Figures.

Just read the BP magazine writup of the R2R2R and now I'm starting to think that it can't be done. Doom, Gloom, Death and Destruction. See below and make sure you read the comments on Page 3. :O

http://www.backpacker.com/hiking_new_life_list_monster_dayhike/destinations/14373

Should make for an interesting trip report! Defying Death and the Odds.

Sshhhh....Second thoughts can be contagious.
:)

I doubt there's anyone in our group that isn't wondering what's in store for them on Saturday. There are certainly plenty of daunting and scary scenarios that anyone can conjure up.

But that's also why we're all going out there. If the outcome were guaranteed, there would be no point to it, would there?

And it's very easy to second guess training. Was it enough? Have I done everything I can? Am I ready? I doubt there are many athletes on Earth, regardless of caliber, that don't dwell on these questions come performance day. I'm certainly going through plenty myself, possibly being too hard on myself, perhaps not being hard enough. Who knows.

I know there's going to be some pain waiting out there in some shape or form for all of us. I know things can go wrong. But I have to fall back on the belief that I'm ready, that I've put in enough big days over the last months and years to be ready, that I know my body well enough.

One thing I certainly can't afford to do right now is listen to any stranger's opinion of how crazy, stupid, dangerous, hard, or risky this is. So I stopped reading those comments in the article as soon as I could see where they were going.
Hard is a relative term, but I know that plenty of us have put in many hard days yet still finished knowing we could have gone harder.

I believe I've done enough to get me across and back in one piece....So what the hell, let's go see.

Edited by xnomanx on 04/08/2012 14:23:11 MDT.

Craig,
I'm not really having any second thought at all. I was packing up for the trip and wanted to get more info on water to know how I wanted to pack out the Malto. I ran across that article with the comments and was quite entertained. It is amazing how many folks view a certain challenge as completely insurmountable or that "it must not be fun for others since it would be fun for me."

You do bring up an interesting point...... Now that we are done with the training how is their condition vs there desire or expectations. Scale of 1-10 where 10 is completely ready and 1 is Doom, Gloom, Death and Destruction.

I would say that I'm about at an 8. Overall the training went actually better than expected but I took off two points because I had limited elevation and I'm still 3 lbs. over my target weight.

How about others?

the thing about something like the RRR is that if you go slow enough you can go any distance. the only real question mark is being able to go xx distance in xx time.
so if somewhere along the trail on April 14, if you feel too stressed out, just slow down a bit, and it will be no problem getting the job done ... rain or shine.

I'm not even going to read that Backpacker article, they enjoy sensationalizing everything and crank out garbage consistently. There editors are proficient with the use of hyperbole.

I am ready to do this ready or not.

I guess if I had to use your scale Greg, I'm like a 7. I have an idea what this is going to be like but actually getting out there and doing it is a whole different thing.

hmmm, 2 weeks ago I was an 8.5, then 2 days after Old Goat I caught a really bad cold. should be back up to 7 by April 14, or even 8 again if this week goes well.

the thing in my favor is I know exactly what to expect, and pretty much exactly how I'll react to it, so one foot in front of the other.

I am planning to pack powder drink mixes - other than plastic baggies rolled and put into a larger bag or plastic vessels does anyone have advice on how to pack this stuff well? I guess packing them tight is a big thing and maybe rolling them up and putting a piece of tape around to hold them tight..?

Edited by hewinsd on 04/08/2012 20:56:00 MDT.

Hmmm...hard to rate it. I'd guess I'd say I'd grade my training thus far as a B-. I could've been more disciplined. But contrasted with other markers, I'm running stronger than last year when I ran an 8 hour 50K with 9000' last spring in Bishop(race was primarily at over 7000' as well). So overall, I guess I'm satisfied with where I am.

How am I feeling? Probably a 7. But we'll see what happens on Saturday. Maybe I'll be inspired for some personal heroics, maybe I'll just plod/hike the whole thing out.

I don't have a clue on where to rate myself, I guess that pretty much leaves the 10 out :) I'm pretty sure I'm only going as far as Roaring Springs (and back obviously) ~ 32 miles; too many set backs and starting my running from scratch simply didn't give me enough time

I've done several DIAD hikes over rough mountainous country in the 30-ish mile range, so I'm confident I'll make it. I'm clearly in the best shape running wise that I've ever been, so that's a big plus. If for some reason I'm making really good time AND the angels are singing especially loud- I haven't ruled out the entire length, just would rather be realistic and 32 miles for this kid isn't too shabby :)

Dan- I had some small 3x5 ziplocks that were just about the right size for two scoops of Perpetuem- I've got seven of those packed into a quart ziplock. Hopefully TSA doesn't call DEA when they see this white powder wrapped in a ziplock :)

Thanks Mike. I've thought the same thing about the powder in the bags since we'll be passing through the border check point heading north out of the desert.

I will doing something a bit different for my Malto powder than the normal zipper bags. I will have three 32 oz. gatoraid bottles with 900 calories of powder each. This will be easier than pouring bags and will give me the water capacity for the return uphill if needed.

" I guess pacing them tight is a big thing and maybe rolling them up and putting a piece of tape around to hold them tight..?"

A small rubber band around each individual baggie works a lot better-easier to remove. You can use a larger rubber band to hold multiple baggies together.

Also, baggies are lighter than bottles but harder to pour from if you use the zip loc opening. An easier way, if you have a small pair of scissors like those on the Swiss Army Classic knife, is to unroll the baggie, tilt it so the powder moves up and to one side, then cut an ~1/2-3/4" diagonal piece from the empty bottom corner end of the baggie. Now you have a perfect hole to pour the powder from. It will flow easily and without spilling into your bottle. If you try to pour from the main opening, the powder gets hung up on the zip loc ridge and tends to spill out to both sides. Try it both ways and I think you will see what I mean.

Best of luck to all you guys and gal. That is one challenging run.

for packing my powders (perpetuem) I go with a sandwich sized ziplock rolled fairly tight, then placed inside another sandwich sized ziplock. don't need rubber bands, and I prefer this over putting them all in one large ziplock, just a personal preference.

Mike
do you have a time limit for your run? that would be the determining factor for a turnaround assuming you are healthy.
I'd give about 1 hour longer for the return than for the outbound.
John V. and I will be doing the 47 mile version and we expect to be out there from 14-15.5 hours depending.

The multihour malto solution that you've worked up Greg is clever. Do you plan 4 hours or so per bottle?

I can't wait to pick your head a bit on fueling, sounds like you have this stuff down to a science.

I will be doing 300 calories per hour so each bottle is 3 hours.

Art- time is definitely a factor, w/ fatigue weighing in as well- I also plan on trying to take a lot of pics, along w/ a few sit downs :) only going but what I've read, but I think I can make Roaring Springs pretty safely in ~ 5 hours- I should have a pretty good idea at that point both time wise and energy wise whether to push it up NK- looks like we have about 14 hours of daylight to work w/ add an hour or so depending on what time we leave

If I don't go to NK, I'll probably take in Ribbon Falls as a short side trip

Mike

ONLY FIVE MO' DAYZ!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Weeeeeeeee!!!

I am getting excited for you guys and gal!!
I look forward to the reports and accounts. I know pictures might be scarce but I encourage all of you to write about your experience when you get back, even if you think others covered it.
I can only imagine that there are some doubts and concerns, even with all the training. Like someone said, one foot in front if the other...I think I speak for many of us here when I say that we support you, wish you the best and we are proud of all the work you have done already. Let us know if there us anything we can do, including pitching in a few bucks for airfare, even though you already purchased tickets!