In six weeks I embark on my toughest race season yet. 3 big ultras in 4 months. Which is a strange feeling because it means that…
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Back in 2013, Jamie Hobbs was kind enough to show Ron and I The Devil’s Path out in New York’s Catskills Mountains. Repeatedly ranked as one of the hardest/most dangerous trails on the planet, Devil’s packs somewhere around +/-19,000′ of climb/descent across 6 mountains (and 8 peaks) in its 25 miles of highly technical trail. It’s rated as a highly strenuous, three-day hike. In 2014 I was able to run the whole thing (along with my friends Ron and Ryan) in 12 hours (for comparison, the fastest known time is just under the 5 hour mark). In addition lots of climb and descent (there are no ridges in between the peaks), the trail is highly technical, riddled with roots, rocks, and cliff bands. If you’ve heard absurd descriptions of this trail? Don’t write it off as hyperbole. It’s almost impossible to overstate how challenging this trail can be.
1 CommentBack in December I found myself in the enviable predicament of heading to Albany, NY for the day on business with a meeting that ended…
Leave a CommentOne of the time-honored spring fixtures of the trail running scene here in the Great Lakes / Finger Lakes region of upstate, NY is the…
Leave a CommentUpstate NY is notorious for its “spring” weather. Per usual, we were cruelly teased with a taste of spring about two weeks ago with some…
Leave a CommentI love ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Because that’s the point. All of us are capable of more than we realize. So, hats off to…
Leave a CommentYesterday, I had the privilege of participating in the 4th Annual KROSSIN’ KEUKA open water swim across beautiful Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes Region…
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Well, my brain is still trying to wrap itself around yesterday’s 4.5 mile end-to-end open water swim of NY’s beautiful Honeoye Lake. This was swim #1 of my Finger Lakes Swim project, and it was one of the most beautiful things as well as one of the scariest things I have ever done.
My longest previous swim being a 2 hour 5k pool swim, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into yesterday. I knew I would be charting new territory both for me and for open water swimming in this region. I am aware of only one other person who has ever swum the length of all of NY’s 11 Finger Lakes (and I haven’t been able to get a hold of him), so information on open water swimming these bodies of water is practically non-existent. The best I can do is visit each lake, observe, and glean as much information as I can from fisherman, kayakers, and conservationists.
So, when I swam against a strong northerly current the entire first 1/3 of the swim? Yeah, there’s no information about that online. But that’s part of what adventure is all about. Being one of the first…
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We visited family out near Varysburg, NY yesterday. The sun came out late afternoon… so I grabbed the iPhone and headed out into the woods. Took these shots in an old creek bed down in a ravine – just beautiful!
More pics after the jump!
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Looking for another beautiful, family friendly, and easy-to-get-to hiking spot in upstate, NY? We headed over to GREEN LAKES STATE PARK today (just Southeast of Syracuse) with the kids and had a blast! Absolutely breathtaking scenery in the snow… and free admission (as it should be) from Labor Day – Memorial Day. Click that link above for more info… More pics after the jump.
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