Russ Evans

Russ Evans passed away Wednesday, December 18, after a lengthy and valiant fight with cancer. He was 65.

Most people in today’s VHTRC may never have met Russ, or know his name, but he left a lasting legacy with the club.

Mountain runs

Russ was an accomplished mountain runner, finishing Hardrock, Wasatch, Bighorn, TWOT, and MMT. Russ adored running in the mountains. Any time Russ recounted a run it was all about the views. Russ was a strong runner to be sure, but he cared less about times and splits and more about seeing beautiful places. Above all else a run was judged by its scenic beauty.

Kerry Owens paced Russ when he finished Hardrock in 2004. Kerry described Russ as “uniquely anal, light-hearted, easy-going, and determined during this race. It was a huge learning experience for me.” Anstr Davidson later commented, “Those are four words that don’t always go together well. It’s easy to be anal and annoying, but not so easy to be anal and easy-going.” Russ was simultaneously earnest and carefree, and always upbeat.

Bill Sublett recalled Russ’s love of, what they called, “journey runs,” where they’d plan a two-day run with just enough in their packs to spend the night at someplace where they could get lodging and food. At least twice Russ went rim to rim in the Grand Canyon, where he started on the north rim and then spent the night in Grand Canyon Village and then ran back the next day. Russ liked that format so much that he and Bill planned a couple of adventure runs during the summer around Wintergreen and Massanutten ski resorts where they would do a long trail run and then spend the night at the resort and then run back to their cars the next day. It was a great way to do a two-day run and have some comfortable lodging for the night. Read Russ’s report on their Massanutten Resort run.

More recently, Russ got into ultralight backpacking and was active with the DC Ultralight Backpacking Meetup group, participating in a number of backpacking trips with them.

Beer

There are few people — James Moore, Anstr Davidson, and Joe Clapper — who enjoyed a good post-run quality brew as much as Russ. Reflecting back on a run over a trailhead beer was Russ’s favorite way to wrap up a long day in the mountains.

Kerry carpooled with Russ at Bighorn in 2006. On the way back to the airport in Montana, she and Russ set out to drink all of the beer that he had bought and use the entire tank of gas that she had pre-purchased for the rental car. They were very close to the airport before finally needing to stop and purchase fifty cents worth of gas. Needless to say, they were able to polish off the beer.

His analytical side

Russ was undeniably easy-going. But belying his relaxed facade was a more intense, calculating mind. Russ loved geeking out on certain technological things. The two that stand out are digital photography and GPS.

In the early 2000s, when Russ was most active with the VHTRC, digital cameras were rare. There were a handful of people in the club — Russ, Anstr, and myself — who had them. The tool of choice was the diminutive (for its day) Canon S100, about which Russ, Anstr, and I exchanged many notes. Russ loved running with his camera, capturing the beauty of the mountains and sharing his experiences with others.

More than cameras, Russ loved GPS (in those days, this was handheld GPS). Poring over the data after a day in the mountains was Russ’s way of reliving the run. The distance, the gain, how the trail traversed and skirted contours in the terrain.

Russ and Bill Sublett took on an ambitious, multiyear project of mapping out all of the trails in Shenandoah National Park and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. This data was compiled into Bill’s GPX Tracker website (which unfortunately now seems to be defunct). Bill’s GPX Tracker was an invaluable resource in the days before Strava, Caltopo, and Gaia GPS.

Through GPS and cartographic analysis, Russ was the progenitor of many beloved VHTRC routes. He conceived of the Browntown Loop, and started the tradition of running it on Independence Day. Russ also created the Fishhook, a point-point run incorporating the Appalachian Trail and Dickey Ridge Trail in the northern Shenandoah National Park. The next time you run these VHTRC favorites, raise a frosty bottle to Russ.

Russ had another, lesser known, route which he devised specifically for preparing for Western 100s (not States, but real mountain runs like Hardrock, Bighorn, and Wastach). Russ took me on this run on December 28, 2005, when I was home from grad school. It was the first time I had seen Whiteoak Canyon or Hawksbill. Russ’s route is now commemorated on Furbutt’s Favorites as Russ’s Run.

The Leapfrog Run

Nothing exemplifies Russ’s knack for planning and logistics more than our 2001 Leapfrog Run through Shenandoah National Park.

The Leapfrog was borne out of a “failure” of sorts the previous summer. Russ had planned a three-day run covering the length of the park, doing each District (South, Central, North) each day from a central camp at Big Meadows. Only a few people finished the whole thing, mostly because of difficult logistics. At the end of each long day of running we had to retrieve the cars from the start of the section and then plant cars at the end of the next, necessitating about 100 miles of driving on the 35 MPH Skyline Drive. I think we got into bed around 11 pm the first night.

The following year, Russ developed an ingenious plan of renting a small moving truck and running the length of the park tag-team style in one go. There would be no shuttles and no stopping — just constant forward progress as one team of four runners. The inaugural Leapfrog was Russ, Bill Sublett, Gary Knipling, and myself. We drew straws for who would run in which order and set off from Rockfish Gap on the morning of June 1, 2001.

The route was split up into a dozen and a half 5-8 mile legs, which was easily done since the AT and Skyline Drive are so intertwined throughout the park. At any given time, three people were running and one person was the driver. Each runner did three consecutive segments, totaling 18–20 miles or so, before rotating to the driver position.

It was the driver’s responsibility to pack up the van, drive it to the next meeting spot, and then set up the aid station, all within about 60–90 minutes. With any remaining time the driver could nap, or maybe grab a hot meal or shower if the timing worked out being near a campground, but it was on the driver to have the van ready and to be ready himself once the runners came in.

We finished the 100+ mile distance at the Dickey Ridge Trailhead, about 33 hours later. That first Leapfrog remains a singular adventure-running highlight.

Other Leapfrogs followed. The next year we ran the Leapfrog south, starting at Dickey Ridge and finishing at Rockfish Gap. In more recent years Russ and his VHTRC friends transitioned the run into a “section hike,” knocking off chunks of the park during an annual weekend over many summers.

Heading west

In 2021, Russ and his girlfriend, Jessica, bought a house in Sedona, AZ, joining the “VHTRC West” contingent of Kerry Owens, Doug Sullivan, Kirstin and Tom Corris, Jill and Dave Quivey, Linda Wack, Michele Harmon, and Joe Clapper.

Russ was the force behind their ski group in Sedona and Linda Wack carpooled with Russ often to the Arizona Snowbowl. Upon hearing of his passing, Linda wrote, “I saw your note (about Russ’s passing) as I was leaving Flag this morning, and detoured to 89A for the return trip through Oak Creek Canyon that Russ loved so much and often said that he didn’t care a bit that it was a longer drive. We shared this drive back to VOC at least weekly during ski season, when my Prius wasn’t up to winter driving and Russ just wanted a ski buddy. He was an excellent ski buddy and good friend.”

A thrilling adventure

Perhaps the best summation of Russ’s life may be found in his own words from his 2000 MMT race report. Of his race Russ said,

“It was… beyond my wildest dreams; better than anything I had ever thought remotely possible. For some reason, I never experienced any significant bad patches in the race. I remember always feeling happy, excited, and just thrilled to be taking part in this adventure.”

Russ, thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Every run with you was a good one. Happy trails, Russ, until we meet again.

Photos