The last two weeks have flown by with some great trail running in the San Juan Islands, snow shoeing in the Cascades, and learning to sail on Lake Washington.

Tandra Schmidt takes in the Khumbu Valley – 2010.

Thanks for helping me spread the word about the great trips I’m working on with S2Mountaineering. We now have two full teams for Kilimanjaro in June/July and I am turning my attention to the Everest Base Camp Trek this October. You should come join me! The fall is one of the best times to hike through the Khumbu valley. We’ll  be visiting some great sites in Kathmandu and the trek to base camp at 17,500 feet is something I have seen many people from all walks of life accomplish. It is an amazing journey to one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. During the trek to base camp there will be some opportunities to participate in porter health projects, so we will also make a meaningful impact. Please help me make these trips a success by passing on the word!

Orcas 50k

As for the past couple weeks, the Orcas 50k trail run in the San Juan islands was another surreal journey on beautiful trails. It was my fourth time running it in four years and I will definitely be back for more. This run now sells out in hours! With over 8000 feet of climbing it is a lot of up and down with stellar views of the neighboring islands, Cascades, and Olympics from Mt. Constitution.  As usual, the local beer on tap, live music, and good cheer was a great way to relax after crossing the finish line. Great to see some many peeps out on the course! Thanks to Rainshadow Running and all of the volunteers. Congrats to the winners Maxwell Ferguson and Jodee Adams-Moore, friends Adam Lint and Adam Hewey who finished in the top ten, and everyone else who gave it their best. Below are a few pictures, the full set  can be found here.

 

There is something about a  lake in the middle of an island….

 

Celebrating the Oreo on top of Mt. Constitution.

 

Celebrating again with an Island Hopping IPA after ~31 miles

 

I have arrived

 

Snow

I don’t think I could walk after Orcas for 4-5 days (see ‘Post Orcas Shuffle‘) last year because the ~8,000 feet of descents trashed my quads. But this year, with slightly better conditioning, (and maybe the help of some some single malt) I was able to snow shoe with friends on beautiful slopes in the Cascades, about an hour east of Seattle. Much thanks to Kathleen Egan and her fiance John Fiddler for the amazing cabin and great company.  Let me brag about them for a minute because they are far too modest to do it themselves: Kathleen is a top ranked trail runner with crazy runs under her belt and the injuries and sponsorships to prove it (check out this ‘Inspiring Athlete‘ profile). She also has a background in public health which is close to my heart. John was just named as one of Seattle’s top emergency vets by Seattle Metro magazine. You might recognize him from his years as an intern on “Animal Planet Emergency Vets” (sorry about outing you John). He also has many hard core climbs under his belt including three of the seven summits: Denali, Aconcagua, and Kilimanjaro. And while  runs stupid distances like the rest of us, I think climbing, sailing, and kayaking are his passions. In about two weeks, he will will set off on a 700 mile solo sea kayak trip down the length of the Baja Peninsula in the Sea of Cortez from San Felipe to La Paz.

But that’s not all! After his seven week kayak trip – Kathleen is going to join him and they will keep travelling – spending the next 1.5-2+ years wondering across Europe and into Asia and beyond – hiking, running, climbing, volunteering, and living the dream. They don’t even know where they will settle at the end, but they will be getting married in November in Thailand. If all works out, we’ll cross paths not long after in Nepal and hopefully enjoy some trails in the Himalaya. On their bucket list is the Great Himalayan Trail, the ‘trail to end all trails’.  My bucket list too! They are being sponsored in part by GU Energy and also Ultraspire. I’ve been running almost daily with an Ultraspire pack for close to five months. Their gear rocks! Check out all the great running gear they offer, a lot would be great for hiking too.

Final 15 yards of  a 100 mile trail run…. Photo credit Glenn Tachiyama

I love this picture from John’s blog of him finishing his first 100 miler (20,470ft of gain!) at Cascade Crest, Kathleen cheering him on….It is great to see two people so in love and living the dream. I wish them the best and look forward to following their journey: http://knuckleheadadventuretours.blogspot.com and on facebook.

Take care everyone. Travel safe. Another time I will tell you about my comic attempts learning how to sail over the past weekend. I have a long way to go, but already I am dreaming of throwing off the bowlines…
– Seth

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

– M. Twain