Underfoot Musings

I love an open road, full of promises. A trailhead, running under the cover of trees to unknown adventures. A pathway, meandering to secret hideouts, to oases of peace away from the usual turmoil.

I love an empty bench, with its invitation to conversation. A pile of rocks, sitting over a stream that sings its soft watery song on a hot afternoon. A fallen trunk, leaning over the mossy greens, reminding you the importance of contemplation.

I love the roots that twist and turn, linking the Earth to the Sky. The sleepy low plants that stretch under Old Man trees, blending their youth to ancestral wisdom. Mushrooms so clean that sprouted through thick layers of decaying leaves from past seasons.

I love myself when I connect with these thoughts. I love Nature for the treasures she lays before me. I love my body for providing the movement needed for this meditation.

I love the World a little more when I travel it by foot.

Running With Purpose : Interview With Wendy Drake

Wendy and I at the legendary
Canyon de Chelley Ultra, 2013

I met my friend Wendy Drake under the best possible circumstances: we were both running the first-ever Canyon de Chelley Ultra in the heart of Navajo Scared Land, marveling at the luck we had to be out there, exploring, sharing and being very much alive. We immediately struck a conversation and became friends. We talked about the value of taking time off, finding meaning to one's existence and dedicating efforts to what really matters in life.

We stayed in contact ever since.

Some weeks ago, amid the turmoil of my house renovation project (I know, will it ever end), I got news from Wendy, and discovered that our first conversation that day, in the Canyon, was not just the ramblings of two elated ultra runners. Wendy truly follows her heart, and I admire and respect her for that. I think the story of her past year, as a person and as a runner, will surely strike a chord with FlintLand dwellers.




Q1 - Wendy, you’re awesome. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, tell me more about your adventure, Destination Epic? 

W - Thank you Flint. I founded Destination Epic to promote inspiring stories of adventure in beautiful places all over the world. I’ve been influenced by many experiences in the ultra community of small gestures that make a difference. Until July, I had been working on it in between work at a startup and my ultra running.


Q2 – You run for pancreatic cancer. I’m guessing there’s a reason you chose that cause? 

W - Yes. In January my best friend and ultra running partner, Marcy Servita, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Stage 4 means the cancer has spread to other areas of the body. Surgery was not an option and chemo didn't work. I was her primary caregiver for sixty days and, like many, was disappointed in the few options available to both treat this disease and detect it before it progressed. I wanted to make a contribution to change this. My project, Elevating a Cure, seeks to raise $1/ foot of elevation gain at the Bear 100 Endurance Run.


Q3 – September 26-27 was a big day for you. How did it go? 

Muddy-Happy-Wendy

At 6 A.M., 267 other runners and I departed from Logan, Utah’s Hyrum Gibbons Park to gain 21,986 feet of elevation over the course of 12 major climbs and descents. For the first time in a long time, I had that nervous, edgy feeling. Although I was prepared, I wasn’t sure I could finish. Anything can happen.

I chose not to have a crew or pacers, which I don’t regret. I met so many helpful volunteers and fellow racers that I wouldn’t have had I had a crew. It also resulted in deepening existing friendships. Two friends who were pacing and crewing other friends stepped in to help me at a critical moment. I'd miscalculated my time into the 52-mile aid station where I would pick up my headlamp for the night. Rob Howard and Eric Lee conspired to get me a lamp at mile 48. It was a gesture among many that exemplifies community in our sport.

It was a long night and day Saturday. My Sleep Monster was the 6-limbed purple reptile, Randall, from Monster’s Inc. My mind changed him to a woman as she coaxed me to consider quitting. “Night is for sleeping,” she’d purr as I found myself stumbling along the trail. I stopped once, but I was too afraid of the dark to keep my headlamp off. Thunderstorms started about 1 A.M., turning the course into the reason for signs that state: “In a flood, climb to safety." The early morning hours from about 3 A.M. - 6 A.M. were the worst. I was miserable, lonely and tired. Unfortunately for my Sleep Monster, I LOVE running in mud. When we hit a downhill, I started playing and got filthy. By 8 A.M. I left the Mile 78 Aid Station in better spirits and dropped her.

