My Stories

runventure

The People of the Never Summer 100K

Technically, I could tell you all about the twists, turns, up + downs of the Never Summer 100K race, but what fun would that be? If you want to experience the crazy gorgeous course…go sign up for next year! Plus, my selective memory has already kicked in + I only remember the stunning views from the peaks, not the brutal climbs we fought through to get to them. Ah, selective memory…the only reason we keep going back for me.

Or is it? Maybe there is more to an ultra than just the Instagram worthy courses or bragging rights that come with a long day on the trail. Maybe - just maybe - the entire ultra craze is about more than just what the non-running world sees when they watch us beat ourselves up on rugged trails. No, really, it is. My day on the NS100K course affirmed this, again + again.

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By Heidi Kumm, ago
runventure

The Mountain Loop Highway

I’m back in the van! After two weeks of hot showers, a full kitchen + easy access internet I have returned to my nomadic life in the TETON Sports #yourlead van. And…I was really excited to get back into the van. I was ready to move again. The van must have felt the urge to tone down my giddiness because it has been throwing things at me since the moment I pointed it east for the second leg of my trip.

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By Heidi Kumm, ago
trails + tents

The Explosive Pacific Northwest

Did you know the pacific northwest is full of volcanoes + craters, courtesy of a very explosive history with Mother Nature? Yea, it is. I mean, I survived high school, I do have some smarts so I am aware of the fact there is a lot of tectonic activity on the west coast. I just had no idea how much volcanic activity there was over here + how much it affected the landscape. Here, let me show you…

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By Heidi Kumm, ago
runventure

Trails of Tahoe

A handful of weeks ago Tanya + I pointed the #yourlead van toward Lake Tahoe for a few days of trail roaming + wifi-poaching. I could explain all the little details, boring you to sleep…or I can toss a few numbers + handful of photos at you. I’m willing to be you prefer the latter anyway, so if you promise not to judge my lazy version of “recapping” enjoy the basics of our trip to Lake Tahoe!

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By Heidi Kumm, ago
runventure

Grand Canyon’ing // Rim-to-River-to-Rim

It has been nearly three weeks since I made the trek down into the Grand Canyon with Robb + I think it’s a safe [but embarrassing] truth when I say at least 10 of those days were spent fighting with or avoiding the DSLR camera we used. Turns out shooting photos in RAW is fantastic for the marketing + graphics guys but straight up terrible for anyone attempting to upload them anywhere, especially on a hotspot. Or, at least that’s my excuse for failing miserably at sharing my van living adventures…now, without further adieu, here’s how our little trip into the Grand Canyon went down, then back up.

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By Heidi Kumm, ago
travel thoughts

Moving…Into the TETON Sports Van!

Life is a little crazy + has a way of taking you by surprise, even when you plan all of the chaos months in advance. In the past 24 hours I have traveled from Monterrey, Mexico to Guadalajara, Mexico to Las Vegas, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah to Silverthorne, Colorado. I am now as close to “home” as I’ll get until I make the trek back to Wisconsin. My gear is here, there is ice cream in the freezer, the trails are dry-ish + Max was happy to see me!

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By Heidi Kumm, ago
runventure

Monterrey’s Mountains: Cerro de la Silla

The city of Monterrey is surrounded by mountains, lots of them. They aren’t exceptionally high mountains so you won’t need to worry about elevation but they are steep. Really steep + the trails don’t exactly “switch back” so you’re often hiking straight up the mountainside.

The biggest obstacle I’ve had while attempting to explore the mountains down here is the complete lack of trail markings or obvious trailheads. But, through trail + error I’ve found a few routes up Cerro de la Silla, the iconic ridge of summits you see in a lot of Monterrey photos.

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By Heidi Kumm, ago
runventure

Mexico’s Mountains: La Marta

When I came down to Mexico I have very few plans…but after my visit in February I knew there were mountains so they were definitely on my agenda. After two weeks of playing in the mountains surrounding the city of Monterrey I started chatting with Daniel, one of the Lycans Endurance Team founders. It was decided…we would spend our Saturday in the mountains west of Monterrey. More specifically, La Marta [also, La Martha].

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By Heidi Kumm, ago
travel thoughts

Beach Bummin’ [Sayulita, Mexico]

I might be showing off a little too much of my sheltered ways but hey, my horizons have been expanded so I’m fessing up! For the first 28 years of my life I had an assumption about Mexico. In my mind it was a desert with beaches along the coasts, maybe some jungle’y forest blending into the desert the closer you got to South America. Desert + beaches. That’s all. These sandy assumptions are a big part of why going to Mexico was never on my radar. Turns out, my assumptions were about 9% correct, they have a lot of mountains and some incredible forests as well…proof: Iztaccihuatl, Pico de Orizaba, La Malinche.

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By Heidi Kumm, ago