Wilson River Traverse yo-yo Keenig--Idiot Creek Loop Rd--Keenig

WRT yo-yo Keenig-Idiot Creek Loop Rd-Keenig 11 hours 24 min for 51 miles with over 12K elevation gain. This was a solo self-supported run.

On January 27, 2016, I decided to run the WRT from Keenig Creek parking to Idiot Creek Loop Rd and back to Keenig. Starting at about 5:20 am, I would be running in the dark for more than 2 hours. Sunrise wasn't until I hit Diamond Mill. The rest of the day though would be in daylight with mostly cloudy skies with temps in the mid 40s to mid 50s. My shoe for the day would be Altra Olympus to give my knees a break from all of the climbs I would encounter, although stability was somewhat lacking with these shoes. For the day I used 4 strawberry Clif Shot blocks, 1 rice burrito, and 8 bottles of 20oz Gatorade. One drop was placed at Kings TH crossing and was accessed twice. I placed Merrell Trail Glove shoes in this drop, picked them up when I got there, packed them the 4 miles to the Creek Ford and than packed them back.

Here is are some segment details of the run:

Keenig-Footbridge: Starting at 5:20 am, it was dark, but I was able to run the switchbacks up to the ridge. I didn't notice the trail closed sign that I saw on Jan 1, but I saw it on the way back. Three slides were still there along the ridge but were passable. No snow remained on the trail, but the trail was very soft, making it easy to roll an ankle on the Altra Olympus shoes. I also had to be careful on the slick bridges on these shoes. Upon crossing the gravel road, I saw many logging trucks heading up that road.

Footbridge-Jones Creek: This is a relatively flat section and it was nice to lengthen the stride a bit. There were still a few hills though.

Jones Creek-Diamond Mill: Dawn was coming and soon it would become lighter outside making travel a little faster I hoped.

Diamond Mill-Kings: The long ascent up to the ridge is always a challenge and I always look for that rock face to tell me I have reached the ridge. I saw deer in the forest on this section and that was nice.

Kings-Elk: I accessed the drop bag, dropped my headlamp off, filled hydration bottles, grabbed shot blocks and got Merrell Trail Glove shoes for the Elk creek fording. The climb up from Dog Creek never fails to challenge me.

Elk-Idiot Creek Loop Rd: It was nice to have some relatively gradual uphill running before I reached the Elk creek fording experience after 1/2 mile. There is a sign that you can't miss for the crossing. This time of year, the water is deep and you can't hop rocks. Since I didn't to soak my socks (prevent blisters) and didn't want to soak my Altra shoes, I switched out to my Merrell Trail Glove shoes and forded Elk Creek to knee deep icy water, trying not to scrape against rocks too much or fall and soak my gear. I switched into Altra shoes again.
From there it is 3 miles up, up, up to the top of a ridge. It surprised me how the switchbacks kept going up and up. The highest middle peak on the first picture of this page tells the story!
I reached Idiot Creek Loop road with a time of 5:34.

Idiot Creek Loop Rd-Elk: This was a realy fun section, tearing 3 miles down the switchbacks to Elk Creek. Again I switched out to my Merrell shoes and forded the Creek. I saw a forest working hiking the lower section inspecting some small slides. Then I switched back to the Altra shoes.

Elk-Kings: The wall came quickly on this section, so I got shot blocks and gatorade, although I had to hike more than I would have liked.

Kings-Diamond Mill: Here I dropped off my Merrell shoes, picked up my headlamp just in case I were to slow down a lot, and picked up rice burritos. The rice burrito were great for giving me energy for the rest of the run--the complex carbs lasted hours. After than it was just gatorade. Sure the climb to the ridge was tough but I power hiked up and teared down to the bridge. It started to sprinkle on this section, but not enough to put on a rain jacket.

Diamond Mill-Jones Creek: I enjoyed taking a peak at the short waterfall visible along the first part of this segment.

Jones Creek-Footbridge: More light rain and sprinkles happened on this segment. This was a fast section do to few short hills. The Wilson River was full and impressive, giving a welcome distraction to the muscle and Achilles soreness.

