Methow Winter Ski Retreat

Challenge, Ceremony, and Connection:
A Methow Winter Ski Retreat

By Kathy Vaughan
                                            

     I had a full week off from my weeding job and the organized annual cross country ski trip in the Methow would begin on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, Lisa and I would begin tallying kilometers skied, towards accomplishing our 2nd Methow Trails 200k Challenge (skiing 200k of the Methow Trails in a single season). By Saturday night, allowing us five days and four nights, Lisa and I hoped to have this challenge conquered. I devised a plan to drive to the Okanogan Highlands to visit Lisa first, in the small town of Chesaw, on Saturday.  This meant an eight hour drive over a mountain pass, and on mostly snowy roads after that, until I reached my friend Lisa’s home, almost at the Canadian border. Near Lisa’s place, Ras and I own a five acre piece of land with a creek and a cabin. Since I was driving over the mountains anyway, I wanted to check in on our place, do some skiing off of the groomed trails, enjoy some time with Lisa in her hand built sauna, and hopefully get in a long run on a snow-plowed country road. Lisa had offered to let me stay in her guest cabin on her garlic farm. She had it heated up and all ready for me, despite the bitter cold weather they had been having. This sounded like the perfect way to turn this whole pre-Rendezvous Huts time, into a winter retreat.

     Conditions of Steven’s Pass looked sketchy from reports, so I decided to take the longer but lower, and safer route. I drove off the north end of Whidbey Island and took I-5 south to I-90 and headed east. It would take longer, but it would allow me to take the lower in elevation pass through the Cascades, Snoqualmie. Stevens Pass was more direct but was requiring traction tires while Snoqualmie was bare and dry thanks to it being 1000 feet lower in elevation. Conditions were quite a bit better, although still wintery.  I also decided to avoid Blewett Pass and eventually turned north up through Soap Lake and Ephrata. A long, solo drive like this in the winter, was a big mental challenge for me; one I was determined to overcome. 

     When I finally pulled up at Lisa’s, I could see smoke coming from the sauna chimney. Her husband Jason had been getting the sauna heated up for us already. I stepped out of the car into the shockingly cold air and immediately realized how serious the goal of skiing 200k this coming week was. I reached back into my car and fumbled for gloves, my warmest hat and my down puffy. Any time outside looking for gear in my car was going to be a challenge. I was happy I was as organized as I was. 

     Lisa led me back to the cabin that farm volunteers and guests use when visiting she and her husband Jason on their organic farm. They grow mostly garlic, but also enough fruit and veggies to preserve and keep them eating their farm food all year round.  The small cabin was warm and cozy inside. I was going to enjoy having this space to myself for the next couple of days, and yet also being able to sauna and ski with my Adventure Bestie. 

     Lisa, Jason, their dog Lucy and I all had a great backcountry ski the following day on the acreage around their home. We spent about four hours skiing through the growth of huge spruce, pine and aspen trees. We skied past a creek with a restoration project in progress. A small black bird called a Dipper was pecking at the frozen banks of the creek. The bird’s presence was a good sign of the habitat being hospitable and offering the nourishment that it needs. That made us all happy.

     Back at Lisa and Jason’s, we enjoyed a dinner of Lisa’s homemade veggie curry. We took another sauna at the cord wood structure they built themselves down by the same creek we had skied past earlier in the day. The whole experience was just what my spirit needed. And this was just the beginning of the week. 

     The following day, Lisa had to work at the small country store about three miles away. I had a hard time deciding whether to run or ski and so I decided to do a route that would incorporate both. I also wanted to visit Lisa at the store later in the day. Jason planned on making us vegan pesto pizza for dinner and I definitely wanted to work up a good appetite for that! 

     I drove to a pullout on a nearby country road. From here, I could ski and run a loop that would probably take about four hours in the deep snow. I got my Nathan VaporAiress pack loaded up with a few extra layers, some snacks and my Altra FKT’s I’d been wear-testing. The shoes are now on the market and called the King Mountain instead. They have the burliest tread on any shoe of Altras and I’m crushing on them hard right now. The deep snow made the skiing slow in my Fisher OutBounds. I skied through this Grouse Preserve for many winters, when Ras, Angela and I lived in our cabin. My plan today, was to ski through the preserve to the road, where I would cross over to our snowed-in driveway that leads back to the cabin, and change into my running shoes. I would have a couple of miles to run, on snowy country roads, before completing the loop back at my car.  I was filled with gratitude that I had the opportunity to ski/run this loop, and was also filled with nostalgia and an appreciation for how far I’ve come with my adventuring. Skiing solo through this preserve land used to be a pretty big deal.

    I stopped by the small store to visit with Lisa on my way back to her place. It was fun to experience the rural culture. While Lisa is working, a worn table near the pellet stove becomes a center of Highlands discussions. Her coworker and two other local ladies, one whom I’d known for years, were at the table when I walked in.  Geared up with my Zoned Heat jacket and tights, my King Mountain running shoes, and other pieces of warm gear I was still wearing post-loop adventure, I became a curiosity. I answered the questions about all the gear, while ideas of how to put together a shoe drive of some kind in this area danced through my head. I’m still working on this one.

     That night, Lisa and I did some baking together and finished packing for our two hour drive to the Methow the following day. It was time for the Rendezvous Ski Hut portion of my getaway to begin. I said good night to Lisa and headed back to the guest cabin for my final night there. I brought all of my gear bags inside to make final preparations and then fell soundly asleep.

     The Following day Lisa and I skied up from the Cub Creek Parking Lot with a group of ladies. For many years, I had joined an eclectic group of Okanogan women on a Rendezvous Ski Hut Trip. River Jones had been the first to invite me along on one of these special winter outings. We normally stayed in either the Gardner Hut or the Grizzly Hut, and this year Grizzly it would be. There would be seven of us: Lisa, my adventure bestie from Chesaw, where Ras and I have a cabin on five acres; Melanie, a retired R.N., fun, fit and feisty, who has been on all of the hut trips I’ve been on over the years; Rise, also a retired R.N. who had worked with Mel for years, and brings her guitar to sing soft, soulful tunes in the background while lively lady chatting is going on; Dani, a spirited, young mom of two, a lovely, athletic lady and a good cook; Cassandra, a sweet, soulful mom of a teenage daughter, a grad student and an all- around beautiful & caring woman; and a new friend to me, Erin, a warm gentle healer, easy to be around with deep blue eyes. All of us have partners, so this lady time getaway was very special. 

     The group of us skied Cougar Bait to Cub Creek, 1.7k & 3k. We took Cow Creek to the Rendezvous Basin for 5.1k. Lisa and I had split off at this point and we continued down the Rendezvous Basin for 2.4k to Grizzly Way for 1.1k to the Grizzly Hut spur trail for .5k. We were staying at Grizzly Hut for three nights and would ski back to the parking lot on Friday.  Later, after a wonderful Apple, Squash and Ginger Soup dinner by Dani, Lisa and I went back out into super cold temps, likely below zero, and very strong winds. We took the spur trail and Grizzly Way to Gunn Ranch Road where we skied an out n’ back to the Gunn Ranch parking lot for an additional 11k. We then returned to the hut for some sleep. Our day’s total was 27.7k.

     I woke up hungry on the second day. Cassandra made a savory breakfast of polenta, fresh garlic and stewed tomatoes. It really hit the spot. Lisa and I hung out at the hut with the ladies, visiting and sipping coffee. We all left together to ski the Cassal Hut Loop by way of the Rendezvous Basin and then Cassal Creek Loop to Cassal Hut spur. We ate lunch there and then headed back out the spur trail, Cassal Creek Loop, in the opposite direction, the “Black” descent to Rendezvous Basin. Lisa and I said goodbye to the other ladies here and continued on our way to do the Cougar Mt. Loop. This loop offers lots of curvy, steep downhill stretches and I couldn’t wait to ski those. I was wearing my larger and heavier Fischer skis. Lisa was in her lightweight skis. We continued on Rendezvous Basin Trail for 3k to reach the basin where Cougar Mt. Loop turns off. We skied the 4.6k loop and connected to Cow Creek. Cow Creek took us back to the Rendezvous Basin and back to the Grizzly Hut for dinner.

