I have noticed that finding good trail maps of places like Mount Doug can be a challenge. The usual maps you find on line don't show enough detail and often are missing many trails. Before I started graduate school I worked in geographic information systems a.k.a. computer aided mapping. I found that the U.S. had great free resources to produce your own georeferenced maps using GPS or digital elevation models etc all free and readily available. Since moving to Canada I have found it difficult if not impossible to find freely available geographic information. So I decided to make a few maps combining data (all be it not the best data) from multiple sources in an attempt to provide a more useful map than currently exists. I had to use terrible quality rasters and photoshop them but in the end I feel these three maps are a nice approximation, and I hope others interested in viewing the trails on Mount Doug will find these maps useful. Keep in mind that they are approximate and by no means exact. They should give you a good idea as to which trail you are on and your options for various courses.
My next step is to put distance in Km's and miles on each trail section as well as a technicality ranking. That way anyone wanting to see the distances they ran or plan future routes can do so with ease.
The following three maps show a variety of formats ranging from hillshade and satelite, to street view, depending on your preference for viewing maps (I need to do a simplified grayscale one still). If you would like the maps in a larger format etc. feel free to e-mail or comment and I can send you a copy in the format you want. Feel free to use or re-post these maps if you would like and try to credit me if you are using them for public purposes.
Contour intervals are 20 meters or 65 feet.
Here is a short trail running video I made so my friend and I can train together even though he lives 1000 miles away. It shows a typical trail run on Mt. Doug.
Few aspects of trail running are more appealing then swiftly ascending the slopes of a major peak. With each searing breath and lactic acid-laden step you propel yourself heavenward. Peaks represent a very real goal that can be met with awe-inspiring views and a lofty sense of accomplishment. Running trails that lack major prominence may not seem as worthy of a pursuit, but these trails should not be underestimated and can be just as challenging, beautiful, and worthy trails to seek out and run. Perhaps few trails exhibit a merit worthy of comparison with some of the western cordilleran mighty summits then the coastal trails of the Pacific Northwest.
The East Sooke Park Coastal trail is a true jewel tucked away along the southwest corner ofVancouver Island. Upon exiting your car the trail seems quite tame. A wide gravel path leads between evenly spaced trees in a large grassy meadow. The trail seems to be teaming with hikers and you instantly worry you are going to be crowded. The trail flows into a nice sandy beach and becomes the final destination for many of the people you see parked at the trailhead.The coastal trail then turns abruptly west along the shady southern coast. Giant western red cedars, Douglas firs, and arbutus cast their cool shadows over the rocky path. Ten minutes into the run you approach a petroglyphic panel of unknown age. It appears to be a depiction of a salmon or other sea critter. Once again you lose more weekend warriors on the trail, whose main goal was the panel.
After the petroglyphs the trail begins to become much more challenging. It begins to rise and fall over angular jagged rock formations with intermittent sections of yellow grass-strewn headlands. Running along one of the many headlands in the fresh ocean breeze is beyond words.On the horizon the jagged outline of the Olympics rises out of the azure waters of the Pacific Ocean. Foamy waves break on the rocky shore below as the gusty breeze blows the salty scent of the sea over the grassy headland. It feels like you are running through a painting as the fall of your feet brush a seascape across a remarkable canvas of stone and grass. Beechy head is perhaps the most prominent of all the view points along the trail and a concrete monolith marks the summit of the whaleback.
The real work of the trail starts after Beechy Head. Few hikers venture beyond this section of trail and it becomes more wild and secluded. The trail takes on a different persona; one of twisted rock and root with abrupt elevation changes. The next major point you run towards is cabin point. This is an old trapper-style cabin like the thousands that once dotted the BC coast during the early part of the last century. The cabin is available for use and is perched on a lonely wind-swept point.
After the cabin, the trail darts north into a large canyon and turns back on itself towards the south, skirting a large rocky hill. The remaining portion of trail continues to ascend and descend rocky coastal slopes. You catch glimpses of large cliffs and watch the full weight of each wave crash at the base, creating a very dramatic effect.
The trail then comes to a lovely little cove and beach, near the Pike Road access. Many people shuttle cars so that they can hike the trail once and then drive back to the original trailhead.Most hikers take 5-6 hours to do the full trail. As for me I had to turn around and retrace my steps all the way back. I didn’t have time to run the full length of the trail but came close. My family was waiting back at the beginning beach and I was hoping to make it back to them in three hours.
