3rd. Annual "FFF" 50 Miler!

[Bo_Beck]

Having planned a May 12th "Far Far Fest", and having to have backed
out due to a pressing situation made me, or should I say, left me
empty and wanten. I would have enjoyed the company for this May
12th "trek" and can only hope that the 6 or so that had planned on
doing the hike, can still get together and "Do It!"

On another note: I decided to "Do It" yesterday on sort of an impulse
and knowing that the weather would be too hot after May 12th.
I started headlamping at 3:05AM from Lee Pass with the intention of
jogging at least 10-15 miles of the hike. Immediately my left knee
said that jogging would be very limited. I wanted to do the entire
Zion Crossing unsupported (no food, water, clothing drops) and carry
everything on my back . I did it sort of! I took on 1.5 quarts of
water at the grotto at mile 37 and I also had my best hiking partner
Tanya pick me up at the East Entrance to give me a ride back to my
Pathfinder at Lee Pass. I also was shooting to get the entire hike
done in 14 hours or less......almost made it!

I made good time thru La Verkin Creek and up into Hop Valley, but got
my feet wet in Hop Valley which I wanted to avoid. I headlamped until
6AM. Nonetheless I made it to the Hop Valley TH at 7:07AM. Not
bothering to change socks or even stop at all, I continued on to
Wildcat Canyon Trail and passed West Rim TH at 9:35 AM and decided
that my first stop would be at 7 hours of hiking. I made it down the
West Rim a couple miles before taking a break at 10:05 AM. Should
have seen the faces of the hikers I passed that saw me with cold
weather attire (temps up past 80 by this time) and a headlamp on!
They must have thought I was totally screwed up! (many think I am
anyway!) Took 15 minutes to change socks, ingest some nutrients, shed
a layer or two and back on the trail at 10:20AM. Made it to West Rim
Spring at Noon and made my way down to The Grotto. Got there just as
Tanya and Chris Hansen pulled up in a shuttle to meet me at 1:25 PM.
Took a moment to change socks, add 1.5 quarts of water to my bladder
and Chris asked if he could hike the last 11 miles with me?
Absolutely! I was hammered and needed the moral support. My feet were
screaming bloody murder, Tanya said "Bo take care of that quarter
size blister on your left heel". I didn't even know it existed. The
bottoms of my feet were on fire. 90+ degree temps were brutal. 11
miles to go. I mustered what I had left in reserves (and powergels)
and slogged every painful inch up. When I got to Stave Spring the
adrenaline took over. I was almost done and my pace got back to
normal knowing I would complete my 3rd "FFF". I made it to the smile
and encouragement of Tanya waiting in the Rover at 5:30 PM, just 25
minutes short of my goal of 14 hours or less. Oh well! Another day.

The heat was brutal! Hope you other FFF'ers can find some cool
weather as it really makes a difference! Good luck and have fun!

Bo

[Wasatch]

You're one crazy MF, LOL Way to go, though.

[Bo_Beck]

You're one crazy MF, LOL Way to go, though.

Like I said...Most folks think I'm "slightly askew", but you know what I say?
"Try it, you'll like it!"
Thank You!

:2thumbs: :lol8:

[tanya]

As I drove home from Cedar City that night .............. it seemed so long! Then it dawned on me as I hit Glendale that you had walked that far in those 14 hours!!!

Incredible~~~~!!!!!

[Bo_Beck]

As I drove home from Cedar City that night .............. it seemed so long! Then it dawned on me as I hit Glendale that you had walked that far in those 14 hours!!!

Incredible~~~~!!!!!

Driving home from Cedar after dinner seemed so long also...as a matter of fact it seemed longer than the hike itself. Today I'm feeling some of the affects of a long hike though, and that drive wasn't so bad afterall :nod:

[sparker1]

An amazing feat, and very impressive. Also crazy. Way to go.

[gonzo]

That sounds like a blast. I was supposed to do a run from Kolob Canyon to the Grotto on Saturday, but had to back out because of my knee. So, I'm glad that someone was out there having fun.

[Scott Card]

WOW :hail2thechief: :hail2thechief: :hail2thechief: Nicely done!

[tanya]

So.... how are you feeling today? Sore? How are the feet?

