Quest for Kings

Kings Peak in the morning sun

Last weekend was the annual Quest for Kings marathon put on by Craig. This is the second time that I have come on this weekend outing.  I look forward to it every year.  When driving in from Evanston you can see Kings looming to the south.  For me it sets an attitude of adventure and exploration that lasts the entire time.  There is just something about the beauty and ruggedness of this county that I just eat up.

Earlier this year I thought that it would be interesting to try the Utah Triple Crown.  The Triple Crown is a run combining 3 of the tallest peaks in Utah for a total length of 30 miles and over 6000 feet in elevation gain.  The goal is to summit all three peaks from the Henrys Fork trail head in as fast as time as possible.  Well as it turned out I wasn't the only one thinking about doing the Triple Crown.  The Orange Trail Monkeys also known as Sam and Steve were wanting to go for it as well.  When all was said and done there were 9 people total that started in our group.

Sleeping Arrangements 

That night at the trail head I slept in my hammock.  The view of the stars was just amazing and there was also flashes of lighting from a storm off to the east.  I even got to see a number of shooting stars. This has to be my favorite ways of camping by far.  The morning seemed to come way too quick and everyone in camp was buzzing by 4:00 am. After shivering in the pre-dawn morning we headed out from the trail head at 5:00 am.

After heading out I knew I wasn't feeling all that great which had me in somewhat of a panic mode. My stomach and guts were fighting me and I quickly fell away from the lead group.  After having some "alone" time in the wilderness I was able to get past the morning blues and press on.  On my way to Elk Horn Crossing I heard something moving off of the trail.  It turned out to be a moose and it was only about 10 feet away, just off the trail.  I was said I couldn't get a picture of it, but we managed to see it on the way back as well.

The moose

Chris Pope

Steve and I on the ascent to Gilbert w/ Gilbert in the background (Courtesy Chris)

After catching up with the group at Elk Horn Crossing we ventured off to Dollar Lake and turn off and the accent to Gilbert peak.  The climb up to Gilbert was hard but it wasn't the last of it.  The initial climb gets you up the shelf where you can then turn and see Gilbert.  There isn't much of a trail and most of the way was defined by sheep trails. At the top of the shelf we ran into a herd of sheep just as the sun was starting to come over Gilbert.  Chris, Steve and I reached the summit of Gilbert just in time to enjoy the morning sun rising over the valley.  The view was simply amazing.

Peak 1:  Gilbert Peak @ 13,442 feet

Next we started descending the peak to the shelf on our way to Gunsight Pass.  On the way down Chris was bounding from boulder to boulder like the Night Fox from Oceans 12.  I was some what envious.  We eventually made our way to the southern shoot to make our way back down to the Henrys Fork Trail.  It was hard not to just want to sit and stare at the valley below.

The "Shoot"

The shelf between Gunsight and Anderson.  (South Kings and Kings in the background) (Courtesy Chris)

After reaching the shelf between Gunsight and Anderson we were back on familiar ground.  The one thing I was noticing as that being at altitude was beginning to take a toll on my energy level.  I was feeling tired.  Coming to the spring at Anderson I soon began to run into several familiar faces from the group of Wranglers that started later in the day.  The trail up Kings is much more defined that Gilbert or South Kings.  Even with that it still amounts to a lot of boulder hopping.  See the picture below.

Trail to Kings (Courtesy Chris)

Peak 2: Kings Peak @ 13,528 feet

Getting to Kings I felt much better knowing I only had one more peak to go for.  South Kings looked so close but as I was soon to find out would take forever to get to because of the boulders.  It was also getting hot and the wind was blowing hard in the pass.  By the time I reached the base of South Kings I just wanted to be done.  I was bruised and bleeding from the boulders and I needed a huge pick me up.

Peak 3: South Kings @ 13,512

After reaching the summit of Souths Kings I felt elated to know that I had accomplished my goal.  Its one of those things that you can only celebrate by yourself, because there is no finish line, no family waiting for you.  Chris soon was on the summit and celebrating with a Mtn Dew.  Something that I was insanely jealous of.  When heading down South Kings we headed around Kings trying to save some elevation gain. Steve was down at the pass for South Kings feeling very sick from the elevation.  We soon headed back down to Gunsight.  When we got to the bottom of Gunsight we saw some familiar faces with some awesome Wrangler Ladies, completing an epic 40 mile fast pack from Red Castle.   The rest of the trip flew by.  We ran the last 5.5 miles from Elk Horn back to the trail head hard.  It felt good to be moving and approaching the finish.  Chris and I crossed the trail head in 10:47.  It was a very hard but rewarding day in the mountains. One that I will surely have to try again.

