To say the least the last month or so has been great for running. I have gotten psyched again after a mid winter lull and slowly started building the miles. In the process, I've been fortunate to run some great old trails, check out new ones and even feel like I'm building some good fitness.
Some of the highlights have been:
-Running some mountain bike link ups in Sedona I hadn't been on yet including the amazing Highline Trail.
-Checking out a bit of the
BCT (Black Canyon Trail) in the desert north of Phoenix. This trail is 78 miles long and I have definitely added it to my list of trails to run the full length of someday. Really great desert trail and really easy to deal with logistically with lots of access points and close to I-17 the whole way (although you would never know it while on the trail).
-Being able to run a ton on trails around Flagstaff that would normally be covered in snow or deep mud this time of year.
-Running a great 20 mile loop on the east side of Flagstaff that incorporates the Arizona Trail, partially finished Flagstaff Loop Trail and Campbell Mesa Trails. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and remoteness of doing this loop. I definitely will repeat this one from time to time.
-Putting in my first effort at trying to go fast on the
Elden Slabs Loop on Mt. Elden and putting in a pretty decent time for me of 1hr 29 min 30 sec (didn't think I'd go under 1 1/2 hours on the first go...). Looks like someone fast could push this thing under 1 hour? Hmm... I'd love to see some fast folk try. It seems like it is possible. What an AMAZING loop!!! (oh yeah, by the way, I put a little time in and added a few cairns and tried to make a bit of a defined path to make it easier to go fast getting onto the slabs. Hope this helps people find their way a little easier...) This thing should get done more! Classic.
-Running in the canyon a bunch has also been a big highlight as always!
Then...
Friday, I went into the canyon with friends, Jeff and Everett, for a bit longer run involving a loop of the Boucher, Tonto and Bright Angel Trails. The run is about 32.5 miles and has some of the most rugged travel of any part of the canyon in the Boucher Trail and parts of the Tonto.
I don't want to make a big drawn out story of it. I'll try not to... here go's.
Basically the trip down the Boucher was awesome. We had a great time running, walking and scrambling our way down the super rugged trail. Didn't push too hard and just had fun. We hit the Tonto and enjoyed the, now, better quality trail and got to get in some more consistent running. I felt great and was having a lot of fun running with friends. Then, after maybe 14 miles of travel, we reached Hermit Creek and grabbed some water.
Now, I usually don't filter in the canyon when on runs and stick to flowing, clear, above camp sources and chose to do the same thing at this source. I made sure I was above camp, the water was flowing fast and it seemed clear to me. I filled up. The one thing to note was that there had been a destructive flash flood in September of 2011 that wrecked Hermit Creek. Where we filled up the ground all around the water was gravel and sand. No vegetation anywhere. The canyon bottom had been washed clean of anything growing. I thought briefly of how this might not be so good for getting good water but shrugged it off in my head and just filled up instead. Everyone else did too.
It didn't take more than 3 or 4 miles further on the trail when I started to feel really nauseous, had a serious tight chest, difficulty breathing and started cramping in my hamstrings. My first thought was that I was not hydrating enough and getting enough electrolytes so I discussed it with the group. They agreed that that could easily be the cause because maybe I wasn't drinking enough and it was getting warmer. I decided to drink more of the water that I had picked up from Hermit Creek to try and hydrate and I added more electrolytes. I, also, ate some more GUs and more salty snacks. I wanted to be well fueled and hydrated. I didn't want to miss on any angle. But... the more water I seemed to drink the worse I seemed to feel. It was getting hotter out but I don't think it ever reached 70 degrees, I didn't feel to hot at all the whole run and I was now getting really well hydrated and fueled so why was I getting worse?
Then it dawned on me that it could very easily be something with the water from Hermit Creek. I then decided to drink my last bit of remaining water, even if it was making me sick, because I needed to stay hydrated and then let itself work out of me. Hopefully, by the time I reached the Bright Angel trail I would have enough time for the water to get through my system and I could rehydrate with some good water at Bright Angel Campground.
