Volcanic 50K around Mount St Helens is equal parts brutal and beautiful

Ya gurl is done!!! Took me 9:16 to finish that beast. Damn, it was TOUGH and technical and I can go without seeing another boulder again for at least 6 months. So much scrambling. My body is very confused why it just went up 7500' and down 7500' in the last several hours. I am feeling pretty destroyed but I finished so strong and am pumped and probably never need to run that course again haha :)

The course entailed 4 fixed ropes for getting up/down to river crossings in steep ravines/gulches. Multiple river crossings outside of the roped areas required clever footwork to stay dry. Lots of sand/ash/scree, more boulders than I cared to scramble over, especially around mile 30. Brutal. Spent most of the day by myself which was a lovely way to clear my head, find my why to keep moving, and tackle the course as I saw fit. There were way more "no fall" zones than I was expecting, also. Had to stay really mentally engaged to stay safe out there.

Aid stations were AWESOME. They had to hike in supplies and themselves to take care of us out there. Also, props to my husband for sticking around the finish/start all day while I was out there. Was happy to have someone camp with me the night prior and drive me home in my destroyed state 10 hours later. <3