiked 4.5 miles in the dark but were unsuccessful in finding the camp

Camped in the tent off the road

September 2nd

Had some pancakes and went for a 8 kilometer run around 300 to 2156

Picked up some groceries in Republic and did some work in the library

Drove to the Winchester Campground and set up in a little cabin

Ran another 8 kilometers down the Golden Tiger Trail along Curlew Lake

Had some dinner, Margaritas and watched Rocky I

September 3rd

Organized Apryle’s van and prepared to depart for Austin

Arrived at the Spokane Airport and flew to Denver and then Austin

Unpacked and prepared to start my forth semester classes on the fourth of September.