I finally finished in 34:02. It meant a lot to me to finish in the same month, a year ago, that Marcy finished her first 100 in 26:24 at Marin Headlands in California. I’m proud of the finish and grateful for the donations given so far. Elevating a Cure still has room for your contribution!

You can read Wendy's full race report on her blog, right here.


Q4 – Is this adventure also a way for you to cope with the loss of your friend? 

Marcy Servita

W - Yes, no question. I’ve been wandering off on forested adventures since I was four years old. Being an adventurer is who I am, so it functions well as a coping structure. As an example, I bargained bodily stress at the Bear for hallucinatory conversations with Marcy. I desperately wanted one more chance to talk with her. None of my imagined conversations materialized into hallucinations. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

I’ve had my moments of depression. After I quit my job in July, I slept a lot and watched the light on Boulder’s Flatirons change for hours. Instead of doing hard workouts, I’d take our dog Scout out on long walks on the trails. And, I know it’s normal, but I’m still embarrassed to admit a lot of anger that most of the time I took out on the trails. Instead, that’s when I’d embrace crushing a workout. It was good awareness training. Thankfully most of Kubler-Ross’ stages of grief are giving way to accepting Marcy’s loss, remembering the good and finding things to cherish in her absence. Everyone said it takes time, just like training for an ultra.


Q5 – What’s next in line for you? Will you keep raising funds for pancreatic research cancer? 

I continue to seek donations for my $1/foot at The Bear goal. $1, $10 or $100. It all adds up to a difference at Elevating a Cure. We need a cure and short of that an early diagnostic. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network has advocated for increased government funding for pancreatic cancer research since its inception in 1999 when the NCI was only funding $17.3 million in pancreatic cancer research. That number has grown to $105 million in 2012, but it is still not nearly enough.

On the adventure side, I’m organizing with my partner, Jorge, for polar training in February in preparation for longer, slower winter distances. On Thursday, I learn whether I’m on the starting roster at the White Mountains 100-mile race in Alaska (March 2015). Then December 6th is a big day for our sport. Entries into both Hardrock and Western States 100s are based on lotteries similar to White Mountains. If neither materialize, I’d like to get back to Sweden in 2015. By December 7th, my 2015 will be scheduled.


Q6 – You are also the published author of a beautiful and intimate book called Running to Thousand Letters. It was an absolutely lovely read. Do you have new writings coming up?

Thank you again.

Yes. I've been in writing intensely since leaving my position at Simple Energy in July. I finished a short excerpt of my 2nd memoir just after the Bear. In the words of Tim Hewitt, 8-time finisher of the Iditarod Trail Invitational Alaska (1,000 miles Anchorage to Nome), “It’ll take as long as it takes.” I write everyday and am targeting my 2nd draft completion by the end of 2014.



Q7 – How can we help support your projects? 

Thanks for asking!

1. Follow @DestinationEpic and Like the Destination Epic Facebook page.

2. If it's within your budget to do so, please make a contribution to Elevating a Cure and share my story with a friend. There is no cure for this disease. No early detection and the diagnoses continue to grow. Thank you.

***

I love Wendy for her running and adventurous spirit, and love her even more for the beautiful human person that she is. She is an inspiration to me and I always follow her adventures with a deep interest, no matter where they take her.

May you run light and free, my friend.




FlintLand is a proud contributor to Wendy's Elevating a Cure campaign.

El Capitan : Rockies Adventure

It’s been almost 3 months and 9,000 miles of me and El Capitan traveling around the roads of Canada and the Great American Southwest. We’ve been down highways, through forests and canyons and valleys and deserts. We’ve camped out in the open and under the cover of little back roads, by ourselves and with good friends. And everything has gone really well.