Footbridge-Keenig: I heard more logging trucks up ahead during the first mile, but a didn't see any trucks. It shounded like they were logging in the hills above the trail somewhere. I alternated running/power hiking for the uphills and ran everything else. My finish time was 11:24, with 5:34 for the first half and 5:50 for the second half. I stopped my GPS watch at 11:25 when I got to the car. Strava only gave me 9:56 for the 51 miles it logged with 12,278 ft elevation gain. I felt the 51 miles and 12,278 ft gain were accurate though. The 11:24 includes a 5 min aid stop at Kings1 and 6 min aid stop at Kings 2, and two 10 minute stops to trade shoes and navigate the fording of Elk Creek. I guess the 9,734 calories burned explained by I had supper at 6:00 pm, then again at 8:30 pm, then again at 9:15 pm!

 

Running Race Schedule 2016

My 100 miler SLAM for 2016

1. Badger Mountain 100--March
2. Zion 100--April
3. Bighorn 100--June
4. Lost Soul 100--September

Wilson River Traverse out-and-back Run--Jan 1, 2016

Run it like a race

On January 1, 2016, for my first run of the year, I decided to start the New Year with a long trail run--and to run it like a race--light and fast. It's like the fast finish long runs marathon training books and websites talk about. Scott Jurek in Eat and Run talks about running up and down Mt. Si, repeatedly, checking progress and getting faster. This works for any trail or course, but for 100+ mile race training, race-specific training would mean running the last tune-up long runs like a race.

This would be my fourth time running Wilson River Traverse out-and-back. For the third time in a row, I would run this trail solo, self-supported from Elk TH to Keenig TH and back to Elk TH. My fastest 2 times were 10:00 in February 2015 and 10:10 in January 2015. Below is a map of the Wilson River Traverse. Although different distances and elevation profiles have been published, my Garmin GPS consistently gives me approximately 41 miles and over 10,000 elevation gain.

The temperature at the 6:00 am start would be 22 F with clear skies the whole day, and with the entire day staying below freezing. With a cold East wind that would drop the wind chill into the teens, a cold day was in store. With sunrise 5-10 minutes before 8 am, the first 1.5 hours would be in the dark.
I would run in Asics Gel Fuji-Attack shoes, running pants, three upper long sleeve layers including a down jacket, hat and gloves. The cold day kept the down jacket on all day. I had 2 drop bags--1 at Jones Creek and 1 at Keenig Creek. My only stashed supplies were gatorade and clif shot blocks (strawberry-no caffeine).
I used my Garmin GPS watch and would let it run continuously including through all stops, just like a race. My plan was to look at the watch only at the checkpoints and not in between.

Following is a discussion of the run:
West bound:
Elk TH-Kings: At 22F to start the run, I saw snow patches beside the trail above 750 feet. The trail starts steeply up to Elk Mtn TH. The Wilson River Trail (WRT) headed along the ridge West with some snow on the trail at 1000 feet and had gentle slopes until it descends sharply to Dog Creek which has a wooden bridge. Along this section I think I saw a coyote in the bushes to the uphill side, but it was dark and I wasn't sure. After Dog creek, the trail heads gently up the ridge and around a swampy area before meeting up with Kings Mtn trail. 40 minutes done and feeling great.

Kings-Diamond Mill: From the Kings Mtn trail crossing, the WRT heads across a creek and winds up but not too steeply. From this point to the ridge top at 1800 feet, there were 4 large logs across the trail, first two conifers spaced by 1/2-1 mile and then two alders together. This slowed progress some. When snow covered the trail from about 1000-1800 feet, this really slowed progress as the snow was hard and icy, but brittle. The snow depth reached 4 inches. Occasional hiking was necessary and dawn was arriving. As I reached the far side of the ridge, I was able to turn off the lights--headlamp and flashlight. The descent into Diamond Mill was fast. A large wooden bridge greets the runner into Diamond Mill. 1:50 done and feeling great.

Diamond Mill-Jones Creek: After crossing the bridge into Diamond Mill, the trail winds between the DM parking lot and river, crosses a road and head up a hill only to descend back across the road. The trail winds across a creek and finally to Jones Creek Parking. 2:14 done and feeling alright. The fast descent made one of my knees a little sore, but it was a minor twinge. After 1 minute for restocking fluid and nutrition, I was off--2:15 done.

Jones Creek-Footbridge: From Jones Creek, the trail is flat going by the forest center and winds along the Wilson River. This part was particularly windy as it was open and exposed. The trail was frosty, but many fishermen were enjoying the clear day. The trail eventually crosses a road by Wilson Falls and then heads up a hill--relatively steep but not very long. I hiked part of this hill. The trail then descends nicely into a forest and into Footbridge. 2:53 done and feeling great.