      It was our turn to prepare the shared meal and we were making Pad Thai. Lisa led the cooking and I chopped, diced, made the salad and set the table. The ladies loved it and it was delish. It hit the spot. Lisa shared chocolate covered dried mango for dessert. 

     After dinner, it was time for Lisa and I to head out for our night ski. The moon was bright enough to ski without headlamps as we had the night before. Some of the ladies joined us initially. Our plan was to ski the Grizzly Way Loop, 5.2k. I overdressed and got very sweaty underneath. This made me feel irritable and uncomfortable, not to mention nervous about being wet. It was super cold outside, single digits or colder. I got overwhelmed by our goal of skiing 200k in these temperatures. This was my first ski of the season and it was a huge goal I was undertaking. Hanging out in the warm cabin with the ladies sounded much nicer, and easier. I voiced some of my stresses to Lisa, verging on having a meltdown of sorts. I kept coming up with rationalizations as to why I was feeling pessimistic. She didn’t let me give up on the goal. She was assertive, yet kind. We went back to the hut with the ladies and I changed into dry clothing and made an attitude adjustment.

     We went back out and skied the Cassal Hut loop again, in the opposite direction. We skied the Grizzly Way Loop a total of three more times too. This was instead of our initial plan to ski the Fawn Creek Trail down to Mazama and back. This had felt overwhelming to me. Lisa also encouraged me to change into my lighter weight skis. I needed to have faith in my skiing ability. The lighter weight skis give me only slightly less control. I can ski well in my Karhus and they allow me the ability to ski in the tracks, using less energy and going faster. This all worked well that night and we had a lovely ski. I never got wet, cold or uncomfortable again. I could go fast in the tracks and my feet felt so much better in my boots. It was awesome and a game changer. We had skied 34.4k that day and it was time for some sleep.

     On our 3rd day, Lisa and I had coffee and a quick breakfast with the ladies before heading out to ski the Cassal Hut loop. We planned on connecting with the group somewhere during their ski trip to the Rendezvous Hut.  We met the ladies as they were skiing down the spur trail from the hut. Ben, the owner of the Rendezvous Hut system had built a fire up there, but the hut had not quite warmed up. We skied back out to the bottom of the spur to touch base. They were all cold so we said a quick goodbye as they headed off towards the hut. We decided to ski up to the Rendezvous Hut to take advantage of the warm fire Ben had built. We figured the fire would be warm by the time we got up there, and it was. We both were very grateful for the warmth the stove provided, and that we were able to come inside and enjoy it. We pulled up a bench in front of the woodstove and ate our lunch.

      Our plan from here was to continue on to the Heiffer Hut and then get back to our own hut in time to have dinner with the ladies. This route is called the Cedar Creek Loop. It is unique in that it passes through a couple of creek drainages where cedars are growing. This is unusual to the forests of the Methow. I love the rich fragrance of the Cedar Creek drainage as the trail dips down into it, making a sharp curve through the dark, thick forest. A total accumulation of 14.7k would get us back to the bottom of the Rendezvous Hut spur trail again. We would then have the 2.4k descent to the Grizzly Way and 1.6k to the hut.  The Cassal Hut loop was 12.4k. This would give us a total of 29.5k.  

     The home cooked soup made by Mel was a delicious cream of broccoli soup made with cashew milk. Rise put together a lovely veggie platter, complete with avocado slices. A big green salad was also served. The next plan was to head back out for a full moon ski with the ladies. We skied the 5.2k Grizzly Way Loop. Lisa and I planned on continuing on without the ladies,after heading back to the hut for boysenberry pie and a full moon ceremony. Erin, Cassandra and Dani had organized a sweet little ceremony to honor the Full Moon and the New Year. We washed our hands in warm hibiscus water, made our own individual intentions and heard poetry from Cassandra. We stood together, in the moonlight, ski sisters so to speak. 

     Rise, Mel, Lisa and I really appreciated the younger ladies in our group, creating this fresh youthful energy. Our group represented the 30’s, 40’s 50’s and 60’s. When I first began joining the Rendezvous Ski Hut trips, I was the youngest, listening to stories of menopause and the wisdom of the ladies older than me. Now, I was the 3rd from the oldest. Menopause was behind me and I was sharing stories from the perspective of being the mother of a homeschooled 23 year old daughter, now serving in Madagascar in the Peace Corps.  Our group ski was the Grizzly Way Loop for a total of 5.2k. Then Lisa and I headed out to do the Gunn Ranch Rd out-and-back again, a total of 14k and an awesome ski. The whole valley was lit up by the moon. It was stunning scenery as far as the eye could see. For the day, we got 44.9 kilometers.

     The final morning in the hut had arrived. We cleaned up after ourselves, visited and had a pot luck breakfast. Then we all skied out together via Rendezvous Basin, Cougar Mt. Loop to Little Cub Creek to Cougar Bait, 15.4k. It was one of the best skis I’ve ever had downhill on cross country skis. Little Cub Creek is always a blast, but this time was pretty epic. I love this downhill trail with little curves and extended down; so, so fun!! I was super cold at the bottom and half way down started stressing out that I had left my car keys in the hut near where I had been sleeping. I grabbed my burlap bag, which had been overturned in the snowmobile ride, and frantically searched through it. My keys were buried in the bottom. “Yes!”, I cried out dramatically, thrusting my fists up into the air. I warmed up my car and changed into my Altra NeoShell Mids. I was just about ready to leave, when Cassandra walked over with my Fischer skis. I had totally forgotten to grab them from the pile of our gear Ben had snowmobiled down from the hut. They had even been right near my other gear, including my burlap bag. I had skied down on my Karhus and not even thought about my other skis. I thanked her and thought to myself that I had better focus a little better, considering the key thing and the rest of the ski challenge to pull off in a day and a half. 

     I followed Lisa into Winthrop. I left my car in the Barn parking lot and she drove us in her camper to Twisp, where she had some soaps to pick up from a business there. We then drove back to Winthrop to get my car and dropped her camper off at the Ice Skating Rink parking lot, where we would wind up at the end of our night ski. I drove us up to the Chickadee parking lot in the Sun Mountain trail system. This is where would do most of our night skiing. Our plan was to climb up Thompson Rd and ski down Meadowlark to join back up with Thompson Rd. We would then ski to my car, warm up, and have a few snacks. We would ski from there down the steep trail to the valley floor and into Winthrop.

     Once in the Chickadee Parking Lot, Lisa and I had a few organizational tasks to do before getting started for the night. It was very early evening, not yet dark. We could make some good progress up the Thompson Road climb before the sun set. The moon would light our way again later. But for now, we each settled into our own space, within our heads and on the road. There were two sets of tracks, one on either side of the wide corduroy trail. The conditions were good for the climb. We had 6.1k of persistent uphill to the pass at 3,650 feet in elevation. We started out at 2,620. 

     Layering properly was challenging, yet important for the entire time Lisa and I had been out skiing. The bitter, dry cold felt biting on descents. For uphill skiing though, it was surprising how few layers were needed. “Be Bold, Start Cold”, as the saying goes, was hard to implement in the single digit, and below, temperatures. Ras had lent me his puffy down jacket, as it is easier to stuff into a pack than my own heavier weight puffy. As it turned out, this was my layering savior. I was able to put it over the top of my Nathan VaporShadow pack. When I started heating up from the climbs, I could take it off easily and wrap it around my waist without having to stop for long. Each time Lisa and I stopped, we had to tend to each task quickly so as not to get cold. If we were stopped long enough, I could unwrap it from my waist and easily remove my pack, stashing it under the outside stretch cord, or stuff it into the open top. Ras’  jacket was ample enough on me that it fit down over my legs, helping to keep them warm too. The hood could stretch over my own big ear flap, furry hat and be pulled up over the top of my two merino wool buffs. Easily pulling hoods and buffs over your face while moving is an efficient layering technique in the cold, especially with wind as a factor as well. I use all of these face and head layers while trail running, fast packing and cross country skiing.  

