Reflections

The last year has provided much to contemplate.
 The joys and the opposing sorrow.

The pleasure of re-introducing my son to the joys of backpacking. Several days in Yosemite were a wonderful flashback to the last time we journeyed the single track together and hiked the Whitney trail .

 It was rewarding to see that spark again.

 Excitement over fields of flowers and less visited lakes.

Last year also gave me the opportunity to introduce backpacking to a first-timer. A short but adventurous trip to small lakes nearby. The spark of “I can do this” on her face, precious.

Then there was the Teton Crest Trail with a special friend whom I met on the JMT years ago, truly an adventure of a lifetime. One can never get over the biodiversity, each day new. I long to run its entirety. Perhaps another time.

Finally, after three unsuccessful years of trying, a lucky lottery draw for the Canyon de Chelly Ultra Run changed my back country focus entirely. Training became more focused. Many a backcountry journey solo. Fastpacking a weekly occurrence. Mileage became obsessive. A total pack weight for three days only 10 pounds made moving fast, running, not hard. The difference between what is necessary to take and that which is merely nice to have obvious.

The race itself an amazing experience in the heart of Navajo country. Cliff dwellings and wild horses existing among the monolithic stone walls, reminders of another time. I had much to contemplate during this 55k. All the adventures that lead to the fulfillment of this opportunity. How far I had come from a narrow escape of a lifetime in a wheelchair and discovering for myself that running can heal in many different ways. The race director words, “running is healing” still in my brain.

http://www.canyondechellyultra.com/

Canyon walls still call out to me. One of my favorite moments was finding myself alone among them. The quiet. Looking up and seeing the spectacular colors, a lone eagle. 

Shaun’s words, ‘running is healing” reverberated, and I cried. 

I am ever so grateful to Shaun Martin and the Navajo Nation for allowing me the opportunity to have this be my last memory of my mother who passed suddenly shortly after this event. Grateful my parents were witness to my finish in this magical place.

Tomorrow, and every day, I will go out and run for “running is healing.

Journey Preparation

The summer backpacking journeys are all organized. 

Permits have been obtained, itineraries worked out through and through.  

Gear has been sorted and repaired and when repair not possible, replaced.  There have been a few replacements of gear that is not damaged. I can’t help myself.  The search for better, lighter, more durable gear must go on.  

I must contribute to it. 

As I consider these things, preparation for my family also begins.  Already there have been several search and rescue crews on the trails, in the backcountry and on the riverbanks nearby my home.   

It is not enough to leave family with an itinerary and a GPS tracking web site.  

Consider for a moment, what it might be like should you, as family, realize something wasn’t right.  

Consider that someone you cared about was not on track.  What if they were   overdue, injured, missing, or lost?

Consider the confusion that might surround such a realization.  

We would all like to think we would rise to the occasion.  Of course, we would like to believe ourselves organized, resilient, and methodical about our tasks to find our loved one.  It may not be like that. Fear, anger, stress and confusion are all too common.

Why not make things easier?

Why not provide some essential guidance before embarking on a backcountry journey? 

Why not have a plan, tools and necessary information together in one place?

Have an agreed upon time-frame for your family to consider your missing status.

When do they take action?  Is it 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours? 

What would they need?

Should you go missing, things need to be simplified for whomever is in charge of connecting with Law Enforcement, Search and Rescue and any persons who may be able to aide in recovery.

Of course necessary things could be saved on a computer, a flash drive or in the cloud.  This is all well and good and should definitely be one method of leaving necessary information. 

But what if your family can’t access those?  Many take passwords, many require power and/or internet connection. 

A simple packet in a manila folder should be part of any backcountry preparation. 

The folder should be clearly labeled so as not to be overlooked by those who may be feeling panic.

Instructions and information to consider putting inside the folder: 

Contact 911/Local Law Enforcement. Provide a written list description of your height, weight, hair and eye color, any scars/tattoos. Instruct them to provide information as to where you were last known to be.

    If you carry a GPS tracker, the website and contact information for that company. Provide the unit      number/Log-information/password for that site (in case unit is found).

If you carry a cell phone:  Provide the cell number and password (in case phone is found).

    Social Media:  List any active social media pages used/passwords.  

     

    Leave instructions for  family to post on your behalf that you are missing and in need of help.

    Leave backpacking forum web page information for posting requests for help locating your loved one.

     

    Leave off-road forum web page information for posting requests for help.

Provide any social media links that may be helpful in the search for you.

    Provide a complete itinerary of your journey with dates. 

