Primal Quest BC

Primal Quest was back, this time with an expedition race in British Columbia.  Team Vignette was supposed to do this race in 2017, but it was cancelled :(

I'm more of a "I'll run anytime" and not a "I'll adventure race anytime" kind of racer, so I couldn't justify all the training again this year.  Mount Rainier was plenty enough of an adventure!  But I wanted to see the area and be a part of the race, so I signed up for volunteer coordination.

And what a great group of volunteers!  I was so lucky to get to meet and work with all of them.  I only wish I could have spent more time with them on the course.  There was so much going on across the whole spectrum of the race that I think I was most helpful as part of the "command center" back at HQ.

At least we had some fun times as a group before the race started.  Here's Matthew explaining a few things as we set up for racer check-in:

Dale posing for our "thank you, Subway, for being a sponsor" picture:

Lovely views just out the back window of the Executive Suites in Squamish:

Ian Adamson during the pre-race briefing - it was so neat to get to work with Ian!

One of the more memorable group activities - sewing patches on the race jerseys, recruiting as many people as we could to help, and spending the time joking and laughing together:

Once the race started, everyone was running around like crazy trying to stay on top of everything.  It looked like a stunningly beautiful course, from the opening paddle in First Nation boats to a rainy bike ride and then up onto the glaciers for the mountaineering section, moving into a whitewater rafting section.

There are currently a bunch of great photos from the 2018 race at the Primal Quest website:
http://primalquest.co.nz/

Since I was mainly at HQ I don't have a lot of race-specific things to add, so I'll just pop in a couple highlights from my perspective.

Witnessing Ian giving a videotape update about the status on the course:

Watching the team trackers we noticed one team taking an "alternate route" and I declared that it likely wouldn't be faster than following the trail.  It turned into a wager for a dozen donuts as to which of two teams would arrive at the next TA first.  Either way, everyone at HQ would be a winner the next day.

Thank you for the Tim Horton's donuts, Dale!  :)

I did manage to get outside a couple times, including volunteering at checkpoint 15.  It was a river take-out for the Pursuit teams plus a mid-paddle checkpoint for the Pure teams the following day.  I could easily get there since it was near HQ, and an upstream dark zone meant the teams were close together when they came through.

One of the Pursuit teams finishing their paddle leg:

Portaging boats across the shore toward a path in the woods:

Another team not far behind:

Running with kayak:

We were back at CP15 the following day to catch the rest of the teams coming through; enjoying hanging out in the rain:

Finally when the last couple TA's were set up and all the volunteers were on their last shift, I had time to head out onto the course.  I heard from Greg who was at remote CP21 that if the final team came through at the end of the day, he wasn't too keen on hiking down by himself in the dark so he'd probably stay there another night.  Well heck, that's something I can help with.

I was directed by one of the local guides over to the gondola to give me a head start up the mountain.  Yay for views, even if it's cloudy:

I chanced upon a team running toward me, moving fast for all the gear on their backs.  So fast I only managed a photo as they jogged away:

I had a great time climbing up the trails, and I had great timing as I ran into NorCal, the last team on the course, as they were working their way up to CP20.  We walked and talked together on the hike over to CP21 where we found Greg.  Greg checked the team in and out, then we waited out a brief rain shower while Greg got his camping gear packed to carry out.

A bit of a blurry selfie, but I think you can tell I was happy to be up in the mountains:

Huckleberries!  Everything was worth it for this.  We made like bears and stood in the middle of huckleberry bushes eating all the berries we could get our paws on.

Not sure the story behind these, but they made for a funny photo:

Coming down the "trail" through the boulder field:

We went the long way around trails, while team NorCal climbed up to CP22 and then dropped down the steep way back to the main route.  Funnily enough, we met back up right at this point, as they emerged from the bushes.  They didn't seem to mind pausing for a group photo - thanks y'all!

