Pleas Help - About Washington state

there are some magnificent running trails on the san juan islands. orcas island will provide you with some good runs.

or you could always venture inland toward spoklahoma:)

and if for some reason spokane doesn't quench your thirst, travel to the luxurious hills of the palouse and you're bound to locate some adventure!

hopefully some locals can/will toss out some travel tips...

- ryan

Lake Chelan is a very beautiful area. I'm sure you can talk to locals and find some great trail running. Sounds like you are going to stay for a week. You will probably find plenty of trails/things to do at Chelan.

Mount Baker is actually quite a drive from Chelan 4 hours or so. Great hiking and running trails though. If you get to Bellingham email me, I can show you around.

Other good running/hiking areas closer to Chelan: Methow Valley (Winthrop) and the Leavenworth area.

Beautiful, you should go!

C. Dooley

Chuck is right about the Chelan area- a great place, but it is very different than the coast. Basically the difference is between running in deep forests of huge trees and wild beaches (Olympics) vs. drier, sunnier mountain running with gorgeous views from alpine ridges (Chelan area). From Chelan there are roads that go way up in the mts. and access high trails (though not Mt. Baker, as Chuck said it's 4 hrs away). A "must see" would be to drive 2 hrs to Hart's Pass where from 6-7000 feet alpine meadows you can run beautiful ridgelines (similar to Rocky Mts.)on the beautifully graded Pacific Crest Trail- plan to camp here if possible. Also nearby is Washington Pass, w/dramatic rock spires and beautiful meadows. Me and my g/f are planning to be in these latter areas at the end of the first week in Sept. if you want running partners.

I am biased- I've lived near Seattle my whole life and rarely go to the coast and go to the mountains every chance I get. You'll have a great trip either way!

Dude, there is a huge wildfire near Chelan right now. You don't want to go there. Residental evacuations have taken place...

I just had dinner last night with someone who camped at Chelan this weekend. Saw smoke during the trip but did not affect his weekend. So keep an eye on it, talk to your site, but I wouldn't say change plans for September based on it.

Thank you all for the info. I very much appreciate the specific suggestions and the wildfire would be a good thing to be cognizant of (I had no idea).

C. Dooley, I might e-mail you for some Bellingham specifics. Thank you very much (Dooley, Burdo) for your hospitable invitations, that is very cool. If I were going alone, I would certainly take you up on going for a run! However, since this is really a retreat for my Honey and me, though, I think we'll pass this time (was cool for you to suggest, though). Perhaps we'll cross pathes on the trail... Don't worry... unlike the ultra-marathon dude and his wife (on a thread a coupla weeks ago), it is unlikely you'll find us in a compromising position on the trails.

If you're from Washington and haven't responded, I am assuming you agree with all of the above.

Know that I was mortified to see my "Please" on the subject line written as "Pleas". (this last sentence was for Answer Man).

Just be clear that you know Chelan/Manson is kind on the opposite side of the Cascades from Baker. And the Chelan/Manson Washington is very different from the Olympic Washington (as has been mentioned). Much drier, much less lush, different types of mountains (as you go east). My in-laws live on the mountain above Chelan State Park, and it's a nice place. You can do some trail running anywhere in the area, just drive to the trailheads. I agree with the Methow Valley being nice, Leavenworth is quite beautiful (and a cute little tourist trap). Any of those runs up into the Cascades will be excellent, esp. on/near the Pacific Crest Trail.

Thanks for the insights. I called the resort about the fire, and they said unless a new one breaks out, it is a non issue. We booked the condo in Manson, so this will be the main area for most of the trip, but we don't mind driving a bit to get around. We arrive Sat around noon (sea-tac), and now I am wondering if it is possible (or totally impractical) to stop and saunter aound the Northern Mt Rainier area on the way to Manson. Would this detour cause us to go more than 2-3hrs out of our way? Anyway, we will do most of what you guys have suggested while in this area. Palouse sounds interesting, but may be a little out of our range (driving estimates from Manson??). On Thursday morning, we will go to the San Juan islands, and I would like to Kayak to/around the islands (I heard it may be whale watching season, true?). Any knowledge of a good equipment rental place? I have heard that a MUST do seafood place is 3 Crabs. You concur? Then, on Fri and Sat (before we fly out) we will be doing the more tropical rainforest hikes (Queets? Hoh?). Maybe I need an extra day for these? I don't think we will e spending much time in Seattle. I've heard about the markets and gardens and such. Other than these and perhaps hometown biases, is Seattle much different than other US cities? OK, other than my recap to let you guys know what I think of your state, I promise not to write on the Letsrun boards again about my vacation plans (smile). Thanks.

