Dark Divide 300

You’ve probably heard the saying: “If you think you are enlightened, go spend a week with your family.” I have my own version now: If you think you are enlightened, go spend five hours on Juniper Ridge.

Juniper Ridge is the infamous crux of the Dark Divide 300, a self-supported bikepacking race through the southern Washington Cascades, covering 340 miles and 33,230 feet of elevation gain. The route’s namesake is the Dark Divide Roadless Area within Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which organizer and route creator Ben Everett describes as “one of the most rugged and beautiful landscapes on the continent.” At its heart lies Juniper Ridge, where Ben warns “racers will push their bikes more than ride them for the next 10 or so miles.” Juniper Ridge falls almost exactly at the route’s halfway point, giving the course a kind of structural elegance: the midpoint is also the high point is also the crux.

Portrait of me at the starting line (last photo) by Kae-Lin Wang