Bear with me, I have never written one of these before. I feel this type of thing demands some kind of debriefing. So here goes.
Before beginning, I knew Brandon & I could physically finish. That was provided all of the pieces fell together. The pieces I was most concerned about: sleep deprivation, night travel, weather, stomach distress, partner dynamic. I didn’t worry too much about any of this. Just enough to anticipate dealing with it as it comes. I gave up worrying about the small stuff long ago.
During my 2005 thru-hike of the AT, I distinctly remember meeting a section hiker just south of Hot Springs, North Carolina. He had thru-hiked a number of years prior. I asked what would be one piece of advice you would give me. His answer was very simple. “Where are you sleeping tonight?” I answered where I was actually aiming for, completely missing his point. He proceeded to add, “Well that’s all you need to worry about. Take it one day at a time & don’t worry about Katahdin.” Some of the best advice I’ve gathered over the years.
Why go with Brandon? We have pretty similar disposition. It's great to have someone to keep pace in check. Bounce ideas off for route options. Motivation! Well, he’s just an all-around good dude.
8/28: Brandon got into Leadville on Thursday evening & we got to work on finishing touches of planning. We wrote down Eric Lee’s 2012 finish splits on the back of laminated maps. His were the most readily available & we thought they would be a nice pace guide. We went through gear, talked about strategy & generally hoped to calm the pre-run jitters.
8/29: Game time! I had some issues with the SPOT. Basically one of the batteries wasn't connecting. Anna suggested tightening down on the cap extra hard. It worked! Started from the Fish Hatchery at 5:30 with Nick McHargue & Anna Frost. Easy does it pace.
Massive (#1) summit @ ~7:47 (2:17)
A bit a of slick descent as the rocks on the west face had some frost. We had a nice surprise of aid once we turned on 110J just before the river crossing.
Elbert (#2) ~11:00am (5:30) Had the pleasure of meeting Bob Sweeney on the summit. He ran to La Plata trailhead with us.
Lake Fork aid ~1pm (7:30) Met Ginna & others for aid. Ate a PB&J on the walk out to the trail.
La Plata (#3) This was both physically & mentally my toughest climb. I had stomach cramps & was quite gassy. I credit the 2 mile road section, heat, eating a lot at the aid station & the giant salad I had for dinner. I made a point to not stop. Oddly enough, I felt better the higher I climbed. By the time I summited (Brandon was crushing!), it was a non-issue. Summit @ ~3:20pm (9:50)
Winfield aid @ ~4:50pm (11:20) We got amazing care & support here! We also packed for a long haul until North Cottonwood Creek aid; after Columbia (#9). I loaded up my FastPack with food, lighting & warm clothes.
Huron (#4) ~7:40pm (14:10) We left Winfield with Ginna & Anna. I had a slow go getting the legs back into the rhythm of moving. There’s a bit of a gravel road section from Winfield until you get on the actual trail to Huron. Great first sunset from the summit. It was a fun descent off Huron. I remember a rock going flying by & seeing sparks coming off it. Whew! Time to get the headlamps on. A slight hiccup finding the route to Clohesy Lake.
Heading up Missouri, we were greeted by a porcupine a few hundred feet above treeline on the side of the trail. It safely waddled away. On the summit ridge we were welcomed by a tenacious mountain goat. As it approached us at a nearly uncomfortable distance, I had to start throwing rocks in its direction. I was not intending to hit it. Just discouraged it coming closer. It quickly showed us how its done, and bolted down the steep east face.
Missouri summit (#5) ~11:49pm (18:29) I always love seeing the city lights of Leadville from here. It really puts our progress in perspective. Well, the stars were pretty amazing, too. Including the Milky Way.
8/30: Belford (#6) ~1:29am (19:59) We met Ginna & Anna on the summit. They brought us much needed food & support. We took most of their food. My stomach was growling every 20 minutes. Which I was psyched about. I just had to keep stoking that fire with Snickers & boiled salty potatoes.
Oxford (#7) @ ~2:29am (20:59) A bit of a rough descent. I got us off route for a hot minute. Found the single track that James Varner & I scoped-out earlier this summer which leads to the avalanche path.
I distinctly remember scaring a grouse out of roost. It sounded like what I imagine pterodactyl taking off sounded like. That was a quick wake up. A bit more bush-bashing until much needed aid.
Pine Creek aid ~ 4:05am (23:35) Welcomed by Steve Bremner & his dog Chewy. Much needed hot ramen, sleep then hot chocolate. We got moving with the sunrise at ~6:40am (24:10) Started the next leg with a cold stream crossing.
(PC: Steve Bremner) Why not smile?
(PC: Steve Bremner) Home, sweet home for a couple hours.
