2014: A Year in Review

2014 was a busy year for Sara and I. In many ways it was a great year: we got engaged, we became partners in Sea Level Sucks, we finished the CDT, we moved to Missoula and started new jobs. But we feel very relieved to have made it through the year after what felt like multiple hurdles kept us jumping from one crisis to the next. We had a surprise $2000 car repair when we needed it least, we spent a day scrambling to different vets to try and keep Zeno alive, we got sick on the CDT again, and while in Flagstaff one of us always had to be sweeping to stay ahead of the dust from the backyard. But we prefer not to dwell too much on the negatives though, so here's our 2014 highlight reel!

It's 2015! (photo by Jacque Povilaitis)

In January we survived no snow in Flagstaff by spending time mountain biking in Sedona with friends and enjoying Oak Creek Brewing company. Sara improved her confidence on the mountain bike and is now ready to ride the infamous white line next time we hit the red rocks (see video).

February was very race filled. We both did the Agassiz Uphill in Flagstaff, the Mt Taylor Winter Quadrathlon in Grants, NM, and the WillRace Snowshoe Qualifier in Bend, OR(we both won!). We followed the snowshoe race with a failed attempt at the Bend pub crawl, but enjoyed quality time with our siblings.

Qualifying for nationals in Bend

In March we got engaged! We want to continue adventuring together for a lot longer so we're making it official on June 13th. We also became majority partners in Sea Level Sucks where we hope to inspire others to more outdoor adventures (a work in progress).

Romantic Engagement Photos by Jacque Povilaitis

In April Sara started the first of 5 river trips as a guide. While she was on the river soaking up the sun and having water fights, I kept trying to keep up with the guys of Team Run Flagstaff Pro. I also traveled to Vegas for my first XTERRA trail run and placed a humbling second to Roberto Mandje after he loped away on hill number three of seemingly hundreds.

Still hanging with Mandje after the first mile (pic courtesy of XTERRA)

As Sara continued her river season in May, I went to Los Angeles (Malibu to be exact) where I got to race another XTERRA race through where MASH was filmed. We also began seriously thinking about planning our return to the CDT.

Saying goodbye to good friends in Flagstaff

In June, Sara continued her river season and I went on a Zeno/Forrest weekend trip to Colorado for a race and play time in the mountains. I raced the Mount Evans Ascent where I remembered that road running is not as fun as trails, there is no air at 14,000' and wind slows you down. Zeno and I had a great time hiking a couple 14ers after the race, though, and returning to sections of the CDT from the year before. Sara and I also began and finished planning our last 1000 miles on the CDT June 30th and July 1st so we could leave on the 2nd.

Zeno's first Mountain Goat sighting

In July we frantically cleaned our apartment and drove up to Lander, WY to resume our CDT hike in the Wind Rivers where we aborted in 2013. July 4th I jumped in the local half marathon, we watched the city of Lander fire department waste thousands of gallons of water in a spectacular water fight, and quickly packed for the CDT while what sounded like a firefight at the Battle of the Bulge (really just fireworks ignited by people trying to out-'Merica each other) commenced outside.

Finishing the Lander 4th 1/2 Marathon

The rest of July and August we spent hiking the CDT. We quickly fell into the rhythm we established last year: get up, I make breakfast and coffee, Sara breaks down the tent, we hike, we eat, we hike, we do core and pushups, we eat, we hike, we sleep, we repeat. Once again the scenery was spectacular, and it was wonderful to be out on the trail again. This year, though, we did feel a sense of pressure the entire time since we needed to be in LA at the end of August for a wedding. This meant that we hiked 25-30 miles a day over terrain that would have been trying at 20. We were more than exhausted and would have preferred to back off a bit. But, the CDT never disappoints in terms of providing adventure satisfaction and we are very glad to have finished what we started (aside from one relatively teensy section that is slated for a weekend this summer).

Sara on the CDT before Rogers Pass

After getting off the trail at the end of August we drove back to Flagstaff, packed, drove to LA, went to a wedding, and then I drove up to Missoula to start work at the Cycling House the first day of September. Sara followed a few days later with the rest of our stuff and we began life as Montanans. September was also our introduction to bike racing. Sara did the Montana Hell Ride and I tried my hand at cyclocross. Despite Sara's bout with near-hypothermia, we both enjoyed the bikes and are looking forward to more races for 2015.

Sara in GNP (pic also now an ad for the Student Conservation Association)

In October we started to feel at home in Missoula. Sara found steady work at the Good Food Store and I continued trying to sell bikes and wheels. I also raced a 20k in Whitefish and found that cyclocross races don't transfer to trail runs longer than 12k.