It worked a bit, as my stomach started feeling a bit better by the time I made it to the water at Bright Angel. We hung out at the water faucet for a bit and I ate some food and got a bunch of water in me. I started feeling much better and decided to take it easy and just walk the remaining 4.5 miles out of the canyon up the Bright Angel Trail.
Later, on the drive home and at home I did get pretty nauseous again and I didn't really feel like eating or drinking water that night. Oooof... what a tough day in the canyon. I did feel much better the next day and was able to eat normally again. I still have moments of a slightly queasy stomach but it all seems to be behind me now... I hope.
Weird stuff. I can't rule out that it was because of the heat but I'm pretty sure that I must have gotten some silt or minerals or something in my water that caused this. I have never felt that nauseous in the canyon. The only other time I have ever felt that way was when I drank silty water on my Wonderland Trail run. In fact, the symptoms were pretty much identical. I have never felt those symptoms, to that degree, otherwise.
Other thing that is weird is that Jeff and Everett didn't get sick from the water. So...who knows... maybe I was just unlucky with the water or I'm more sensitive to it then them? Who knows. Whatever... I am just glad I feel better now. That was horrible.
We did somehow manage to finish the run in an o.k. time of about 9 hrs 45 minutes for all the slow jogging and walking I had to do for second half of the run. I'll chalk it up for doing o.k. with all the technical trail (don't underestimate the Boucher Trail and Tonto) and how bad I felt. I'm sure we could have shaved an hour or two off if we were crushing but, whatever, this was the pace for the day. Tough, long day for me.
Well, here is the run in photos... you will notice that the photos stop at Monument Creek. That is because that is where I started to feel like crap and pretty much didn't feel like taking photos anymore.
 |
| (Jeff, me and Everett at the start. Psyched as always to enter the canyon.) |
 |
| (On to the rugged Boucher!) |
 |
| (High on the Boucher.) |
 |
| (Starting the long upper traverse on the Boucher Trail. Awesome.) |
 |
| (RAD!) |
 |
| (First view of the river.) |
 |
| (Jeff loving it.) |
 |
| (Yes, this is the trail. Rugged.) |
 |
| (This Sheep carcass was right next to the trail. Super cool.) |
 |
| (Picked clean.) |
 |
| (Limestone layer on the Boucher Trail. I love this spot.) |
 |
| (Good times running...funny, that I had no idea how bad I was going to feel in a couple hours. Ha.) |
 |
| (Lucky shot of Jeff while I was pointing the camera back, holding it next to my hip, while running.) |
 |
| (Closing in on Boucher Creek.) |
 |
| (Between Boucher Creek and Hermit Creek on the Tonto. Amazing place to be as always.) |
 |
| (Colorado River.) |
 |
| (Everett running into Hermit Creek. Notice the lack of vegetation in Hermit Creek. Hmmm....) |
 |
| (Looking up at the once sweet swim spot at Hermit Creek. Now it is just a washed out creek bed.) |
 |
| (This is what the same spot looked like last summer when we were down there. Bummer.) |
 |
| (Again, same spot from different angle. this was the swim spot. Lush and lovely back then. I did see a couple small plants starting to poke their way up through the sand though. I wonder how long it would take before it looks like the above photo again.) |
 |
| (View down Hermit Creek from the swimming hole.) |
 |
| (Photo of same spot from last summer. Amazing the difference...) |
 |
| (This was a really, really cool slick rock section of Hermit Creek that had fun slick rock pools to lie in. Now it is covered in rocks and sand. You would never know what a paradise it was just 7 months earlier.) |
 |
| (Photo of us hanging out at the slick rock section during the summer. What a great spot it was!) |
 |
| (Jeff taking in some last views at Hermit Creek before we got back onto the Tonto Trail.) |
 |
| (Monument Spire from a distance as we neared Monument Creek.) |
 |
(I think I take this shot every time I pass Monument Spire... Great spot in the canyon. ...then everything went down the tubes... the suffer fest started and I put the camera away. Oh, boy.)
|
Another lesson to be learned in the canyon. Man, this place can give you the biggest beat down and because of that it can teach the strongest lessons. I plan to take this run to heart and continue to improve my abilities to handle what may come on these adventures in the canyon. Tough run but well worth it. Even paradise can crush you from time to time.