Pulling The Triger...

Recently on a hike up to a local lake, my son wanted to climb up a boulder.  Seeing how proud he was as he reached the top, his thoughts soon turned to fright as he contemplated the trip back down the other side.  My response to him was that if he managed to get up he could make his way back down.  I then went on to ask him what the difference was in getting down versus going up.  He quickly gave me several reasons as to why he couldn't do it.  I reminded him that for every reason he gave there was an equally good reason to say that he could in fact get back down.  He did it.  It was one of those proud father moments until my words started echoing in my ears.

I had been debating on the reality of me doing a 100 mile race for quite sometime.  The final decision came as I was sitting in a room at a company retreat listening to Noelle Pikus-Place talk about her rise to becoming an olympian.  She was talking about a discussion that she had with a bobsled coach about how to overcome fears on the track.

In the story she talked about the differences between our perception and the reality of the challenges that we face.  The story as it goes is this.  First take a length of board and stretch it across a long room on the floor.  The board could be a foot wide, what ever you are comfortable with.  Then walk from one side to the other.  Easy right?  Now take that same length board and raise it 5 or 10 feet off the ground.  Maybe a bit different, but not too challenging.  Now take that same length and put it 100 feet in the air.  Or even to an extreme, how about the Grand Canyon?  Its still the same length board, so whats the difference?  Maybe you are thinking about the height.  Maybe its the speed of the wind, or maybe its some other perception that you have.  The reality really is that nothing has changed, you can still walk across that board.

 Its just your mind that is stopping you.  

 Its just your mind that is stopping you.  

 Its just your mind that is stopping you.  

 Its just your mind that is stopping you!  

Well what happened next was some what of a mixed emotion.  Every other race I had registered for I had greeted with a "I'm gonna die, but at least it will be fun!".  After clicking the submit button on Ultra Signup was a sense of finality.  This was something that I had wanted for a very long time.  Something that ever since I had registered for my first marathon and then my first ultra I thought would be quite an achievement.  So here it is.  I finally have done it.  

The Bear 100

The graph above shows the elevation for the race, but more accurately described my emotions after clicking the signup button that day.  So September 26-27 will be my day.  Its going to be an awesome day.  I am sure this will push my limits, and take me to places I have yet to have been before. But I will drink it all in and take it when it comes. 

The amazing thing to me is that initially I felt alone in this journey. But instantly I had the support of both my wife and my dad.  And then more stated to come, friends that offered their support and even some that said they wanted to help, even pace (Scott, Dennis, Ben, Chris and Zann).  Kendall Wimmer even helped with getting a race plan together. To say that I feel blessed is an understatement. 

Squaw Peak 50

Saddle of Box Elder w/ Jerry and Scott

The Squaw Peak 50 turned out to be more than just a race for me.  I had been looking forward to it all year.  I trained thinking about Squaw not Zions.  Even though I wanted redemption for a 100k I wanted to know just how much I had improved and it was the perfect event to find out.

After Zion's I started to come up with a training plan for Squaw.  I quickly decided that I wanted to make sure I was getting my milage in, but I was not going to plan specific distances for each week.  I had trouble recovering from Zion's and didn't really get my legs back for a few weeks.  I tried to take it easy, but with most of the Wasatch opening up I really wanted to be up on the trails.  It just felt like I hit setback after setback, a cold, stress for building a house and work.  I was wondering if I was going to be ready.  I sure didn't feel like it.

Elevation for the year

At the end of May just a week before the race, and on a whim I decided to look at my stats for the year. Looking at mileage I was up from the previous months, which made be feel like I wasn't a slacker after all.  But then I switched the view over to elevation, apparently I had been getting my vert in, because I more than doubled my elevation for April.  Seeing this made me feel much better about the way I had been feeling.  The thing I had been debating over however was what would I finish in.  I decided to set a goal of a half hour earlier than last years 12:12:00.  I felt like if I could just go sub 12 hours it would be good enough.