I grew more confident every day and allowed myself to drive a little faster, following the flow of cars, instead of keeping a steady 65 MPH like I used to since I left Montreal. That didn’t cause any issues, until we hit the Rocky Mountains from the west side.

Since the speed limit over there is 80 MPH, I kept a constant speed of 70, on cruise control, not thinking about how steep the climbing actually is and how hard it can be on an engine. I kept an eye on the gauges, making sure the heat stayed down, and it did.

But something happened coming down from the summit. There was a strange pull in the transmission, like someone was holding El Capitan back. Stupidly, I just stepped on the gas, hit the kick down and kept the pedal to the floor until the hill was over. It seemed to work. I did it again on the next climb, and again and again.

Steep gets... steeper

There must be 12,000 feet of climb from the flats in the west to the summits in the mountains, and at one point, the hills started to take their toll. We lost power in the transmission, and the steering wheel started to shake uncontrollably, forcing me to brake and head for the curb. I thought something had been caught in a wheel, or that maybe something had broken down in the transmission. I was really nervous.

I lied down under the van and looked at everything. The transfer case was fine and nothing was leaking from the engine or under the transmission. Everything looked all right. I climbed back in and started to drive again. It went OK for a couple minutes, but the shaking and loss of power started again. I pulled over.

I couldn’t find anything wrong. We were getting closer to our destination, Boulder, but we still had 25 miles to go. I carefully drove back onto the highway, and hoped for the best. Not 5 minutes later, the whole thing started once again.

I was freaked. El Capitan was undriveable and I was on high nerves. There was a heavy silence and I was running out of options. I thought of calling the AAA, but what good would it do? I decided to drive as slow as I could, in late-day traffic, to try to reach my friends’ house in one piece. Upon reaching Boulder, I gave up.

I parked by the curb and gave my friend Dan a phone call. I asked for a reliable garage I could pull in, and he gave me an address. Chan’s on Folsom, he said, is an honest family-owned garage you can trust. I was just a couple streets away, so I decided to try and make it there. We did.

I pulled over at Chan’s, and walked in one of the bays. A woman walked out and came to me, sking if she could help. I told her about El Capitan and what he was doing. She asked where I drove from, and when I answered, she gestured for me not to worry and said “Your transmission overheated. Happens all the time.” She couldn’t take El Capitan in, but she said I should be able to drive a couple more miles.

At that point, my engine had been shut off for about 15 or 20 minutes overall. When I started the van again, it sounded way better. I carefully drove out of the parking lot, and things seemed better. I decided to drive to my friends’ house, and made it all right.

Upon getting to the house, I inspected my tires. They were not only badly worn out, but at an angle. El Capitan never was really well-aligned, but I’d pushed back the garage work to the next time I would get in and get new tires. Well, it seems that time has come.

My new Khumo tires

I got online and found a good deal on 4 highway tires (as opposed to all terrain or off-road), and realized the tires I had on were wider, which probably did not help the case. So I ended up at the tire shop this morning, only to discover they don’t do alignments. I couldn’t believe it. They guy was helpful, however, and gave me a card with a garage’s name and address. He said they were good guys and they should be able to help me out.

I got on the phone and a calm, quiet voice on the other side told me there might be room later in the day, to just drive in and ask for Dave. So I did. I got to Alpha & Omega on 49th and Pearl, pulled in and talked to Eric, the mechanic. I left El Capitan to their good care and walked away to get some lunch.

Two hours later, I walked back to find my van neatly parked and a smiling Dave in the office, finishing off a sandwich. He gave me a detailed analysis of El Capitan’s symmetry, adding “This kind of offset will sure chew your tires out”. I smiled, and said “It sure did”. He explained to me in detail the work that had been done, and I noticed the bandages on his left hand. Turns out he’d sawed off two of his fingertips a couple days ago, and didn’t want to spend the time and money at the hospital, so he just had them cleaned off and bandaged, and simply went home!

Happy El Capitan at Dave's Alpha & Omega

I shook Dave’s hand and he wished me a good trip, simple as that. For $80, they realigned El Capitan and changed the oil, and they even made sure everything was fine by driving around the block.

