Hike up Run down

Mt Elinor (l) and Mt Washington (r)

I tried a new adventure a month and a half ago. I wanted to get some solid excercise while hiking. Not that hiking can't be good excersise but I wanted more than a hike could offer while viewing mountain vistas at the same time! I decided to combine hiking and trail running!!! I picked Mt Rose, in the southern Olympic Mountains, as my first test. This trail is no easy task with 6.5 miles round trip up a steady elevation gain of 3,000 feet. Ok, i didnt run up 3000 feet in 3 miles....thanks for thinking for a moment that I did. I split my adventure to hiking up the mount and my trail run to down the mount.
Mount Rose, 4,500 feet high, starts out in the Olympic National Forest but the top of the trail ends in the Mount Skokomish Wilderness. The trail goes for 3 miles before it y's and becomes a loop trail which is nice as most day hikes are down and back's. This loop brings new scenery thoughout the trail.

Lake Cushman

The trail is comprised of many switchbacks especially at the beginning but tapers off once the Y is hit. The last mile i hit snow and the trail became non-existant. Thank goodness for foot prints!! At least for a half mile or so. The last part of the trail i bulldogged my way through hard compact snow. Navigating through a forest to bag a peak while off trail is actuallt easy......it's simply up and up again. Once to the ridge that climbs to Mount Rose i came across the trail which was the rightside of the loop, even though i took a left at the Y.
Mount Rose is a decent peak with views only on the west, northwest and southside. The peaks on the west and north side are amazing. The mountains you see aren't crazy high but numerous as the Olympic National Park's southern to middle peaks surrender themsleves to you. The best view i enjoyed was staring down at Lake Cushman!! The different shades of blue from the depths of the lake are evident on a sunny day and today it was sunny!!

The view

I pulled out and ate my lunch.... almonds and a ripened mango... and down the mount i scurried. Once out of the snow i took off my hiking boots, through on my runners, scinched up my backpack tightly and down the trail i ran. Tighting your backpack is a huge part of trail running with a pack. The tighter the pack the more of a controled balance you have.
The work out i received was simply amazing. I couldn't stop running as it was all down hill. My body was saying stop but i pushed through easily. Any other day that im running i constantly tell myself to not give up but not with running down hill. It takes several seconds to put the brakes on and come to a complete stop. My legs were aching and i was surprised how many muscles i was using. I decided to go extreme and do a little winderness parcore!! Jumping off logs, rocks and shrubs. Leaping over switchbacks as they turn a sharp left or right. My heart rate was high and calories were dropping like crazy and i couldnt stop myself.
I was able to enjoy my hike up and take my time knowing running down would go crazy fast. My next day hike i will for sure do the same, saving time while getting an awesome cardio-workout!!