Review: Delorme InReach Explorer

Solo adventures can be the best adventures.  Home for the night, on the Augerpoint Traverse.

Do you like to 'get away from it all' and 'get off the grid' for your kicks?  Do you seek the high alpine, the far back country or the distant peaks?  Do you crave adventure in truly wild spaces?  Or... do you know someone who does?  This post is for you.

IAG Mountain Skills Course

 

Mountain mornings are good mornings.

Well, that was pretty awesome.

The Outbound Collective: 7 Leave No Trace Principles

I am excited to share my most recent article from The Outbound Collective- be sure to follow the link below and head on over to this great online resource for inspiration, education and motivation to help you plan your next outdoor adventure.

Enjoy!
SS

7 Leave No Trace Principles to Respect the Wild

Take only pictures, leave nothing but footprints

Best month ever?

Loving life on Mount Matchlee

It seems like a dream now, but I am pretty sure I really did fly in by helicopter to Mount Matchlee a few weeks ago to learn how to lead climb on ice, build snow anchors and travel across glaciers...then I ran around the province with 11 other women...then I ran across Vancouver Island...haha.  Seems surreal now... but I have the photos, so it must have really happened!

What a wild month it has been.  I have been working and playing overtime in the mountains since the last week of June and I need to get my adventures and images on 'paper' before the lines blur.  Here is a catch-me-up to catch-me-up:

Run BC Project

Girls + Mountains = Rad

Over the past week I have driven 1800kms of winding roads, run close to 130kms of pristine alpine single track and climbed a super dose of elevation in the mountains of BC alongside 11 rad women. The inaugural Run BC Project was an epic road trip to remember and I am grateful to have been a part of it!

Backcountry Running: Tips and Gear List

 

 Fastpacking Mount Septimus

Can you hear that?  The mountains are calling your name!  

If you are like me, you hear the call of the wild as soon as the snow begins to melt and the days start to stretch out.  Personally, I can't get enough of moving through the mountains and exploring new terrain, off the beaten path.  The further from the road you go, the less human distractions there are to detract from the raw beauty of the wild.  In the back country, the sky appears bluer, the air tastes cleaner, the sunrises are more delicious and the space is intoxicating.  Like I said, I can't get enough.

The Outbound Collective: Hiking Mount Becher

I have just started contributing articles to the Outbound Collective and hope that you will come on over and join the community!  If you are looking for inspiration, motivation and direction for your next outdoor adventure, then this is the place to start.  A collection of people, images, stories, tips, maps and many other resources awaits you on the Collective.

Please head on over to check out my first submission complete with images, trip details and tales from the trail: Hiking Mount Becher.  Hope to see you there!

Happy Trails,
SS

Backpacking: Jack's Augerpoint Trail

 "All good things are wild and free." - Henry David Thoreau

Ain't that the truth.

Last week I had the pure pleasure of living in the mountains and on the trails of Strathcona Provincial Park.  With a week off and my other half out fishing the coast I decided to pack up and try to cure some of my wanderlust.  It was a full on 'dirt bag peak week' loaded with adventures and I need a week off from my week off- but wouldn't have it any other way!

Here is how I spent the first few days...

Dirtbag Peak Week

 So many peaks, so little time...

Wow.  Just wow.  I need a week off after my week off!  I am totally spent and completely filled to the brim with mountain stoke.  Over the past week I have been hustling from one adventure to the next, making the most of my time off and dirt-bagging it out of my back pack for most of the days.  After a week straight of hiking, running and biking, I woke up at 5am on Saturday morning in the BC Parks Forbidden Plateau Ranger Station cabin (yup, that's right) and realized I was done.  Physically maxed out, mentally toast, covered in bug bites, blisters and sunburns...I was dirty, exhausted, ready for a real meal and overflowing with trail stoke and mountain bliss.  I couldn't be happier:).

Backyard Bliss: Mount Albert Edward

**Interested in Backcountry Running?  Be sure to read my article for the tips and gear needed to get you there safely!


 Ready to go on another backyard adventure?  Follow me!