One thing’s for sure; anytime I’ll be in Boulder and need some mechanical work, Dave’s my man.

Trail Adventure : Cordova Pass and West Spanish Peak

• Location : San Isabel National Forest, Colorado
• Trail length : 7 miles out-and-back to the pass, 10 miles to the peak
• Difficulty : Hard – Rugged, remote mountain trail
• Terrain : Varies from gnarly to smooth pine cover

I discovered the San Isabel National Forest by wandering around the state border town of Trinidad. I followed Colorado Road 12 West past Trinidad State Park, and turned right at a sign announcing a wildlife preserve. I drove aimlessly for many miles along the dirt roads until I crossed two hunters who pointed me here, along the little “41.7” backcountry road.

The trail head is about a half mile past the National Forest sign and is marked right by the road. There is parking space for maybe 4 or 5 vehicles.

The trail has a sign-up book and overall map, although I found it hard to understand where I was in the trail network it describes. A “You are here” sticker would’ve been nice.

From the road, the trail is a straight uphill with switchbacks for about its whole length up to the pass, at 11,250 feet, which offers great views. At 13,600 feet, the West Peak is probably the second highest summit in the area and offers a breath-taking view of the immense valley down on the other side.

Even though I have been spending the last 2 weeks at high elevation in Leadville and Boulder, I struggled to run the uphill and chose to fast-hike it instead. The trail is mostly rocky single track with some shadier patches where it turns to pine needle-covered soft ground, which makes it a great technical run on the way back.

What makes the beauty of this trail is its ruggedness and its remoteness, which almost guarantees that you will have it all for yourself. The mountain setting has you run through a denser forest by a fresh stream for about a mile, then up rockier slopes until you’re above the treeline. From that point on, it’s ridge-running for a mile and a half until the pass itself, which will take your breath away.

There is a lot of wildlife on the trail, from chirpy wild quails to mountain rabbits and, I have to say, black bears. One ran across the trail about 200 feet above me. I got scared because it was obviously a cub, but fortunately the mother was nowhere in sight.

The trail takes you back down on the other side, but I decided to turn around since the temperature was dropping and the weather was turning to rain. I crossed signs for other trails on the way, and know exactly what I’m going to do tomorrow :)





(Update: I spent 5 amazing hours the next day running to West Peak and the Wahatoya trail that circles the mountain)

 

My New Life

It's been less than 48 hours, and so far it feels like I'm just enjoying a regular weekend. But the reality is slowly sinking in: I am a free man and I will roam around for a year without a house, a job or any responsibility. I'm a hobo. And it feels awesome.

As the stress and worries of my regular worker life slowly fade away, I am starting to look forward to my first adventures. Just to give you some idea of what I'll be doing and where I'll be going, here's a little list of places I will go to and events I'll be attending.

June-July
Flying to Paris on the 21, and running my first race in the middle of the City of Lights. I might head to Istanbul after, to visit the legendary, bustling city.

August
Headed over to Montana to meet Hurricane Leslie and discover the mountain trails of one of the few states I haven't yet visited. I might help out with the movie, too.

September
14: Water is Life 50K with the Hopi of Arizona
21: Javelina Jangover Night Trail Race, Arizona

October
5: Hunter - Gatherer Survival Run, Texas
12: Canyon de Chelly 55K with the Navajo of Arizona
26: Javelina Jundred 100-mile, Arizona

November
9: Eric Orton's ultra running camp with Fuego Y Agua - Nicaragua

December
1: Copper Canyons of Mexico
9: Rarajipare in Urique, the annual Raramuri ball race event

February
8: Fuego Y Agua 100K, Nicaragua

March
2: Ultra Marathon Caballo Blanco, Mexico

In between all that, I'm planning visits to Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, California and several other places to meet some of my running family and to run with some great, inspiring people. I will be writing stories all along, so hopefully you get to share the adventures, elation and challenges of a wanderer's life :)

Roam free.

Run free.