[Bo_Beck]

So.... how are you feeling today? Sore? How are the feet?

My left knee was a bit sore but is feeling fine now. Got an invite to do it again on the 22nd, but think I'll pass! :haha:

[tanya]

Did anyone else do the FFF this year? I know a few were thinking of it?

[Brian in SLC]

Ran into a friend at the hardware store today who did this a month or two back...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4N8LE66nSY

Cheers,

-Brian in SLC

[Win]

What a terrific accomplishment. :2thumbs:

Win

[Bo_Beck]

Ran into a friend at the hardware store today who did this a month or two back...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4N8LE66nSY

Cheers,

-Brian in SLC

Awesome documentary! I would love to be able to run the whole thing someday? Not sure it will happen, but my hats off to those that have and will do in the future. :2thumbs:

[Felicia]

Incredible!!! :2thumbs:

[trackrunner]

how far is it?

Back in college on SUU's cross country team I ran from Lee's pass to Kolob arch and back. I brought nothing but running shorts and a tank. Backpackers thought I was crazy so they stopped me and gave me water, food, granola bars, beef jerky. Best run ever. :2thumbs:

I'm going to have to try Lee's pass to east entrance. Nice job bo :nod:

[Bo_Beck]

how far is it?

Back in college on SUU's cross country team I ran from Lee's pass to Kolob arch and back. I brought nothing but running shorts and a tank. Backpackers thought I was crazy so they stopped me and gave me water, food, granola bars, beef jerky. Best run ever. :2thumbs:

I'm going to have to try Lee's pass to east entrance. Nice job bo :nod:

My stimulous was my ex-boss Terry Tucker. He was reading the books about hikes in Zion. It was about 1985 or so. The descriptions he read about the trails is that they were best done in Spring. I believe he was reading the books around June 19th. He thought if he wanted to do the trails that he better do them all before summer. So he did...the next day! Thus started what we have reffered to as "Stupid Hikes". He and I tried a stupid hike back around 1992. South Rim to North Rim to Jacob Lake in under 24 hours. We bombed (an epic story in itself). Way too much snow! I think "Bushwacker" wants to try an R2R2R one of these days. I'm feeling pretty good. Sounds like a fun one?

You'll love the Zion hike (or run) a lot. Do it!

[Bo_Beck]

how far is it?



49-50 miles?

[trackrunner]

how far is it?



49-50 miles?
And you did that around 14 hours. :eek2: Is it not hard? Becuase 14 hours for 50 miles is moving. :eek2:

[erial]

One of the fellows in the video, Karl Meltzer, will be attempting to break the record of traversing the Appalachian Trail later this summer.

He'll have to do the equivalent of running Zion everyday for 40 some days straight. And he'll have to contend with the infamous east coast heat and humidity while doing so.

[Bo_Beck]

One of the fellows in the video, Karl Meltzer, will be attempting to break the record of traversing the Appalachian Trail later this summer.

He'll have to do the equivalent of running Zion everyday for 40 some days straight. And he'll have to contend with the infamous east coast heat and humidity while doing so.

What an UNBELIEVABLE feat. It's just so hard to imagine consecutive days of long miles. The body and mind must be unbelievably conditioned to be able to do this! I look forward to the documentary. :2thumbs:

[tanya]

Check this out. These guys posted this link to my Zion blog this weekend.

http://adventurerun.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/zion-traverse/


blog
http://zionnationalpark.wordpress.com/2007/05/12/2007-far-far-fest-hiking-across-zion-in-a-day/


Dang.. you and I were going to hike this, this month, but the days clicked away so fast :ne_nau:

[Brian in SLC]

Check this out. These guys posted this link to my Zion blog this weekend
http://adventurerun.wordpress.com/2008/05/26/zion-traverse/


Yeah, those guys are fast.

Ryan and Jared did Pine Creek in just a shade over 30 minutes. Jared recently did Keyhole, standard hike, in 11 minutes.

He did hold the cirque traverse record in the Wind Rivers for awhile.

Lotta horsepower there. Wierd combo of pretty high end climber (only and/or first one day ascent of Sendero Luminoso in El Portrero Chico...onsighting up to 5.12c...yikes) and very talented long distance running (Karl has one a bunch of ultras, and, Jared finished 4 at Hard Rock with a bad foot).

