On Friday morning I joined Trail Fridays for peak two of their four part Grand Slam Challenge. It was my first hike up Cervidae, and though not an ultra effort, it’s definitely an uphill effort. This hike put both my uphill and downhill hiking chops to the test. Mostly I was reminded that steep ups require a good bit of power, and that the same downs require tough, conditioned feet.
It was a gorgeous day to venture off the official Ridge to Rivers map, and explore one of Boise’s peaks. This adventure, though “off the map” I’ve been indexing from, was only a 28 minute drive from my house. It’s amazing to me how I can be so close to the “been here a year” mark and still have so much exploring to do so close to home!
Along with some good mountain conditioning, I also got to experience these Cervidae views!
In order to properly condition for Idaho mountain racing and adventuring, I plan on adding more of these kinds of steep efforts to my trail running plans.
But isn’t exploring the Ridge to Rivers trails system enough, you ask? Well, the extensive network here in the Boise foothills would definitely be sufficient if my only 2024 goal was the Boise Trails Challenge. But in addition to BTC—which I just officially registered for this week—I also recently pulled the trigger on a 100 miler.
IMTUF, which stands for Idaho Mountain Trail Ultra Festival, is run out of McCall, Idaho each September. It features several peaks on rugged terrain at a slightly higher altitude than I’m used to here in Boise. I did the 20 mile version of this race last September, and was very inspired by the 100 mile race participants that I got to share part of the course with.
Since then, I’ve invested in poles, and been curious about whether or not I’ll be ready for this level of race come September 2024. For a few months now, I’ve been watching the Ultra Signup for this event, and about two weeks back noticed the number of available spots dip below twenty. It was time to commit—ready or not.
Overall I’m feeling super excited to experience the Salmon River Mountains of Idaho via an epic 100 mile ultra, but I won’t say that I don’t have my moments of regret/sorrow/fear/<insert your favorite descriptor of apprehension here>.
Which is why Cervidae and other peaks will be key in bolstering not only my training, but my confidence as well.
But first things first. The Boise Trails Challenge commences on June 20th, at 12:00:01 am. Whether or not these are the steepest trails in Boise—or its most prominent peaks—I’m sure that around 175 miles of trails with about 36,000 feet of climbing will do its part to get me to that next trail goal!