The Far Side of the River - Discovering Grandfather Falls Ready for adventure tackling the Turtle Rock Segment of the Ice Age Trail! I grew up less than an hour from Grandfather Falls, and I have to admit, I didn’t know it even EXISTED until a couple of years ago. Ever since, it’s been on my radar to check out. Unfortunately, it seemed just too far away to be a convenient quick outing, but at the same time not far enough away to justify a full-blown weekend of activities. The stars finally aligned after my husband suggested a family hike after he spent the prior evening and all morning filing ..read more

Barkley Marathons and Everesting Recap watch now Andrea Larson recaps her experience on the infamous Barkley Marathons course climbing hills so steep that her poles couldn't grip the ground, wading through rivers, battling cold that froze jugs at the water drops, and of course finding books hidden in the woods. She also reveals the scene cheering on the race's most finishers, including watching Laz bolt for his bell for the "bell lap" after not using it in six years! Highlights include: 3 min: Barkley lore How the race started Why the race starts with the lighting of a cigarette The n ..read more

Kalalau Trail FKT Attempt Near Miss by Eight Seconds! In today’s age of social media, we usually see the highs, but not so much the lows. However, its the lows that reveal our character and develop us into our future self.  It took me a full month to the day to sit down and finally construe my thoughts from my Kalalau Trail Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt.  Seizing the moment The beautiful Na Pali coastline at sunrise. Although I would have loved to plan this FKT out more thoroughly, it was a “seize the moment opportunity”…except that it slipped through my fingers, literally.  ..read more

Family Winter skating adventures The lack of snow has some upsides to do things you wouldn’t normally be able to do.  Like the opportunity to adventure in the woods and ice skate on remote lakes. We combined both (plus some fat tire biking)!  We had so much fun, we returned, skating on a total of three remote lakes at the Underdown Recreation Area. Here’s a photo essay of our experiences! First edition We tagged along while dad joined a delayed Global Fat Bike Day celebration. After their departure, we had our own grand adventure! We warmed up with a bushwhack, rockhopping a small ..read more

Ultra Running Magazine Podcast - SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL FKT With ANDREA LARSON Ultra Running Magazine Podcast’s Scotty Sandow interviews Andrea Larson, an incredible trailblazer, who recently set an Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) in northern Minnesota. As a resilient mother of three and executive director of IRONBULL, Andrea shared her inspiring journey with Scotty which included scorching weather and tough terrain, as well as her historic race finishes and a hope to inspire all fitness levels towards a more active lifestyle. Tune in for a story of resilience, dete ..read more

Superior Hiking Trail FKT - Part 2 - Nuts & Bolts In Part 1, I shared my experience on the trail and in this blog, I dive into the gear and logistics of the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt. 180 degree turn After spending months preparing to take on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT), everything took a 180 degree turn in the three days before the attempt.  As I began packing, I realized the logistical complexity of a self-supported attempt.  The time to pack five supply boxes (containing mostly things I hoped I’d never use), deliver them, and then pick t ..read more

Superior Hiking Trail FKT - Part 1 - Steps on the Trail Donate Having never thru-hiked and being on my first Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt, I set the lofty goal of breaking an FKT on the 310 mile Superior Hiking Trail (SHT).  With an expectation of failure, I embarked on an unsupported FKT attempt of the SHT.  I expected to learn a lot through this failure and set me up for another FKT attempt in the spring.  Starting with only a 23 pound backpack, my stuffed pockets of food and gear, and a head full of big ideas, I emerged after six nights and 310 miles at the Northern Termi ..read more

Finding My Tough - Prepping for the Superior Hiking Trail Thru Hike Follow along IRONBULL’s motto is “Find Your Tough”, so it’s appropriate that I live out this motto as a leader of the organization.  Through my preparation for the Barkley Marathons, I grew immensely, pushing both my mental and physical limits.  After initially struggling with a handful of repeats up the biggest hill I could find, I kept coming back and eventually achieved my goal of 71 consecutive repeats, accumulating 29,029 feet of elevation, the height of Mount Everest.  Not only did I finish, but I conquer ..read more

Bittersweet Lakes Family Paddle With our first family paddling outing under our belts, we were hungry for more adventure on the water. The Northwoods’ plethora of lakes provided ample opportunity and we set out on the chain of four small remote lakes comprising the Bittersweet Wild Lakes Area. Despite our paddling inexperience, we escaped to the solitude normally experienced miles (and many portages) into remote wilderness like the Boundary Waters. The short portages mixed up the adventure. Background The Bittersweet Wild Lakes Area was a perfect outlet to avoid crowds with minimal effort on ..read more

Climbing for a cause - Everesting Back in 2020, I heard of Everesting for the first time when a neighbor shared that a friend was going to attempt to bike up the equivalent of Mount Everest from sea level, 29,029 feet.  “Wow, that’s crazy,” I thought.  Fast forward to late 2022 and the seed that was planted began to grow.  As I attempted to get as much vertical as I could in preparation for the Barkley Marathons, a race with 70,000 feet of elevation gain, completing an Everesting challenge dovetailed perfectly into my training.  So I scoured topographic maps and then ran a ..read more