Brigade 50 Mile Ultra: HBC Fur Traders Were Insane

It was probably a few years ago when I first heard about the 1849 HBC Brigade Trail between Tulameen and Hope B.C.  Over the past 10 years, volunteers have been clearing and opening up the old fur trading route, and last year, Mountain Madness staged the inaugural foot race following the route.  I knew I wanted to do it.

Crossing the Tulameen River three kilometres into the race.

September 7, 2018

Kent Ainscough, Charlene Waldner and I were in the buffet on the 9:00am ferry from Swartz Bay, Vancouver Island, to Tsawwassen on the mainland.  One other should have been with us, but unfortunately, Lisa Fehr fractured her right thumb in two places near the end of taking down Fat Dog flagging on Frosty Mountain a month earlier. She made the right choice not to try this race with one hand in a cast. I'm sure she could have done it, but given the conditions, the weather and the total wilderness experience of the route, it was a good choice not to.  

We arrived in Hope and met the race director, Heather MacDonald at the "Race Headquarters" in the Slumber Lodge in Hope.  A race like this must take a lot of logistics planning and I have to say, Mountain Madness pulled it off flawlessly.  There are actually two races. The 50 mile Tulameen to Hope, and the 19 mile Jacobson Lake to Hope.  Actually, the finish is at Peers Creek at Exit 183 on the Coquihalla Highway  - better than running along the freeway to Hope.  

For the 50 Mile race we parked the car in Hope and boarded the bus with about 14 other runners. The trip to Princeton along highway 3 took just under 2 hours. Along the way we coudl see the Placer Mountain fire that shut down the first two legs of the Fat Dog 120 a month earlier. We arrived at the Princeton Library at 7:50 pm.  Here, we picked up our bibs, shirts and left our drop bags for Lodestone Lake and Jacobson Lake.  All three of us opted to have one drop bag at Jacobson Lake.  Then we walked about three blocks to the Cedars Hotel for the night.  

Up early and on the race bus at 5 am with the same 14 runners that came in from Hope. The trip up to Tulameen was slow going on a winding mountain road, but we arrived at 5:35 am at the Tulameen rink.  There were about another eight runners there who had crew and had driven up to Tulameen. In total there were 22 runners starting the race, only three were women. As sunrise was not until 6:30 am, it was dark but slowly lightening up. Because the start of the race is three kilometres on road, we decided not to use our headlights. It should be bright enough by the time we hit the river crossing and the forest trails.  

Climbing Mount Olivine

We left our overnight bags on the bus and they would be delivered to the finish line. The bus now had to make a 3 hour trip back to Hope to pick up the 19 mile racers and take them on a 2.5 hour trip along forest service roads to Jacobson Lake, where they would start at noon.

The 1849 Brigade Trail was first used by the local aboriginal peoples. According to history,  HBC fur traders were following the Tulameen River from Princeton trying to find a way through the mountains to the coast. When they arrived at what is now Tulameen, the local aboriginals told them to follow Blackeye's hunting route over the mountains. So the fur traders left the river at this point and started across the mountains.  It took their packhorse brigades five days to travel from Tulameen to Hope, and along the way there are five camps where they would stop.  

So here we were in the dark in a sleepy little village in the Cascade Mountains about to embark on a endurance foot race over the mountains. When you think about it, it sounds like a stupid thing to do.  As the Race Director was in Hope, Kelly Cook (the originator of this race) read us the race briefing. What to do if we see bears and there is a grizzly in the area past Jacobson Lake, but it doesn't like people and we won't see it.  

Leg one: Tulameen to Lodestone Lake (21.5 km - Ascent 1407 m, Descent 510 m)

At 6 am, with a pilot vehicle leading the way, we were off. Twenty-two crazy runners.

All of the runners must have been experienced ultra runners because nobody took off fast. We all kept it slow, doing the "ultra shuffle" as we made our way along Tulameen Road following the river. After three kilometres, we turned off the road, then over the rocky sandbars and feet wet across the Tulameen River.

Lodestone Lake Aid Station at 21.5 kilometres.  

