Castle Peak 100K and General California Angst

Gf and I are back from six days in the Tahoe area. First, why did we ever leave California? We flew to Reno, arrived late and went straight to our hotel. The instant we left the next morning to walk around the riverfront and Midtown areas, we remarked how nice the dry heat and sunshine was. People like to mock Reno, but I dig it. I immediately regretted not bringing my packraft, since between the Truckee and Walker Rivers (the Truckee goes right through downtown Reno), I could have hit some really fun rapids. With a rental car, a second driver, and free checked bags on Southwest, it really was a golden opportunity for easy shuttling and great water. Oh well, hiking and running was plenty.

Walking around downtown Reno I thought "it's nice now, but it's probably crazy busy with cars on a regular work day," assuming it was Sunday morning. It was actually Thursday morning, so downtown Reno is apparently just not busy, which is fine by me. We also walked around Midtown, which was also pretty cool, but when we picked up our rental car and ran a few more errands (Trader Joe's, REI) the town started to feel a lot more sprawly and bad. Regardless, I'd still definitely take a job at UNR or #anyuniversityoutwest, really.

We left Reno and did a day hike and short run up Mt. Rose in the Mt. Rose Wilderness. I've been pretty clear about Mt. Rose being the only part of the east side of Tahoe that I really like, and it did not disappoint. I've hiked in this area three times before, but for some reason I must have taken the mountain bike route every other time--the single track trail was really nice. Within a half mile of the trail I had to curse myself for leaving California. I went off trail a bit to bag Mount Houghton as well as Mount Rose.

In Truckee, we camped at Donner Memorial State Park with Yuch and Megan, swam in Donner Lake, ran into friends from work at UC Berkeley at a restaurant, and saw friends from Berkeley Running Club at the race check-in. I also chatted with the RD of the IMTUF 100, who laughingly told me that an incident I was a part of (a dude told me I shouldn't have headphones in both ears 92 miles into a 100, I ignored him, we raced each other to the finish) was the most controversial incident in his race history. It's all water under the bridge, the other guy has proven to be a very cool volunteer and run every year, and we had a good laugh.

Saturday I ran the Castle Peak 100K. I'd tell you more of the details if the trip had just been for that, but briefly, it was an awesome race. It gets a little harder every year. It's gorgeous. Wildflowers were out, you have to scramble the Palisades--a rock ridge with fixed ropes that, while not particularly difficult, is the most exposed section in any race I've run. I realized that over my years of visiting my friend SW in Truckee I have done most of the coolest sections of the race (Johnson Canyon, Castle Peak, the Palisades) but it's been 10+ years, so I was glad to be back.

Sunrise at the Start

Castle Peak

50 yards after the start I realized I didn't have sunglasses, so I had to run back and get a pair from a dropbag. I don't mind a late start since it allows me to pass a lot of people, which I did for about five miles until catching up with Z, and friend from BRC. We were both hoping for 15-16 hour finishes, he a little faster, and me just wanting to have a good race after such a hard High Lonesome 100. Z and I ran together, passing back and forth, occasionally running in step. I felt great, and the scenery was great until mile 40, when it got hot and the trail became circuitous mountain biking trail. I still managed to run instead of walk, but I definitely slowed down and zoned out to podcasts.

I picked up Lucas as my pacer at mile 50. We had a really slow climb up to the Palisades, where I couldn't really get any more food down and switched to just drinking ginger ale. I was in the middle of the Palisades when it got dark, so I had to stop and put on my light belt and put away my trekking poles, but the scrambling wasn't that sketchy.  A slow route around the back side of Mt. Judah, and then I was done in 16:38. Early on I thought that I might be able to break 16 hours, but I think the second half of the race is significantly harder, and 16-something was what I originally thought I could do it in, so I'm pretty happy with my run. Mostly, the course was gorgeous and the climbing and descending was steep, so I had a good day.

I ate a burrito, passed out in my hammock, and got a crappy dehydrated night's sleep. Gf and I met friends for bagels and then drove down to Bridgeport to go get into the Hoover Wilderness. More on that next time.

Generally: you should definitely run the Castle Peak 100K. It's a great race.