     I listened to some music while climbing Thompson Road. The distraction and beat of the music helped. I enjoy listening to Reggae Dancehall, as I’ve mentioned in other blogs. I had a few new tunes such as Elliphant and Major Lazor’s new tune “Too Original” and Elliphant’s single “Only Getting Younger”, featuring Skrillex. Before I knew it, I was catching up to Lisa at the pass and it was time for some downhill. We would still have some gentle contouring along the Meadowlark Trail and even a few short climbs, but for the most part, we were going to have downhill for the rest of the night’s ski.

     Sometimes expectations of what kind of terrain lies ahead can interfere with my mental comfort level. There were some fun stretches of down mixed in with climbs and some gentle contouring for a long way. Lisa gained some distance on me and I skied along in the dark through dense trees, feeling alone in a mostly good way. I got glimpses of Lisa’s headlamp, as we did need them on this night for the first time during our ski challenge. Reaching the intersection with Thompson Road, Lisa and I connected with each other quickly, before beginning the 2.6k, 500 foot drop back down to the Chickadee Trailhead.

    Lisa took off fast. Her light skis had no drag and she flew off before I could really even get going.  I pushed and glided in the tracks to gain some speed and then skied out of them back onto the corduroy once I got momentum. I started skiing fast. It was exhilarating. Lisa was nowhere in sight and all around me was dark. I focused on the smooth trail ahead, trusting that I could open up on this well- groomed path. I was so relieved to have that climb done, to be getting back to the car. The ski into Winthrop would be all downhill and flat track skiing. I could do that any day. “Focus now, fly downhill, cover your face, wriggle your toes in your boots, wriggle your fingers in your gloves, you’ve got this.” These mantras floated through my head as I skied fast in the dark. 

     Then it was over. There was Lisa at the signed intersection, waiting for me so we could take the gentle trail back to the car. My eyes were watering from the fast skiing, the cold air, and for some reason, tears. I was flooded with emotion. I was happy to be getting closer to realizing our goal. I was full of adrenaline from that final downhill. I was stoked to be reunited with Lisa and so near the parking lot. We skied off together towards my car.

     Once there, we took some time to get ready for the 8.8k ski down to Winthrop and Lisa’s camper awaiting us at the Town Trailhead and Rink. Now I was completely relaxed and ready for the rest of the night’s ski. I ate some food while in the car, putting on some dry layers at the same time. Lisa and I left the comfort of the warm car and headed towards the Patterson Lake cabins.  The lake itself was blanketed in snow. The cabins were lit up and smoke was coming from their chimneys. It smelled good. We skied quietly past on the groomed trail and then took off our skies to cross the road. 

     We skied the Winthrop Trail with it’s fun S curves all the way down to the Methow Community Trail. We had 4k to ski through the fields, past a few homes, along the Methow River and into the skating rink parking area. Lisa and I turned off our headlamps once down the steep sections of trail. It was a beautiful night, skiing along peacefully, pleasantly. I got in the tracks and effortlessly cruised through my surroundings, at one with the cold winter scape.  Throughout the many hours of skiing I had been doing, I had often been able to enter this “zone” and it is one of the reasons I am drawn to hard endurance efforts such as this. This is when I feel alive. This is when I am at my best and feel the healthiest. One more day, and Lisa and I would be completing the Methow Trails 200k Challenge for the 2nd time, doing it all in a single big push. I don't think anyone else has done this. It felt exhilerating. 
     I skied up to the waiting Palomino camper, and took off my skies. The empty lot and the starlit sky amplified the feeling I was having of limitless possibilities.

       Lisa and I awoke at what felt like the spot where a winter wonderland turns into a pretty intense winter landscape; the final lot that one can drive to before Highway 20, or the North Cascades Highway, is closed to thru traffic for the season. The avalanche threat is too real for the Department of Transportation to keep this highway open during the winter. A post with a sign and a flashing light warns travelers to go no further. This is sad for me, because The Methow is only about four hours away from where I currently live, via this highway. Instead, I had to drive twice as far to access this magical paradise by way of I90 to get through the Cascade Mountain Range, and then miles and miles of snowy highway north, through central Washington.  

     The Subaru Lisa and I had seen the night before was still parked near us in the otherwise empty lot. There was a tarp laid out neatly beside the car with bins spread out on it. A mat was by one of the side car doors to step out onto without being directly on the snow. Whoever this was, they had camped in the snow before. They knew what they were doing. I got out of the camper to get into my own car at one point, and saw the guy who had been sleeping in the Subaru the night before. He was bundled up for the frigid temps and had on big down booties to walk around on the snow. He was casually eating breakfast at the folding table he had set up, the stove going with a pot of boiling water steaming on one of it’s burners. This was an impressive scene and Lisa and I discussed it. I assumed he might be catching one of the heli-ski rides we were hearing overhead. This area was known for it’s fabulous backcountry riding and it was possible this guy was hitting the slopes. He was gone before Lisa and I hit the trail.

      Our first destination was Doe Canyon. It was quiet and bitter cold. We bundled up and headed for the gentle climb into the canyon. I was looking forward to the ski out, mostly downhill for about 2k. It felt good to be starting our final day on the Methow Trails 200k Challenge. We had worked diligently and persistently to get to this point. We knew we had it if we just stuck to our plan and kept on skiing. We would be done before it was even too late at night. But now, as we skied along peacefully in the morning surroundings, I was in a wonderful zone and felt as though I could ski forever. I was unfamiliar with the trails in this upper Mazama valley floor. Lisa and I had skied it in the night when we completed the Methow Challenge two winters prior. An old wooden sign read “Old Growth Grove”. This all felt new and kept me pushing and gliding forward, looking all around so as to not miss anything. I saw where trees had been broken off at nearly the same height, everywhere I looked. I thought that possibly an avalanche had caused this, or a strong windstorm. Either of these events were possible in this rugged, mountainous zone. I soon saw a large wooden sign that said “Cassal Avalanche 1997”. This explained it all. I skied on, looking at more trees, broken off, as far as the eye could see. It was impossible for me to imagine the enormity of what had occurred here 20 years ago. 

     Finally through the avalanche zone, we were in an open, sunny meadow. I felt so grateful to be amongst such pristine, winter scenery, in the sunshine, accomplishing a huge goal. Lisa knew there would be a bench up ahead and we planned on taking a short break there. We had not been able to stop outside for any length of time during our entire ski. We would now have a chance to sit down and soak in some sunshine while having a bite to eat. It was all that I had looked forward to as I skied the last section to the bench. I took off my skis and plopped down on the dry surface. It felt so good to have the rays of sunshine fall on my outstretched legs. This was a wonderful moment.

     A few more kilometers, and we would be at the Mazama Store. We wanted to fill our water bottles here and possibly get a hot drink or a snack. It was incredibly crowded and felt like the scene of a movie. Everyone was dressed just perfectly in cross country ski attire, LL Bean or Patagonia après ski wear, and anxious for something from the counter in the store. We used the restrooms and filled our waters then left for the solitude of the trails once again. The route was cruisy and pleasant as we skied the final four kilometers back to the parking lot. We saw a few other skiers, but for the most part, we made our way easily along the route. We had a short climb that rewarded us with a little bit of fun downhill. We skied through a tunnel underneath the Highway. Cold, hungry and happy, we got back to our vehicles. We began to warm them up as we took off skis and boots, changing into dry shoes for driving. 

