8 Summits Run

I began this run with a hazy goal in mind; Run as many summits in the coast range as I could before the end of the day. I had one minor hiccup to address; I needed to let Sophie, my dog, out sometime during the day.

I was armed with 2 liters of water, a flashlight, a cell phone, a lot of food and gels, and some rough maps. So I loaded all my stuff up into my hydration pack (thanks Pam!) and drove to Lewisburg saddle. First summit was Vineyard Mountain via the Nettleton-Davis loop.

As I wrapped up the loop I took the Old Growth Trail. It boggles my mind how many people I see skip this section of trail. I always feel like asking them what was the point of coming out if they were going to skip this gem?

On the OGT I saw the one person in my world, besides Craig, that would understand the under taking that was developing in my mind. I ran into my friend Rob who routinely bikes to the coast, trying to use as little pavement as possible. We began ticking off summits that we thought were possible and thus my route was planned. I had a goal of 9 summits to do before nightfall. : Vineyard, Unnamed N. of Dimple, Dimple, Chip Ross, Bald Hill, Mulkey Ridge, Highest public place in Fitton Green, McCullough, and Price Peak.

At this point I was back to Lewisburg saddle, 6 miles in, and only one summit done. I knew that if I came back to my car so I could drive home to let Sophie out  1. I would run out of day light, and 2. I probably wouldn’t drive back up. So grabbed my loaded hydration pack and headed up to the unnamed peak north of Dimple leaving my car until the end of the day.

This section of trail has my all-time favorite tree in the entire forest “Hydra. (See video)”

Next on to Dimple and then Chip Ross. From Chip Ross I decided to run across town (oh horrors! pavement I know.) I stopped at the Coop and filled a container with some yummy food, stuffed it into my hydration pack sideways, and off I went to let Sophie out. I munched on lunch while I recharged my Garmin and threw the ball for Sophie. Then it was back out to the trail.

Red Tail Missing His Lunch

The run gets pretty boring here just ticking off summits: Bald hill, Mulkey ridge, and Fitton green. Oh except for the dead headless Band Tailed Pigeon I saw on the way to Fitton Green, I’m pretty sure the Red Tail that was screaming at me had dropped his lunch. Then it’s on to McCullough.

Lunch, Band Tailed Pigeon

I took Skillings Road and it is pretty steep. I was forced to a walk for nearly 5 miles as I drudged up to the summit. Just as I began to approach the summit an astonishing sun set began.  Do it again Daddy.


Oh wait running right, no problem I had a flashlight. So I topped out on McCullough Peak and headed down for Price peak.

This is when things get good I had never been to Price peak before and was just guessing which peak it was. After about a mile things were going well when my flashlight died. First Lesson learned: Change the batteries before long runs. But I had my phone and my camera both which could illuminate the trail. But that meant no more running since I’m prone to sprains and could no longer see the rocks in the road.

Skillings Road

Fitton Green

So now I had a choice Left to Price peak or Right to Sulfer Springs and then my car. Getting bored I decided to bail on Price Peak. Second Lesson: Don’t attempt to run trails you’ve never been on 37 miles into a run in the dark. I’m going along thinking about whether or not I have cell service and at what point I can put in an order with Taqueria Alonzo (yes I have them on speed dial) when I look around. Wait? What! I was nearly back on McCullough Peak.

I’m not really sure how I did that but frustrated with no adequate light source, and only caffeinated gus left, I decide to stick to roads to get back to my car. I headed down to Sulphur Springs via the logging roads adding about 4 extra miles onto my run. I probably could have doubled back but I was feeling insecure about my ability to navigate by cell phone light.

Sunset Below McCullough Peak

Somewhere in here I out ran my Garmin battery. You know it’s been a fabulous run when you outlast your gps watch battery.

Arriving at Sulphur Springs starving and in the dark I still had to walk about 2 miles on the road to my car. This is when I really started freaking myself out. Cars by day are just cars. Cars by night are full of scary people wanting to hurt you. So every time I heard a car I would pitch it into the bushes scared to death. Those were some very long 2 miles.

Getting back to my car was exhilarating, not just because I escaped all the cars, but also because I’d completed 8 summits in ~45 miles, less than 9 hours of daylight, and ~7500 ft of elevation gain!

Next time I will include Peavy Peak, and the small summit where Nettleton and Davies come together at the North End, Price Peak, and a flashlight with batteries that work.

8 Summits Run!