"Shit!" I said. I looked frantically down at my campsite, 500' below me. 6 switchbacks. 1 mile. I turned back to my backpack again and removed all of its contents again. "Where are my salt capsules and electrolyte tablets?" I asked myself aloud. I knew the answer. As I repacked my backpack for the third time the debate raged in my head. Should I go back down to my campsite and get my electrolyte tablets or should I just push on without? I could use this as a lesson in humility and put the extra miles on to have them. I could also use this as a lesson in problem solving and find my way to my destination 26 miles away using my resources (the large amount of food in my pack). Finished with the repacking I decided to push on. "Let's just see what I can do with this body and my food," I thought.
My plan had been executed fairly well to this point. Yesterday I had "four-wheeled" my truck up the Maggie Gulch road and left it parked, waiting for my return. I filled my large backpack with enough food and gear to last a comfortable night out and rode my bike the 2000' descent back to the Animas River and then up the road toward Animas Forks, stopping at Grouse Gulch. I spent a comfortable night in a comfortable spot. No key piece of gear or food had been left behind.
At least until I discovered my electrolytes missing causing my mind to start the constant loop - assess my state and take actions according to my resources: If I start to feel sick, eat some more food and slow down. If I feel good keep going.
Show me your "Duh" face!
Sloan Lake from the trail up Handies.
Though quite dehydrated from my night of sleep I hiked 2200' to the top of American-Grouuse pass and dropped into American Basin. Reaching the bottom, I started the climb up to the highest point on the Hardrock run route, Handies Peak, standing at an elevation of 14,058' above sea level. I reached the summit in 2:36, meeting two Hardrockers at the top we had a long pleasant conversation about the upcoming race and the race in years past.
Handies from Gizzly Gulch.
Departing the summit of Handies I was able to run all the way down to to Burrows Park. Running the Cinnamon Pass road, a nice gentlemen stopped and offered me some gels, cliff bars and Doritos. Calculating the sodium content of each I took a huge handful of Doritos and started walking down the road. Folks in passing cars smiled and waved at the gentlemen walking the road with the orange hands and orange ring around his mouth. The gentlemen waved back enthusiastically.
The 2600' climb up Cataract Gulch was slow. Most of the elevation is gained quickly and then the trail flattens out for several miles as it slowly climbed to the continental divide.
On the far side of Pole Creek the elevation was lost even slower. The section is pleasantly mellow and running the entire trail was possible. The scenery changed abruptly from steep, rocky, loose valleys and peaks to mellow, wide, grassy valleys with meadows in the bottoms and rounded peaks standing above. The ease of travel in this terrain makes for a tangled web of trails which caused confusion in the vicinity of the Pole Creek Aid Station. I spent about 35 minutes tromping around the meadows and hills looking for the spot by the lake where the Aid Station would lie. All I found was a dried up mud hole where the lake should have been. The trails and location of the Aid Station at Pole Creek remain to be seen.
Ominous looking clouds but ultimately just a tease.
The final climb up to Maggie-Pole Pass was long. Mostly because the trail doesn't really gain any altitude for about 1.5 miles. Though running up the West Fork of Pole Creek seemed endless it was broken up by the small herd of 15 or so Elk on the other side of the basin. I could have sworn I heard a male bugling. Isn't it too early?
Pulling over the summit of the endless climb that is Maggie-Pole pass, I was greeted with another climb as the route continues along the ridge for several hundred feet before leveling and then plunging toward the Maggie Aid Station at the end of the 4WD road. Because the directions could use some updating in this area I gave up trying to find a trail used by the Hardrock in past years and beelined it to my end point of the day.
Arriving at my truck I grabbed my can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli and Coke that I had stashed and replenished did my best to replenish my lost salt. This was my final long run, three weeks before the race, marking the start of my taper period. What a relief. I could use a rest!
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