Huntington Lake Hiking/Running Routes

If you ever happen to find yourself near Huntington Lake and are looking for some good routes to run or hike, I've got a couple you should check out. Both of these trails start at the end of Upper Deer Creek rd., where the D&F Pack Station is(there is a big sign that says parking for hikers). The first one takes you away from the normal switchback route to Kaiser, it spreads out the elevation gain over about 9-10 miles en route to the Peak. From the Peak you continue on down the trail about 5-5.5 miles back to where you began (last 5 is pretty steep, but a nice quick way down if you're running).

This route starts from the same place as the last one and takes you almost the same way, except about 4-4.5 miles in you will come to a wooden sign that points you to the left for Nellie Lake or you stay straight to get Kaiser Peak. The Lake is about 1.5 miles from this marker and relatively flat, well compared to continuing towards the Peak. The lake is beautiful and is open to camping, with a permit, you'll see a couple fire pits in the clearing once you happen upon the lake.

Post Avalon 50 mile Race

It's the day after the race and I feel really good. I couldn't be more pleased with how the day went and even more happy that I came in under 9hrs.
    With the race starting at 5am I thought I would be freezing cold until the sun came up but the weather was perfect. Nice cool temps starting out and heading into a 1600' climb helped to keep me warm. It was an awesome view getting to the top of the first climb and looking back down the trail seeing a long line of runners headlamps zigzagging back down the mountain.

Bottles in the air. (sweet action shot courtesy of my wife)

A great race

Sprinting into the finish

At the start ready to run

My GPS almost made it the whole 50

    The first 13 miles went by really fast, I was making sure to pace myself and not go out to fast. I walked the steep hills and looking at my splits stayed under 13min/mil on all of those portions. The aid stations were fully stocked and all the volunteers were awesome and really helpful. I stayed on top of my hydration/nutrition needs utilizing salt caps, GU gels, Cytomax and water, with the combination I didn't experience any cramping and felt good. The only mistake I did make was drinking a Mango fruit drink at around mile 40 which left my stomach in knots and had me dry heaving for 3 miles. It slowed me down a bit but thankfully it didn't last that long and sipping on water definitely helped. The last few miles were on steep downhill roads and I just let my legs go and flew down. With my GPS dying at 44 miles I didn't know if I was going to make it under 9 so I just ran as hard as I could and hoped for the best. Coming into Avalon and seeing the race clock knowing that I was going to finish under 9 hours I was overwhelmed and chucked my water bottles in the air and almost didn't cross through the actual finish tape they had up.  My time was 8hrs and 49 min I finished about 37th overall and had an awesome day.  Next up Rocky Road Endurance 100 mile run in February.

Avalon 50 mile Run. Game Time

Getting my gear ready for the Avalon 50 mile run this Saturday, I am super excited and ready to run. My last 50 mile run I did well and was happy with my performance, I ran a 9:47. The Avalon course is a little elevation gain (7600') than Dick Colllins firetrails so Im going to put forth my best effort and try to come in under 9 hrs. Going into this run I have learned a little bit more about what I need to do during the run in order to feel good and maintain a steady pace. I stopped by Sierra Running Company today and got plenty of GU gels some Cytomax and of course a license plate frame, which is absolutely necessary for a successful run. I will post more pics and my results after the run.

Rocky Road Endurance Run

I'm signing up for my first 100 mile run and have 85 days left to prepare myself. I'm really pumped for this race and look forward to destroying my legs over the 100 mile course. Still trying to figure what kinds of food and drinks I'll need for the day of but my stomach handles most things pretty well. I've got some good runs planned between then and including the Avalon benefit 50.