Writers on the Range A trail runner defends his right to public lands

One September morning, with huckleberry bushes burning a fierce red against a dusting of snow on the banks of the upper Nisqually River, I left Mount Rainier National Park headquarters on a pilgrimage.

Twenty-seven hours later, depleted but filled with a near-religious sense of reverence and elation I've rarely felt since, I arrived back where I'd begun. I'd completely circumnavigated Washington's great mountain on foot, running the entire Wonderland Trail. This route is something of a crown jewel to backpackers, who typically plan on taking 5-to-10 days to cover its 93 miles and 22,000 feet of elevation gain.

Perhaps understandably, the idea of running the length of that trail in a single day can be baffling to people. How could anyone, they ask, possibly appreciate such a majestic environment while running? Was I simply, as Marjorie "Slim" Woodruff put it recently in an opinion piece for Writers on the Range, an "extreme (athlete) seeking ultimate bragging rights?" I'll argue that I'm not, and that trail running is about far more than physical achievement.

I have been a backpacker and day hiker all my life, and in my day job as a biologist I cherish the particular variety of experiences that moving slowly or staying in one place provide. There's the opportunity to allow wildlife to come to you, and the meditative way layers of meaning unravel the longer you stare at something from a particular vantage point. But trail running provides unique rewards. As a way of experiencing nature and landscapes, it has as much depth and resonance as hiking.

As I ran around Mount Rainier, hour following hour, I found myself focused on the changing intricacies of topography and geology. I found myself better able to understand the mountain's majestic scale, and the broad patterning of different habitats splayed across its flanks. And because I spent an entire night moving in complete solitude, I experienced things I never experienced as a hiker. I saw the gleam of the mountain's great icecap growing and then receding as a full moon tracked across the sky, and was treated to the indescribably eerie sound of elk bugling on both sides of me as I moved quietly through a herd.

During the run, I packed out the remains of all the food I brought with me. This should not be surprising as it has been the norm in all the outdoor communities I've been a part of, but as the sport has grown, some hikers have expressed concern new runners fail to follow leave-no-trace principles. Unfortunately, this is not restricted to trail running. Not far from Mount Rainier, in the Enchantments Wilderness, backpackers have left alpine lakeshores strewn with toilet paper, candy bar wrappers, and trampled vegetation. Here, as in the Grand Canyon and other overused areas, education and smart policy – rather than vilification against trail runners – is surely a better approach.

I can't help but think that some of the recent outflow of animosity towards trail runners reflects the latest iteration of misunderstanding between different recreational user groups. This is a conflict as old as our system of public lands itself. To backpackers and horsepackers in wilderness areas, trail runners are a strange new constituency to encounter. Ironically, the idea of fast-paced backcountry travel as a modern novelty is itself a fallacy. Some of the biggest icons of public land preservation were avid endurance athletes: Bob Marshall regularly went on 50-mile day hikes, for example, and John Muir was an ultra-light peakbagger.

I'm not suggesting that running is a better way to travel through wild landscapes than any other non-motorized method. And I don't doubt that those who criticize trail running have their own meaningful experiences in nature. But as I prepare to lead a group of college students to study how climate change is affecting Mount Rainier's forests this weekend, I'm excited to introduce them to a place I've come to know intimately by running through the night, and in turn hear what it means to them.

I certainly don't want to dictate how they visit the natural world, as long as they tread lightly and respectfully. I believe that a diversity of perspectives about the value and enjoyment of our wild places is crucial to building a coalition strong enough to ensure they outlast us. Ultimately, that allegiance to public land – not whether we recreate fast or slow – is what matters.

High Country News. He lives and runs in Seattle, Washington, and is a Ph.D. student in biology at the University of Washington.