Feeling great after a breakfast of cold Moonlight Pizza and a huge cup of joe from the Mocha Moose, I start a little quicker than usual. From all the warnings over the past ten days about the stream crossings, I assume that I'll die instantly upon getting wet and then my corpse will be violated by Pirate ships trolling the swollen Hensen Creek. But I don't want to be waiting in line for this, so I get out ahead of the main pack.
About 2.5 miles in, I hit the first stream crossing. It's thigh deep, flowing very fast, and well below freezing. My legs and feet are numb before I get across the first water crossing. Over the next mile or so we'll cross the creek about half a dozen times. The ropes put up by the awesome volunteers make things a lot easier. At one point early on my race almost ends, as the rope knocks off my beloved floppy hat and it lands in the water. It took a heroic leap to save my hat, but that got my balls and cotton gloves wet, making the while experience suck that much more.
After the creek crossings the course starts to climb. Normally this early in an ultra I would hike the hills, but I was so friggin' cold I continued running up the mountain, trying to generate some heat. It's a helluva climb too, going from 9000ft up to the Alpine Gulch aid station above 11000ft.
Lots of cool stuff to see along this stretch once the sun finally came up. The area shortly after the creek crossings had been blown up by a recent avalanche. Downed trees and debris everywhere, can't begin to imagine the power of that huge snowfall.
Alpine Gulch is my favorite aid station in the race. It's so isolated that the volunteers have to hump everything in the day before and camp out overnight. And it's obvious they spend the night drinking. About a mile before the aid station the course is marked with empty cans of Guinness and Pabst. The volunteers are drinking when I arrive, and they have a can of PBR for me! Can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning, and I had my first beer at approximately 6:45AM.
About 2.5 miles in, I hit the first stream crossing. It's thigh deep, flowing very fast, and well below freezing. My legs and feet are numb before I get across the first water crossing. Over the next mile or so we'll cross the creek about half a dozen times. The ropes put up by the awesome volunteers make things a lot easier. At one point early on my race almost ends, as the rope knocks off my beloved floppy hat and it lands in the water. It took a heroic leap to save my hat, but that got my balls and cotton gloves wet, making the while experience suck that much more.
After the creek crossings the course starts to climb. Normally this early in an ultra I would hike the hills, but I was so friggin' cold I continued running up the mountain, trying to generate some heat. It's a helluva climb too, going from 9000ft up to the Alpine Gulch aid station above 11000ft.
Lots of cool stuff to see along this stretch once the sun finally came up. The area shortly after the creek crossings had been blown up by a recent avalanche. Downed trees and debris everywhere, can't begin to imagine the power of that huge snowfall.
Alpine Gulch is my favorite aid station in the race. It's so isolated that the volunteers have to hump everything in the day before and camp out overnight. And it's obvious they spend the night drinking. About a mile before the aid station the course is marked with empty cans of Guinness and Pabst. The volunteers are drinking when I arrive, and they have a can of PBR for me! Can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning, and I had my first beer at approximately 6:45AM.
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