Mt. Hood via Timberline Trail.

Distance: 42 ~

Vertical gain: 10,000 ~

Decent: 10,200 ~

Nutrition: Maurten (drink mix, bar), maple syrup drink mix, organic maple syrup and glacial stream water.

My goal in this article is to highlight some of my experiences running around Mt. Hood via the Timberline Trail. In no way will I be able to write everything in a short blog post let alone go in depth about the spiritual journey I went through on this foot race. Not only was I in awe of the magnificent mountain, raw nature, high altitude water falls, glacial waters but also gained insight into the negative human effect on the natural world. Specifically, observing what happens when excessive human activity can erode the mystical and raw attributes of nature. Anyway, here is a little bit of my journey around Mt. Hood.

Arrived at Timberline Lodge at 8:55am on a Saturday, another morning I arrived at a trailhead later than I would have liked. But, I don’t let that bother me this morning so I start my warm-up, visualize my run, mentally go over my nutrition as I attempt to stay present and mindful. Understanding the journey ahead of me, the journey into the unknown.

It's 9:30 and the sun is piercing through the bright, cool blue sky. I put my pack on, lace up my shoes and I look up and as a way of deep respect and appreciation, I greet the mountain, as-salamu alaykum (peace be upon you) and start my journey. The previous two weeks I had been coming to Mt. Hood for my runs almost on a daily basis to get in some altitude training and just have fun in the mountains. So I was a little familiar with what the trails felt like in both directions from the Timberline Lodge. I decided to venture on to the trails counterclockwise- a beautiful start with a high gradient that fired up all types of muscles but then a nice descent into the first mini canyon with a stream crossing and view of Mt. Jefferson to the right.

With a short ascent I started a net descent with some rolling hills to White River Canyon, running through sandy trail forests, rocks, roots and cliff edges. Depending on the time of year, the river crossings can be dangerous so I made sure to do a little research before my adventure. Once I decided how to cross the river, I looked for rock cairns. They will be a guide to help me get back to the trail if I was a little lost. In this section I had to cross White River twice then follow the Timberline Trail till I reached the entrance of the forest on the other side of White River Canyon.

This was a steep climb with high gradients until I reached an elevation of 5,845 where I continued at this elevation with rolling hills for about 4 miles until I started my second big ascent of about 2,000 of climbing in about 4 miles. At this point it seemed like a huge uphill (probably because I was not pacing myself) but I kept my feet light, focused on the moment, enjoyed the scenery and started improving my pace. I also knew that in the next 19 miles I would have a net descent. I knew I still had miles to cover, vertical gains to push through and relentless descent. So I started creating smaller goals to help me stay focused and practiced celebrating my small wins throughout the run. Plus, the views in all directions were magical. I took in the moments by stopping and feeling the breeze, studying the topography and these moments served as time to think of why I was on this journey.

From this point, I realized the pattern of the trail which gave me more insight on how to fuel better, maybe rethink my pace and overall gain confidence of my ability to continue on.

So what is the pattern? After about 20 miles of running, you will continue on descending into canyons with river or stream crossing then ascending up the canyons. Throughout this up and down game of physical and mental challenge you will run up forests, run down sandy hills, cross streams covered with moss, cross waterfalls, run through burned forests and see Mt. Hood in all its moods. Essentially, you get what seems to be an infinite opportunity to take a journey within.

In conclusion, my project of running around Mt. Hood was one that increased my confidence as a runner, enforced the importance of the natural world and the responsibility we have to care and preserve it for all. The journey took me to my physical limits, challenged my mindset and made me question a lot about spirituality and its relationship to not only my physical performance but also my existence. There were times when I felt like I was flying and times when I felt defeated, falling to my knees from pushing too hard. But, experiencing both joy and pain led me to a higher energy source and made me understand how those two polar emotions can forge a resilient, empathic and resourceful me.

This is why I run. This is why I encourage running (trail running specifically). I believe running is beyond exercise- it is a means to break your own physical, mental and spiritual barriers. Putting the term exercise on running takes away its purpose, its beauty and its necessity for us to connect with our inherent and natural way of movement. The human body is built to run, walk and move constantly. Whether that be hunting, running for safety or traveling long distances to find a new home, running with joy or running away from home with grief and devastation due to war. Again, for joy or pain we always had to walk or run.

Running is a movement that is in the fabric of human existence. This inherent movement has been slowly stripped from us with the increase of sitting culture, busy lives and distraction all around us. Once you feel the transformative power of running, walking and moving your body, you will get closer to the most natural way of living. Your limbs, brains, heart and spirit will thank you.

Moving each day and voluntarily increasing your heart rate each day, multiple times a day is valuable to your physical and spiritual health. When done often, these simple movements will not only better your life but it will motivate you to challenge yourself as your body and mind start adapting to the stress.

Let's get practical. Here is a little experiment.

Find a comfortable spot.
While standing, close your eyes, clear your mind and put your hand on your heart and feel it beating.
Be aware of the relationship between your heartbeat, rate of breathing and its effect on your mindset.
Now start slowly running in place and pay attention to your movement and at which point your heart rate and rate of breathing increases.
Slowly increase your speed and hold it for about 60-90 sec. Make sure you're not holding your breath but let your breath flow with your movement. Be one with it.
Take a break. Now observe how you feel. Close your eyes again and scan your body. How fast is your heart going? Are you breathing heavily? Are you sweating? How is your mood?
Go drink some water and take 1-2 min break.
Repeat.

Hope this article has inspired you .1% to make that step forward toward self-discovery through movement. Please, share it with anyone you think will benefit.

Have fun on your adventure, get out, move and discover what you're truly capable of

Circumnavigating Mount Hood in Under 10 Hours.

REintegration