Continued from the previous page . . .

FENCE SPRING & A SHORT REROUTE

In addition to the photos I've already shown you in the first twelve miles, there was more mud than usual at Fence Spring and some deep, slick mud on a trail reroute through the birch trees a little past the spring. I think the reroute was due to one of several landslides on the course.

The mud and snow were the worst Jim and I have ever seen in this whole 18-mile section of the course in previous years, even during pre-race training runs in late May. 

Above and below: descending to Fence Spring. There is a spring under the snow
but it was virtually inaccessible to runners this year.

A short reroute took us next to this ravine and through different parts of two birch groves:

 

 

Looking back up the trail; the water on the left becomes part of the raging Tongue River.

The one trekking pole I used was helpful in the mud, through creeks, and on steep downhill sections. Two poles would have been better but I needed one hand free to carry my water bottle when I was drinking Heed the last part of the race.

JUST DO IT

Another reason I passed some 30K runners/walkers was my proclivity to just plow through mud and water. That's the ultra runner in me.

I noted that most of the women in the 30K who were near me tried (unsuccessfully) to avoid the goopy mud and water while the 50K and 50-mile runners, including the women, went right on through like I did.

Avoidance wastes a lot of time and often doesn't work on a wet or sloppy course.

More flowers as we got down to 7,000 feet elevation and below

 

 

I took about 150 pictures during the run, most of them ahead of me without stopping! Good thing my inexpensive Nikon Coolpix L20 camera has some sort of image stabilization. Some of the photos needed to be lightened but none were blurry.

I did stop to take some pictures behind me, especially as I maneuvered through the long descent from Horse Creek Ridge to Lower Sheep Creek.

The wildflowers are just starting to come out at the 8,000-foot level on the ridges but down at 5,000 to 7,000 feet they are more prolific -- not as many as in most previous years, but a lot more than higher up.

Arrowleaf balsamroot and bluebells were pretty along the fence line below Horse Creek Ridge; farther down the blue lupines are striking in contrast to the yellow balsamroot flowers:

Nice contrast with the reddish-orange lichens on this rock

ON YOUR LEFT!

50K and 100-mile runners passed me the whole way. The first 50-miler caught up to me about a mile above the Lower Sheep Creek AS as we were descending from Horse Creek Ridge.

I lost a fair amount of time turning around frequently to see if runners were coming because most didn't give me much warning. Some just snuck up from behind.

My hearing is good and I'm happy to move off the trail if I know someone is gaining on me -- just be courteous and give me a heads up!!

I tried to keep moving on the side as much as possible when runners caught up to me but sometimes I had to stop completely to let them pass. Fortunately, very few runners came up behind me on the narrow canyon trails right above the Tongue River; it was very hard to hear anything above the tremendous roar of the water.

 

I confess that I did some "running" (I use the term loosely) off and on along the forest road after ascending Camp Creek Ridge and on the single-track trail between the fence line and Lower Sheep Creek. As long as I didn't take any big or unusual steps my calves and hams didn't cramp any more.

I figured that made up for the time I lost taking pictures!

My pathetic running pace didn't make up for the time I spent getting out of runners' way, though. That's a problem for everyone in this race, whether they are faster or slower. Any time you have single-track trails someone has to move out of the way.

Coming into the Lower Sheep Creek AS

When I reached the Lower Sheep Creek aid station at mile 10 I quickly took my pack off, handed my empty water bottle to a volunteer to fill with Heed, and left carrying the bottle in my hand to sip along with water from my Camelbak and Hammergel.

I still got out of there faster than several of the folks who were there ahead of me and no 30Kers got around me while I was stopped. (I was watching for those pink bib numbers.)

I had some concerns about the rickety bridges across the two sections of Lower Sheep Creek but I negotiated them OK. The creek was just as high and fast as it was when I took this picture of Jim on it earlier in the week:

In previous races and training runs when that creek is at a lower level I have usually just walked through it to cool my feet and avoid the slanted, sometimes slippery boards Jim is standing on. This is the first year I've seen logs on this side of the creek, because there hasn't been that much overflow before.

Now I was more than halfway through the course. Although I was starting to get tired, I was pretty certain I'd finish.

The worst part for my knees -- the 3,000+-foot descent from Horsecreek Ridge to Lower Sheep Creek -- was literally behind me.

THROUGH THE TONGUE RIVER CANYON

Runners are usually glad to reach this short section of the course. It's scenic, the next aid station is pretty close, and the trail is very runnable.

Although there is one uphill section soon after the aid station, this segment has a net descent of only 700 feet in 2½ miles, which is very gradual; it doesn't pound runners' quads or stress their joints like the lengthy drop from Horse Creek Ridge.

I didn't take many photos through the canyon from Lower Sheep Creek to the trailhead since I took a bunch on our hike a few days earlier. You can see those pictures here.

The next three pictures of the "eye of the needle" rock formation are better than the ones I took on Tuesday because the lighting was better today:

 

 

The last full-service aid station in the race is at the Tongue River Canyon trailhead parking area. I went through this one faster than the last, just topping off my bottle of Heed and eating a couple pieces of cantaloupe.

I still had gel and water but should have gotten more solid food here.

Tongue River Canyon Trailhead AS

Sometimes I get in too much of a hurry. I was still trying to stay ahead of 30Kers but one passed me within the next mile and I never could catch back up to her.

Continued on the next page: the finish! Keep going to see how Jim did.

Happy trails,

Sue
"Runtrails & Company" - Sue Norwood, Jim O'Neil, and Cody the Ultra Lab

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© 2011 Sue Norwood and Jim O'Neil