     Lisa would drop her camper off at the Mazama parking area. This is where we would complete our Methow Trails Challenge. I would drive us to the Gunn Ranch parking area where we would begin our night ski. We would ski the 5.5k on the Gunn Ranch Road, and then connect with the Rendezvous Basin Trail. But first, we wanted to be sure we were ready with everything we needed in our packs for night skiing. We were finishing our hot drinks and snacking in my car at the Gunn Ranch parking area, the car running so the heat was blasting and keeping us warm in the cold early evening air. Lisa and I both have a fondness for this road; it would be our third time skiing it in this challenge. It had been so intense and windy our first night out. Now, it seemed inviting and familiar. The gentle climb of the road would warm us up quickly once we left the comfort of the car for our final ski of the challenge. Our bellies were full and we were bundled up appropriately. Our headlamps were ready, although most nights out we had not had to use them as the moon had lit our way. I locked up the car and we headed up the trail, the clear view of the valley below us. We were quiet, our thoughts internal as we glided easily up the trail. All of the usual landmarks helped lead the way. I noticed the pond for the first time. Aspen lined its outer banks. I remembered the salamanders Lisa and I had seen here during another ski challenge at night. It had surprised us to see them on top of the snow. Now, seeing the pond, it made only slightly more sense.

     We hit the intersection with the Rendezvous Basin Trail and took a left. Now it was time to gently cruise along, the main climb over with. We would have a 2k climb after some of the descent, a bit later on. We both figured that this would help to warm us up again after having gone downhill for a while. We skied along, nostalgia flowing through me as I remembered skiing all throughout here with the ladies earlier in the week. We had so much fun together. I saw the arch covered in snow that Dani had fallen in love with. I stopped to marvel at it once again and soak in the energy. It was so quiet. We were so alone out here. Everyone was tucked away in their warm huts or in ski lodges or personal residences down in the valley. It was even kind of crazy, but in a very magical and wonderfully intense way.

     The downhill finally came. Lisa took off ahead, flying on her lightweight skis. I lost sight of her headlamp. I kept a courageous spirit and skied along, alone in the dark, downhill. I flew fast at times, and at other times not as fast as I would have liked. Sometimes I could see Lisa’s light if there was a switchback in the trail. The descent was long, about 9k in total. I knew we would connect again, but for now, it was just me and the dark surroundings, my bright light leading the way. I loved the feel of the cold air, biting at my cheeks. I adjusted my wool buff around my face as needed, pulling it away if I wanted the air and covering my cheeks if it got too biting. Down, down I skied. Dropping lower and lower towards the valley floor, I could see the lights from homes down below. It looked so cozy and inviting. The lights were further away than they seemed. And now, suddenly, the climb was here.     

     I struggled a bit mentally with this. I got too warm, but didn’t want to stop and adjust layers. I climbed as strongly as I could, but I could not catch up with Lisa. It was not a big deal; we were each in our zone. This was kind of the crux of it all, the final climb after so many previous ones. I glided along pretty easily, the skis taking to the conditions quite well. I wasn’t backsliding or having to put much effort into moving uphill. It was just a long climb, deep into this ski adventure.

     Finally at the top of this 900 foot climb, it was time to push and glide and work some speed into the take off. I wanted to fly fast down the final descent. I wanted to feel the speed and have some fun curves on the way. This was it. Once in the valley, there would be no more long downhills. Once in the valley, it was time to just get in the tracks and push mindlessly along. The challenge would be over, and likely my skiing for the season as well. It was bittersweet. 

       The lights from the valley got closer and the cold bit harder into my face, my fingertips, my toes. I could see Lisa’s light far below me on the trail now, or was it a light from a cabin? Some lights looked close, like I was skiing right by a ski lodge. Others looked so far away, like I was not progressing downhill like I thought I was. And now another short, steep pitch to climb. The herringboning seemed like a technique long forgotten. What had I started doing with my skis? I hardly thought about it. Lisa had disappeared over the crest a while ago.  I flew down the fun black diamond trail called Goat Creek Cut-off and saw Lisa checking out the sign at the intersection below. The descent was complete. We were back in the Mazama Valley.

     I shivered and we cheered together. I told Lisa the easiest way back to the car from here was good for me. She led the way and we twisted and turned on easy trail for about 4k back to her Palomino in the lot in Mazama. Christmas lights lit up the small town, most homes lit only with these and some dim lamp light. It was just magical. I can’t stop thinking about it. I have to live there and ski all the trails all winter.  Yeah, I would work a little. But I have to find a way to ski Methow Trails, more. For now, I will reminisce of another Methow Trails 200k Challenge, completed in thru-ski style.  

     Lisa and I began the Methow Trails 200k Challenge on Tuesday, January 10th at 11:15 a.m. and completed it on Saturday, January 14th at 8:48 p.m.
We slept three nights in the Grizzly Hut in the Rendezvous Trail System and one night in the Palomino during the challenge.

    

Methow Trails 200k Challenge

Thru-skiing the Methow Trails:
Friendship, Flying, and Floating Through Time

Kathy Vaughan & Lisa Eversgerd

By Kathy Vaughan

     The stars twinkled overhead as Lisa and I pulled up to the Suspension Bridge parking lot off of Goat Creek road in the Methow Valley near Mazama. We were about to begin a thru-ski of the Methow Trails, a 200k adventure through the largest Nordic ski area in the country. Just four days prior, Lisa and I had been pulling out of the Highlands Sno Park lot after a long ski together, when I poked my head out the window of my car and called out to her “You know, Methow Trails has a 200k Challenge.” The seed had been planted and that was all it took for the idea to flourish in our minds. We both went home and after warm showers, that night we each started scheming on how to take on that challenge.

     For those of you who read my blogs regularly, you will already know of some of the adventures Lisa and I have done together over the last couple of years. (Mother Mountain/Northern Loop, Windy Peak, Winter Adventuring, Devil's Dome) Two winters ago, we decided we wanted to ski all 50k of the Highlands Sno Park trails in one go. We had an awesome time doing that and were impressed with the diversity of the trails in the park and what a wonderful journey it is to ski that distance in one push. We did it once more together that winter and Lisa celebrated her birthday by skiing it with her husband an additional time in harsh conditions. The following season we again skied what became known as the Highlands Challenge, a couple of more times together. Ras skied it once with our ultra running friend Cam Painter, and confirmed the fact for himself that he prefers running and hiking over long distance skiing.

     Lisa and I also enjoy skiing the snowmobile routes throughout the area that are groomed for the snow machines a couple of times each season. Lisa printed out the maps for us and we tackled several of these routes last winter, choosing routes each time that were an ultra distance. We were ready for something bigger.

     Lisa and her husband Jason had just gotten a new camper. They had only spent a few nights in it themselves. Jason and Ras are each really supportive of these adventures we do together which only helps encourage us and allows us to thrive. Jason lovingly sent us on our way, sharing the “Palomino” for our ski trip. This gave us a home base, aide station and support vehicle all in one. It was key to our success, giving us a place to make hot coffee, heat up soup Lisa had prepared ahead of time, change into dry clothing, dry out wet boots and other gear, sleep and warm up by the extremely efficient heater. 

     On our 2 ½ hour drive to the Methow from our homes in the Okanogan Highlands, Lisa and I loosely discussed some of our plans. We decided to start on the Valley Floor, ending these trails in Winthrop where her friend Michael lives. We would stop by his house when we arrived in Winthrop and see if he would help us out with some shuttles. We hoped he would ski some kilometers with us also and maybe bring another friend of their's along, Alissa. They had all worked together for the Forest Service during the previous summers. Their company would be nice on the trails and it would feel good to have some support in the area.

     We stopped at Hank's Harvest Foods in Twisp and picked up Clif Bars and Nature Valley Granola Bars for the trail, both good energy foods, vegan, low fat and simple. I had also baked some banana, apple sauce, raisin, and chocolate chip bars which would be good with coffee when we warmed up in the camper. I made a garbanzo bean spread which included tahini, green pepper, garlic, cumin and chopped onion. This was a high protein food we could have on crackers or with the freshly baked bread I had bought at Main Street Market while Lisa fixed her soap display there. Lisa makes and sells wonderful, natural soaps with essential oils through her company Fairy Slipper Botanicals. She brought a bar along for us to use too during our adventure and for apres-ski showers.

