Another year, another race where my friend Haram tries to run an ultramarathon with little to no training. This one was particularly memorable because we learned that David Goggins would be returning to the racing scene, and this was a guy we’ve memed on for years haha.

I used to commute to work, before all this outdoorsy stuff, listening to Goggins on podcasts running these impossible races, and now I get to watch my friend do the real thing. While it wasn’t my own race, it was still a full circle moment for sure.

Rolling up to the south side of Mount Saint Helens where the race would begin

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The most crowded I’ve seen the trailhead of the winter route

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I decided to go up Saint Helens after the race began and saw a full on butteryfly migration!

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Classic view of Rainier with Spirit Lake in front

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The other Rainier-looking wannabe, Mount Adams

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The circ view after the 1980 eruption

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I’ve been told that the glacier on Helens is one of few that’s actually growing

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Colorful choss walls

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Mount Hood

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Decided to kill the following day going up Hawkeye Point in the Goat Rocks Wilderness

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Tons of flowers out

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Goat Lake

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Great flute performance from Karl with Saint Helens in the background

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Wildflowers galore

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The rugged Gilbert Peak area of Goat Rocks

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Maaassive line up of cars on the way back, did not realize Goat Rocks was so popular in Washington as it was my first time here

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Awesome north side view of the Adams Glacier

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And an awesome east side view of the Adams too, killing some time while we wait for our runner

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After a night of no sleep, we leisurely decided to go up to the col of Pinnacle Peak

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I always think the view of Rainier is a little better away from the mountain vs being directly on it

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Running the last 10 miles together

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Notes

• Video of Haram’s finish. We were hauling to try to catch Harvey Lewis, another icon in the ultrarunning world. In hindsight I kinda wish we got to take a picture with some legends at the end but my friends and I are generally not that kind of people and decided to get on with our day