Cascadian Wilderness Endurance Series - Windy Peak Long Swamp Campground

The Cascadian Wilderness Endurance Series events present an exciting opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts to participate in a multimedia adventure blogging contest. These self-supported/unsupported events are open to trail runners, backpackers, fastpackers, and hikers, and each event features a unique and defined route which participants must complete on foot and in one push. Unlike traditional endurance races, there are no course markings or aid stations along the way, providing participants with the freedom to create their own adventure. It’s all up to you! Participants can choose to tackle the route solo or with a couple friends. There are no cutoffs, so participants can take as much time as they need to complete the route without pressure. This unique event is not just about the physical challenge or exploring wild and beautiful places, but also about the opportunity to capture and share the beauty of the wilderness through captivating multimedia content.

After finishing your route, share your trip report about your experience. You can do this by posting in the Facebook group, tagging us in an Instagram post, making a YouTube video, creating a photo album, or any other artistic endeavor you can imagine. Submit your time via the event page on Ultrasignup. If you have a GPS track, please include it. If you happened to get the FKT for the year, you must provide GPS proof. Each year a meetup will be held in Seattle to wrap up the previous year, kick off the next year, make any big announcements about new routes or changes, and hand out patches, awards, and prizes for the previous year’s participants. If you are unable to attend the event, arrangements can be made to mail your patches to you. We strongly encourage all entrants to join the CWES Facebook Group and/or follow the @CascadianWildernessEndurance Instagram to ask questions about the routes, gather and share trail beta, connect with other participants, scope out the competition, and keep up to date on the most recent news, information, and general goings on.

This contest is brought to you by the Cascadian Wilderness Endurance Company LLC.

Windy Peak

While living in the Okanogan Highlands of north central Washington, I discovered many spectacular running routes. One of my favorites from that time was the 32 mile Windy Peak Loop in the Pasayten Wilderness. The mileage may not be exact, but one can expect to put in a good 50k with lots of climbing, technical trail, cruisy stretches, far-reaching views, and lovely wildflowers. I ran it with my adventure buddy Lisa, and we started at the Long Swamp Campground. This is reached by driving from the small town of Oroville towards Loomis. The drive itself is scenic, and Lisa and I spotted a herd of Big Horn Mountain Sheep on our drive to the trailhead. There are other options. Roads out this way are in rough condition, washboard & potholes to be expected. From Long Swamp, the route begins a lollipop loop by running the 4 mile stick on trail # 342. The direction Lisa and I went had us connecting to trail # 375, #341, and then #343. The trail then reconnects with trail #342 for the 4 mile return trip to Long Swamp. The route begins with a good climb towards Windy Peak. At the base of the peak, there is the option of taking a spur trail to the summit. At this point there are incredible, 360 degree views. The landscape is open, rocky and barren. It is easy to linger here too long. From here, the trail drops down into the lush environment of Horseshoe Basin. There are aspen groves in here and lots of opportunities for shade. At Sunny Pass, there is an option of taking a 2 mile side trip to Louden Lake. The lake is a good spot to have lunch or cool down if its hot. There are creeks in this area to get water. There are also good creeks in Horsehoe Basin and nearing the end of the route, in the old burn zone. This is a beautiful area with charred trees, rugged rock formations and abundant wildflowers. This is a special, high country route in the remote country of the Pasayten Wilderness. I highly recommend making the trip if you like solitude and a nice, ultra distance loop run. I like that the loop offers a variety of different types of ecosystems and terrain to pass through, making for a unique adventure run. -Kathy Vaughan

Rationale

Why should you pay $20 to complete one of the endurance challenges? A small part of the fee will go to cover website maintenance and domain registration, as well as getting patches made and other small goodies/swag. The majority of this fee will be donated to trail maintenance organizations. Why are we even doing this? To get people out into the wonderful wilderness areas that we have here in the Northwest and to build the community of adventurous people! The trip report is just as important as actually finishing the route, and we love it when people come up with creative ways to share their experience. Information isn't always readily available for these areas, and maps can be scarce and not always reliable (especially the Pasayten and Frank Church/Selway Wildernesses.) That can intimidate some that aren't as experienced outdoors-people. The goal is to empower people to get out into these wilderness areas and hopefully to protect them into the future.