Westmore Mountain Challenge

(https://youtu.be/Kkuq8ZJgC9o)

Westmore Mountain Challenge 2018 The Northwoods Stewardship Center put on this point-to-point trail marathon in Vermont’s beautiful Northeast Kingdom. The route would take us to the peaks of five mountains, in order are Moose Mountain, Mount Hor, Mount Pisgah, Haystack Mountain, and Bald Mountain. Total elevation ascended (by my calculations) was 5600’ and descended was 5800’. After destroying my quads in Tennessee last year, I was determined to be smarter, even if it meant a slower time. I also hadn’t been feeling particularly strong on climbs, and I hadn’t done any trail running since Tennessee in November, which were other factors weighing on my mind. The course leant itself (in my mind) to taking it easy. Many of the climbs were fairly steep and technical. Much of the week leading up to the race had been rainy, so the trails were fairly wet and were covered in wet leaves, which hid the rocks and roots. The weather during the race only added to the challenge, as it was below freezing on the mountains, adding an occasional icy layer to surfaces, and it was misting and raining most of the day. The finish line was at the Northwoods Stewardship Center, so the plan was for the shuttle bus to depart for the start at 5:30. The buses didn’t show up until after six, much to the race director’s chagrin. It probably worked out for the best, saving me from having to use a headlamp. The start was very informal. There was a check-in at the trail head, and they wrote your start time on your bib and sent you off. I got started right before seven. The four or five people ahead of me headed off down the wrong trail. I wasn’t going to follow them mindlessly, and struck out up the ascent to Moose Mountain. The first two mountains were not separated by a major descent. I took it very easy until after the second peak. Here the trail hit a decent gravel road that had a nice downhill grade. I ran most of that road down to the bottom of the valley. Mount Pisgah was fairly intimidating visually. I decided to eat the tuna from my pack on the climb. I first met Tim on the climb and spent some time talking with him. The lunch/snack spot was in the valley after Mount Pisgah. I ate up. It might have been the eating, the stopping, or the weather, but I got very cold heading out for Haystack Mountain, and put on my windbreaker. I warmed right up once I started climbing. Haystack was the steepest mountain, both going up and coming down. It was snowing pretty heavily on the summit, limiting the views. There were some nice runnable dirt roads after coming down from Haystack, leading back to the lunch/snack station. Now was the climb for Bald Mountain. Since it was the last mountain, I felt like once I made it up to the top, I’d be practically done. The climb was long, but not that bad. It was cold and snowy at the top. I was preoccupied with getting my windbreaker back on and hand warmers in my gloves, so I neglected to take a picture of the top or fire tower. The climb up the fire tower was cool, but I really couldn’t see much except snow from the top. Only once I started to think about coming down did I realize how challenging it would be. My legs had done a lot of hard work up to that point, and heights can make my legs shake a little. The steps were narrow and icy. The wind was blowing hard. There was a cold metal railing along the stairs, but not at the landings. The only way I could see to proceed was to sit down on the steps and scoot down like a toddler (and pray). I made it fine. Tim was waiting at the bottom, and we headed off down the trail. The descent had lots of slick, bare rock that was very wet, but overall there were good running stretches. I felt good and ran most of the way down the mountain to the paved roads in the valley. I didn’t run much at all for the last two miles, which is something I could improve upon, but I didn’t feel like it at the time. If I had been running, or even walking up mountains on a regular basis, I am sure I could have been stronger on the climbs, but I was very proud of how I managed the race. Even with the fog, snow, and rain, the scenery was amazing. The leaves were a couple days past peak, but still stunning. I’d recommend the race to anyone who wants a fun atmosphere, friendly staff and racers, a good challenge, and gorgeous scenery.