Hi,

I just started a blog about climbing and trail running. Some of the stories have been posted here, some have not. Please take a look and let me know what you think.

http://www.themountain-life.blogspot.com/

TIA,

EB

great blog mate! Look forward to reading it

Thanks guys. I plan to continue adding old stories and trail runs.

Awesome to have a place to read your collected stories, +1. May they keep coming this summer!

[quote="tazz"]Hey when was the girth Pillar trip? Man so glad you made it out of that! great read.[uote]
June 21, 1998. I can thank Nick Strait for saving my bacon on that one. He acted very smartly and his physical strength probably saved us both.

Nice - looking forward to reading the stories.

Want a good trail run?

Try Mt. St. Helens in summer... all the way around in 16 hours... only 32 miles. Wear light shoes... carry only water.

If you don't make it back to the car before dark... oh well.

billisfree wrote:Want a good trail run?

Try Mt. St. Helens in summer... all the way around in 16 hours... only 32 miles. Wear light shoes... carry only water.

If you don't make it back to the car before dark... oh well.

Thanks for the tip. How much elevation gain?

Dunno... I only did an out-n-back 16 mile hike. When I got back to car, I encountered a 33-year old fella who decided to run it alone.

I estimate it's at LEAST 6,100 feet of total vertical climbs. Elevations vary up and down 2,700 to 4,900 feet. Lots of sandy gullies to cross... going down and up each one. The lava fields tend to be uneven rock or crushed rock. The forested and meadow areas tend to have nice flat paths.

No doubt it's quite a scenic run - if you don't spend all your time watching where you place your feet.

Great stuff, keep the stories coming. Also, If you want a close challenge, time trial yourself on mailbox. Its not technically a trail run, but it's absolutely brutal if you go for speed. I managed to break an hour on it this last fall, barely. Its 2.5 miles (or around there) from the gate to the top, and just over 4k gain.

Very nice, EB! I look forward to some good reading.

jordansahls wrote:Great stuff, keep the stories coming. Also, If you want a close challenge, time trial yourself on mailbox. Its not technically a trail run, but it's absolutely brutal if you go for speed. I managed to break an hour on it this last fall, barely. Its 2.5 miles (or around there) from the gate to the top, and just over 4k gain.

Thanks for the feedback. I know MVS used to hike Mailbox before work ocasionally. I tried to hike it with my wife but were stopped by a steep snow gulley with a nasty runout. We did not bring axes so we turned around. I keep meaning to head up there.

Nice blog, EB. I look forward to reading it in more detail when I have the time. There can never be enough mountain sites.

Thanks so much. It was never my intention to start a blog. I only started it because my wife wanted a blog to raise ovarian cancer awareness so I had to fiddle around with the software to help her with hers and got carried away. I do enjoy it and will continue to update it will old stories, gear reviews, and new trail running routes. I am bummed that I did not regualarly take a camera with me until the last couple of years.

Hey EB - here's a site I like to visit every now and then: http://www.volcanorunning.com

It has some good info for running (or doing them in a single push) around Hood, Adams, St. Helens, Rainier, the Sisters and a bunch of other stuff.