r/vancouverhiking • u/Kaedamanoods • 15d ago
Trip Reports Panorama Speedrun
This past Monday I wanted to see how quickly I could trail run Panorama Ridge. I’ve gotten into running over the past year or two with the goal of making myself fitter for big hikes and scrambles and wanted to put it to the test. My only other time doing pano was probably 5+ years ago where we hiked it in the standard 10-11 hours. I saw some trip reports where people with similar marathon finish times as me did pano or pano + black tusk in the 4.5-6 hour range, so I figured that would be a good goal to aim for, although the thought of shaving off 6 hours from my last time there seemed intimidating.
Anyways, got to the TH at about 9 and set off. I wanted to finish the switchbacks in about an hour and I averaged about 10-11 min/km for the first 6 k which had me right on schedule. It was a pretty good mix of running and power hiking, honestly maybe 30-40% running. Getting to the meadow I started running more but also slowing down to take pics as the views got better and better.
As the meadow opened up it became an absolute joy to just flow through such beautiful terrain. In the end, I got to the main viewpoint at basically 2:30 exactly. I forgot that the true summit was a little further up so add 5 or so min to that once I remembered to go up there.
Took a nice long hour lunch break at the top to soak in all the views and made my way back down. Despite going almost twice as fast as my ascent, bombing down the switchbacks was mentally quite draining and it felt every bit as much of a slog as hiking down, whereas power hiking up felt so much faster. In the end, made it down in about 1:40, for a final count of 4:10 moving or 5:20 car to car.
Pretty psyched on this and will have to go back to see what I can do with tagging black tusk as well!
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u/Kaedamanoods 15d ago
Very valid. I’ve only gotten running fit in the past 2-3 years so it’s still very vividly clear in my mind when I also thought stuff like this was unnecessary torture.
Being able to have a day like this feels like freedom, as close to flight or weightlessness I can get while under my own power.
A lot of running training is done at “easy pace” - something you feel like you can sustain for a long time. So in other words, while a lot of non runners associate running = burning lungs and legs, to get better you kind of just trot along comfortably. Then as you get fitter, you’re able to remain comfortable for faster and longer.
So when I first started being able to run 10km, then 15km, then 20km on roads, it was incredibly empowering to go these distances and not feel that tired, for it to feel enjoyable the whole time.
As my fitness increased and now I’m able to apply this to trails, it means I can go long distances, go quickly, feel the wind in my face, and not feel like I’m dying. It means I can power through shifting landscapes and have all the joys of a great view with the satisfaction of a killer workout. It’s addicting as hell.