Wind sculptures and blue sky at Discovery Ski

In November Sara went back to Flagstaff to help run the Grand Canyon Youth fundraising event and got to see great friends and family. I stayed in Missoula and journeyed to Coeur d'Alene for a weekend of freezing cyclocross to end the season. It also started to snow some in the mountains so we got to use our Kahtoola microspikes more in November than we did all last year in Flagstaff.

You can help send a kid on a GCY trip here

In December I went down to Scottsdale for the Cycling House staff retreat; a glorious week with a wonderful facilitator, early morning runs, afternoon rides where everyone repeatedly attacked, and late nights. To end this week of exhaustion I attempted to defend my title at the McDowell Mtn Trail Frenzy 10 mile, but failed when my Cycling House coworker opted to run.

Team TCH 1-2

Back in Missoula we wrapped up the year with a huge Christmas snowshoe where we climbed over 4000' to the ridge just below Stuart Peak. When we started there was 1/4" of snow and at the top there was over 7'. It was a beautiful day, but we were both quite exhausted after nearly 18 miles of powder.

Working down 7' of snow

The next day we went cross country skiing at Pattee Canyon for the first time with a night ski. It was great being able to skate without fear of rocks!

Breaking trail in the Rattlesnake

We continued our snow play days with a ski/snowshoe excursion at Lolo Pass the next day. The trails weren't groomed yet, but we did get in a couple miles of classic skiing before Sara's boot came apart. After hobble-skiing back to the car we donned the snowshoes and ran a couple miles up and across a ridge-line with views of more snow.

Training for Snowshoe Nationals begins!

Since then we've gone out on skis a couple more times, and even spent a day alpine skiing. We are loving how easy it is to play in the snow here in Missoula. Even when there isn't any in town we can run up to the point where skis/snowshoes are a necessity within a couple miles.

Ski day at Discovery - my first and last double blacks

2014 did have some great moments. But with snow, steady living locations, and the promise of long summer days (and a wedding!) we're hoping for bigger things out of 2015. We appreciate all the friendship and help we received last year as well. Thank you!

Happy Trails.

Happy New Year! (Photo by Jacque Povilaitis)

Forrest and Sara.

Missoula Living

This weekend marks the end of three months since Sara and I moved into our place in Missoula. Three months, but it feels more like a hectic two weeks. Looking back it seems we have fit a lot in that time.

We got settled into the house rather quickly with help from Sara's parents. Sara put in a bunch of work to get all the boxes unpacked and everything put away within two days. I don't know how she did it, but I came home from work to a home instead of the expected tornado alley.

Right after moving in we got hit with a huge car repair that sidelined us for a week while it was in the shop. The little bit of smoke we smelled driving back to Flagstaff from Glacier, then to LA, then to Missoula, was apparently a big deal that needed a ton of money to fix. Fortunately, us driving it around didn't make it worse, it just smelled bad and now we have a healthy, happy car.

Meanwhile, Sara decided she wanted to do the Montana Hell Ride, a 126 mile ride/race with 8200' of climbing. The Cycling House, where I work, put on the ride so I was going to be there for the weekend anyway. Sara spent a week putting in big miles to get her butt used to the saddle again, since all she had been doing for a few months was walking. Apparently a week is all she needs to train for a huge ride because she did great!

Sara putting in some miles

The day of the ride was quite chilly for mid-September. The start was in the low 50's but drizzling, and the top of the first climb was 41 degrees. By the time Sara got there she was wet and cold, but opted to continue without my jacket (most riders were very cold) and took off on a 17 mile descent. That sustained downhill after sweating and riding through rain understandably froze just about everyone. I was very glad to have a fire to stand next to all-day.

After finding a place next to a car heater for a while, Sara got back on the road and kept pedaling. The course makes a big loop on the East side of Skalkaho Pass before climbing back up and over the mountains. She spent most of that loop by herself, but managed to start catching people again on the last big climb. Apparently spending all day hiking the CDT for a couple months pays off in long bike rides. When other people started faltering, she just kept going.

Sara also applied for a variety of jobs to try and find something before returning to school. We had heard the job situation in Missoula is rough so we weren't expecting much, but she landed two jobs in the first few weeks and has a pending job for the spring. The first job was an in-home provider type job that she tried, but left to pick up more hours at the other. Her main gig right now is working at the coveted Good Food Store, a mere three blocks from home.

Zeno and Sequoia love the snow as much as we do

Yes, GFS is a grocery store, but to Missoulians it's more of a lifestyle. The food is delicious, it's healthy, and it's a great place to hangout. It is a great "for-now" job, and just about everyone we have met has worked there at some point.

Sara also may have an opportunity to work for a rafting company this summer in Missoula. We still don't know for sure if that will come through yet, but it will be a great chance for her to get out on the water on any number of rivers. There is so much water here!