     Michael was a really helpful, fun, cool guy to meet and he was more than willing to assist us in any way he could during our 200k attempt. He is a groomer for the Methow Trails and thus was also a good source of information about some specific trails. We made a plan with him that we would ski to his place from the Suspension Bridge parking lot in the morning, after having skied all of the Valley Floor Trail System. We told him we didn't really know exactly how long it would take us, but we would plan on getting there sometime after 9:00 a.m. We planned on getting on the trail by 4:00 in the morning, in order to make it to his place in Winthrop by then. We did not know yet exactly what we were in for.

     As Lisa and I drove to Mazama from Winthrop, we decided that we felt like beginning our ski that night. We knew we had tons of skiing to do and we were anxious to get started. We would quickly get the camper set up and then get changed into our ski gear. We decided to go out for about 5 hours.  We took a couple photos by the trail head sign and began our adventure at 7:08 p.m. 

     I felt so wonderful as I started pushing and gliding along the wide, flat trail ahead. Lit only by my headlamp, I could see sparkles in the snow and the light against the bright white made it easy to see well. The snow was glazed over with just the right amount of ice. Our skis were loud on the snow and we had chosen to wear our Fischer Back Country skis; heavy, shaped, metal edged skis. This gave us good control on the skied-out, icy trails and we glided along easily. These skis are not for the well groomed tracks though, and we could not use the benefits of track skiing on this first night out. Due to a broken strap on my light weight Alpina ski poles, I was using some heavier Black Diamond adjustable poles with large baskets.  I use the Black Diamond Ultra Z poles for trail running and the weight difference in these is very significant. I could tell early on in our ski that I would begin to feel this weight over the kilometers.

     Lisa and I each had a set of lighter weight skis with us as well and these had partial metal edges, but would still fit into the groomed tracks. I had learned some track skiing technique from my friend Grace who taught lessons at Sun Mountain several years ago. With light weight poles and proper technique, you can get going quite fast in the tracks on flat trail and make very good time. Unfortunately, Lisa and I were not able to do that this first night out on the Valley Floor trails, rated mainly Green (the easiest trails in the system). The next rating up is Blue and the hardest trails are Black. All of the trails throughout the entire Methow Trails are very well signed with a large map of the whole system, the rating of the trail and a tasteful & rustic looking sign with the trail's name. It makes navigating through each of the systems in Methow Trails very doable. With Lisa's experience supervising trail crew for the Forest Service, she became our map reader and lead navigator. She did great.

     We were lead by Orion's Belt, the little dipper, various planets and other twinkling stars into the beautiful night. As we traveled along quietly, only the sounds of our skis could we hear. Lisa and I saw Christmas lights strung on trees in front of lovely homes and lodges. The lights were strewn along roof lines in the distance and when we could see many of these lights grouped together, we could tell we were approaching one of the various places where visitors can stay when skiing in the Methow. If it had been daylight hours, we could have gotten a bite to eat or a soy latte at the Mazama Store. We skied by the Freestone Inn, North Cascades Base Camp,and the Timberline Cabins and were in awe as we passed. The lights felt so magical and inviting and we continued to glide along as if in some sort of fairy tale. 

     Although we were moving along well, it was taking us longer overall to rack up the kilometers, the “k's”, as we began to call them. We wanted to ski every trail in the park, knowing that when we skied out n' backs it would make it so that our total k's would add up to more than 200. We didn't think this would make a huge difference as we set out on this first night. It didn't take long before I first spoke up, about 3 ½ hours into the night and still quite far away from the Palomino. I pointed out the out n' back trails we were doing were really going to affect our skiing time and energy out put. I suggested maybe we alter our goal. Lisa was on board with me. We are almost always in sync with each other, one of the many reasons these endurance outings we take on work so well. We decided we had to let go of the goal of doing every single trail. We wanted to still go for 200k, but we might also end up just seeing how many k's two Okanogan girls could do while skiing the Methow Trails. The following day was The Backyard Ski day, one of many events the Methow Trails holds each year. Included in the weekend is a Ski for Free day, the main reason we had chosen this weekend as the time to go for the Challenge.

          We were stopped at one of these large wooden map intersections while having this talk. We snacked and pried the tops off of our frozen water bottles so that we could have a drink. It felt good to be able to adjust our goal as needed, and we both skied on, along the Methow River, with new thoughts in our heads about what we might be pursuing over the next day or two.

     With the Goat Wall to our left, we skied through an open meadow. Aspen trees lined the outer meadow on the other side. We stopped for a moment, turned off our headlamps, and looked up at the night sky. It was spectacular. Everything was so still and with the loud skis now stopped, we could hear the river running off in the distance. There was not another soul around. It was a very special moment and I knew then that the night skiing would likely be my favorite times on the trail during this 200k Challenge.

     We skied on and on through the night, following the map and still skiing all the trails that we could, unless it was an out n' back. We finally came to a spot where we could get back to the camper for the night by skiing along Goat Creek Road for a few kilometers. The county snow plow driver had bladed a flat path, maybe for walkers, skiers or even snowmobiles to travel along safely. This was a nice path for the most part, although it was strewn with some large clumps of frozen snow here and there. Lisa made especially good time along this path and made some distance on me. I lost the gleam of her headlamp a time or two, but before I knew it, I could see she had turned off the path and was at the back of the camper, a welcome sight. I looked down at my watch which I had set to run the time we were out and it read 7:50. Nearly 8 hours after leaving the Palomino for a 5 hour night ski, we were back to it's welcome coziness. 

     We changed into dry clothes to sleep in. Lisa heated up potato soup and we both pulled out our maps. I had even brought my trusty calculator so that we could add up our k's and we each had a chart provided by the Methow Trails, where you can tick off the trails as you ski them. Lisa tallied up our k's for the night and we came up with 38k. In later figuring back home with a fresh mind, I confirmed 41.3k for that first night out.  

     We decided to sleep for 5 hours and then wake up and drive to Winthrop rather than ski there. We needed to sleep and we didn't have enough time to do that and ski the 4 hour trip into Winthrop along the Valley Floor. Plus, I think it would have taken us a lot longer than the 4 hours we had estimated. We both fell asleep immediately and slept soundly. We woke up and had coffee and some snacks to get us going. We arrived at Michael's and he and Allissa were waiting for us patiently on the front porch. We filled them in our long ski from the night before and then we left the Palamino at his place in Winthrop. We all drove together up to Cub Creek Parking for the Rendezvous System, where they would join Lisa and I for a couple of hours.

     We chose to ski from the Cub Creek parking lot at 2,720 feet, up the longer of the routes that climbs to Rendezvous Basin, the 5.5k Cougar Bait trail. This trail is rated Green, but it does climb steadily. We were distracted during the climb by visiting with Michael and Alissa. They were on skate skis and had to slow down to wait for us as we shuffled along uphill on our skinnier skis. We had both chosen to use our lighter weight skis today, knowing that our heavier skis had slowed us down the night before. But even with these, our speed was not what it could have been if we had been skate skiing on super light, non-metal edged skis. They were kind though and very supportive of what we were undertaking. Michael took some photos and said he would post them on the Methow Trails Facebook page. We didn't think much of it at the time, although we were glad he was helping us take some photos for memories of the trip.

     We continued onto the Cedar Creek loop, deciding not to ski the steep route up to the Heiffer Hut. I have skied into the Rendezvous Huts to stay with lady friends for about 10 winters now and so am quite familiar with these Rendezvous trails. Lisa has come on these trips several times as well, and so we together decided that skiing all of the spur trails up to the huts themselves would add on a lot of additional k's and challenging ascents and descents. We decided we would skip all of these throughout this system. 

     At the intersection of where the Cedar Creek Loop ends and joins up with Cow Creek, Michael and Alissa said goodbye and descended one way down it while Lisa and I continued to climb towards the pass in the other direction. We chatted happily, enjoying the day. It drizzled on us lightly for the whole climb, but it only felt cold if we stopped. Once at the top of the climb at the Rendezvous Basin at 3,981 feet, we had a snack and put on our down puffy jackets for the first 2.4k descent that would then continue on and on, until we reached the Mazama trails at nearly 2,100 feet, once again along the Methow River where we had skied the night before. 

