I started the year with bigger dreams than I’ve ever had. This was the year I’d finally be settled into my new home in Washington and the only thing preventing me from exploring every corner of the PNW would be time, energy, and stoke.

To give me the best chance at success, I organized my goals into a framework to focus my attention. I shared this approach publicly at the start of the year; a few people told me they were interested in trying this for 2023, so I’ll share my thoughts on how these goals turned out and my thoughts on what I’d do differently next year.

Skiing

I exclusively skied at Stevens Pass, initially for the convenience of cheap lodge by the mountain, but ultimately for the friends I made out of the regulars who I learned so much from.

1. ⚠️ AIARE 1 Avalanche + Rescue training - By the time I started to think about signing up, all of the courses I was interested in were taken or conflicted with my schedule. I did commit to a February course for 2023, so I at least made progress here!

2. ✅ 300,000 feet of resort skiing - Early season was dry and icy at Stevens Pass so I had to force myself to get out there at first. I tried to night ski for more reps and had a spectacular fall on bulletproof ice. Over time, conditions improved and so did my technique. I was also more comfortable exploring the mountain. Leah and I even got a few lessons, a few of which were valuable. I ended the season with 256,000 feet of descent. By the time I decided to call it, my knees were searing in pain from tendon inflammation. Fortunately, the start of the new season in December was excellent for snow, so I was technically able to hit 302,000 feet!

Surfing

I didn’t have much interest in surfing (too many competing activities + being a poor swimmer) but I saw this as a way to spend more time doing something Leah loves. I just wanted to be good enough to enjoy myself. In July, I got hit goals of surfing along the PNW coast in Westport and Short Sand Beach completed.

1. ✅ Surfing in Westport, WA - We made a weekend out of visiting both Westport and Short Sand given the long drive from Seattle. The waves were too strong for me in Westport, and I spent a lot of time desperately paddling out to not be dragged back to shore. I’d only want to return here at an intermediate/advanced level.

2. ✅ Surfing at Short Sand Beach, OR - Even though Short Sand was a lot farther away, it was worth it for the magical scene and the gentler waves. We did a final surf trip to San Diego in November and agreed that this’d be the last year we pay for lessons. At this point, we can read waves on our own.

Cycling (road & gravel)

I spent more time sitting in the saddle this year than ever before (in total 1,100 miles, 65k ft climbing). Compared to anything else I could be doing, it was easiest to jump on my bike and explore. Cycling dominates much of my summer memories, which shouldn’t surprise me given the training I needed to accomplish for the goals I had.

1. ✅ Car-free Mt Rainier Sunrise Road (40 mi, 4k ft ele) - The car-free ride on Sunrise Road in Mt Rainier National park opened my eyes to how vast the park really is. There’s a lot more to it than the one big mountain. Tom was visiting the day I planned to go (June 26), so he tagged along. It was fun to see other cyclists just as excited about seeing the mountain up close with not a cloud in sight for miles. The 40mph descent was something I won’t soon forget. It’s worth doing even if you need an e-bike. More info and route map.

2. ✅ Car-free Highway 20 cycling (71 mi, 6k ft ele) - Highway 20 is the iconic road that cuts through the North Cascades, and there’s a brief window of a few days when it’s plowed but not yet open to cars. On May 1 the stars aligned and I even lucked out with beautiful weather. It ended up being a lot harder than I thought, but also a lot more rewarding. I did a write-up of the experience here. Route map.

3. ✅ Mt Adams gravel cycling loop (54mi, 4.5k ft ele) - This route is better known as the Indian Heaven loop. I did a solo ride here on August 13 and severely underestimated how much longer miles on gravel actually are. With 12 miles (and a big climb) left to go, I gave all of my snacks to some PCT hikers I came across. I suffered for the last hour and a half, but I just kept thinking about the snacks I had waiting for me at the car. This ride reminded me why I love gravel biking: pure blissful solitude. Route map.

4. ❌ 2-day bikepacking Olympic Adventure Trail (66mi, 8k ft ele) - Poor planning on my part meant that I didn’t get this trip done. The Fairholme Campground at the turnaround point gets booked out months in advance. I just wasn’t excited enough to commit to a date, so it didn’t happen. I’ll try harder next year. Route line.

