Trip Reports

In 2021, my partner and I moved from the overcrowded, materialistic South Florida in search of a more fulfilling life in Colorado Springs. The move was triggered from years of feeling disconnected from the values and lifestyle of South Florida and a hunger for adventure. When I graduated from business school and landed a job in corporate finance, I quickly learned that status quo was…

November 5, 2021 Pursuing a Fastest Known Time on the Tuckup Trail Some adventures are more involved than others. The Tuckup happens to fall on the ‘more involved’ end of the spectrum; traversing the entire route tests not just your endurance and navigation skills but also your willingness to suffer. Thankfully Ashly Winchester and I possess plenty of the latter, as well as some degree…

I doubt anyone in the UK will get the Lee Corso reference, but up front I wanted to clarify my final thoughts on the never-ending “record” vs. “FKT” debate. To be honest, I don’t really care. If the person hearing the term knows what it means, and the person using it doesn’t mean to offend, then I don’t care. Like when I slip up here…

UD AMBASSADOR RACE REPORT: Maria Dalzot shares her pacing and crewing experience for Kaytlyn Gerbin in the 2019 Westerns States 100 . Running a 100-mile race has never been on my bucket list. The thought of running through the night and missing all three meals in a day is not something I consider pleasant or fun. So, when I had the opportunity to be on…

I’ve always packed pretty light but rolling off a 15 hour flight with little more than a backpack took packing "light" to a new level.  As Ryan Ghelfi and I jogged toward the Geneva train station with everything we needed for the next week on our backs, I felt a new level of freedom, and just a little bit of fear. Did I pack enough…

An important step in managing anxiety involves facing feared situations, places or objects. It is normal to want to avoid the things we fear. However, avoidance prevents you from learning that the things you fear may not be as dangerous as you think. The process of facing fears is called exposure. Exposure involves gradually and repeatedly going into feared situations until you feel less anxious.…

Ultimate Direction Ambassador Karel Sabbe today has set a new supported fastest known time (FKT) on the Appalachian Trail, breaking Scott Jurek and Karl Meltzer's by 5 and 4 days, respectively. After sleeping about 100 miles from the finish on the night of August 26, 2018 Karel ran all day on the 27th and through the night to complete his AT FKT about 2pm on August…

The typical Colorado Front Range trailrunner seems to operate off a fairly standard summer bucket list: High Lonesome, Pawnee Buchanan, Four Pass and a smattering of peaks that usually stem from these routes. There’s nothing wrong with these routes - they’re absolutely classics for many reasons: banger views, well-trodden trails and accessible enough that you could even knock them out before or after work. There’s…

The Mosquito-Tenmile Range Traverse has been in the "Incredible Things to Attempt" queue of my head since I've read (and reread) Peter Bakwin's own attempts at the line. Starting from Weston Pass at the southern end of the range, the goal is to make it to Frisco, Colorado following the very prominent ridgeline that continues unbroken until its terminus, around 37 miles from where you start.…

Boulder, CO - 4:00am, May 17, 2018 -      Peter Bakwin and I hike out of Chautauqua Park, intending to climb 4 routes in the Amphitheater, then continue south and climb 29 more. Today.  Climbing 5th class rock in the dark with no rope wearing scrambling shoes can be alarming, but we’d rehearsed this section last week - a key parameter of this project…