An awesome double rainbow:

That day of hiking was my favorite of the event, what a beautiful area.

Wrapping things up at the post-race party, happy to spend time with my friend Ann:

We got brave enough to ask Ian if he would pose with us - thank you Ian!

That was a whirlwind experience with an amazing group of people (staff, volunteers, racers, local folks), and it was wonderful to meet everyone.  I look forward to returning to BC someday - with John and with more time to explore!

Mailbox Peak in Washington (FKT)

Just off the cruise at the beginning of September, I was looking for a hike/climb/run as a last real workout before volunteering at Primal Quest.  The FKT site has a lot of interesting possibilities, and I found one that didn't even have a female time posted yet.  The route up to Mailbox Peak looked like an excellent trail, the skies were mostly clear of smoke finally, let's do it.

I took a shuttle bus to the trailhead and a fellow hiker offered to take my picture in lieu of my normal close-up selfie:

It's a big ol' road right at the start:

The turn onto the new trail:

The new trail does several long switchbacks instead of climbing straight up the side of the hill:

Washington trail greenery (and no sign of poison oak, how nice):

An attempt at a picture of a bird, perhaps we were both a bit startled by our encounter:

Quite a lot of work has been put into this trail creation:

Excellent shade most of the way up:

A first glimpse of the area around the peak:

Things start to get more rocky higher up:

Mount Rainier!  Memories of our recent climb:

Crossing a talus field in the final climb toward the summit:

Well-placed stairs up through the rocks:

Climbing up to the horizon:

Back on dirt, OK, we're not quite to the top yet, and that final push was quite a haul.

It was worth it though - a very cool summit setup:

I wonder which came first, the name "Mailbox Peak" or the actual mailbox:

Another look at Mount Rainier for good measure:

Wonderful views all around:

The mailbox was stuffed full of stuff and covered in stickers:

And... a bicycle??  No idea what that's all about:

The split with the old trail (I followed the new trail up and back down):

Hmm, the bathroom is way over there, but sometimes you just gotta go...

Back at the bottom - thumbs up for this trail, I loved it.

Total time = 3:28:30, posted to the FKT site:
https://fastestknowntime.com/route/mailbox-peak-wa

A look at the shuttle stop, and I appreciated the bus option so I didn't have to fight for parking at the trailhead:

Thank you, Mailbox Peak!

Alaska cruise - Victoria

Our last port, the city of Victoria in British Columbia.  We had only an evening to roam around, so we hopped off right away to make the most of it.

Most impressive gardens and flowers and topiary!  We could have spent a day walking around looking at it all (and I'm guessing Butchart Gardens is even more spectacular).  The following photos are from John during his walk into town:

A large Native American totem pole:

Impressive parliament building:

Kip and I ran over to Beacon Hill Park, checking out the Mile '0' marker along the way.  It's the beginning of Trans-Pacific Highway (we were thinking it must include a ferry ride - yep, it does):

An inspiring Terry Fox statue - I remember from when I was young hearing about him running across Canada with an amputated/prosthetic leg.  You're amazing, Terry!

We couldn't miss this one - the world's tallest totem pole (with a Kip for height reference):

Hey a peacock!  We were pretty excited to get to see one up close:

Turns out there are a gazillion peacocks in the park, just wandering around like it's nothing special.  Pretty cool.

The main target of the evening - the Interactivity Board Game Cafe!  You can get a table, order some food and drinks, and borrow a game from their extensive library.  A wonderful place to hang out and learn new games.  We need more of these cafes in the world.  We made each other laugh with the Deadpool "create your own caption" cards:

Time to head back to the ship, with a few more sights along the way.  I believe these are whales spouting water while leaping out of a wave (as they do?):

The statue of Captain Cook, I'm not sure if John is quizzing Kip about the man's identity...

Another excellent totem pole, and the parliament building lit up at night:

Thank you Victoria, that was a fun evening!

And that's it for the cruise!  Highly recommend.