I have been spending my time working, trying to learn bikes, and racing cyclocross. There are a couple big cx series in the area and the Cycling House competes in all of them. You can read more about my racing on my blog. Boughnerblog.blogspot.com

This was my first experience with cyclocross and as a whole I loved it. It's extremely challenging and painful, but like trail running has nothing to do with time. It's all about competing. Since biking divides races into categories I was able to compete for the win against people of similar abilities. Assuming you can stay upright through sand pits, run up hills quickly, negotiate barriers smoothly, and make sharp turns, there is a strategic aspect that made racing exhilarating. The season is over now, but I'm already excited to get back out there next year.

Sara and Carly enjoying the Stuart Peak descent

Cycling took up a lot of the fall for me, but I still tried to get back to the running a bit. I jumped in a couple races, which mostly reminded me that I need to train more. Sara and I both did the Elk Ramble 15k, which went up and over and up and over Mt. Jumbo, with some of the other Cycling House team, and that was a little more promising. Sara ran well and seemed to enjoy it. Like the Hell Ride she got stronger as the race progressed, which is why she's starting to look for a spring ultra.


If I could have thrown out the first three miles of my race I would have been quite pleased with my day. I let the leaders get away early and couldn't close the gap like I had hoped. The multi-mile descent to the finish was a blast though, and I made up a lot of ground. Next time I know to fight harder earlier since I can rely on downhill speed even if I'm tired.

Last weekend Sara and I went adventuring near the Rattlesnake Wilderness with a couple friends. Our initial goal was to summit Stuart Peak. I had gone up the Lolo peak trail a ways the day before and based on that assumed we'd have maybe 18" on top of Stuart and the snow line would be a couple miles from the top. Turns out the snow was 18" three miles before the top and the snowline was five or six miles down. That much snow forced us to move slower and we weren't quite prepared to be out there for a longer time. We opted to turn back just before we hit the ridge/Wilderness.

A now snow-covered wilderness

The adventure was not a failure though! The snow was still clinging to the trees and quite powdery and we got great views of Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley. We ran down the first few miles because the snow was so deep. If you have never run downhill through feet of snow you are missing out! When the snow is deep enough there is no consequence to falling (unless you hit a tree; don't hit a tree) so you end up running faster and with less control than you normally would. Plus, snow is flying everywhere behind you and it's not expected to be the most graceful thing. So running down the trail completely made our day.

For Thanksgiving Sara and I joined Owen (my boss) and his wife Anya for a trek to dinner. We drove up to the O'Brien Creek trailhead and hiked up and over Black Mountain to Owen's parents for a lovely meal. We started the hike well below snowline on trail, but ended up bushwhacking straight uphill into the snow. The last bit up/first bit down was surprisingly challenging because the snow was just deep enough to cover hundreds of fallen logs (burn area). This pick-up-sticks hillside would have been challenging anyway, but since we couldn't see our feet, or most of the logs we were tripping on, it was slow going. I attempted to do the downhill running thing to see if that would work, but ended up tripping on a log and staring up at the sky. From then on it was hiking.

We are grateful that Owen and Anya let us join them in their annual trek/dinner. It gave us our traditional Thanksgiving outdoor fix, but included a scrumptious meal.

Near the top of Black Mountain

Today we went for a spontaneous drive up to Seeley Lake. Neither of us had been up there before, but may head that way a bit this winter to get in some skate skiing. The biggest spontaneous thing I do is get up early and go for a run, or buy a snickers, so randomly leaving town was a big deal for me. We both just felt the urge to get out though and we had just enough time before Sara had to work to make it happen.

We got up to the lake/community just as it started to snow. The first road I attempted to pull in was a mistake and we barely made it out. A bit of jockeying and pushing the car through the snow and ice helped us get back to the highway, but we made sure our next stop was plowed. We were able to stand on the edge of the lake and watch the snow blow across the surface for a bit before we had to head back to Missoula. It wasn't much of an outing, but it was enough to give us our outdoor fix for the day.

A snowy Seeley Lake

I think most people still laugh at how amazed we are with water. All the rivers and creeks around here make us incredibly excited, since Flagstaff has nothing. When the Clark Fork froze over for a week I stopped on my ride home in dark, four degree weather to watch it buckle and ooze for 10-15 minutes. I'm sure I looked like a nut, but we are appreciating surface water.

Sara and I are working opposite schedules so we aren't able to get out overnight at all. Trying to fit in adventures has been difficult, but we have a lot of options close so it isn't impossible. Both of us are revamping our training for the winter as well so we'll get to play in the snow more often. Sara is training hard for the Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon, and I'm focusing on US Snowshoe Nationals this year. Even if we don't get to do everything together outside, we are both getting outside frequently that we get our fix.

It's currently snowing in town again and we're looking forward to many more feet in the mountains this winter.

Wishing you lots of snow,


Forrest and Sara