     After having pushed and glided the night before along Green trails and having begun this day with a big climb, the downhill was so welcomed by us that we shouted with glee as we began to fly down the steep slope. The speed was just right and I felt like a kid zipping along the snowy trail. I began downhill skiing as a teenager and those same feelings I felt then return to me when I get on a fun downhill as an adult. By the bottom, my toes were cold, but luckily we had some more short climbs and flat trail with more foot movement, before reaching the crazy long Black 9.2k downhill stretch to the valley. We had never been on this trail before and we had heard about it. We were about to find out for ourselves. Fawn Creek it's called. There used to be a shelter along this trail, but it was no longer being used.

     We traveled along the Rendezvous Basin trail, it having it's own fairly steep downhill section, until finally reaching the start of Upper Fawn Creek at 3,834 feet. We would descend all the way to 2,074 feet. I took the lead. We had agreed with each other that we would take it as slow as necessary to feel in control and that we weren't in any rush. We knew there would be some sharp turns and who knows what else. Drop offs on either side? Icy patches? Debris in the trail? We kept our cool and began skiing down. Our bigger skis would have been good for this now, but overkill for the big climb we had already done and for the rest of the way along the Valley Floor into Winthrop. We have lots of experience on these skinnier skies though, and we did feel confident as we dropped lower and lower. We stopped when we needed to, resting our quads and the arches of our feet, both on fire from the intense snow plowing it took to keep our speed in check. 

     Suddenly, although it being nearly dusk, I saw a skate skier coming uphill towards me. She looked amazingly strong and so skilled on her skis. She was carrying a large backpack and I assumed she was skiing in to one of the huts, although she would still have a good climb ahead of her in order to reach one of them. I pulled off to the side of the trail to get out of her way, giving me a good opportunity to rest and allowing her all the room she needed to keep in her rhythm. I let her know there was another gal behind me. She had a dog with her, but it was impressive and shocking to see that the backpack was actually a child carrier and in this carrier was an older toddler, about 3 years old. A heavy child. An adorable, red cheeked, dark banged youngster riding up Fawn Creek on it's mother's back.

     I skied on, snow plowing and pondering the strength of this woman and what she might be training for. Finally, we came to the bottom of this long downhill stretch and cheered out loud. We were so relieved to have completed this and now we knew we had a ton of trail ahead to get into Winthrop, but nothing would be as challenging as that descent for the rest of the night. We still had a Black trail called Goat Creek Cutoff, but it would be short and sweet. And it was. I loved this section! It dropped us right down on the wide valley trail again. It was time to push and glide through the valley, just as dark was coming on. We got out our headlamps. A few other skiers went by, on their way back to their cars after a day of skiing. Our day was just ending too, but we had a night ahead of us. This is when the endurance athlete part of us would have to kick in. This is when your mindset changes and you are stoked with what you have already accomplished, rather than looking too far ahead at what you have left. This is when you go through your mental checklist to make sure you are taking care of all of your needs so that you can keep pushing forward. Keep sipping water. Keep nibbling food. Keep positive. Stay in the Now. Adjust layers as needed. We both used chemical hand warmers in our gloves almost the whole time we skied. This gave us a constant source of warmth and a way to keep our hands toasty whether they were wet from perspiration or the snow, or just a long down hill when they aren't moving much. They are so easy to carry in your pack. We each would have 1 or 2 extra packages with us, in case of an emergency situation where another heat source would be good to have. Once opened, each pack lasts seemingly forever, but at least 10 hours.

     We had skied 31k and we now had 26.1 to go. We could do it. We had done these kind of distances together before, both on skis and trail running in the mountains. We would think of it in little chunks at a time. We were headed towards the Rolling Huts and we thought there was a chance that they might still be open and we could get a hot coffee. If not, we at least knew that the trails were all Green for a long time now. Push and Glide. That is all we had to do now, for hours.

     It was so pleasant along the river now. The snow was softer than the night before, but we could now get in the tracks and this helped it seem like so much less effort. We moved along pretty fast in the tracks, making good time. The Rolling Huts was closed. We felt good though and were in such a flow that neither of us cared at all. We kept going, skiing by Brown's Farm, out in the open meadows for a long distance and then back into the trees for a loop that gave us tons of little ups and downs. We decided to forgo the Black Bob Trail, wanting to just keep making good time. We could see from the gleam of our headlamps that it was a steep climb and it didn't take much convincing to pass it by. We had plenty of steep climbs ahead that were not out n' backs. We would let this one go. It was 2k and we could make up for it somewhere else. We skied past the Wolf Ridge Resort and continued along the valley. This section was easy, but it did feel at times as though we skied on and on forever through these open meadows.

     Finally, we could see the lights of  Winthrop in the distance and skied past the Power's Plunge trail that comes down from Sun Mountain, 9 miles outside of the town, up in the higher elevations. We knew Michael would be coming out on the groomer soon and thought it would be funny to see him. Push and Glide. Push and Glide. Before we knew it, we were skiing towards the ice skating rink and it's flashing lights. Bright lights from the groomer were ahead as well, and so we stopped off to wait and say hi to Michael. We didn't know if we would surprise him or not. We thought he might have been expecting to see us somewhere out here. It was fun to say hi. He couldn't believe we had just skied 57k, but we had. Our total was now 95k. It was feeling possible. We were doing it.

     We took off our skis and walked over the bridge towards Michael's home to hop in the Palomino. We had decided to drive up to the Gunn Ranch Parking and sleep for 5 hours before finishing up the Rendezvous trails. We still had about 39.5k to do in there, including an out n' back on Gunn Ranch itself, which we had never skied before. We knew all of the rest of the trails and knew we would have some good climbs and super fun downhills. It would be a challenging time completing this system, but we were really ready for it and excited to keep ticking off the k's.

     Lisa heated up the chili when we got the camper all set up at Gunn Ranch. We studied our maps again and refueled. We got our packs ready for the next morning and finally laid our heads down on our pillows, setting the alarm to wake back up at 2 a.m.  After these trails were finished, our plan was to drive back to Michael's and leave a drop bag there. We would leave warm clothes for after we finished and some bedding to catch some sleep before heading home. We planned to drive the camper to the Chickadee Trail Head in the Sun Mountain system, using it as our home base there while we skied all of Sun Mountain. When we were done with the Sun Mountain trails, we would ski the 2 Black trails that would take us back down to Winthrop and the small section of Spring Creek Ranch trails we would have remaining as well. This would give us exactly 200k, according to our figures we had been keeping all along. Michael would then drive us back up to the Chickadee Trail Head to the camper. We loved our plan and it all seemed so doable now.

     We awoke to the sound of the alarm at 4:00 AM and were up and drinking coffee by 4:30. It did take us a while to finish getting ready and wake up enough to head out into the morning, dawn now approaching, to begin skiing for the day. When we finally did, the air felt good and fresh, not too cold. We knew we would start with a 5k climb which would heat us up almost immediately. No one else was around, once again, and we felt the quiet and solitude as we began climbing towards Grizzly Way. I have great memories of staying in the Grizzly Hut, and it was nice to be over here again, climbing towards Grizzly Mountain and reminiscing about the time I stayed in the hut with Ras when we packed our own gear in. I had also spent several nights with my friend River there, learning to play cribbage and relaxing with a hut all to ourselves.

     We passed the Grizzly Hut spur and continued towards the Cassal Loop, a fun, fast Black trail that I love. We climbed the shorter part of the loop and descended the longer side. We were soon on the Rendezvous Basin trail and would climb back up the 2.4k fast descent we had taken the day before. This was an out n' back that made sense to do and we had no other choice. We decided to use our mp3 players for this climb, the first time we had listened to them. We had saved them for just this situation, when we would need a boost. It worked just right. I found the climb to be really pleasant and go by quickly. I felt strong and I knew we were making good progress. At the top, we would have a quick snack and then hit the Cougar Mountain Loop, another one of my favorites. Lisa and I have skied this together before when staying at the Gardner Hut with our group of friends from our area. We knew it well and couldn't wait for the fun downs. 