5. ❌ Mt St Helens 2-day bikepacking loop (80mi, 12k ft ele) - In hindsight, seeing that I put this as a goal within my ability is a little absurd. While I didn’t get this loop done (or even attempt it), I experienced a small fraction of it on a mountain bike and determined that there’s no way I’d want to bikepack this. I did have a blast doing a night-ride solo descent on part of this route on August 12. See full story of that here.

6. ✅ Seattle triple-ferry bike ride (105mi, 6k ft ele) - This was a contrived route that incorporated three ferries around Seattle. I biked this with Tom on July 1 as my last big training ride for the 200+ mile Seattle to Portland ride in two weeks. I learned a lot that day from Tom about efficient snacking while pedaling andd drafting to save energy. Route map and full story.

7. ✅ RAMROD: Ride Around Mt Rainier in a Day (148mi, 7.6k ft ele) - I was hoping I didn’t get selected for the lottery for this event, but I did. My big worry was carrying fatigue over from the Seattle to Portland ride, less than two weeks before this event on July 28. I grew even more nervous as the temperature was expected to creep beyond 100°F. Surprisingly it wasn’t all too bad and I even had fun. The route normally goes through Stevens Canyon, the most scenic part, but there was a detour because of multi-year construction. I’m not opposed to doing this event again in some future year, especially if Leah joins me. Route map.

8. ✅ Seattle to Portland in a day cycling (207mi, 5k ft ele) - I decided to do this event in a single day (July 17) to avoid the thousands doing it over two and also to get it over sooner. I went into the event knowing it’d be challenging, but I wasn’t prepared for how mentally broken I’d be at the finish; I was close to tears at the end. I highly doubt I’d do this event again; it’s not known for being particularly scenic, just long. However, I am proud of the tshirt they gave me. Ego led me to sign up initially (I wanted to say I did it), but I had to dig a lot deeper to push through to the finish. Full story.

Mountain biking

It’s funny to see how few goals I had in this section, but it ended up being where I spent most of my summer afternoons and weekends. I even upgraded my beginner bike to a fancier one. Leah and I even have a small friend crew of mountain bikers that we love riding with now.

1. ✅ Clean descent of Inside Passage, Tiger Mountain (1.7mi, blue) - I had zero issue riding this trail the one and only time I gave it a shot this year. The fact that I listed such a modest goal as above my ability is a reminder to me of how scared and nervous I was last year. It’s a clear indicator that I’ve made massive progress with all the trail practice. Route line.

2. ❌ Clean descent of Olallie (18mi, 3000 ft ele, blue/black) - This local trail was one that I assumed would be a stretch goal. By the time I started to think about doing the trail, it was just a matter of scheduling and less a quesiton of whether it’d be feasible to do. Wildfire smoke kept us out of town or indoors for some of September and October, and we just prioritized other activities. Eventually, snow on the mountain meant this goal would be one to kick over to next year, and I’m hoping to try it as a sunset/night ride! Route line.

Climbing

I’ve been waiting a long time for my “breakthrough climbing year,” when I’d finally have access to a great crag, a reliable gym, and a partner to help make my dreams come true. Instead, a ligament tear on my hand from a climb at Smith Rock in Nov 2021 put a hold on this. The injury happened before I drafted these goals, but I was a lot more optimistic about my path to recovery. It was a rough few months for me mentally to accept that I’d have to stay off the rock, but I also stressed about potentially never climbing well again. Fortunately, I had other awesome activities to occupy me this year and I’m back to climbing at close to the same level!

1. ❌ Guided climb: 3rd Pillar of Dana (5.10- III, 5 pitch) - For my birthday (last year), Leah gifted me a guided climb with my favorite climber, Peter Croft! I had to postpone this. Route beta.

2. ❌ Guided climb: Red Dihedral, Incredible Hulk (5.10b IV, 12 pitch) - Same as the one above. Route beta.

3. ❌ Sport climb Prime Rib (5.9-, 11 pitch) - I did go to Mazama (for cycling) and stared at this wall, jealous of all the tiny dots working their way up the wall. Route beta.

4. ❌ Sport climb Flyboys (5.9, 18 pitch) - Someday this will happen. Route beta.

5. ❌ Trad climb Ragged Edge of Vesper Peak (5.7, 6 pitch) - Given that I haven’t been climbing for most of the year, even in a gym, I haven’t yet developed a relationship with a rope partner. Hoping to invest the time in that this coming year. Route beta.