Footbridge-Keenig Creek TH: From Footbridge, the trail heads East across a creek and up hills before descending and then heading up a short segment of a gravel road. The trail heads down and over a creek, and goes sharply up to a ridge. The ridge reminds me of the ridge between Kings and Diamond Mill with frequent creek crossings. The trail was snow covered over much of the trail again with hard brittle, unstable snow. Two or three separate slides were seen along the ridge, slowing the trail down quite a bit. For me the Footbridge-Keenig Creek segment is the hardest section because it is least traveled, and least well maintained and is technical. The trail eventually drops down with multiple switchbacks to Keenig Creek TH. 4:20 was the elapsed time upon arrival. I had hidden my drop bag so well, it took me a few minutes to find it. After restocking and taking a couple of pics, it was 4:26 and I was off. Feeling good and optimistic. I was still on pace to get a new PR at less than 10:00.

East bound:
Keenig Creek TH-Footbridge: Going up the switchbacks I alternated running and hiking. I would run the straights and hike a few steps at the corners, then run again. This part reminded me of the Cape Lookout South beach trail. The snow at the ridge and slides slowed me down again but I was able to keep on running. This is the segment that I really need to dig deep as this is the lonely section. Except for having to stop to re-tie my shoes (were triple knotted), I zoomed down the trail to the creek and then hopped up to the gravel road before heading back towards footbridge. 5:59 done and feeling good. I was slowing down a little as expected, but not as much as have in the past this far into this distance.

Footbridge-Jones Creek: From Footbridge to Jones Creek, I was feeling it but as is often the case, I saw the first people of the day--first 2 mountain bikers and then several hikers. This usually boosts my energy level and sure enough I was able to push through discomforts. Upon arrival to Jones Creek the time was 6:45 and restocking took me to 6:47. Feeling good.

Jones Creek-Diamond Mill: This section was difficult for me because I knew it was short, but after stopping for 2 minutes restock, I lost some momentum and hiked more than I would have liked up to the ridge before zooming down to Diamond Mill. 7:15 was the elapsed time, feeling good especially about my overall time.

Diamond Mill-Kings: I knew the steep slope up from the wooden bridge would require some hiking, but I ran as much as possible. I found that even short hiking breaks would let me run again for awhile. Being able to run uphill this late in the run gave me confidence. Snow on the ridge slowed progress again as did the logs along the descent. I saw a few hikers along the descent. Time elapsed was 8:44, feeling good. I had 1:15 to finish the last section, so I just had to run some and I would make it.

Kings-Elk: I passed many hikers along this section and this kept me going. I knew there were only a few miles left, so I ran as much as I could--trying to have the best time possible. The ascent East from Dog Creek was brutal--another underestimated part of the trail. Hiking up was difficult--running seemed easier than hiking after it flattened out some. The final descent to the start of WRT at Elk was fast and brought me to the bottom at 9 hours and 33 minutes--a full 27 minute PR from my best time in February 2015 when I ran it in 10:00. I was really happy that the harder second half wasn't much slower than the first half--this is very important for ultras.

The elapsed times were as follows:
Elk (Mile 0): Start at 6:00 am
Kings (Mile 3.5): 0:40
Diamond Mill (Mile 9): 1:50
Jones Creek in (Mile 11): 2:14
Jones Creek out: 2:15
Footbridge (Mile 14.5): 2:53
Keenig Creek (Mile 20.5) in: 4:20
Keenig Creek out: 4:26
Footbridge (Mile 26.5):5:59
Jones Creek (Mile 30) in: 6:45
Jones Creek out: 6:47
Diamond Mill (Mile 32): 7:15
Kings (Mile 37.5): 8:44
Elk (Mile 41): 9:33 finish at 3:33 pm

First half: 4:26
Second half: 5:07

In summary, this is an amazing trail that is an excellent substitute for a 50-miler race heading towards any 100+ miler race. The checkpoints are race-like. Even "Footbridge" is the name of an aid station at Bighorn 100 where it is also about 1/3 into and 2/3 into the total distance. Essentally all of the trail is on dirt single track. The scenery is lush, varying and refreshing, solo or in a group. I hope to run this trail again and again, in the snow, ice, sun, clouds, and rain.