Across the Park – 4PA

It’s been a few months since we completed the 50+ mile journey across the Olympic National Park from the low divide near Lake Quinault to the Elwha River Trail. This trail is also known as the “Press Expedition.” The adventure began the day before on Friday, September 30th. Our group met up in the early afternoon at our house and we began preparation for the weekend.

Luke Rafferty flew in to document the event, and we were able to conduct a few interviews with Joe Descala, Founder of 4PA, TJ McConnahay, who would be participating in his first ultra-endurance event after losing over 100 pounds, Gay Hunter who was helping guide TJ and I across the trek through the night. Also joining us was Chris Cummings who accompanied Joe as they speed hiked and ran through the park. We were able to take some footage from Peabody Creek just behind our house where one of the largest cleanup sites took place for 4PA where they removed thousands of pounds of trash just months before with a chain of dozens of people transporting the bags out of the site for almost 4 hours. The area now looks pristine and is back to its former natural beauty of the wooded hills with a creek passing through the center.

As we prepared to hit the road for the drive to the trailhead we had some community leaders join us in prayer and best wishes. This included Aaron Bacon, John Rickenbacker, and JoDee Ahmann, each of who have played critical roles in my life over the years. 

We all piled into the VW Atlas that we purchased last year to take us through our family’s national parks adventure and has been an incredible vehicle for trips like this one. The two hour drive to Quinault went without major issue, and we had some great conversations in the vehicle with all of the runners and Luke who came to get some interviews and drive the vehicle back after all the runners started our journey. We arrived at Jon Cummings’ house – John is the Park Ranger out at Quinault – just after 8pm and took some time taking turns to get interviews while having a pasta dinner including lasagna and spaghetti. After dinner we loaded up our packs for the trek ahead and were all set to go.

Gay had the genius idea to start our walk just after dinner instead of sticking with our original plan of leaving just after midnight. With all of our supplies loaded up, including a large supply of Hammer Nutrition products, we split groups and were on our way. TJ, Gay, and I started at the Quinault trailhead just after 9:30pm and began our trek up the North Fork of the Quinault River to the first checkpoint at the Low Divide 16 miles in. We took things slow and steady and had a pretty good rhythm from the get go. We were consistent on our eating every 45-60 minutes and there was plenty of water from numerous sources along the way. Gay had brought a new filter that made it very easy to refuel at the water sources within a few short minutes. Just after midnight our lights began to dim and when I went to go replace the batteries I couldn’t find the stash of replacements that I was fairly certain I had packed. We kept going a few more hours and I was doing the math on how long we could go before our lights went out and how to best ration them. On one of the stops I searched deeper in my pack and found the batteries in a side pouch and was able to fully light up our path through the rest of the evening. Probably the biggest relief of the trip was finding that extra stash of supplies. 

It’s tough to properly describe the beauty of the Low Divide trail. With the river crossings, bridges, mountains, and trees all around, not to mention the complete isolation, it is simply stunning. We climbed up to the low divide and passed by Lake Mary and Lake Margaret in the dark of the early morning and started the trek down the other side before daybreak even hit. 

A few notable moments during the middle of the trek were the multiple stream crossings. Thankfully the water level was low and we could easily walk across the water in our bare feet and put our shoes back on after crossing to stay as dry as possible. Chicago camp is the most notable crossing just after the Low Divide and always a good check point that you’re making progress and getting ready to come up on the second half of the journey. There were also privy’s at many of the campsites along the way which was a helpful reprieve for our group and helped us maintain as little of a footprint across our journey as possible. 

There was one section on the second half of the journey in mid-morning where we were crossing over a creek and then on the other side got a little misdirected and potentially put on a bit of extra mileage. Soon Gay found her way through it and we were back on the known path and moving towards the Elwha. In hindsight, I would have charged her phone with the Gaia app so that it didn’t shut off and we could have followed it, and I would have downloaded the All Trails route on my phone so that I would have had a backup. These are critical backups that you don’t realize you need, until you need them. About 30 miles into the hike TJ got a rush of energy and jogged for about two miles which as expected was a nice short excitement but he definitely paid for it mentally and physically over the next 5-10 miles. 

Bringing Gay Hunter along served as the natural blessing that I thought it would be. Her history with Olympic National Park, understanding of the trails, and even recognition of each camp as we came through based on her dozens of journeys through these trails on multiple day hikes was a constant comfort and guardrail for our journey. TJ was simply steady. For his first ultra-event it was impressive to see how well he navigated sleep deprivation, being on his feet all night and the next day and staying in a decent head space. Thankfully his blisters held off until the last third of the trek and were fairly minor in comparison to what they could have been. Gay and I both were pretty laid out the second half mainly from being on our feet for so long without stopping much at all. Gay stopped even less than I did because at many of the 5 minute sit downs she was busy refilling all three of our water packs. 

We passed through Camp Wilder, Hayes River, Elkhorn, and Canyon Camp as the day turned into dusk and we started calculating how long it would be until we hit the Elwha side of the trail. We hadn’t heard from the other group at all throughout the day and anticipated them passing us at any moment. After a few last rolling hills we hit the last checkpoint which was a small homestead cabin in the woods and were set for the two mile trek to the trailhead. We all had a renewed vigor and the last miles were at a nice steady clip. Right as we were coming up to the trailhead we saw a case of beer that had been left in the middle of the trail by our support crew and as we were making our way to it we heard the voices and saw the headlights of the other two runners, Joe Descala and Chris Cummings. We had finished the 46ish mile trek starting about 7 hours apart at the exact same time!!!

We took a few minutes to celebrate, drink a few beverages, and we were on our way for the last 7-mile journey to our cars because of the washed out road. Fortunately, Chris Hartman had come with an electric bike and Chris Cummings was able to jump on and take it out and save his knee that was bothering him from the impact of the trail over time. TJ was able to get a short lift to the bypass trail that goes around Elwha River, saving himself about 3 miles of the unnecessary journey to the car. The rest of us plodded along together sharing stories from the day and excited to reach our families on the other side of the trail. 

It was fascinating to me to watch Joe hammer out these last few miles. Like everything he seems to do in life, he is extremely efficient in his technique and his intentionality. He is steady and kind even when he’s been on his feet crossing through terrain for a notable period of time. 

Before we knew it we had made the turn onto the bypass and navigated a few random turns to put us back out on the main road towards the parking lot. Our families were waiting with pizza, supplies and encouragement. Because of our fatigue, we all made a quick pile into the vehicles after a few photos and we were on our way back home to our houses. 

This was an incredible journey on so many fronts. It was an honor to support and encourage Joe and 4PA. It was a life experience TJ will likely never forget and will likely participate in other similar adventures in the years to come. For Chris and Joe, I’m hopeful that they enjoyed their journey together. It’s one of the first times I haven’t been together as a whole group on an adventure like this. For Luke, I’m grateful for his friendship and professionalism over the years and the exceptional storytelling and videos we were able to share with the community. For Gay, she is still my go-to when it comes to keeping everyone safe and on nutrition on these adventures. 

Looking forward to new adventures and what 2023 has to bring.