It was nice to get moving again out of the trees & into the alpine. Besides this is a really nice route. Harvard (#8) ~8:47am (27:17)
Columbia (#9) @~11am (29:30) We met up with some Manitou Springs friends just after the summit. I had a brief meltdown after that. I guess I was touched at the fact that I didn't really know these guys & here they were taking their whole weekend to go to these obscure locations to cheer us on.
North Cottonwood aid ~12:37pm (31:07) Great set-up that Shelby & others had. So good to see more friendly, familiar faces. The clouds were rolling in a bit. So, I was sure to pack rain & wind gear. Ginna & Anna were awesome at firing questions at us as to what we may need or want for the next stretch. We had the always amusing company of Tina Lewis for Yale.
Yale (#10) @3:26pm (33:49) Another great, obscure route up! We had a nice stretch of snow & wind on the east ridge descent. I was really glad I had my Houdini pants.
It was great to share the descent with Harsha, Brian and others.
Avalanche aid ~5:56pm (36:26) So many positive people! Zach & Marco got us a breakfast burrito and a milkshake from Buena Vista. Wow, they were good! We ran with Jeff Mohrmann, Marco Sturm & Zach Miller to South Cottonwood trailhead.
For the next long stretch to Alpine we had Jeff to change up the energy. We were hiking well for this stretch on the Colorado Trail. I was actually dreading this section. But ended up really enjoying it. I guess it was nice to feel a little faster turn-over on the legs. Brandon nailed the east ridge ascent route off the Colorado Trail. Once we popped out of the trees we were dealing with some howling winds for the next few hours.
8/31: Princeton (#11) ~12:12am (41:16) I am yet to nail the west descent off Princeton. Once we got off the loose talus & scree, it was "easier" travel to the single track that lead to Alpine cemetery.
Alpine aid ~4:15am (47:15) Blake & Rebecca Wood were there with an amazing aid station. Ginna & Anna were there along with many others. Blake & Rebecca had ramen, pumpkin pie & an amazing bed in the back of their Eurovan. A quick 45 minute nap and more food then off we went with Anna at ~5:45am (48:15). I noticed it was a little windy at camp. This was just a sample of the winds we would deal with the rest of the day.
Anna did a great job keeping us motivated & focus on the task at hand.
Antero (#12) ~8:38am (51:08)
(PC: Anna Frost) This was taken on the climb up Tabeguache the week before on a recce.
Tabeguache (#13) ~11:48am (54:18) Reality hits hard! The last big climb is behind us. Now just a short bop over to Shavano.
(PC: thanks guy & his son on the summit using Anna's phone)
Shavano (#14) ~12:18pm (54:47) This wasn't as emotional for me as Tabeguache. I think because we had a ways to go to get down.
Blank Cabin- 1:51pm (56:19:15) a southbound FKT!
As we were leaving the parking lot it started snowing & thundering. I'm still amazed at the timing! Thanks for playing along, Mother Nature.
(PC: Brandon, of his watch; 1:32 is time from Shavano to Blank)
1. Invest in good lighting. I use a Black Diamond Icon & Surefire (G2 Nitrolon flashlight) combo that works really well.
2. Get out & stay out. Obviously living in the mountains is a huge advantage to completing Nolan’s. But the main thing is get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Pack up your backpack with food & supplies for multi-hour outings. Get out on the route. I can’t tell you how many outings I had that were seemingly complete route selection failures. But it’s those outings that give you great perspective & deeper respect for the mountain. Besides, is there a bad day in the hills?
3. Mental training? Yeah, that’s a big deal. It ties right in there with ‘get out & stay out’. The point is to be out on your feet & moving for multiple hours. Pack a lunch. Oh it’s rainy, snowy, windy? You know the cliché saying, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear," right?
4. I never felt overwhelmed by the task. Of course there were low times. But I knew that if we kept moving with purpose at a sustainable pace in the right direction, we were golden. We were only focused on splits in the very beginning.
5. A lot lined-up for us over those few days. AMAZING crew & support! Great weather. We stayed healthy & positive. Negativity in the wilds is a downward spiral. Work out a solution!
What else do you want to know?
Shoes- Salomon S-Lab XT-6, XT-6 (Soft Ground) & Sense
Hydration Packs- UltrAspire Omega, FastPack or Surge
Shorts- Pearl Izumi (Fly Split) or Patagonia (Strider Pro)
Socks- Swiftwick vibe zero
Calf Sleeves- Compressport
Wind Pants- Patagonia Houdini
Wind/Rain jacket- Patagonia (Houdini) or GoLite (Tumalo)
Puffy- Patagonia Ultralight Down Hoody
T-Shirt- Icebreaker or Patagonia (ForeRunner)
Patagonia Capilene 4 Expedition weight 1/4 zip hoody
Gloves Black Diamond Mercury mitts
Lighting- Black Diamond Icon & Surefire G2 Nitrolon flashlight
Beanie- Patagonia Capilene
Endurance-specific Nutrition-
First Endurance EFS (Drink Mix & Liquid)
