Here is what we have to look forward to...
Hi Runners,
A few updates, we are just one week away from the race! Please read updates carefully.
Road 99 is Closed and will remain closed until late August: Road 99 is the only viable access to Windy Ridge Aid Station and Norway Pass Aid Station. These stations are already NO CREW aid stations so nothing will change in terms of crew accessibility. The Forest Service is giving us special permission to drive to these locations for our aid stations so there will not be any re-routes due to the closure. Please keep in mind that it will be considerably more difficult to drop out at Windy Ridge Aid or Norway Pass aid due to the road closure and limited permission to drive vehicles out from those stations. We do not recommend dropping at either of these stations as you may need to wait until the aid station closes unless you are a medical emergency. We wanted to let you know about this information so your crew will not be surprised that the road will be gated after Bear Meadow.
Council Bluff Aid Station: There's a wash out on the way to Council Bluff Aid that is a bit scary to drive around. I was able to get my Ford 350 through, so it's wide enough for a large truck but not much more..if you miscalculate the distance the consequences would be bad. Very bad. The road to the aid station is also overgrown and may scratch your paint so please keep all this in mind when deciding where to have your crew go during the race. We DO NOT recommend RVs go on this road for obvious reasons. Please do not have your crew take an RV to Council Bluff, they will not be able to get to that location.
We do not recommend bringing RVs to the following Aid Stations due to lack of turn arounds and/or poor road conditions:
Council Bluff: No turn around, overgrown, bad wash out. No RVs or trailers please! 2wd ok, but wash out area may be too sketchy for many drivers.
Twin Sisters: narrow road with very limited turn arounds. minor washouts close to aid station. No turn around for large vehicles as you get close to aid. Ok for 2wd, no recommended for RVs/trailers.
Owen's Creek: No turn around, narrow road. Fine for 2wd just bad for RVs/trailers. The road has been repaired since last year so it's ok this year for low clearance vehicles.
Driving roads in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest: Plan ahead and if you have crew make sure they have tools to change a tire. Most crew do not have any tire issues, but a few do. Here's why: roads are fine for most 2wd drive vehicles however, there are sink holes, cracks, dips, bumps, rocks, wash outs, narrow/one lane roads and other hazards of a rough road periodically. Don't be driving along at 50mph thinking you can stop in time when you see one of these hazards. Please make sure your crew follows the speed limits and rules of the road. We will not tolerate speeding crew on the Forest Service roads! Thank you for informing your crew in advance.
Conditions of trails: We've already marked about 110 miles of trail and will be marking most of the remainder of the course this weekend. We've spent 150+ people hours so far on the trails marking and will spend another 90 people hours over the next few days. The trails are looking good and we were able to do a bunch of trail work at the end of July. Thank you to all the runners who came out to help!
There will be blow downs from time to time on the course, especially in the second half of the race. We have removed many trees on section from Klickitat to Twin Sisters but you will still encounter some logs that you will need to hop/jump/climb over.
Wild flowers are out!!
Lots of berries will also be out: Huckleberries, blueberries, Oregon grape, salmon berries, thimble berries, blackberries!
Please note that so far the bugs - flies and mosquitos- have been bad at most locations above 4,000ft so plan ahead - you'll want bug spray in your pack and in drop bags.
Some snow at elevations over 5,000 ft but only small patches. Route finding will not be impacted. You will not need traction devices.
Chain of Lakes Aid to Klickitat Aid has a LOT of water crossings in the first 7 miles. Expect to get wet feet. There's just no way around it. There is also a bigger river crossing on this section that we are putting up a rope for. We recommend a dry pair of shoes and socks at Klickitat Aid. This is the only section that you will get wet feet on. There are about 5-6 river crossings on this leg.
Weather: This week course marking has been hot and humid. Good news is that it's a lot hotter in town (Randle) than it is in the mountains where you will spend most of your time. The mountains have been 60-80F and in town it's 80-100F. Next week's weather is forecasted to be:
Mt. St. Helens Area (Day 1-2 of the race)
Lewis River Area (around mile 110)
Twin Sisters Aid (around mile 175+)
Finish Line (Race Check In), Randle, WA
Air Conditions: Currently air conditions are poor (smokey, mostly particles) due to fires in British Columbia. We expect that since the fires are so far away that this may not be the case next week and the air quality advisory for the area is only through this Saturday, but we will continue to monitor the situation. You can look up air quality here and on NOAAs site.
SPOT rentals/submit link for personal devices: If you haven't rented a device or submitted your SPOT / Inreach link, it's too late at this point since we have to put in our order with our rental company based on what's been submitted/rented up to today. We will charge you $40 at race check in for a device if you did not submit anything or pay for a rental.
That's it for now!
See you next week.
Candice Burt
Race Director
