"There's only one hard and fast rule in running: sometimes you have to run one hard and fast."








Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Where I'll Be During Voyageur

Some have noted that I'm signed up for the Voyageur 50 Mile (July 30) and assume I'm running it. I'm not.

I'm thinking of going up there, saying hi to a few people, maybe snap a couple of pictures before the race starts and then head off north. It's a good day to start climbing Minnesota's 2000 foot peaks. Depending upon time, I may get in Stony Tower Hill (maybe a 10 minute scamper), Wanless Tower (easy), Lundeen Mountain (meh), Peak 2114 (probably an hour to find it and another to climb), Peak 2163 (a long rough bushwack that will probably cause me to reconsider) and Eagle Mountain. No way I'm doing all 6 in one day!

Whatever I get accomplished, I plan to be back in Carlton for the lasagna dinner for the racers. After all, I've paid for it - can't let it go to waste.

I've been looking at the peaks and considering how to do them. Some are remarkably tough. One is adjacent to State Lake, which once got listed as "the most inaccessible lake in Minnesota;" there was a plan to check the DNA of the trout expected to be there, but they could find no one who would consider trying to make the trip. Even worse is one that's 15 miles along the Kekekabic Trail (which is slightly less a nightmare than it was after all the trees blew down, but is still barely a trail) before a 3 mile bushwack; I'd try to do it in a day, though I can find no one who's done it without camping three days.

Oh joy.

8 comments:

Colin said...

This 2000 foot peak quest sounds like a fun adventure, and a nice change of pace from ultras.

Please be careful, though, this is not something to take on lightly! If you haven't already, I recommend reading Lost in the Wild for some tales of what can go wrong on this sort of adventure ...

SteveQ said...

Colin, that's EXACTLY what I was thinking; they were in almost exactly the same spot! And they, unlike me, were somewhat prepared.

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

Look, if anyone ever does check the DNA of those trout, I want to say right upfront that the fact that those trout and I share so many alleles does NOT prove I ever f*cked a trout - and even if I did, it was consensual, no matter what the trout may say NOW.

But if no one ever does get around to checking the trouts' DNA, forget I said anything. I admit nothing.

Trout-fucking ... IOKIYAR*.

(*It's ok if you're a Republican. Just ask M. Bachmann's totally non-gay husband.)

Jean said...

Good luck with your quest, Steve. This sounds really interesting, and you will no doubt see some amazing country. Have fun, and stay safe!

wildknits said...

Well, there goes my plan to recruit you to help at my aid station!!!

Should be a fun day - though will need to be timely on the hikes/climbs to make it back in time for dinner ;->

sea legs girl said...

Well, it's up to you - but I'd never miss out on a chance to run Voyageur - if I were, you know, in the same country. You could always just run half. But, then again, the peaks quest sounds fun, too, especially if it involves 3 miles of bushwack.

SteveQ said...

@SLG: I like that you adopted my misspelling of bushwhack.

Samantha said...

Have fun!