The weather was pretty good to start the day. Overcast but the sun was able to breakout as we climbed Olivine Mountain. At first we were on an old mining road, then the trail took off at a sharp angle to the left. I missed the first left turn. The flagging was obvious, but I missed it. Charlene saw it and corrected me. Then we were on single track boot trail climbing up the mountain. Once up, it was a fun run on rolling trails, in trees, across meadows and through some clear cuts, crossing forest service roads here and there. The small field of runners soon spread out. Another runner caught up to us and then stayed with us all the way up to Lodestone Lake.  I was happy to see Lodestone Lake Aid Station. 

Leg Two: Lodestone Lake to Horseguard Aid Station (16 km - Ascent 210 m, Descent 755 m)

I refilled water and my nutrition "Tailwind", and had some bacon and a Mars bar, then we were off following the jeep road across the Tulameen Plateau at 1900 metres above sea-level. The Jeep road was actually fun to run, a lot of down at first, then a lot of up. We finally turned off the Jeep trail and followed Blackeye's trail to the site of his camp at the highest point on the plateau. Then from here the trail headed down into the Defiles. This was a beautiful narrow valley that took us down to the Tulameen River and Horseguard Aid Station. Mostly down hill this, was a fun fast section of the course though of course it felt like it would never end.

Running the Jeep roads on the Tulameen Plateau

To get into Horseguard Aid Station we had to cross the Tulameen River. The choice: walking across a fallen tree or fording the river. The safest seemed to be to ford the river. On the opposite beach was a tent for the aid station crew, and just past that in a clearing behind bushes was the aid station.

Leaving the Jeep trail and on single track. Trail to Blackeye's hunting camp and then the Defiles.

Heading down the Defiles

Leg Three: Horseguard to Jocobson Lake Aid Station (12.5 km - Ascent 235 m, Descent 145 m)

At Horseguard I refilled water and added my Tailwind nutrition. I also had some hot broth, which was so welcome as the weather was getting cooler. I grabbed some Mars bars and drank some Coke.  Then we were on our way.

Crossing the Tulameen River to access Horseguard Aid Station

Wonderful volunteers at the remote Horseguard Aid Station

Leaving Horseguard the trail was flat, then an abrupt and steep 200 metre climb. Once up, the trail was largely flowing and runable.  I started to feel a hot spot on my right middle toe. I knew what had happened - the old tape I had used had given up after all of the water my feet had been through. Ironically the tape was likely causing the irritation. I didn't want to stop and decided to hold out until Jacobson Lake Aid Station where I would deal with it.  I did stop to put my rain jacket on as the rain was now becoming constant and harder and I was starting to get chilled.

Fun single track between Horseguard and Jacobson Lake Aid Stations

We made good time on here and soon came to the junction where we had to turn right. From here it was only 500 metres to the aid station. We arrived here about 30 minutes behind the "planned" timing I had come up with based on the elevation chart and my limited knowledge of the course. Those times were only estimates for planning purposes - things like making sure I have enough fuel between aid stations, etc.   So far so good.

Arriving Jacobson Lake aid Station. Kelly Cook (in red) responsible for opening up the trail and asking Heather to put the race on.

The buffet at Jacobson Lake Aid Station - everything here pizza to desserts

Leg Four: Jacobson Lake to Sowaqua Aid Station (10 km - Ascent 455 m, Descent 995 m)

At Jacobson Lake there was a buffet of food choices available, from Pizza to soup, candy, ginger ale, coca-cola, and fruit.  It was hard to decide what to eat.  I had a drop bag at this location with a change of socks, shoes, more Tailwind nutrition and another layer.

I tended to my right foot by removing some tape and replacing it and then putting on a dry sock. My other foot was fine and I didn't want to disturb the tape, so I left the sock on that one. I did put a dry pair of shoes on. Then I put on a hat and gloves. I was cold and the rain was pretty heavy. We were under a tent to change, so we kept dry while in the aid station.

Conglomerate Flats, Mount Davis behind - we go right and around and over Cascade Pass

We caught up to Kent at Jacobson Lake. He left about 5 minutes before we managed to get going. From Jacobson Lake Aid Station we ran on a forest service road for about 400 metres before turning off and beginning the long climb up to Cascade Pass.  I loved this climb. About three kilometres out of Jacobson Lake we crossed Conglomerate Flats, a stunningly beautiful alpine meadow with Mount Davis rising up in the mist beyond. We circled around Mount Davis and up to the pass on the opposite side.