     It was just as awesome as I remembered it and from there we turned onto Little Cub Creek for a fast and exhilarating run. Little Cub Creek is such a blast! I have had some of the funnest groomed downhill runs on this trail. It lifted our spirits to the hilt and gave us the energy boost we needed to then just turn around and begin climbing towards Rendezvous Pass, now on the Cub Creek trail, just inside of Cougar Bait, which we had climbed with Michael and Alissa early the day before.

     The climb seemed relentless and for the first time, I felt tired as I pushed uphill. I pulled out a granola bar to help give me the energy I needed and continued to climb. I did not want to feel overwhelmed. I knew once at the top of this climb, it would be a fun and easy downhill along the Rendezvous Basin, the third time on it now, plus the Gunn Ranch Road would be smooth sailing. Just keep on climbing and then it's all easy from there.

     Sure enough, topping out at Rendezvous Pass was a big relief. The downhill wasn't as fast as it had been the day before, as the snow was softer and skied-out. It was fast enough though, and soon we were on Gunn Ranch Road. Lisa sped off ahead in the tracks, while I kept up a slower, yet steady pace and continued to descend. There were some flats and very short climbs mixed in. The snow was slow and the trail got busier. Many folks were out skiing in this area on this sunny afternoon. I saw a brother and a sister, skate skiing uphill while their dad classic skied in the tracks. They all looked pretty experienced. I liked seeing the family out together. Two guys flew by me downhill on skate skis, coming up from behind fast, totally engaged in conversation and having a good time together skiing as friends, like Lisa and I. I liked seeing this too. There was a couple, stopped off to take pictures of the mist hanging in the distant mountains and of the river valley far below. Then I could see the final descent towards the lot and the camper awaiting. Coming up hill toward me was a group of Fat Bikers with their dog. The trail was wide enough for us to go past each other so I kept up good speed, while totally in control, to ski by. Lisa at this time was already at the camper and had the heat turned on. I skied up to the camper door as she called out “Woo Hoo!! Good Job!!!” We had just conquered another 39.5k.

     The sun shone in the camper door, so we kept it open. All the skiers were finishing up now, glancing in the door, wondering what we were up to. We knew we didn't look like all the others. We wore skirts and sweaters, hand-me-down ski pants that were too big and patched up, hand made wool mittens and hats. Only my gloves were Swix and my socks and sweater were Smartwool, but neither of us looked the part. We stood out a bit. And now, set up in our camper in the parking lot, it seemed we had piqued folks' curiosity. I thought they were maybe a little jealous that we were enjoying hot soup and coffee, after having only finished skiing a few minutes ago. We felt blessed and lucky to be enjoying this trip, having the Palomino, and being physically and mentally tough enough to take on what we were in the middle of doing.

     It turns out, people were thinking it was pretty cool what we were out there doing. Michael had posted a picture of us in our skirts on the Methow Trails Facebook page, including a short explanation about what we were doing. It became a popular post, and Lisa's adorable sweater skirt in particular, became the talk of the trails. No one could believe what we were attempting. Michael told us no one had ever skied all 200k before in one go. That was just the fuel we needed for our fire. There was no option now. We were doing it.
     
     One of the keys to our success on these long adventures that Lisa and I set out on, is our team work mentality on the trail. We look out for each other. We decide together on routes, layering options to have on the trail with us based on the weather or time of day, and when to stop for brief pauses to make adjustments or have a snack. We like to have open and honest communication and to check in with each other about how we are feeling. We keep it positive, but are honest if something is really affecting us and we need to address it. We make sure the other has their headlamp with fresh and extra batteries, dry gloves, or whatever it is we think will be necessary as we are gearing up. We stay together, only allowing short distances between us and waiting at all intersections. I really love and appreciate this about doing these kinds of things with Lisa and we were right on the same wavelength throughout this whole trip.  

     After finishing our soups, we battened down the camper and took our coffee cups with us into the cab for the drive back down into Winthrop. We were still on target for our plan to leave drop bags at Michael's and then head up to Chickadee Trail Head in the Sun Mountain system. We would set up the camper, put on our night skiing gear, and head out into the cold darkness once again. Sun Mountain, here we come!

     It was 7 at night when we headed out to the Rodeo trail, the only Black trail on the Blue side of the Sun Mountain trails. We had noticed that Sun Mountain has a predominately Green side and a predominately Blue side. We decided to ski the Blues first, so we could finish on tired legs with the Greens. We wanted to get Rodeo out of the way. It formed part of a loop trail, the other side being Blue. It was one way, so we had to descend Rodeo. It was the first time on all of the trails that I had felt on the verge of being out of control. It was hard to check my speed on the short, but icy and scary, little hills that swooped up as soon as you hit the bottom. My local ski trails at Highlands have a miniature version of this, but this was crazy on my skinny skis. Lisa was much braver. I took my skis off for one of them, walking off to the very side so as not to damage the trail. I side stepped down another. My heart was racing and I felt a little trembling in my hands. My adrenaline was going. I was nervous. I mentioned this to Lisa, saying I felt pretty strange. It was dark, we had skied a total of 137.9k. My energy was at a low point. I likely needed to be taking in some more calories. 

     Kindly, after we completed that first loop, she led me over to the Green side and soon we were easily gliding along the Wolf Trail and I felt at one with my surroundings once again. I was not fighting off discomfort, but flowing with ease. We talked about what our weddings had been like, and all kinds of other stuff. We did short, fun little loops and ticked of k's. We heard the groomer off in the distance and were assured that he was fixing all of the Blue trails up. They would be beautiful by the time we hit them and were ready for some more fast downhill. The Blue side had a Black trail called the Inner Passage; our route called for us to climb one section of this and go downhill on another section of it. We preferred they be freshly groomed and were happy to hear the welcome machine off in the distance. At times, we caught glimpses of it's bright lights. 

     We climbed to the Sun Mountain Lodge, a huge retreat alongside the trail. It was lit up brightly and some cars were coming and going. Folks can dine there and were still out for the night. Others were wandering through the lit up outdoor walkways. The trails near the lodge, not surprisingly, were in horrible shape: newbies falling, snow plowing through soft snow, ruining tracks and making a mess out of things. The area near the lodge is very exposed and the warm day's sun had made the snow very soft. It was now firming up and all the boot tracks, snow shoe prints and burmed up snow was hard to navigate. We had to do a lollipop loop up there. Some parts of it were fun, but for the most part, we just wanted to get out of the heavily trafficked area. 

     The Sunshine Trail was pleasant. It overlooked the road that takes cars up to the lodge. We could see cars going by and the groomer's lights again. We just had to ski down this trail to the Beaver Pond Trail and we would be back at the camper once more, another 24.4k completed. We talked about our plan. We decided we needed to sleep a little bit, but not for too long. We had 48.2k left to ski. We would have it then. We wanted to keep our momentum going. We were feeling really good about things. A 2 or 3 hour rest was all we wanted. We definitely wanted to get warm by the heater, put on dry socks and dry out our boots. We could hear the groomer right by the camper once we were settled inside of it, so we knew we had the best possible scenario before us. We would have fresh groomed corduroy we could make first tracks in.

     I had some hot chili and coffee. Lisa had hot tea and we both studied our maps once again. Lisa had figured out a way to do all of the various loops we had left to do, which would include repeating some sections of trail. We didn't mind though, as we needed the k's from this side to make our total. As it turns out, this whole section was super exciting. We started out with a hard climb up Thompson Road, but soon we were on Meadowlark and Blue Jay, going wonderfully fast down hill, on fresh groomed trails, feeling free and high as a kite. It was probably our favorite time on hills. Those hills were just so fun! And doing them in the dark! It doesn't get much better than that.

     But then suddenly, my mind got so tired. My stomach felt woozy. I worked to stay alert and awake. I kept going like that through these trails, pushing on. It's a familiar feeling. I've had it in a 100 mile trail running race I completed and I've had it on many unsupported trail runs with Lisa and Ras. I experienced it when I thru hiked the 800 mile Arizona Trail last spring. Lisa has experienced it too and it was time to tell her that I was getting the drowzies. She suggested that we pull out our mp3 players and I agreed that some good raggae dancehall music would wake me up. It turns out, her player was dead and so she couldn't listen, but I went ahead and used mine anyway, as it was important for safety reasons that I wake up. Normally, we would only use our mp3 players if the other one was too, out of fairness. I also had two peppermint candies with me and, as mint is a stimulant and even the smell of it can help make you more alert, I shared one with Lisa and off we went.

