Couple makes hiking history with Pacific Northwest loop. Hear them speak in Tri-Cities

Ras and Kathy Vaughan struggled for many years to come up with a way to describe their style of outdoor adventuring – combining old-style backpacking and hiking with running, shuffling, stumbling, meandering and even gallivanting along mountain trails in excess of marathon-long distances.

They eventually came up with the word “UltraPedestrian” to describe the extraordinary and amazing experiences normal human beings are capable of on their own two feet.

These two extraordinary Northwest athletes are visiting the Tri-Cities, sharing their stories and insights in a special presentation chronicling their 2018 UP North Loop adventure along a never-done-before route that links parts of the Idaho Centennial Trail, Oregon Desert Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Pacific Northwest Trail.

The free talk is at the Kennewick REI on April 30 at 7 p.m.

The journey, which began on May 14, 2018, had them zigzagging across Idaho, Oregon and Washington, changing routes on the fly to access water sources and resupply points, circumnavigating fire closures and avoiding heavy snow at higher elevations.

They finished on Nov. 5, an estimated 2,634 miles in 174 days.

Kathy spent her whole life in the Pacific Northwest, and after marrying Ras began doing long, family backpacking trips, hiking and trail running in north central Washington.

After their daughter went off to the University of Washington, they started thru-hiking the long trails in the Southwest.

Together they have embarked on a multi-year long series of incredible endurance quests.

Ras describes himself as a suburban latchkey kid from Southern California who is dedicated to finding his inner Sasquatch. He ran in the Badger Mountain Challenge twice, and Kathy and he both participated in the 2018 event.

“When I am on the trail, I am my healthiest in both mind and body,” Kathy said. “After thru-hiking the 800-mile Arizona Trail once as a point-to-point and then as a thru-hike Yo-Yo, Ras and I had the goal of completing a Desert Thru-Hike triple crown” she said. “This would mean also completing the Grand Enchantment Trail Yo-Yo, and then the Oregon Desert Trail Yo-Yo.”

Some 300 miles shy of completing the Grand Enchantment Trail Yo-Yo, Kathy started experiencing numerous troubling health issues, severe enough to bring their hike to a halt in the triple-degree temperatures of the Sonoran Desert. When she returned home she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

“From the moment I heard the words from the doctor,” she said. “I knew I would continue to live the adventure life I had been living. I was determined to deal with my diabetes to the best of my ability.”

“I do not feel like being a diabetic has any impact on my abilities as an athlete,” she said. “I have to be diligent on a daily basis to my food and medication needs. Out on the trail, the attention to detail increases. Each change along the route, such as weather, elevation change, intensity of terrain, and availability of resupply spots, can affect my blood sugar numbers.”

“I’m old school, and I learned what it takes to eat and self-medicate to keep my nutrition in balance so I could maintain the energy levels I needed to allow for me to continue my outdoor adventures,” she said.

Nonetheless, they spent months visualizing and researching a grand loop that no one had ever done that would allow them to spend five to six months of solitude, hiking through remote regions of the Inland Northwest.

“We knew that if we didn’t act on our ambitions, someone else would swoop us on the opportunity,” Ras said.

The unique and challenging route they designed lies entirely north of the 42nd parallel.

“It’s a long-distance hiking route loop that brings you in a spiral back to where you started, ” said Ras.

One of Kathy’s favorite places was the Owyhee River Canyons in the Oregon Desert.

“The river is lovely and twists and turns through rugged canyon walls with sandy beaches and big, shady trees,” she said. “... It is peaceful, and yet exciting, with steep ascents through boulders and enchanting, hidden spots amongst the cliffs as we climbed, or descended back into the canyon for water. This section of the route is 50 miles that involves numerous river fords, rattlesnakes, and even a soak in a natural hot pool. It’s just spectacular.”

“By the time Ras and I reached northern Idaho, it was late September. The fall colors were vivid and magnificent. The area around Priest Lake has humongous ancient cedar trees with hanging moss and a thick carpet of moss underfoot as well. ...”

Ras and Kathy speak fondly about all the unspoken magic spots along the trail.

“We hiked for 5 ½ months straight,” said Kathy, “… and my mind still wanders back to some nondescript spot along the route and remembers every detail of being there....”

“There was the place high along the Cascade Crest in Glacier Peak Wilderness where we stopped hiking early in the afternoon to get out of the hiking bubble we were in, and take in the enormity of the surrounding granite mountains and towering fir trees,” she said.

“There was the time ... an old farmer and his grandkids handed us a couple of freshly picked cucumbers to stick in our packs, all of them still out working even as the sun was setting. I like all of these less-significant memories as much as the more grandiose places we were able to hike.”

One of Ras’ most memorable experiences was along Big Jacks Creek, where they got caught in a storm along the top of a canyon guarded by a rattlesnake who used his tail to make sure they knew he’d prefer they take another route down.

As they finally passed through Big Jacks Creek Canyon they felt the enormity of their undertaking and realized they might be some of the only people who had ever taken those steps.

In the wilds of central Idaho, a group of elk hunters welcomed them into their camp. One of the hunters said to stop in and visit his mom, who runs the Kooskia Café. “When you get there,” he said, “you tell her that I sent you, and your breakfast is on me.”

“And sure enough, when we arrived, she gave us whatever we wanted.”

“It’s hard to put into words the humility and gratitude one feels when receiving kindness of this sort from virtual strangers,” Ras said. “Over and over again, it’s experiences like this that serve to restore my faith in humanity.”

Ras and Kathy’s book, “98 Days of Wind: The Greatest Fail of Our Life,” describing how their attempt to complete the Desert Thru-Hike Triple Crown was foiled by the onset of Type 1 diabetes.

Learn more: http://ultrapedestrian.com/

If you go: You can see Ras and Kathy Vaughan in person at the Kennewick REI on Tuesday April 30, starting at 7:00 PM. The talk, which starts at 7:15 p.m., is free and open to the public. Seating will be limited, so register for the event ahead of time and get there early. For information: https://tinyurl.com/y4refo5o