At the end of last February, I ventured down to the ALDHA West Cascade Ruck at the urgence of my friend, Tim, who used to sit on the board for the organization. I had been meaning to go for a few years but after becoming a member at PCT Days, it seemed to make sense to finally go and see what it is all about.
I had always been a little intimidated because I am not a thru hiker per se, but it turned out to be a very worthwhile day! The purpose of the event is to prepare hikers, novice to pro, for the upcoming backpacking season. Because I only had one day of the weekend, at the last minute I decided to get up early in the morning to drive the 4 hours to the Port of Cascade Locks where the event is held along the Columbia River. The nice thing? There is NO traffic through Seattle and Tacoma at 5am in the morning on a Saturday!
Although you can should register online in advance, Tim let me know it would be no big deal to pay at the door and from what I saw, no one was turned away who showed up. It was not my first time to the beautiful spot, this is where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses from Oregon into Washington (or vice versa) and the same spot the annual PCT Days event is held. The Mt. Hood Chapter of the PCTA’s Trails Skills College that I attended last year is, also, here. If you click on the link you will see me standing in the middle of the second row.
What You Might Expect At A Ruck
After checking in at the front table, I started to make my way around to the different vendor booths that lined the wall of the pavilion. I chatted with the folks at the Picky Bars tables first and sampled the different flavors they had out. The mocha one was my favorite but the fudge was pretty good, too. All attendees got to go home with a few as part of the day. The best part is that their bars are gluten, dairy, corn and soy free and use whole ingredients. I do my best to make my own, but it’s nice to know there are options out there that are close to what I would make myself.
I checked out the prize table to see what I might win with the raffle tickets I had purchased at the door, a lot of great brands made donations. There are sure to be a lot of winners at the Ruck and all proceeds go to ALDHA West. Gossamer Gear, Sawyer, Montbell, Purple Rain Skirts, Granite Gear, to name just a few, all had booths or donated gear.
Next, there were hikers like Eli Brochetti at tables talking up their books or supporting the trail they represent. Here’s Eli sharing about his newly released section hiking book for the Oregon section of the Pacific Crest Trail. His book, Hiking The PCT: Oregon, is a great resource if you would like to spend time on the trail in Oregon but not commit to the whole thing at once. You can, also, hear him talk on my friend Rudy’s Cascade Hiker Podcast about his book and all things PCT in Oregon.
Other folks I talked with were She-ra (Renee Patrick) about the Oregon Desert Trail (she blogs at She-Ra Hikes and her Cascade Hiker Podcast episode is awesome!) and Aria Zoner about his Siskiyou Peaks Trail. I am always looking for more places to wander in Oregon, can you tell? Aria, also, designed it around farmers’ markets!
After wandering around for a short time, the majority of my day was filled with information sessions. I was soon sitting in the audience ready to see what information I could glean to help with my backpacking season. Here are examples of what you might expect to learn at an ALDHA West Ruck:
Trail Etiquette and the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace
Here Snorkel AKA Liz Thomas (who just put out the most amazing book on long distance hiking) started us off with some hiking and backpacking basics: trail etiquette and LNT. Some things are common sense but not everyone is familiar with the important ways to spend time outdoors and yet leave it preserved for those who come after us (including leaving a good reputation for future hikers). If this doesn’t sound familiar to you, check out my Leave No Trace page.
Trail Nutrition
This, of course, was my favorite talk! Aria Zoner loves to share about nutrition on trail about as much as I do (maybe even more). He has a great website, Whole Food Hiker, and from his plant-based perspective he shares our mutual passion to eat more vegetables and healthy foods while out hiking and backpacking.
It is hard for a lot of hikers to hear that hiking long miles doesn’t really mean it’s okay to fuel your body with whatever comes along and Aria had a great slideshow to illustrate the benefits for choosing nutritious foods.
He even had some testimony from a triple, triple crowner, Lint (I talk about how he gave me my trail name, Snuffy, in one of my first posts). If you aren’t familiar with what a triple crowner is, it is a hiker who has hiked all three of the major long distance trails: Appalachian, Pacific Crest and the Continental Divide. He’s done them 3 times!
Gear Shakedown
For this part, there was a panel of thru hikers who shared what they carried in their packs and wore for their respective hikes. It was interesting because there was a wide range of gear represented and not everyone was necessarily “ultralight”. Each one had whittled down their gear based on their own personal needs. Some had stoves, some did not. Some had tents, some preferred to cowboy camp (no tent). There was a little bit of advice for everyone no matter your level.
Hiking The PCT in Oregon
Eli, who I mentioned before, gave a presentation of his book and all the great details he has shared about hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail in Oregon. Of course, at this point I have already completed this state but it was fun to look at his pictures and remember my hike. He, also, gave some tips on camping during the total solar eclipse that happened last August!
Hiking The Triple Crown In One Year
The day ended with a talk by Legend, the PCT class of 2016’s hiker who did the triple crown in one calendar year. It was pretty cool to hear him talk, especially since we passed each other during his hike on the Pacific Crest Trail when I was headed south to Ashland. You should not be surprised to hear he looked a lot cleaner!
Long Distance Trail Breakout Sessions
For my break out session, I opted to go hear from folks who have hiked the John Muir Trail in California. When I go to start working on the PCT in that state, this section is on my list (as is the Tahoe Rim Trail). They shared some good resource books and talked about the advantages to choosing to do a NOBO versus the more popular SOBO route. This is one of benefits to events like this or doing your research, you will learn ways to go against the flow (hike your own hike) and often end up with a better experience. The other break out groups included the Wonderland Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Appalachian Trail, all lead by folks who have hiked them and had good tips to share.
And So Much More!
In between all of this great information, there was drawings for raffles prizes, lunch, opportunities to chat and shop from vendors, a gear swap, gear demonstrations, samples, and bargain bins from vendors. I scored two backpacks from Gossamer Gear for $20 a piece, so when I won a $50 gift certificate from a shop in Portland it was icing on the cake!
There was even an enterprising young Girl Scout selling cookies to future hikers…
I know this won’t be my last ruck and I hope I have shared enough information to inspire you to attend one of these worthwhile events. If any of this sounds like something you would enjoy, don’t be afraid to attend even if you aren’t a big time backpacker or hiker. Everyone is super friendly and you are sure to learn something, be encouraged and maybe even pick up some new gear! The planned agendas look to promise a lot of the same great information and opportunities as I have shared here. Here is the list of ruck events in 2018 with a new venue being added in Bellingham this year. The link will take you to that ruck’s event page and agenda!
Inland NW: Coeur d’Alene, ID 3/3/2018
Cascade Ruck: Cascade Locks, OR 2/24/2018
NorCal Ruck: Berkeley, CA 3/10/2018
Colorado Rockies Ruck: Golden, CO 3/17/2018
Bellingham Ruck: Bellingham, WA 3/31/2018
Editor’s note: this was my ruck experience last year and although the format will be similar, be sure to check out the specific ruck for what is planned for this year.
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