FKT: Julie Leasure, Megan Erspamer - Columbia River Gorge Triple D (OR) - 2020-09-26

Route variation
Standard route
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Female
Style
Self-supported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
8h 18m 46s
Report

Megan and I arrived at the first trailhead around 7am to find the few spots already taken.  Including a small bus that decided to park across multiple spots!   We drove back down the road and found a pullout slightly more than a quarter mile down the road.  We headed up Wahkeena on our way to Devils.  Had a few spots of blow down from the wind storm a few weeks ago but only 1 that was significant.  Other than that just logs or branches to maneuver over/around.  We finished the Devils out and back in about 1:40.  We hopped in my truck and headed toward Starvation creek parking lot for our next mountain - Mt Defiance.  I hadn't gone up/down this in a few years and had forgotten how tough it is.  Took us about 2:05 to reach the summit which is 5000ft up from the parking area.  We took 5 minutes for a quick snack break and then headed back down.  During this out and back we experienced all the weather! Sun, wind, and rain.  Out and back took us about 3:35.  We then headed towards Hood River and crossed the bridge to the WA side of the Gorge.  Our last summit - Dog mountain is a super popular trail so we were worried about finding a parking spot.  Surprisingly when we arrived the lot was only a quarter full.  We were definitely feeling some fatigue on the climb and reached the summit around 1:05.  Spent a couple minutes taking photos and then headed back down.  Total time for Devils, Defiance, and Dog + driving time between trailhead was 8:18:46.  The Triple D FKT is an amazing challenge and love that we have such close access to these types of trails!  Also there is definitely opportunity to lower this time.  Better parking, less blow down, and fewer snack breaks would all equal a faster time but not necessarily a better experience! :)