    Include any possible alternate routes, even if you are only entertaining the possibility of taking those routes. Any day trip plans from base camp that you may take should be listed as well. 

   Provide recent printed photographs of yourself from more than one angle.

   Provide recent printed photographs of  your base gear: Backpack, tent, cookware, bear canister, water canister.

   Provide printed photographs of the clothing/ shoes/boots you are taking on this specific journey.

   Provide printed photographs of any jewelry, i.e. wedding ring, necklaces never removed.

   Include a list of medical conditions/medications currently taking, Doctor’s name/number and Dentist’name/number.

   List any family/friends and their phone numbers who are  important to you.

   Provide a copy of our medical insurance card.

   Include in the folder a flash drive containing items listed above and to provide law enforcement/search and rescue

Hopefully this information will never be needed, but in the event you are injured or go missing while doing what you love, those that love you will have the tools they need to make their job easier.

Now go out and have a safe and rewarding Journey.

Ultimate Direction Fastpack 15 Review

 The Ultimate Direction

I have reserved writing a review of this pack until I had tested it under more than a day run. This week it was tested more than ever expected.  For a 2 day 30 mile backcountry run I chose to take this with me to a remote lake off the JMT from Lake Edison (VVR).  This pack held my Mountain Hardware 15 ounce down sleeping bag, 3 days worth of food, an ultimate direction bottle full of water,  a partial foam pad and a few incidentals adding up to a 10 pound load.  I kept my camera in the left shoulder pocket. 

 I was able to contain all items within the main compartment and still roll the top over much like a dry bag and it is this feature and the materials that have completely impressed me.  Not only was this pack comfortable with the ten pound load, it had no bounce when running. There were no rub issues and the load remained firm against my torso. 

The true test of this pack came when I made a very sketchy creek crossing in water that came up well above my hips and the bottom of the pack.  The incredible force of the water this year in this particular creek and the slippery rocks created an environment in which loosing footing and floating away for 50 feet became part of the trip’s adventure.  The amazing thing, other than not drowning, was that everything within the pack was totally dry despite having been completely immersed in the current.  I was sure the camera pocket would have failed to keep my device dry, however my camera suffered no moisture issues. 

This is the second Ultimate Direction pack I have purchased and am completely satisfied with this pack, the materials and design.

For All Who Have Loved and Lost (or thrown away) Headphones

Bluetooth Earbuds TREBLAB XR500

I have used these daily for a couple of months, wearing them over the course of several hundred miles of running and am very impressed.  The sound quality is better than any headphones of similar pricing purchased  prior to these. 

There have been many discarded models of different brands and none compare in this price group. Being a distance runner who likes to have music  and wants to wear them for hours at a time, I was drawn to these when they advertised up to 9 hours of battery life. 

 After only one hour of charge, the Treblab lasted over 8 hours. They continue to work with clarity for up to about 30 feet before beginning to cut out.  

The earloop does not have a wire which I would have preferred, however they do stay in place.

Additionally, they have paired easily with two tablets and two Ipods.

Love the case they came in. 

 I was so impressed with these headphones,  I purchased a second pair.

Some Thoughts About Ragnar Trail Los Coyotes

photo by Juddson Taube

After months of putting an Ultra team together and planning, preparing and purchasing for the Ragnar Trail Los Coyotes event, it has come and gone.  I will attempt to assess this event in a balanced method so as to assist anyone may or may not have run a Ragnar Trail event before, or for someone  considering this particular venue for next year.

First a few caveats, I am not a Ragnarian. This was my first such event. I have run many trail races by different groups and enjoy the 50k distance the most and have never had a DNF (did not finish). This was my first such event.  I formed an Ultra team and we did not complete the 120 miles, I have no issues with that. Yes, its disappointing after all the months of planning however this is not Ragnar’s problem, and we are ok with the DNF.  I merely want to outline some observations which could help someone determine if this is the trail race for them and perhaps assist Ragnar address some issues.

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The organization for this particular venue was a little lacking, perhaps because they had never held the event at this location before.  I will give them that.  The pre-race video indicated that “gate” would open at 4 pm. That if you arrived early you could wait in line and enter at 4 pm.  We had no problem with waiting, wanting to be able to pick a campsite while there was still an hour or so of daylight and do so carefully once the “gate” did open.  We drove almost 8 hours to be at this location and were the first to arrive only to find there was no “gate”.  