The EastSookePark coastal trail is a worthy and difficult trail. Every step must be adjusted for as each foot plant is on uneven rocky or rooty terrain. It becomes a struggle to climb and drop over each large headland only to have to repeat it over and over. Soon the quads ache and the calves beg for a stretch of flat easy running so they can recover. The views almost can’t be beat.This trail is highly recommended but if you are planning on doing the full out and back it could easily take 5 hours so be prepared for a long day on strenuous terrain.
Week 3 was not as great as I had hoped. I am trying to get a scientific publication in the works which is a time consuming project. I also had family visit which cost me a day of running and school work. I compensated by doubling Wednesdays mileage but many of those miles were on a road which beats me up a little worse then on the trails. Over all I was happy with the 32 miles I achieved but it definitely could have been stronger.
During the end of June and the first week of July we traveled to Utah for a holiday. I had planned on running a couple of awesome runs with good friends. The extremely cold wet year eliminated the possibility of running the main route we had chosen so we had to get creative and find something new to run. To test how runnable the Northern Wasatch were and to see what options we had to replace our old run, I decided to take a test run up Bair Canyon which is the course for the Bairgutsman trail race, an 11-13 mile point to point trail race. I was running about 8 miles of the course and then running back so in total I was going to run 16 miles.
Starting at an elevation of 4800' the trail heads straight up Bair Canyon to the summit at 9,500' leaving the total elevation just shy of the 5,000' mark. I started the run at 5:30 a.m. hoping to beat the sun since I am use to running in the mild climate of the PNW. It was quite windy at the start but it was still fairly warm. I had some concerns about the high run-off that would make each of the four river crossings a bit dicey and I was also worried about the snow fields near the summit that were going to be treacherous to cross.
I started off at a nice clip and made it to the first river crossing very quickly. The river was high and frothy but it looked relatively safe. I jumped on in and felt the icy snow melt crash into my thighs. It ended up being quite simple to cross and I could tell I wouldn't have any issues crossing each of the subsequent crossings.
The trail had not seen many hikers past this first crossing this year and the trail began to be quite overgrown. Perhaps the most challenging aspect was the loads of stinging nettle that lined both sides of the trail due to the extremely wet conditions this year. I startled some campers who were sleeping on the side of the trail and weren't expecting to see anyone let alone at 6:00 a.m. I waved and crossed the river again and kept on cruising upwards.
I was also getting covered in hundreds of tiny silkworms that were dangling from the trees. Sometimes I would stop and pick hundreds of the little creatures off of me. Then I noticed a few other unwanted guests hitching a ride... Ticks! I picked several of those off my bare legs and then spent the remainder of the time in the trees and brush petrified of having to pick off ticks when I finished my run. I also began to notice cougar scat all over the trail and was a bit nervous, when a large sage grouse jumped out in front of me. Being already nervous of cougars this opportune explosion of feathers made me nearly have a heart attack. With a huge jolt of adrenaline I powered my way up through the remainder of the trees into the higher slopes of the range. The trail was extremely faint in places making it challenging to follow but my main concern was that on the return down I could easily get lost since the trail would be harder to see as I quickly bounded down the hill. There was also going to be a bunch of branches from mountain mahogany and scrub oak and nettle to sting and scratch my legs as I made my rapid and slightly out of control descent.
I reached snowline at about 7:00 am and found my first snow crossing to be treacherous as I had to slide down a nearly vertical 20' foot snow ledge on my backside. The next challenging snow field was a large side-sloped traverse that angled steeply into the canyon and would have been really bad to slip and slide down on. After crossing this side slope I realized all the switch backs were covered in snow and ice so I just cruised right up the ridge getting scratched and torn up along the full distance.
About two hours after starting out I made it to the summit ridge. The wind was really whipping up there. I decided to summit a small peak to the north of Francis Peak and have a sandwich. I took shelter from the wind behind a communication tower and had a great time on the summit. I changed my socks and started the descent. It went really quickly and running down the snow fields was a blast.
As I predicted the branches and nettle took their toll on my exposed skin and my legs were completely shredded and stung. It is all part of the journey. The descent went extremely quick and I got off the main trail during a slide-rock crossing but found it again and finished my descent with no major issues.
It was a great run and one I will always remember. I really love running in the clouds. Enjoy the footage I took of the run!