I agree with what has already been said. I have lived in Spokane and Bellingham for quite some time. Bellingham is probably one of the best places to go for beautifully maintained trails set in lush rainforests. Most of these trails are as close to concrete as you are going to get because the city continually places gravel over them and flattens it out. This is a good thing because it keeps the outrageous amounts of mud in check. Eastern Washington, specifically Spokane, has many trails as well but they are not as publicized because most of them are not maintained by the city. You won't see any trail head signs or maps in most areas, and most of the trails are fairly soft sand as well as quite hilly. In Western Washington, outside of Bellingham, I recommend Pt. Defiance park in Tacoma, near Gig Harbor. This place is absolutely beautiful, with loads of maintained, unpaved trails. Also, Deception pass, which is on your way to Whidbey Island is a huge, beautiful state park with breath-taking views and challenging unpaved trails. I hope this helps, have fun in one of the most beautiful states in the union.

Try Winthrop, North of Chelan and at the foothills of the North Cascades. An ex-girlfriend's family owns a ten thousand acre ranch there (sorry, you can't stay). The Lodge at Sun Mountain is incredible.

Having done the roundtripper many times, I'll point out that Chelan/Manson to the Palouse area is about 4 hours each way. Not worth the drive, given how busy you will already be. Stick to the Cascades and west, I'm sure that will be enough to keep you busy for a few days. :-)

In my estimation, the Olympic Peninsula is worth a little of your time. It's one of the prettiest places I have ever been (better than any other national park in the US - comparable to Tahiti) If you don't have much time, you might just make the 400 mile drive (@ 50 mph = 8 hrs) around the peninsula and stop at some of the "hiking trails" which are mostly hour-long hikes roundtrip which you should be able to run in 15-30 minutes. My wife and I did this a few years ago and really enjoyed our day. The runs broke up the driving but were not long enough to work up too much of a sweat before getting back in the car. There's enough stops to get a pretty good workout in though. If you do this, don't miss the Hoh Rainforest! The huge spruce trees are better than the sequoias or redwoods in California.

Hi -

Thanks for all the help you guys provided towards helping plan an excellent trip. I practically lifted the itinerary off of what you all suggested, and as I anticipated, you came through in a big way! My wife even wanted to express her gratitude (but I suggested she stay away from the Letsrun boards (smile)). I will have to overlook, Malmo, your inability to score a room for us at your ex-girlfriend's place (smile). I guess the more interesting question, is do you still get a room there? Are you into the booty-call thing? Anyways...

Greatly abbreviated trip was as follows...

Saturday 8/31 - Flew in, drove to Mt. Ranier, did some hiking easy running there. Superb views, not as great a place to run.

Sunday - Leavenworth. Really good trails. Nice tourist town (hilarious that it doesn't really have bavarian background, though - it's all made up!)

Monday - Hart's Pass. Truly awesome. My favorite. Spent 3+ hours on it.

Tuesday - Mountian biked at Sun Mountain Lodge trails (Patterson Lake). Very very nice. I would have prefered to run, though. The area put the mountain back into "mountain biking", and we were a little too new at the discipline to fully enjoy nearly killing oursleves.

Wednesday - Leavenworth again. Then, in the evening played around at the resort in Manson (Wildfire was very close by the way). As a confidence builder for my wife, we competed in a mini-triathlon. Since I am not so swift in the pool, and the treadmill only went to 10mph, she crushed me (and the ploy worked like a charm).

Thursday - Started early, did a little run on the Pac Crest trail near Washington Pass (very nice). Continued through North Cascades to Whidbey Island. Ran at Deception Pass - more good trails (by this time we were getting very spoiled). Kayaked in the afternoon.

