Ellensburg's cross country runners can rest assured their coach understands the mental challenges involved with pushing the human body to its limits.
Jeff Hashimoto has found success in competitive running and traveled the world to take on difficult mountaineering expeditions and similar challenges. As a ninth grade environmental science teacher and advisor to Ellensburg's environmental club, he's well aware of the negative effects of fossil fuels released during those trips.
So when Hashimoto began planning his next adventure back in 2022, he decided to take a different approach.
"I'm interested in the environment, even though I've done my share of pollution, or at a global scale way more than my share of carbon emissions," Hashimoto said. "One friend said, 'It's not about being perfect. It's about having a perfect moment.'"
The goal? Summit every peak on The Bulger List — Washington's 100 highest mountains — without burning any fossil fuels for transportation. Or as he would refer to it later, "leave no trace in the atmosphere."
When Hashimoto's neighbor and former cross country runner Langdon Ernest-Beck heard about the plan for what would become Human Powered Hundred Peaks, he couldn't pass up the chance to join and document the adventure through video, photos and blogging. It took some time to convince his 52-year-old coach, but the 2017 Ellensburg graduate put in the requisite training and eventually joined Hashimoto on a bicycle trip to summit seven snowy peaks in the Enchantments during one weekend last May.
The journey
An Oregon teacher became the first known person to summit all 100 Bulger peaks in a single season, accomplishing the feat in 50 days during the summer of 2021.
Jason Hardrath took advantage of traditional motor-powered transportation, including a boat to reach the mountains west of Lake Chelan. Even though biking meant considerably different routes, including a 30-mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail to access that part of the Cascades, Hashimoto said he gained new respect for Hardrath's speedy accomplishment and appreciated the advice shared through email correspondences.
"I think the major challenge is still on foot, but the biking makes the climbing harder because you arrive later and you're tired," Hashimoto said. "If you're in a car you just get in your car and turn on the heat, but then you have to be self-sufficient with all your camping and everything on your bikes. It adds another level of challenge."
Three weekend trips gave Hashimoto and Ernest-Beck a chance to fine tune their strategy, including how to lighten their load as much as possible and find the proper balance for carrying gear on their bikes. They also realized their plan of hiking during the day and enjoying nine hours of sleep each night wouldn't always be realistic.
"That's what I was expecting, but after the first trip up from Trinity, that set the tone pretty well," Ernest-Beck said. "It's like, 'OK, every day's gonna be really hard' and that's just how it was."
Hashimoto's 23-year-old son and Ernest-Beck's former high school classmate, Uhuru Hashimoto, joined them for most of the big trip that began June 19, although recovery from an injured back and lack of experience kept him from making some of the summits. Together they settled into a rhythm of waking up at 4:30 a.m. and moving until they couldn't keep going because of fatigue, darkness or weather.
They stayed just a little behind schedule until Day 38, when Langdon-Beck recorded a video saying, "we're pretty much a full day ahead, which is kind of odd." That allowed them to spend two days instead of just one to climb Jack Mountain in the North Cascades, but their good fortune wouldn't last.
Stomach sickness hit both of them hard, and Hashimoto said he felt terrible for about a week. Still, they kept pushing forward as much as possible, a decision that proved to be crucial when one of the frequent afternoon thunderstorms started the Sourdough Mountain fire that forced the closure of Highway 20 and the Snowfield trailhead.
The duo had finished the mountains in that section just five days before and watched from a high point far away as the fire raged, providing another reminder of nature's destruction. Hashimoto and Ernest-Beck said they often reflected on how climate change played a role in the extensive history of fires throughout their path, along with decades of forest mismanagement.
They also saw the effects of climate change through receding glaciers and snowpack, made even worse by below-average snowfall last winter. Ernest-Beck said they relied some on decades-old guides created by renowned Washington climber Fred Beckey, which turned out to not be applicable for them in many cases.
"There were a lot of places we got and were like, 'this is not how it used to be,'" Ernest-Beck said, noting specific spots he'd visited in the Chilliwacks Peaks almost exactly a year earlier that looked considerably different. "That was pretty sad. I had some emotional moments with that."
After looping around to remote areas in northwest Washington featuring Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan, the pair set off on some of their longest biking days through an August heat wave to reach Mount Saint Helens, once reaching around 140 miles on a single day. Uncertainty regarding dirt road access forced them to ride an extra 40 miles on their final day and arrive at Mount St. Helens around 10 p.m. on the day of their permit.
Not to be deterred, the weary hikers trudged up the volcano, despite a concerning lack of water. They eventually returned to the trailhead around 6 a.m. after an exhausting climb through the darkness.
"St. Helens is one of the easier peaks to climb under normal circumstances," Hashimoto said. "It was really beautiful when we turned off the light and our eyes adapted and you could see the lava dome, even though it was pretty dark."
They both agreed that turned out to be one of their toughest climbs and it left Mt. Adams as the final peak to summit. As they had done often on the trip to avoid additional bike travel, they took a less common route up the north side and joined hands to reach the top, where they briefly celebrated with what little energy they had left.
New perspective
Following the last descent, Langdon and Hashimoto parted ways for the journey home, since Hashimoto needed to make an extra stop to meet his wife at a wedding in Ashford.
He returned just in time for the start of cross country practice on Monday, Aug. 21, after cycling slowly through dense smoke from Naches to Yakima to his house in Ellensburg. The runners heard from Hashimoto only occasionally during the summer, and he praised his assistants for taking on a bigger role to ensure both teams were well-prepared for the season.
