Circumnavigation of the locally iconic Constance. What a beastly route! Nothing like a 4300 ft. climb over little more than 3 miles right out of the gate. This route has a great mix of not-at-all runnable and very runnable terrain. The northern side of Tunnel Creek Trail, FSR 2740, Lower Big Quilcene Trail, and the Dosewallips are all pretty speedy. Whereas the climbs up southern Tunnel Creek, Upper Big Quilcene, and the false and true summits of Constance Pass are all brutal (but breathtaking) slogs. You get virtually all of the climbing—13,000 or so feet of it--over in the first 34 miles. That leaves a 13 mile downhill with 6,000 ft. of descent. Much of that descent comes over the first 4 miles (ouch!), making the remaining miles pretty gradual. Wasn’t sure I could finish under 11. Had to really push it in the final stretch, which was excruciating with destroyed quads. The highlights were definitely Heart Lake, Constance Pass, and the true summit above Sunnybrook Meadows. Holy lord! In good weather, this remote area is as spectacular as any I can think of. Frankly, the beauty verges on the absurd. Only saw a few parties heading up to Marmot Pass. Otherwise, had more than 40 miles of trail entirely to myself. What a day! Props to Steph Decker and Tim VanNorman for trailblazing this incredible route, and kudos to Hannah McLean for her recent FKT.
Some splits:
-To Marmot Pass in 6:27 and 26.8 miles in
-To Constance Pass in 7:55 and 32.4 miles in