Friday - Did the 101 loop of the Oly Peninsula. Enjoyed the Salmon Cascades (watching them flip themselves over rapids) and the Hoh Rainforest the best. Got to run for 30min hard in the rainforest. Also had a very nice sunset on Ruby Beach (that my wife really really liked).

Saturday - Ran at Pt. Defiance park in Tacoma. Lucked out in that a HS XC team lead us (by 15-20meters) on a nice complete tour of the place. Flew back home.

I have to admit, for an outdoorsperson, the state had it all. I almost feel sorry for how spoiled you residents must be. I've been to most states, and although I got a really good view of Washington, I would have to rank it at or near the very top (well, at least for July-Sept anyway).

On a complete side note... Given all the great places to run, where is the Husky XC team???

Wow, that was some tour! I've lived here my whole life, but hearing someone cover so much in a week makes ME kind of jealous. Just curious, where do you live?

Believe me, I don't take all of the natural beauty for granted. We are truly blessed in that regard.

As far as the Huskies, are you referring to their team performance? A long sad story. And I'm afraid that most of the school programs here neglect seriously the resources available to them. In any case, I doubt Arkansas is all that impressive in terms of climate or terrain, but it doesn't seem to hurt them much, so maybe it isn't that big a factor.

JEH,

Thanks for the detailed trip stuff. Sounds like you had a good time. I just may have to do a similar thing someday.

Burdo - Thanks again on the call for Hart's Pass... next time we're taking the trail to Canada (well maybe not, but we definitely could have spent more time there). My wife, JHH, was wigged out driving to the top (esp. at the narrow part), but then she just cruised when we were on the trail with no second thought whatsoever on possibly tripping and tumbling forever. I know I'll sound like a parent, but you be careful up there when you run that beautiful thing. I am from the BEST state on earth (smile) - TX.

On the Huskies, obviously, a ton goes into the making of a successful program... climate and terrain aren't necessarily determinants. But, it would seem that your state would produce many HS studs (or near studs) who would like to run for Washington. So, I am not saying they should be at the very top, but it would seem that I would have heard of them a little. When is the last time they've gone to NCAAs? Actually, the Ozarks (where Ark. is) actually provide a nice setting to run. But, they draw people from everywhere bc of the program/tradition/coach (well, duh).

Stepay - Washington's worthy of a vacation. I guess it doesn't have Disneyland (if that were to be THE thing). I have heard a lot of good things about Seattle, itself. But, ironically, we drove a full circle around the city without ever going in.

Here are my two cents. If you want to see successful development of Washington/Oregon athlets see the University of Portland. They finished 7th in NC's last year and every runner was from Washington and Oregon except one who was from British Columbia (Canada for those of you not from the Northwest or up on Canadian geography).

As for the Huskies, Metcalfe is doing a better job recruiting Washington athletes. His recruting class last year was awesome. The best I have seen from him. The question is will they tranlate their track success to the

X-C trails. It should be interesting.

JEH- Yeah, that road to Hart's Pass is right out of a Jeep commercial. I'll be running on it in a few days (our vacation cabin is six miles downhill from Deadhorse Point). Glad you took me up on Hart's Pass- definitely a runner's dream mountain running destination. But if you think those hills are steep, you don't want to see what I do on my days "off".

Washington state is one of the leading exporters of distance talent (I saw an analyis of last year's NCAA XC Championships, and guys originating from here were third or fourth after CA and MI). The UW has suffered for decades from the prioritie$ put on the football program. Coach Metcalf has definitely picked up the momentum in recruiting on the men's side, and his former star performer Dave Bazzi is now the assistant XC coach. Hopefully they can put together a solid program in the next few years.

WSU should be better also- they also seem to suffer from an inability to attract and develop local talent (the Spokane area is a genuine prep powerhouse, nationally). But they sure have some tough school records! I agree that currently the Pilots seem to do the best job in turning 9:15-9:30 kids into All-Americans.

I'll take your word on TX, the closest I'm likely to get is NM- I'm going out there this winter to visit a friend.