Nutrition & Hydration Breakdown for Running an Ultra

This week, my husband and I are traveling home to Washington to compete in the Bigfoot 40 Mile Ultra which circumnavigates Mt. St. Helens! This will be my longest race at 43.5 miles and quite the challenge with over 9,000 ft. of climbing. We've completed our last "big" training run and are settling into this …

Laguna 69 – Acclimating Hike #2

Laguna 69 – Acclimating Hike Numero Dos – 15,100 ft Journal Entry | 10-9-18 Today was magical. It was an early start this morning at 5:00am waiting outside our hostel to be picked up by the tour agency. We got last pick of seats, so we sat in the back. It was a roller coaster the …

Laguna Wilacococha, Peru – Acclimating Hike #1

Acclimating Hikes Before setting out to complete the Cordillera Huayhush Circuit, Jake and I spent 5 days acclimating in the town of Huaraz. From Huaraz (10,000ft), we completed 3 day hikes around the area. all varying in elevation. Our highest elevation reached before starting the Huayhuash Circuit was 15,100ft. Originally, we had planned four day …

Cordillera Huayhuash – Day 8 – Incahuain to Llmac to Huaraz

Day 8 - Incahuain to Llmac to Huaraz It's was our final day in the Cordillera Huayhuash! We had a big decent down to the tiny village of Llamac. We decided to take the alternate "water route" to avoid another 900ft climb. We were absolutely exhausted! We set out at 5:15am. The sky was cloudy …

Cordillera Huayhuash – Day 7 – Huatiaq to Incahuain

Day 7 - Huatiaq to Incahuain Unzipping the tent, we were surprised to see clear, blue skies! We shook the frost off the rain fly and started climbing our first pass of the day. We hiked out of the morning shadows and into the sun. The heat warmed us quickly.   The 15,715ft pass approaching …

Cordillera Huayhuash – Day 6 – Cutatambo to Huatiaq

Day 5 Cutatambo to Huatiaq Today was a totally different day. The trail took us on a brisk walk all the way down to 11,000ft - oxygen! The trail traveled away from the high peaks and followed a raging river steep down into a narrow valley. The water was crystal clear with multicolored river rocks …

Cordillera Huayhuash – Day 5 – Viconga to Cutatambo

Day 5 - Viconga to Cutatambo 6am peek outside our tent - clouds with breaks of blue. We were hopeful! We walked from the hot springs back up to the valley we came to reattach to the main trail. We had two big passes to conquer today. The first one at 16,500 ft and the …

Cordillera Huayhuash – Day 4 – Huayhuash Camp to Viconga

Day 4 Huayhuash Camp to VicongaWe woke up to more rain but felt stronger and better acclimated after a good nights rest. It was a shorter day - only 4.5 hours of total hiking. The trail was a little more gradual today but still reached a 15,500ft pass. No views of the mountains, just lots of …

Cordillera Huayhuash – Day 3 – Carhuacocha to Huayhuash Camp

Day 3 Carhuacocha to Huayhuash Camp In the morning, Jake and I both felt fatigued and groggy. A man approached our tent early as we were packing up to collect our 2nd protection fee of the trek. He hike 2 miles from his village to meet us here. He was surprised we didn't have burros …