The tunnel is part of the John Wayne Trail (which is part of the Iron Horse State Park), which, on the west side of the state, runs parallel to
I-90 from Rattlesnake Lake to Hyak on the east side of Snoqualmie Pass.
The trail is easily accessible from many locations along I-90, so you can
choose how far you want to run before you hit the tunnel, which is 2.3 miles
long. The trail itself is very well groomed (gravel), wide and rises
easily toward the pass. We choose to start our run from exit 38, having
parked a car on the other side of the pass at Hyak to make it a point to point
run.
The run itself was very difficult
and adventurous, given the fact that we didn't expect to encounter snow so far
from the tunnel. Michael, Daniel and I started out at a good pace, easily
able to hit right under 7min/mile pace on the smooth gravel trail. We
immensely enjoyed the views of the valley below and the mountains beyond on our
left, and the waterfalls and high mountains to our right. The trail has
several impressive bridges that cross high above creeks, streams and rivers far
below.
 |
| One of the high bridges that we crossed. Photo by Coron. |
Once we got within 4 miles of the
bridge, the run started to get very challenging. At first, we only hit
pockets of snow, but as we moved on and slowly up, the snow got worse and worse
until we were trying to run through it. This more or less consisted of us
high stepping it, light stepping it, or stepping right into it (a big,
knee-deep plunge into a soft spot). This was demanding and tiring work
since we were already over 11 miles into our run. All I have to say is
that it was like finding water in a desert when we came around the last corner
and saw the tunnel. "It's the TUNNEL! I see the TUNNEL!
Praise the lord!"
 |
| We've arrived at the tunnel after 4 miles of snow running. |
Running through the tunnel was an
experience of it's own. W/out our head lamps on (highly recommended, but
not required), all you can see is a pin sized dot of light at the far end; over
2 miles away. As you move along, the pin of light get bigger and bigger
ever so slightly. To reorient ourselves, we'd turn our headlamps on every
now and then to look around at the wet and well built walls (finished in
1914!) I couldn't help but run ahead and hide myself against the wall as
Mikey and Daniel ran past, clueless of my location. I giggled as I ran
behind them, hearing my name called out, my friends thinking I was far ahead in
the tunnel. Near the end, we had to jump over a few mounds of ice that
had formed from the dripping water above. Maybe that's why the tunnel was
closed and we had to slip between the fence to run through it? If you run
it in the winter, proceed with caution!
Once we were through the tunnel and
on the other side of the pass, it was only a short 400 meter run to our car in
the Hayak parking lot. Usually I am a little bummed when we finish our
"peak a week" run, but on this day, I couldn't have been happier to
be done, relaxing in a warm car, eating my banana and drinking water to refuel;
I was wiped! All three of us were. Once again, I'm looking forward
to running this trail in nicer weather, taking advantage of the trails that
lead off and up into the mountains from the John Wayne Trail. Come on
summer!
Below is a cool video Daniel put together of our run. It's probably better than reading my description as you get to see what the trail is like in action. Enjoy!
Below is a cool video Daniel put together of our run. It's probably better than reading my description as you get to see what the trail is like in action. Enjoy!
Run Stats: Total Distance: 17 miles Time: 2:20 Elevation Gain: 1100 ft. Pace: 8:15
 | |
| After a hard morning of running the John Wayne Trail. This was at the Hyak parking lot. |
No comments:
Post a Comment