While navigation is one thing to be mindful off when running wilderness trail races, timing is another. Before leaving I had written my estimated times at the aid stations on a schedule of the aid stations and their distances. This also included the cut-offs at two of the aid stations (Jacobson Lake at 4 pm and Sowaqua at 6 pm).   For some reason I had not put an estimated time of arrival at Sowaqua (60 km), but I did at the next aid station Colvile (67.5 km), where I had written the time of day arrival there as 5:15 pm.  And for some reason I read the 6 pm cut-off to be at Colvile.  We had left Jacobson Lake 40 minutes behind my estimate so in my mind I had us arriving Colvile just before Cut-off, but given every leg had taken a bit longer than estimate, I was now thinking we're not going to make the cut-off.

Cascade Pass, 1850 metres ASL in the cloud and rain

Poor Charlene, we hauled ass as much as we could up the climb to Cascade Pass. It was steep but we never stopped, we climbed solidly and as fast as we could.  Once over the Pass the trail dropped a bit but then climbed up the western flank of Mount Davis before dropping down into Camp Chevreuil. This was one of the five original Brigade camps along the route.  There was an interpretative sign, a bear-safe food cache storage and camping spots. After this the trail began an extremely steep descent, dropping almost 1000 metres to the Sowaqua Valley.  We dropped onto a Forest Service Road and then ran 100 metres to our left to the aid station.

Leg Five:  Sowaqua to Colvile Aid Station  (7.5 km - Ascent 270 m, Descent 245 m)

It was 4:45 pm when we arrived and I still thought we had to make Colvile by 6:00 pm so with only one hour and fifteen minutes to make 7.5 km I wanted to get going. We checked in and checked out and kept moving.  This trail was frustrating. It was mostly up hill - while the chart says 270 metres gain and 245 metres descent, it felt like it was all up hill. It was very technical and very muddy and extremely difficult to run.

Through the mud and skunk cabbage on the trail to Colvile

Around 5:30 pm I heard Charlene behind me swear. I looked back and she said she had rolled her ankle. I asked "Can you walk on it". She said "yes". I said, "Okay, keep moving".  Seriously though, out there there is no other choice. If she couldn't walk on it, then it's race over. We'd have to do what we could to bandage it, and then help her limp out to the next aid station, or get out the emergency blankets and wait for the sweeps to come through for assistance to get out.  To her credit, Charlene sucked it up and kept up a good pace.

I was feeling a bit down wondering how I could have screwed up the pacing so badly. I had set out with what I thought was a good pacing plan, well ahead of the cut-off and paces that I new I could handle accounting for the terrain, trail conditions, stops at aid stations and weather. As this was Charlene's first 50 mile race, I wanted to see here finish it. And now I felt like I had screwed it up.

We arrived at Colvile Aid Station at 6:12 pm  - 12 minutes after what I thought was the cut-off there.

Leg Six:  Colvile Aid Station to the Finish  (12.5 km - Ascent 580 m, Descent 1240 m)

As we arrived in the aid station I asked "can we keep going?". They said "yes, we haven't been told otherwise". Then I realised my mistake, the 6 pm cut-off was at the last aid station we had passed earlier (Sowaqua). I was so relieved. I was also thinking it was a stupidly early cut-off given we had four hours until the 10:00 pm cut-off at the finish line 10 km away.  I think Charlene wanted to hit me for panicking her over the last couple of hours.  Now i was thinking we'd made good time. The aid station timer told me Kent had left 15 minutes ahead of us.

We set off for the last climb - a stupidly steep almost 600 metres climb up Manson's Ridge. This was a diabolical chin scraper of a climb. Those fur traders must have been drunk when they came up with this route.  In places the trail was so muddy it was hard to get any grip, and without poles I have no idea how I would have gotten up there in the rain. I was wondering how they managed to get the pack horses up there. We saw rebar on the trail in at least one spot. We learned later that it was used to pull the horse up over the pass.  Daylight was fading as we climbed, but we made it to the top without the need for headlamps.  From Sowaqua to the finish the flagging was complimented with Fat Dog style reflectors to mark the way in the dark.