     This worked and soon we were at the base of the dreaded 1.5k Black climb, gaining 500 feet, up the Upper Inner Passage trail. We took off our heavy outer layers as we knew we would get sweaty and we didn't want to get wet. We still had a down hill ahead of us. Fast downhill gets you a little cold if you are wet underneath. We didn't want this to happen. Being overheated also inhibits your ability to climb efficiently, forcing you to focus too much on the discomfort of your body temperature. The puffy layers do not allow as much of a good range of motion for a consistent, steady climb. We gave each other positive vibes and encouragement for what was ahead and snacked on our trail food. Finally, we started the climb. Much of it was herring boning, which is a real energy zapper. It was hard to push and glide because the snow was glazed over with ice. The skis would not grip to the surface well and it took adaptation, from a very slight herring bone in sections, to an extreme one in others, to get the climb done. 

     Before the climb while Lisa and I were regrouping, I noticed something unusual happening in the sky. It was getting lighter, very faintly.  I had forgotten that we were skiing towards morning hours. So much of our skiing had been in the dark, that I was confused about what time of the night this darkness in particular was. Was it evening dark? Was it still 3:00 in the morning? It felt so strange. By the top of the intense and difficult climb, it was light. I was spent. I felt so exhausted from that push. I couldn't believe it was light out now. Lisa got there a few minutes before me and had changed into a dry under layer. It was so good to know she was feeling the relief of the climb being done just like I was. We had the ski down Thompson Road to the camper left, before our final 17k into Winthrop. We were most certainly going to finish our 200k Challenge now. Nothing was going to stop us. I became overwhelmed by emotion and tears filled my eyes. I couldn't help it. I had taken my skis off and walked away from Lisa towards the wooden trail sign for Thompson Road. I stretched and looked up towards the blue morning sky. It was so pretty out. I let the tears flow and told Lisa I was really emotional for some reason. I pulled myself together and bundled up into my down puffy jacket again for the fast downhill ahead. 

     Lisa and I took off for a 3.7k, 840 foot descent in the cold temperatures of post dawn. It felt so good to let loose on this freshly groomed trail. We made incredible time. We skied a short loop through the Overland trails and were back at the camper for our turn-around in no time. We had steely focus as we got ready for the final stretch. We would start out on the Cabin Trail, taking us by Patterson Lake Cabins. Then, we would hit the Winthrop Trail, a Black drop to 1990 feet. We were ready to pull this thing off. We could smell the oats in the barn.

     We drank water and snacked while changing into clothes for the final ski of our Challenge. We didn't need much in our packs now and we took with us only what we knew we would use. We had our drop bags at Michael's to change into warm clothes as soon as we finished. I mixed up an Emergen-C electrolyte pouch in one of my water bottles, as I was feeling a little shaky. It tasted good to have a lemon lime flavored drink in one of my bottles. I snacked on tamari rice cakes and slurped down a gel. We blasted the heater to dry out our gloves and warm up, then exited the camper for one last time. 

     The Black section on the Winthrop Trail was super fun! It had tight hair pin turns and lots of fast stuff. We dropped nearly 400 feet in 2.7k. We hit the Blue section and made our way to the fairly boring, yet nicely groomed trails in the open meadows near Spring Creek Ranch. There were a few other skiers out there. It was quiet and peaceful. My heels were quite sore in here. Lisa and I had both used moleskin at Michael's and then put heavy duct tape over the top of that. This helped, but our heels were both well worn and sore at this point. I stopped at one point in this section to check on how the tape was holding. It felt all bunched up. The tape was holding fine and seemed to be a good fix. My heels were just shouting at me that they would like the long ski to be over.

     We dropped down to the Valley Floor for the final time on the Black Power's Plunge trail, this time a 200 foot drop in 2k, and skied up to where it intersects with the Methow Community Trail. We could see bibbed skate skiers coming along fast and it was then that we remembered that there was a race going on. A guy shouted out to us, “Are you the ladies skiing all of the trails here in one go?” We said yes and smiled, skiing on our way as he called out “That's great! How much further do you have?” When we answered that we just had to ski into Winthrop (just under 5k), he hollered congratulatory calls to us, as did the rest of the skiers there with him watching the race. It felt good and it was then that we realized the post with our picture had spread the word of our endeavor.

     We skied off to the left of the groomed tracks to stay out of the way of the racers. They would come flying up from behind and blast past us. It was all open trail and we could see the racers for quite a distance after they went by. It was a mental push at this point. We were tired and all the racers and the bystanders (byskiers, if you will), were overwhelming. We felt out of place. My heels hurt on each push. For some reason, the lightness of the skate skiers form and gear seamed to emphasize the weight and heaviness of my own. Cowbells were sounding as folks with homes along the trail rang them with encouragement for the racers on their home stretch. 

     Now away from the friendly man in the red jacket at the intersection who called out to us, no one knew what we were finishing. One younger skier, still a boy, turned to look back at me after passing. I wondered if he liked my UltraPedestrian patch, was bothered by my clunky skis and out of place clothing, or remembered me from Gunn Ranch the day before, as it occurred to me that he might be the brother from the sibling pair I'd seen skiing there with their dad. A man came skate skiing towards me and stepped in front of me to get out of the way of the racer. I had to stop skiing for him. He called out to the racer, encouraging him and saying “Great work! You got this”, or something like that, something like I call out to fellow racers when I'm running an ultra marathon. But the man who'd stepped in front of me didn't seem to want to look at me. He got back across the tracks as quickly as he could after the racer passed and skated off in the opposite direction. I smiled anyway. I always do.

     Lisa was way in front of me now. I could see the ice skating rink once again, this time approaching it in the daylight, this time for the finish. Cow bells were ringing and spectators were cheering for the racers as they crossed the finish line. The irony was thick in the air and I shouted out to Lisa when I saw her stopped at the final sign “We did it! 200K Challenge! We're Trail Champions!!” Sixty-five hours and eight minutes after beginning our quest we had overshot our goal by more than six miles for a total of 211 kilometers. We gave each other a big hug, took off our skis and walked across the bridge into the small town of Winthrop, an anti climactic ending to an epic adventure.

     Or so we thought. Barely off the bridge, a car pulled off and a woman waved to us frantically, yet in a friendly way. I figured it was someone else in Winthrop that Lisa knew, someone from the Forest Service. It turns out it was Kristen Smith, who works for the Methow Trails. She was so excited to see us. She made us feel so special and so good! She took my heavy skis and carried them to the Methow Trails office, which we were now in front of. She invited us in to warm up, have some food, a beer (which we declined), anything we wanted. She gave us cool Methow Trail trucker caps in twinsie colors and Sock Guy wool ski socks with the Methow Trails emblem on them. She took our picture and filmed us in an interview, still “endorkphined out” from the amazing experience we had just had. Lisa and I were gracious and shy, overwhelmed and happy, relieved and spent. Kristen was really kind and she confirmed that we were the first to have ever skied the entire 200k Challenge in a single push. 

     The Methow Trail system is reputed to be world class. I say they are world class in the video and I laugh about this, as my other ski cred has only come from skiing near Mt. Baker, the Steven's Pass Nordic area, the Highlands Sno Park in Tonasket, out my back door, and at Nickel Plate Nordic Ski Area near Apex in Canada. But I know it felt out of this world to me to ski all of those wonderful trails in one go; so well maintained and signed, so challenging and diverse, so incredibly scenic and inviting. I can't wait to get back on them again. I now have some favorites picked out that I want to return to. I could also see another thru-ski of the Methow Trails with Lisa happening in the future. I hope that many more skiers will take on this challenge and see how they too can do it to suit their strengths and goals.