6. ❌ Trad climb Outer Space (5.9, 6 pitch) - Still inspired by this. Route beta.

Mountaineering & scrambling

To do most of these objectives, I’d want to be roped up to a partner. Unfortunately, I put zero effort into finding one. I had a few opportunities, but never followed through because I didn’t get along with the person or I didn’t trust them. Instead, I prioritized mountain biking.

1. ✅ Mt Adams South Spur, snow scramble (11.5mi, 7.7k ft ele) - The common route up Mt Adams is non-technical (i.e., no ropes are used) so I felt comfortable going solo. I made a last minute decision and decided that if I didn’t go on July 10, I’d have to wait til the following year. If not for the late season snow dump, I would have missed the perfect snow-ascending window by over a month. I completed this car-to-car in exactly 9 hours, something I’m unusually proud of. It wasn’t all great though, as I did this just a week before a 200mi bike ride (Seattle to Portland) and I paid the price for it. Full story and route map.

2. ❌ Ruth Mtn Glacier climb (12mi, 4k ft ele) - This easy objective was intended to be a stepping stone. Didn’t do it. Route beta.

3. ❌ Eldorado Peak glacier climb (10mi, 7k feet ele) - At some point it started to become clear that I wouldn’t be getting any of these done since I had sequenced them according to a skill progression. Route beta.

4. ❌ Colchuck Peak glacier climb (14mi, 5k feet ele) - Saw lots of people doing this on social media, but I wasn’t one of them. Route beta.

5. ❌ Fisher Chimneys on Mt Shuksan (4th class, 7k ft ele) - I’d still like to do this someday. Route beta.

Backpacking & day-hiking

I planned to make this a big year for running and building up endurance in my legs to push mileage. Unfortunately, I had knee pain that limited how much training volume I could put on. Instead, I built endurance from cycling.

1. ✅ Thru-hiking Snoqualmie to Stevens Pass in 4 days (80mi, 17k ft ele) - This was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. I initially planned to do it with Leah in five days, but shortened it to four when she couldn’t join. Really, this should’ve been done by me in six days. I bashed my knee on day one, had seven blisters on day two, and wanted to give up. I stubbornly put myself through the wringer just so I could cross it off my list. Very little of my cycling training from the summer helped me during this late September hike. Full write-up.

2. ❌ Enchantments thru-hike in a day (18mi, 5k ft ele) - As a newcomer to Seattle, I was excited about this as a must-do hike. The more I learned about it, the less interested I became given the hordes of people day-hiking it (since overnight permits are incredibly hard to come by). Wildfire smoke and fatigue from the Snoqualmie to Stevens hike made the final decision for me to pass. Route beta.

3. ❌ Day hike Harts Pass to Rainy Pass (31mi, 4k ft ele) - I was saving this for prime larch season, but I had to accept I wouldn’t be able to attempt this from the deep fatigue in my body from the Snoqualmie to Stevens hike. Even if I wanted to, there were a few landslides that made it impossible to get there. Route beta.

4. ❌ Mt Rainier Wonderland trail in 3 days (93mi, 22k ft ele) - I realized there’s no way I’d be able to do this goal unless I dropped all of my other activities and focused solely on trail running. That is unlikely to ever happen. Route beta.

Even though I accomplished less than half of what I had set out for myself, this was by far the most active year of my life. Having these goals as a reference got me out the door whenever I felt lazy. I demystified some of the PNW with a wide set of experiences that led me to fall more in love with the area. I even made lots of new friends in the process!

There are plenty of adventures I didn’t plan out far in advance (e.g., mountain biking in Bend with Luke, fishing in Alaska with my dad, bikepacking along the Deschutes River with Leah) that were just as, if not more, fulfilling this year. There are also plenty of non-outdoors life events that were more notable than anything I could have added to my list. I got married to the love of my life, had a friend take his life, heard my father-in-law had a cancer diagnosis, and planned for my mother’s surgery. It was thrilling to daydream constantly about these objectives, but as the year progressed I became more aware none of it would matter down the line. Sure, I’d fondly remember the solo sprint up and down Mt Adams, but I knew I would trade that memory for more time with family.

With that said, I’m already planning my 2023 goals using the same framework. I’ll have a different approach, focusing less on hitting big mileage and more on having fun. There’ll certainly be elements of pushing myself and suffering, but it’ll be balanced out by goals that hit the sweet spot of being fulfilling and simply fun.