HBC Trail flagging, pink race flagging and later reflectors kept us on course

As we began our descent down the west side of Manson's Ridge, we stopped before we entered the tree cover to put on headlamps. Then an equally steep and treacherous 2 km of down hill was before us.  Thankfully this section had Fat Dog style reflectors, and they gave some comfort that were were on the right trail. They also showed us how steeply down hill we had to drop as we saw reflector after reflector below our feet.

Once down at Camp Manson, the trail became a fast gentle down hill. I stayed with Charlene at this point, reminded her to take in water and calories and, to recite the Fat Dog motto, "to suck it up Whiney baby!" and dig deep.  I wasn't going to go ahead now to save a few minutes on time. We'd come so far might as well finish together.

After crossing a bouncing bridge we were on a forest service road and we ran about one kilometre down here, and finally the lights of the finish line came into view. We crossed the line and received a big hug from race director Heather MacDonald.

A volunteer got me a burger and a drink, and we joined Kent by the heater in the tent. Kent had finish about one hour before we did. From here, we picked up our bags, and our drop bag from Jacobson Lake that had been delivered while we were out on the mountain, and took the shuttle bus into Hope. Then to our hotel and sleep.

Afterthoughts
I enjoyed the Brigade 50 miler and I would do this one again. The trails were more technical than I expected and I'm not fast on muddy technical trails like this. But there was some nice runable single track too. The trails are mostly somewhat "new" in the sense they have been reopened after years of not being used at all. Some are detours due to logging, or the original trail bed has been destroyed. But in places you can certainly see the original engineering.

I'm certainly glad I had all the mandatory gear. I had one more layer that I didn't use and of course an emergency blanket and whistle. I always carry more water and calories than I think I'll need just in case something happens. I also had my small emergency 100 lumins flashlight with me, in addition to my variable 300/900/1500 lumins main headlamp (it lights the trail up 200 metres ahead).  And trekking poles. This was my first race with them and they were invaluable on this course. They reduced the work my quads, hamstrings and calves had to do tremendously. I had no muscle cramping issues whatsoever at any point during the race.  The Tailwind nutrition came through again for me - fueling on 300 calories per bottle and two bottles per three hours (200 calories per hour) kept my glycogen levels up, and I never had low energy. And Mar's bars - every race should stock Mars bars.

The HBC 1849 Brigade and Brigade 50 miler route - Tulameen to Peers Creek (Hope).

Thank you to all the volunteers out there. I think there were more of you than there were racers. Twenty-two racers started and twenty finished.  I highly recommend the race if you like lots of steep climbs and descents, technical muddy trails, wet wet river crossings, and a wilderness adventure following an historic fur trade route. And don't mind beling alone for hours at time in the mountains in any kind of weather, day or night. It is a harder course than the Fat Dog 50 miler.  This used to be the way from the interior to the coast; it's British Columbia and Canadian history.

Thank you to all my running friends. Lisa Fehr for initially suggesting this race. Kent Ainscough, Andrew Barclay, Karen Laberee, Richard Parker, Markus Pirker, Charlene Waldner, Lisa Large, Lori Herron, Randy Duncan and others for all of the support and crazy long runs that we do to train for these races.  Myke LaBelle for giving me time off from Finlayson Arm 28/50/100k volunteering duties so I could run this race. Thank you to Hicham and the Flatliners for all of the advice and Monday night tack coaching and encouragement.  And to the Victoria November Project tribe - another great community supporting and encouraging running crazyness.

Elevation chart of the Brigade 50 Miler - in order - Mount Olivine (15k), Tulameen Plateau (25k), Cascade Pass (55k) and Manson Ridge (70k)

And finally thank you to Heather Macdonald and Mountain Madness for putting this race on. And to Kelly Cook for dreaming this up and asking Heather to put the race on. If you want to run it next year, the dates may change due to Fat Dog date change.  Check the Mountain Madness website,

Cascade Crest 100: Confessions of a Pacer

When my friend Andrew Barclay said he wanted to run his first 100 mile ultra endurance run at Cascade Crest this year, I knew I wanted to support him in doing this.  Dave Scott, myself and Andrew drove down to Easton, Washington, a small town that appears to have closed down when the Interstate by-passed the town.

I read up on what to do as a pacer. In short, I had to be a good at lying. It also helps to know your runner and what works and what likely won't.  Figured I could do the lying part.