We stopped at the stop sign and upon talking with tribal police, were told to turn around and drive back down the 2 lane mountain road to a golf course and stay there because the road couldn’t be blocked.  When we mentioned the info on the video, the officer was totally unaware of those instructions.  A representative from Ragnar at the gate would probably have helped. We elected to park on a small cut out about a ¼ mile from the entry.  There was just enough room for three cars if parked carefully.

Cars slowly started arriving all in the hopes of also being in line early, only to be turned around.  Only some were not turned around and they were not staff, we talked to them as they passed by our parked vehicle.   We were the first to arrive at the “gate” and ended up pushed back to about 120^th due to this mismanagement.  This two lane road is not highly used and a simple solution for this situation would have been to have controlled traffic using the law enforcement that exists on the property and their radios.  I live on a very busy two lane mountain road that has a ½ marathon run on it. They have successfully managed to stop and control a thousand or more cars for their event and still allow traffic to get to their destinations without difficulty. 

The camping area for the event was very large and nicely shaded and easily could accommodate the number of vehicles and persons staying for the event.  My only suggestion is that for this venue Ragnar designate a late arrival camping area for persons arriving the subsequent day.  This venue has plenty of room and campers don’t need to be literally on top of each other. Those persons could be directed to put their camps in that area and not on top of existing campsites, eliminating the safe walkways with their tents, decorations, chairs, and tables.  Those walkways were created by campers arriving early. There was significant safety hazards and several persons were observed to have fallen over these same objects in the middle of the night.   Those of us who arrived early did so for a reason.

Check in at headquarters was smooth and the campfire and social area was one of the highlights of the event. The iron cross competition provided a necessary comic relief as one our team mates won a new pair of Salomon shoes. They had a great location for the bonfire and hammocks close to the transition area,  making  for a comfortable wait for your runner to come in an pass the race bib.  They also had three electronic boards that were connected to timing pads about ¼ mile from the transition areas so that you could know when your runner was approaching.  This was a little like watching the stock market change second by second and added to the excitement for the subsequent team mate.  Fantastic idea! This also made the transition area less chaotic and I have to say that it ran far smoother than I ever thought possible. 

Trails were very well marked. If a person got lost or off loop on this event it would have to be the result of their own inattention.  I have done many trail races where there may be no markers for miles and one is left wondering if they took a wrong turn. Not so for Ragnar.  Runners were well informed of the direction and hazards along the way. 

One of the biggest problem we saw were that the port-a-potties were often totally out of TP and full, needing to be serviced more than they were..

 Bring all the water your group needs for drinking/cleaning etc. We thankfully brought five water cooler size bottles with us from home along with several one gallon bottles and had more than enough.  I don’t know what others did. A large water truck centrally located would have been nice for those persons who were unaware of what the water situation really was.  I saw many persons walking around with one and two gallon containers trying to find a source. I don’t know if they ever did..

 

For those who have never been to a Ragnar event I will issue this warning.  This is a party with running sprinkled in.  There were a lot of highly intoxicated persons roaming about then taking off on trails.  This is not what I would consider a real competitive event.  It has its place, but know what you’re getting into.  One of my team mates likened it to a cult event.  The description fits.  Its fine for those who want to party, socialize and experience something like this together.  There were many people there who were good natured and supportive and having fun but there was also a large contingent party animals also. Part of me felt like the land cherished by the Native Americans who live there was raided and tainted.  I may have this all wrong but I have lingering feelings of sadness.

The trails were incredibly hard.  Beware, if you have never run a trail race before this may not be the first one you want to do.  There are long stretches uphill in sun exposure which most persons except for elites could only walk. The downhills had their own challenges.  It is here where we lost one of our team mates to injury very early on. Another team mate who was well trained and used to distance running had health issues on the Red Loop.  The heat coupled with long hike uphill and her only having one kidney made her seriously ill.  I couldn’t envision her doing it again later on.  That left two of us, one with a heart of gold who probably would have run the whole 120 miles himself if so directed and myself still recovering from a recently healed broken foot.  We elected to scratch our race. We had no idea there were other options available. In fact the trail guide and the webinar both state that teams have to stick with the pattern they started with.

It is here that I have a couple of suggestions for Ragnar Trail and for anyone who does this event.  It would be really nice for us newbies if somewhere in your trail guide you list the following information and reiterate it also one your webinar. We only found out about it far too late to make changes.

1.  If team mate drops out, the others can still run their distances and medal.

2. You can create your own pattern of loops, give several examples.  We would have loved to have known that each of our four man team could have done the red loop first, then each of us do the green loop followed by the yellow loop. We assumed, erroneously that the descriptions given in the guide and the webinar were the only options.   