Nearly 1,900 miles of biking with 116,938 feet of elevation and 835 miles of climbing an estimated 381,781 feet gave Hashimoto and Ernest-Beck plenty to reflect upon when they returned to their daily lives. Both said they're trying to drive less and have a greater appreciation for the convenience of vehicles to travel distances that feel much longer when relying only on human power.
"I'm looking forward to coaching and teaching and honestly since I've been home, I just want to stay at home," Hashimoto said from the comfort of his living room. "I think I'm just still recovering physically and mentally and so yeah, I'm just going to kind of let it come as the inspiration strikes me."
They hope their experience can inspire others, whether that means avoiding a car for a short trip or trying to complete the Human Powered Hundred Peaks in fewer than 107 days — 71 days of actual biking and climbing. Ernest-Beck hopes to release a documentary next spring and Hashimoto's eager to share advice for anyone who wants to follow their route.
He also plans to find a way to incorporate the journey into his class curriculum and said he's shared with runners some mental strategies for persevering through pain and fatigue. Hashimoto hopes to focus more on mountaineering in the future, while Ernest-Beck's already started planning for a human-powered trip to the Waddington Range in British Columbia, possibly including travel via sailboat.
"I think there will be lots of skiing and mountaineering adventures in the future that I do on a bike to try to not drive," Ernest-Beck said. "It's pretty fun and it's cool to get home and know that you did it with the power from your body. It's pretty satisfying, too."
Washington Bulger List
Mountain — elevation (feet)
1. Mount Rainier — 14,411
2. Mount Adams — 12,276
3. Little Tahoma — 11,138
4. Mount Baker — 10,781
5. Glacier Peak — 10,520
6. Bonanza Peak — 9,511
7. Mount Stuart — 9,415
8. Mount Fernow — 9,249
9. Goode Mountain — 9,200
10. Mount Shuksan — 9,131
11. Mount Buckner — 9,114
12. Seven Fingered Jack — 9,100
13. Mount Logan — 9,087
14. Jack Mountain — 9,066
15. Mount Maude — 9,040
16. Mount Spickard — 8,979
17. Black Peak — 8,970
18. Mount Redoubt — 8,969
19. Copper Peak — 8,964
20. North Gardner Mountain — 8,956
21. Dome Peak — 8,920
22. Gardner Mountain — 8,898
23. Boston Peak — 8,894
24. Silver Star Mountain — 8,876
25. Eldorado Peak — 8,868
26. Dragontail Peak — 8,840
27. Forbidden Peak — 8,815
28. Oval Peak — 8,795
29. Mesahchie Peak — 8,795
30. Fortress Mountain — 8,760
31. Mount Lago — 8,745
32. Robinson Mountain — 8,726
33. Colchuck Peak — 8,705
34. Star Peak — 8,690
35. Remmel Mountain — 8,685
36. Katsuk Peak — 8,680
37. Sahale Peak — 8,680
38. Cannon Mountain — 8,638
39. Mount Custer — 8,630
40. Sherpa Peak — 8,630
41. Ptarmigan Peak — 8,614
42. Clark Mountain — 8,602
43. Cathedral Peak — 8,601
44. Kimtah Peak — 8,600
45. Mount Carru — 8,595
46. Monument Peak — 8,592
47. Cardinal Peak — 8,591
48. Osceola Peak — 8,587
49. Raven Ridge — 8,572
50. Buck Mountain — 8,560
51. Storm King — 8,520
52. Enchantment Peak — 8,520
53. Reynolds Peak — 8,512
54. Martin Peak — 8,511
55. Primus Peak — 8,508
56. Mox Peaks — 8,504
57. Dark Peak — 8,504
58. Cashmere Mountain — 8,501
59. Klawatti Peak — 8,485
60. Mount Rahm — 8,480
61. Horseshoe Peak — 8,480
62. Big Craggy Peak — 8,470
63. Lost Peak — 8,464
64. Hoodoo Peak — 8,464
65. Chiwawa Mountain — 8,459
66. Argonaut Peak — 8,453
67. Tower Mountain — 8,444
68. Sinister Peak — 8,440
69. Dorado Needle — 8,440
70. Mount Bigelow — 8,440
71. Little Annapurna — 8,440
72. Emerald Peak — 8,422
73. Dumbell Mountain — 8,421
74. Greenwood Mountain — 8,415
75. Mox Peaks-Northwest Peak — 8,407
76. Saska Peak — 8,404
77. Blackcap Mountain — 8,402
78. Azurite Peak — 8,400
79. Pinnacle Mountain — 8,400
78. Luahna Peak — 8,400
81. Spectacle Buttes — 8,392
82. Courtney Peak — 8,392
83. Martin Peak — 8,375
84. Lake Mountain — 8,371
85. Golden Horn — 8,366
86. West Craggy — 8,366
87. McClellan Peak — 8,364
88. Devore Peak — 8,360
89. Amphitheater Mountain — 8,358
90. Snowfield Peak — 8,347
91. Austera Peak — 8,334
92. Mount Saint Helens — 8,333
93. Windy Peak — 8,333
94. Cosho Peak — 8,332
95. Big Snagtooth — 8,330
96. Mount Formidable — 8,325
97. Abernathy Peak — 8,321
98. Switchback Mountain — 8,321
99. Flora Mountain — 8,320
100. Tupshin Peak — 8,320
