Blogly Went
The Wisdom of the (Dirtbag) Crowd
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 Angel and I go way back with "Team UltraPedestrian" Ras and Kathy Vaughan. We ran a DIY race out of their back yard years ago, but one of the first times we really hung out was in 2012, when Ras was attempting a "Double Wonderland", completing the 94 mile Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier twice in one push. We went on a long run with Kathy, and mostly just sat around wondering if he was okay during big lightning storms. At the time it was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard of someone doing. (Now I'm aware of much worse.) The thing we love about these two is that all of their outdoor projects are creative endeavors focused on inspiring other people to try new things. Ras threw down the Wonderland double because he loved the trail, and realized doing it twice in opposite directions was a different experience than just doing it once. He had an instinct that other people would want to follow him, and they did. Since then, several other friends have completed the double in one push, which is, to my mind, one of the most difficult trail challenges possible. A year later, my first proper outdoor publication was an online interview with Ras for TrailRunner Magazine in 2013, after he complete a "Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim to Rim" - a sextuple crossing of the Grand Canyon. In that article, we referred to the attempt as an "Only Known Time" - a humorous play on the idea of a "Fastest Known Time," designed to show that no one else had been ridiculous enough to try it yet. The idea also contained the seeds of inspiration, because the reason to pursue an OKT, as we talked about it, isn't just so you can say you've done something no one else has. You do it because you think other people will be inspired to follow behind, either to emulate or to one up you. The term OKT now pops up from time to time in trail publications, and I just realized there's a guy making a film with the title. Coining the term is our crowning achievement together so far. (Side note - the "OKT" inspiration worked with Ras' Grand Canyon endeavor - Portland trail beast Christof Teuscher later completed a 168 mile 8x crossing, which he talks about on this episode of Humans of Ultrarunning!) In the spirit of inspiration Ras and Kathy have also gone on to found the UltraPedestrian Wilderness Challenge, an "adventure blogging" contest that challenges individuals to try out a series of wilderness routes of various difficulties and distances and report back on how it went. It's kind of an un-race, and prizes are given for a variety of speed- and non-speed related achievements. You should really check it out. It's a genuinely clever take on organized trail pursuits that's different from anything else out there that I'm aware of. Oh yeah, the point is, check them out because they're touring right now!All these stories are really just by way of introduction. I really wanted to write here and now because Ras and Kathy are headed out on a six week speaking tour today, April 4, 2019, around WA and OR where they'll be presenting about their most recent OKT - the completion of the "UP North Loop" - a roughly 2600 Mile overland trail loop through the inland Pacific Northwest, which connects the Pacific Crest, Pacific Northwest, Idaho Centennial, and Oregon Desert Trails into one massive loop route spanning mountain and desert in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho (with a few steps into Montana and Nevada). We attended their first presentation in Tacoma, and it was really inspiring. If there's one thing I love, it's people coming up with amazing things to do because they want other people to realize it's possible. This felt like that. It was, in ways, a massively difficult route with a lot of route finding and heavy carries involved, and a short weather window between snowfall in the spring and winter of the Northwestern mountains. But it was also just the kind of thing anyone can pull off if they want to. They planned the route by looking at a map, saying "that looks amazing, and possible", and then doing it before they were even really sure if it would "go", since large parts of the Centennial trail are unfinished, the Oregon Desert is largely an overland route, and there were several connectors between the two that no one had actually hiked yet. Spoiler alert - they figured it out, but like all good adventures, it didn't go to plan. If you like what we do here at Boldly Went, I highly recommend checking them out when they come to your town (The schedule is linked here, but I also cut and pasted it below.) They're totally entertaining storytellers, and the UP North Project is the type of thing that the world needs more of - a real adventure created whole cloth out of a bit of inspiration that came from staring at some hiking maps. You should hear about it firsthand.  I'm also excited that they're going to be traveling sales-people for The Dirtbag's Guide to Life on this tour - they bought a bunch of wholesale copies and will be selling them at events along with their own book, 98 Days of Wind. We'll be selling that one at our upcoming events as well, because dirtbag authors gotta stick together. All proceeds will go to making sure we all keep doing ridiculous stuff in the hopes that it'll inspire you to do the same. These guys are old school dirtbags, so another way to support is to host them when they come through town. Like us, they tour the punk rock way, sleeping on couches, camping out, and paying their way by selling merch from the back of their overpacked beat up old car. We can hook you up, or they're on social media on Facebook or Instagram. If you want to support Team UltraPedestrian, or buy their book, but can't make an event, go to their website, Ultrapedestrian.com. For more on the UP North Loop, there's a website for that too. Check 'em out! You'll be inspired! UP North Loop Tour DatesApril 4 - Seven Hills Running Shop, Seattle, WA - 7:00 PM Facebook Event Information April 5 - Mountain Shop, Portland, OR - 7:00 PM Website Event Information Facebook Event Information April 8 - Fleet Feet, Vancouver, WA - 6:00 PM Facebook Event Information April 9 - REI at WildCraft Cider Works, Eugene, OR - 7:00 PM Website Event Information Facebook Event Information April 11 - Footzone, Bend, OR - 7:00 PM Website Event Information Facebook Event Information April 15 - Tall Town Bikes, Lakeview, OR - 6:00 PM Website Event Information Facebook Event Information April 22 - Fleet Feet, Tacoma, WA - 6:00 PM Facebook Event Information April 23 - Fleet Feet, Seattle, WA - 8:00 PM more details to come April 24, Mountain Supply, Bend, OR - 7:00 PM Facebook Event Information April 25, Fleet Feet, Portland, OR - 6:oo PM Facebook Event Information April 26, Obsidians Lodge, Eugene, OR - 7:30 PM Website Event Information Facebook Event Information April 27, Peak Sports, Corvallis, OR - 3:00 PM more details to come April 29, Fleet Feet, Spokane, WA - 6:00 PM Facebook Event Information April 30- REI, Kennewick, WA - 7:15 PM Website Event Information May 1 - REI, Boise, ID - 7:00 PM Website Event Information May 2 - Fleet Feet, Meridian, ID 6:00 PM Facebook Event Information May 3 - BSU Trail Stewardship Club, Boise, ID more details to come May 6 - Mountain Shop, Portland, OR - 7:00 PM Website Event Information May 7 - Bend Library, OR - 6:00 PM Website Event Information May 9 - Christmas Valley Library, OR - 6:30 PM more details to come May 10 - Paisley Library, OR - 1:30 PM more details to come May 10 - Lakeview Library, OR - 6:30 PM more details to come Hey, did you know we wrote a book called "The Dirtbag's Guide to Life: Eternal Truth for Hiker Trash, Ski Bums, and Vagabonds"?! Of course you did. I won't shut up about it. But really, have a look. People like it. I think you'll like it.
1 Comment
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Tim and Angel
The goat in the picture lives in Silverton, CO, and tried to kill us. We survived to bring you this dirtbag wisdom for the ages. 
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