Everesting
Climb Route:
Hollywood Beach, Port Angeles to Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, Olympic National Park
Like many great adventures in life, this one started with an early morning start. I decided to let myself sleep as long as I could, and when I woke up I would prepare for an epic day of climbing. We went to bed early around 10pm after putting Hudson and Kalea asleep in their loft style room, and I woke up at 4:30am which gave me plenty of time to get my last-minute details put together for a 6:00am start.
I coasted the mile or so down to the city pier, where growing up I would look out over the water towards Canada and feel at peace with the world knowing I was a small piece in a much bigger story. For some reason, that put my heart and mind at ease in the midst of heading into adventures that I had no idea how they would turn out. It is the same pier I went down to pray, meditate and reflect at before heading out on a year-long trip to India at age 15 as a Rotary Exchange Student. It’s where I started my journey on the open road with my high school pastor John Rickenbacker on a 40-day cross country cycling journey. I stood on the same pier before heading off to College, before a month-long wrestling tour internationally with Athletes in Action and prior to so many other adventures that scared the crap out of me. For every experience, I knew these were things I wanted to pass through in my life, so I just took that first step and before I knew it I was on another adventure, one decision point after another ahead of me.
The Climb
Climb one went about as smooth as can be. The first five miles of the climb up to Heart of the Hills ranger station is the steepest. You climb about 1,800 feet in 5 miles. After passing the ranger station, the climb is a bit more gradual but a steady 13 miles to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center at around 5,242 feet. There are multiple view points of the mountain ranges and Strait of Juan de Fuca as well as three tunnels you pass through about half way up the climb. I reached the summit for trip one at approximately 2 hours 50 minutes and was at the city pier again less than 40 minutes later at 3 hours 34 minutes with a top speed of 52.5 miles per hour on the lower 5 mile section below the Heart of the Hills Ranger station where you have a steady steep climb and straight roads where you can let whatever vehicle you’re in cruise comfortably.
After a quick pit stop by my house and a couple of breakfast burritos I was back up Hurricane Ridge Road for climb two. I reached the top just after 7 hours. about half an hour of additional climbing time. This was the loop where I made my first major error in planning. As the heat of the day arose I became dehydrated about 2/3 the way up the climb and drank through my 40 ounces of water. I was starting to fade as I approached the summit. I took a few extra stops and even climbed down a small hill to get to a waterfall where I could dunk my head and cool off in the afternoon heat. At the top of the ridge I refilled my water bottles at the visitor center and was on my way back to the beach!
I was able to swing by the Bike Garage and pick up a couple of additional supplies. While I was there, I ran into the owner Tom for a quick picture and encouragement. Afterwards, I picked up two Frugals burgers at my house and an extra Nalgene bottle of water for this loop and headed back up the mountain. I hit the halfway point of my “Everesting” experience during climb three at just under 11 hours and hit the top of the mountain about half an hour later. The sky was still sunny, with a beautiful view of the mountain peaks all around. This was going to be my last fast descent as rain was in the forecast for the evening. I managed to hit my highest speed at 54.5 miles per hour and was back at the city pier for the official halfway point of my journey at 12 hours 21 minutes and covering over 116 miles.
I headed back to my house for another round of supplies, then back up the mountain for climb four. I turned on my headlight about an hour into the ascent and the traffic on the road turned to pretty much nonexistent. I passed the 20,000 feet of climbing mark and made it to the summit for the 4th time in about 16 and a half hours, just after 10pm and covering over 135 miles. I had my first really tough descent because of having to lock the breaks so many times on the wet roads to keep my speed manageable and the risk low. After riding back down to the pier I took a longer break to head inside and eat some food and restock supplies before climb five up Hurricane Ridge.
I had pretty steady rain for about an hour to begin the loop and then the weather brightened back up. The last few miles I ran into a second rain burst and for a few minutes a sustained front wind which had me a little concerned but passed as quickly as it had sprung up within about 5 minutes. I arrived at the summit just after 3:30am. The descent was pretty gnarly because of fighting sleep. I had to stop half a dozen times and stretch out and slap my face to keep myself alert enough to keep going. I got to one lookout and laid out on the cement for about 5 minutes and then jumped back on the bike to do another push before stopping.
My final climb six started at around 4:45am. I stopped by home and spent a few minutes with my wife Kristin resupplying and was on my way. Mentally this climb took a long time, but I just focused on one pedal stroke in front of the other. I listened to my new favorite podcast “Road Dog Podcast: Adventures with Luis Escobar” which helped pass the time with good adventure storytelling. My family met me on the final descent right after summitting at just over 31,000 feet. It was great seeing Kristin, Lila, Abigail, Hudson and Kalea. I rode quickly down the mountain and just before 9:00am was at the Port Angeles city pier for the final time and had the opportunity to see Madisyn, my steadfast crew member on so many adventures, and her friend Jordis.
It was an incredible adventure, and I’m grateful once again that my mind and body carried me through each and every pedal stoke. Great linking the journey with HOPE61 and raising money and awareness for fighting human trafficking. Looking forward to what the rest of the year brings in this endeavor and what adventures will come.