Confession 1: Pulling is Easier than Pushing.   When I met Andrew at the 111 km point on the race, at Lake Kachess Aid Station it was 5:30 am. Andrew was about an hour behind his planned 31.5 hour race (so on track for 32.5 hours).  As we set off down the single track I took the lead. I had no idea what speed to go, but started with a slow run to see if Andrew kept up. I soon learned that due to sore muscle in the leg, he could not run much on the flat. So we power hiked the flats and ran the down hill. Being ahead of Andrew, I hoped that I would "pull" him along. At times I got ahead by 20 or 30 metres, at other times I was right with him. On the smooth power hikes I was ahead a bit more.  For down hill or technical, I'd wait for Andrew before moving forward. This I hoped would motivate him to keep with me, or follow me through the technical sections and river crossings.

Waiting at Stampede Pass

Confession 2: Positive Attitude Wins the Race.   I focused on positive events to encourage Andrew.  As we passed other runners on the trail, I would tell Andrew how many we had passed. When we arrived at the aid stations, I would tell Andrew how far ahead of the "planned" schedule we were, and that we were making up time.  It would be easy to focus on negatives, like it's going to be a three hour climb to the next aid station, but that would not help.

Confession 3: Lying is a Necessary Skill for a Pacer.  The obvious is saying things like "you're doing well", "you look strong". But also other's like "the aid station isn't far (while I knew it was still 4 km away). As we climbed a forest service road, we could see the cut in the mountain way up above us. Andrew said "we're not going up there are we". I said "no, we're not" though I knew full well we were. No point having your runner focusing on a hard climb.

Crew hard at work.  Dave catching a nap before the night duties

Confession 4: Distraction Sometimes Helps.  I was part tour guide as we ran the last 50 kilometres. So as we hiked up a trail, I'd point out what I thought were interesting land formations and views (though in the clouds, we didn't have much view).  At times we'd talk and at other times I'd leave him to himself. I know for me I don't necessarily want to be social when I'm running and the solitude is good.  But I would check-in regularly and if I saw him starting to sink, talk to him, or break out one of the notes or videos from friends to encourage him on.

12:30 am at Hyak Aid Station - 54 miles into the race.

Confession 5: Eat and Drink.  Reminding Andrew to eat and drink was something I constantly did. Of all the pacer duties I think this is the most important. Get enough calories and water in but not going over what the system can handle.  But also, remind yourself as a pacer to eat and drink too. It was easy to not too. I was on fresh legs and feeling good - but like the runner, if I didn't fuel properly, I'd hit a wall at some point in the 50 km run.

Setting the pace on the long climb on forest service roads from Miracle Creek to No Name Ridge

Confession 6: Slow and Steady.   I know how I'd feel after 110 km. And going slow but steady is the best way to finish. This includes stops at aid stations to refuel.  I would count the minutes and remind Andrew every 2 minutes how long he had been in the aid station. I didn't push him out, but wanted him to know how long he was there. In each case he made the decision to leave, not me. Once he called "24 out" while I was still fuelling up. I wasn't worried - I knew I'd catch up to him.

Confession 7: Don't Correct a Positive Belief.  Andrew was focused on reaching French Cabin Aid Station because beyond that, except for one small up hill, it was all down hill. Actually it wasn't. There was a significant up hill and a lot of flat and small ups before we hit the final down hill to the last aid station. I didn't correct him.  It was worth it to see Andrew leave French Cabin with speed and energy, flying down the hill. On this leg I was behind and barely kept up with him. Until we hit the climb, then we went back to our pacer in front arrangement.

At the top of the first of five (actually there were seven) Cardiac Needles.

Confession 8: I Wished I was Running the Race.  I loved pacing and the volunteers and aid station crews were wonderful at making sure my needs were attended to as well. At practically every aid station they checked on me to make sure I had enough fuel and food too. But the experience of doing this with Andrew has made me want to run a 100 mile. So the plan is Fat Dog 120 next year.

Andrew finished 31 hours, 17 minutes - which is 1 hour and 13 minutes earlier than the pace he was on when he arrived at Lake Kachess.  Congratulations on a great race Andrew. And thank you to the organizers and volunteers that made the 2018 Cascade Crest Classic possible.