NE aspect of Mount Albert Edward.  1700m, May 30

Mount Albert Edward is hard to miss.  If you have ever driven up to Mount Washington you will remember the unique profile of this mountain to the west of Raven Lodge.  Its long drawn out scree ridge ends dramatically in a ski jump style peak before falling off into the abyss below.  The Grinch himself would surely be proud to call this summit home.  Mount Albert Edward is one of only 16 peaks belonging to 2000m+ club on Vancouver Island.  At 2093m, it is the 6th tallest peak on the Island and it stands guard at the eastern entrance of Strathcona Provincial Park.

Backyard Bliss: Mt. Becher

I have travelled this path 100 times and I can only hope that I am lucky enough to do so 100 times more.
4:30am...I'm awake...the birds are chirping...the mountains are calling...I must go.  Three cameras, one fruit bar, water, my sneakers and I am out the door.

grat - i - tude

grat·i·tude

ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/

noun

noun: gratitude

the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Miwok 100K Race Report

 Ultra Sisters:)

"Did you say MEAT-WALK??".  Ha Ha, my friend Shea, now THAT would be an awesome name for a 100K foot race.

Miwok 100K...  It's always so surreal, coming home after these big adventures.   Was I really just running through endless meadows of wild flowers and massive stands of Redwoods in California?  Did I really push as hard as I could at the end?  Was the pain really that bad?  

Ultra Bag of Tricks: Self Care and Miwok Prep

This is it.  The miles are in the bank.  The taper has worked all of her magic. My bags are in the cargo hold and I am a mile high above the endless Oregon coast.  Soon we will be picking up our race bibs and spreading our gear out on the floor one last time.  It's Miwok100k time baby!

2015 Adventure Trail Running Series begins April 30th!

Get off the road and on the trails with Equilibrium Lifestyle Management (ELM) this spring!  

Early Bird registration ends April 23rd fyi...

ELM's 2015 Adventure Running Series begins Thursday, April 30th at 5:30pm with the first 

of three 8-week, coached trail running clinics running from April- October. Adventure 

Running is led by coach and Kinesiologist, Sarah Seads, and combines trail running, hill 

training and navigation into one great running workout. Weekly, coached training sessions 

are designed to to improve running technique, boost technical trail speed, increase stamina

 

and ramp up hill climbing and descending strength....all while having fun!

This clinic is perfect for trail runners looking to ‘bust a gut’, adventure racers wanting to 

practice their trekking skills and road runners that want to push themselves to a new level 

of  fitness and adventure. Each week multiple pace groups are available for novice 

(45-60mins total time) and experienced (75-90mins total time) runners. The Spring

Adventure Running clinic is a great way to prepare for racers who are taking on the Kusam 

Ultra Gear Review: Trail 'Food'

Almost anyone can run an Ultra- so long as they actually want to.  Long distance events are 90% mental.  "Whether you think you can or think your can't, you're right"...so true! 

Taperland

Miles and miles and miles of single track under my sneakers.  Hills and hills and hills tattooed into my quads and calves.  Endless rhythms of breathe and footsteps and arm swings.  All of the uphill slogs and downhill smiles have blurred into one beautiful, miserable, soggy, sunshiney, wonderful run.

Ultra Gear Review: Salomon S-Lab Sense 4 Ultra Soft Ground

More Salomon Reviews: Ultra Gear Review: Salomon S-Lab Advanced Skin 5 Running Vest...

Salomon S-Lab Sense 4 Ultra Soft Ground

I REALLY REALLY love these shoes but...

Ultra Gear Review: Salomon S-Lab Advanced Skin 5 Vest

Running for 5-7 hours at a stretch is a great way to test gear, try fuel, and practice mind games.  Chaffing, blisters, running in the mud, running in the rain, running in the sun, numb feet, upset stomach, nasty gels, delicious bars, magic tape on my calves, duct tape on my shoes- you name it I've experienced it over the years!

Coming home

Sunday thoughts...

I just drove back to the Valley after spending a lovely weekend in Victoria with my family.  Spring is a magical season in Vic.  The daffodils were taking over and the cherry trees were loaded with ripe bundles of pink blossoms just in time for my visit.  I always squeeze in all of the things that I miss since moving up Island.  Strolls through Beacon Hill Park...Dallas road and the beach breeze blowing in my hair...breakfast (lunch and dinner) at my favourite eats...laughing til I cry and smiling til my face hurts with mi familia.  It fills up the little spaces in my heart and makes my smile a little brighter.  It is a wonderful little city and Victoria will always be my hometown.  A pleasure to visit and the only city I'd ever want to live in.  Yet...