Today I had one goal in mind: Make it down Lower Showcase Showdown without a stop, or tentative hesitation. At 58, and out there alone, I get pretty cautious and walk one or two drops on this lower half of the Showdown. Today I was going to just keep going up the lower shuttle road, up Pathfinder, and then descend on Quick Release and the rest of Showcase Showdown until I got my goal. A single loop takes about an hour.  For the first run, I scoped it out slowly and in the steep sections, my larger backpack was pushing my helmet down lower on my forehead restricting my forward vision on the trail. I got rid of the pack for the second and third runs and the extra visibility made all the difference in the world. On the second run, I almost cleared it but I forgot a line on one of the steep drops and got stymied, then continued. The third time was a charm. I made it through all my nemeses and the only thing I needed to stop for was to put the chain back on the chain ring on a flat. Sure I had to stop, but it wasn't a terrain issue. I considered it a win and went home totally fulfilled and without injury. The rain earlier in the week made the soil real hero and even though the evidence of the enduro crowds last week was evident, the trail conditions were great. Come do Darrington! The GPS track and pics are here.