Will be interesting to see what they can pull off in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

-Brian in SLC

[erial]

Accounts of other recent park runs:

http://ericjlee.com/Trip%20Reports/WhiteRimRd.html

http://www.charlieroberts.com/archives/75

[erial]

And long traverses are not just a guy thing. From Trail Runner Magazine:




Jennifer Pharr: Fastest self-supported traverse of Vermont's Long Trail



Green Mountain Club members celebrated their completion of Vermont's Long Trail's final segment in 1930 by lighting flares from every summit in the Green Mountain Range, which arcs from the Massachusetts-Vermont state line to the Canadian border.

On August 8, 2007, 24-year-old Jennifer Pharr felt like rejoicing in a similar manner after covering the 270-mile distance in a record 7 days 15 hours 40 minutes. Previous record holder is Dr. Warren Doyle, who, in 1978, covered the distance (unsupported) in 8 days 13 hours 25 minutes. Ted "Cave Dog" Kizer is owner of the Long Trail's fastest overall recorded journey (with outside support) of 4 days 14 hours.

Doyle, along with ultrarunner David Horton, is an unofficial record keeper for the Appalachian (AT) and Long Trails. He is the Interim Director of the John B. Stephenson Center for Appalachian and Comparative Highland Studies Institute at Lees-McRae College, and has thru-hiked the AT fourteen times. Most thru-hikers and runners inform him of their record attempts on significant Eastern hiking throughways and Doyle verifies their claims primarily via an honor system, and more importantly, through the Appalachian region's hiking and ultrarunning community grapevines.

Pharr, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, completed the Appalachian Trail in 2005 and the Pacific Crest Trail in 2006, but yearned to thru-hike a substantial trail in a sustained push. "I wanted to immerse myself in the trail and give it my all," says Pharr. "Nothing could have taught me more as pushing my limits on the Long Trail."

Pharr's unsupported journey began each day at 5 or 6 a.m. She averaged 30 miles daily, hiking until 8 or 9 p.m., snacking all day. She had mailed three shipments of food to towns along the trail to restock her food supply. Pharr's 10-pound pack contained food and clothing, but no tent, as she slept under the stars, and when weather looked threatening, stayed in Green Mountain Club huts.

After blitzing through 45 miles the first day, Pharr awoke on the second morning to a swollen knee and ankle and later that day, suffered a bee sting on the same leg. Mildly allergic, she endured a painful and swollen leg for two days, icing it in streams wherever possible, doubting her ability to continue.

But day four was a turning point. "I had physically overcome a great deal of pain and was now ready for the challenges ahead," she says.

After graduating from Alabama's Samford University three-and-a-half years ago, Pharr works seasonally for six months at a North Carolinian summer camp for girls and then travels and hikes the remainder of the year. She took up ultrarunning shortly before her Long Trail attempt, running Virginia's 2006 Promise Land 50K in 7:00:19 and the 2007 Holiday Lake 50K in 5:34:14. After her record-breaking hike, she also completed Lynchburg's Mountain Masochist 50-miler in 9:41:21.

Pharr is considering a thru-hiking speed attempt on the Appalachian Trail next summer. "I know that hiking strong, fast and smart can teach you specific lessons, and [being really fit] is a gift that will not always be available to me," says Pharr. "So I want to take advantage of it while I can."

Pharr's Long Trail sojourn profoundly changed her. "I am not the same person that I had been at the start," she says. "Endurance hiking had taught me to unburden myself from physical gear and emotional ties that slowed me down in the past, and in turn focus on what is positive in my life."

Pharr didn't keep a blog on her Long Trail record-breaking hike, but a thoughtful write-up on her 2006 Pacific Crest Trail hike can be found at www.brmsstore.com/blogs/jennifer

*****

FYI: Next month after wedding and honeymoon, Pharr will really go far as she'll head south from Katahdin going for the women's AT speed record.

[tanya]

Did you see all this Bo?

[Brian in SLC]

The lad's have done it back in Novemeber in 9:08. which they think is soft.

Nutty!

www.door5.com

Cheers,

-Brian in SLC