And just like that, Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are closed. In a joint press releases by Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, it was announced that the roads would be closed due to COVID-19 concerns from the gateway communities surrounding the iconic parks. The following, in italics, is a press release directly from both National Parks: 

The following is a press release directly from Olympic National Park officials. While the park’s trails are still open, please think twice before traveling to Olympic National Park. Traveling outside of your community is putting the small towns around the Olympic Peninsula at risk for an outbreak of Covid-19. Stay local for your outdoor adventures. These lands and trails will be waiting for you when this is all over.

For this 100th episode, amidst a global pandemic Doug and Mathias don’t have much to celebrate. Trail races are cancelled all over the world, people are discouraged to congregate and Mathias is slowly running out of flour…
But, we still have each other, we still have adventures out our back door, we still have daylights,
and sunsets
and cups of coffee…

UPDATE: MANY NATIONAL PARKS ARE NOW CLOSED.

Please check your local park before heading out.

While many National Parks are closing campgrounds, visitor centers and other areas where social distancing is not an easy thing to do, there is some good news from the Department of Interior. During the Covid-19 outbreak, the National Park Service will be temporarily suspending park entrance fees starting on March 18, 2020. How long they will be free to enter remains an unknown. 

Olympic National Park has released a statement about the status of the park during the Covid-19 pandemic. In brief, all visitor centers are closed and Hurricane Ridge has suspended all winter operations. Not mentioned in the following press release is that the Makah Tribe has restricted access to Shi Shi Beach, as the trail is accessed through tribal lands. The following was sent by Olympic National Park on March 17th, 2020. 

An update I sent out a couple days ago to all our trail racers. If you’d like to stay informed and get some irregular updates on our trail races Wild Kaiser, Little Backyard Adventure, and Rock Candy Mountain Run sign up here. Thank you!

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Let me begin by making the assumption that no one who’s reading this lives under a rock (although that would be a pretty safe place to be at right now). We’ve all been glued to the news. Things are crazy and everything is changing by the hour.
Many of the popular early season races are being cancelled here in the PNW and worldwide and the global COVID-19 pandemic will have an effect on our races too.

It’s a show for the end of the world… or so it it feels. Doug is injured, Kaiser Woods dances with Mathias, races are canceled and training plans are made for these desperate times.

Stay healthy, friends, stay healthy. And go on a run, if you can!

We can “bearly” contain our happiness with this news! The first official grizzly bear sighting of 2020 has occurred in Yellowstone National Park! Despite a ton of snow and ridiculously frigid temperatures, the inevitable return to warmer weather is showing signs of occurring. We are a ways from wildflowers and open roads, but the bears are “waking up.”

Doug suspends his campaign, finally. Mathias forgets his water on his long run, like a noob.
They discuss Walmsley at the Olympic Trials, proper nutrition on long runs and what adventure experiences do to the human psyche. We need more of it.

Thanks for tuning in every week – means the world to us!

Happy 148th Birthday to the first National Park!

On March 1st, Yellowstone National Park turned 148 years old! While the land has been around for millions of years, the region now known as Yellowstone National Park was formally protected by the United States Government in 1872. Signed by President Ulysses S. Grant, the Act of Dedication helped create the world’s first National Park and helped inspire a love and protection of Public Lands around the nation.