According to staff with whom we spoke far too late, there was some flexibility we were unaware of. You may say, “you could have asked about this during the Q&A of the webinar” however this was also too late in our planning for the event.  A couple of our runners had already been training the pattern we thought we were locked into. 

So, it is with this I close, would I do it again? No, It’s not for me.  I do see its place and respect that.  Perhaps some persons will fall in love with trail running from the experience. Just know what you’re getting into and what others don’t say about events like this.  It will help your overall experience.  For me, I will return to running lone.

Further Thoughts Regarding Asics Trail Shoes

Very quick thoughts on the two Asics trail shoes I own.

As preparations for an ultra-Ragnar race are underway (https://www.runragnar.com/event-detail/trail/los_coyotes_) with three friends for this holiday weekend, I am reminded again of the need to compare trail running shoes. 

Since my last post on the two different models of Asics trail shoes, I have had the pleasure of wearing each for over 300 miles and under different conditions.

ASICS Gel Venture Five

The Gel Venture 5 is likely to come out my favorite. These shoes shed mud almost immediately, are superbly comfortable and have decent grip in rocky terrain.

Asics Fuji Trabuco 4

My only gripe about the Fuji Trabuco 4 was that mud balled up on the heal much like when snow sticks to the bottom of telemark skis when they haven’t been properly waxed and spring conditions prevail, but I digress.  I’m sure there will be plenty to say about ski gear and conditions this winter. Perhaps as a result of their tread pattern.

Fuji Trabuco 4on the left and Gel Venture Five on the right

This weekend is 120 miles of shared “fun” commiseration and endurance at Los Coyotes Native American Reservation. Four of us will divide the task and spend 24 hours with probably no more than 3 hours sleep. We will run varied terrain and my intention is to wear both these shoes at least once. Yes, I plan on taking my mainstays also, Salomon Sense Pro and Salomon Speed Cross 3.  Yes, a gal can’t take enough shoes. What can I say?  At least I didn’t pack all of them (see post dated 8/9/16 ASICS Trail Shoe Review.

Can’t wait for the event and the chance to review a race at a new venue. 

Sports Bras-A Comparrison

Just like running shoes, they come in different styles and there are numerous manufacturers who make them. Some of whom understand the needs of the active woman and others who just want to duplicate the hard work and designs of others but provide cheap imitations.

Like running shoes, I probably own 30+ different sports bras. I have begun weeding them out and over the course of the last year have come to the conclusion that a bra that one has to yank and pull over one’s head to put on and then struggle to get off when sweaty is not something I want to deal with any longer and have begun the process of getting rid of them.

I have purchased several zip front models from Victoria Secret. The ones purchased each had an inner bra with clasp closure and an outer shell that zipped, making this type very easy to put on and remove even after lengthy workouts.

https://www.victoriassecret.com/victorias-secret-sport/shop-all/knockout-by-victoria-sport-front-close-sport-bra-victoria-sport?ProductID=306286&CatalogueType=OLS

I have six different ones and each is true to the size stated, comfortable and has held up very well to my rough treatment.  The zipper is strong and has a flap covering it at top and bottom which keeps the body from becoming chafed. The purchase price is a bit on the high end, however well worth every penny.

I have tried to find less expensive alternative models and have come upon something sold by New Chic

http://www.newchic.com/sports-bra-4418/p-1075211.html

 The unit is made by BVTT and sold for $14.43. This bra is made much like the Victoria Secret units, however the materials were not as high quality. The inner bra has a hook and eye type clip much like those sold by Victoria’s Secret and the outer shell, a zipper with anti-chafing flaps on top and bottom of the zipper. The fit was accurate and comfortable. I did like the lack of shoulder strap adjustments. It is nice for when wearing a running pack and would prevent rub from the pack on the shoulders since there are no metal or plastic adjustment guys.

I would have loved this sports bra. The price would make purchasing several for daily use a realistic idea had it not been for one major flaw. Upon my first zip up, the zipper split open. The teeth appear to be very small and will not grab the other half. I have tried numerous times both on and off the body and the zipper will not close.  The bra is useless except for my ability to take the photo and share this on my blog.

New Chic appears to be a Chinese company selling products at discounted rates. 

I have learned my lesson. Stick with what works, tried and true quality. I stand by Victoria Secret for their quality and will happily wear their product for my adventures be it a daily run or a 24-hour race. For the price of a little over double the cheap imitation, it’s well worth the investment to have the comfort, quality and reliability the Victoria’s Secret product provides.