June 7th rolled around and I felt numb.  No nerves before the race, although I tossed and turned the night before thinking about my drop bags.  At the starting line it was much the same thing, just a peaceful calm in pre-morning cold.  I found a couple of Wastach Mountain Wranglers and chatted it up, talking about the race and other things.  Before long we were down the trail.  Instantly I remembered two things.  First try not to get stuck behind the line of people going up the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST). Second how I loved the sight of the headlamps running through the tunnel of trees on the Provo River Trail. It was one of my favorite things from last year.

Going up the BST I started to wonder if I was moving too fast.  I wasn't pushing super hard but rather just a very nice run up the trail to the pipeline trail.  It felt good, I felt good, but I was worried that I might be pushing too hard.  I remember something that I heard several times over. "Just do what your body wants/can and it will work itself out".  So that's what I did.  I figured if for some reason if I pushed too hard, at least I would have had the good parts too.

Taken by Galen before Kolob Overlook

I met a guy named Scott on the ascent out of Rock Canyon, we had met a couple of months before at the Curley Springs Trail above Battle Creek.   It was his first ultra distance and he was doing fantastic. I was still doing well, but the thought kept in the back of my head "Maybe your going too fast".  I ignored it and kept going.  The part from Squaw Peak to Kolob Overlook is some of the most scenic parts of the race with sweeping views of the valley amongst the pine and aspens.  Its hard to not get lost running through this section.

The decent to Pole Haven on the other hand is a completely different story.  Its almost symbolic as to say, "That was fun, wasn't it? Now lets get back to the race." I kept pushing to get to the aide station and have a break.  On the way down, I kept thinking about the road up Hobble Creek.  Its usually hot and not very fun.   It helped keep my mind occupied till Pole Haven.  At the aide station I ran into some more Wrangler's, Josh and Kendall.

Then came the road.  It was hot and boring. The support from people driving up to the next aide station was nice.  Lots of Cowbells and cheering.  I kept my eyes forward and just kept moving.  One of the best things about Ultras is the aide stations and the people.  These people sit out in the sun all day long to support a couple hundred people they don't know.  I have to say without question, the people and stations at this race are awesome. Coming into Sheep Creek I could hear the music blaring and was greeted by a nice girl handing out otter pops. Last year when I came in I remember hearing AC/DC Highway to Hell.  Which could be fitting, as it was getting hot. ;)

Little Valley w/ family, mile 32

I rolled into Little Valley strong and happy.  The climbs felt good and I had a smile on my face that I couldn't remove if I tried.  Seeing the family also helped. I restocked, said goodbyes and headed out for the hardest part of the race.  The people at the aide station had told us that the next station Windy Pass, was out of water.  So I added an extra water bottle for a total of 3 for the hot climb out of the valley.

At this point some of the course had also lost its flagging.  If I had not done the course previously I would have been hopelessly lost.  It was here that I caught up to Chris who had started hiking from Hobble Creek earlier in the day.  It was good to see another friendly face.  Shortly after we started up the hot exposed switchbacks to the saddle of Bald Knoll.

Kendall who was pacing someone else had caught up to me.  I was dreading the upcoming climb up Bozung hill and Kendall's enthusiasm was rubbing off on me.  I decided to try to see if I could keep up for a bit and enjoyed the boost.  I remember very distinctly Kendall singing "Lets Go Fly a Kite...", which I would later wake up at midnight singing.  I also remember asking what time they were shooting for, mentioning that they were shooting for sub 11.  I was somewhat jealous, I would have loved to come in under 11 but just didn't think it was possible.

They dropped me shortly after the saddle but I managed to maintain the inertia going into Bozung hill. I was flying and it felt good and I didn't want to stop.  Bozung hill is like slamming into a wall with 1,200 feet in elevation gain in about a mile.  Its brutal, hands on knees, straight up climbing.  I was feeling it, but tried to maintain my momentum and attitude as I climbed.

Heading into Windy Pass I had a whole new outlook on the race.  I was feeling great and I knew I was going to finish strong as long as I kept my nutrition in check.  It was also for this steep and super rocky downhill section that I bought my Altra Olympus shoes.  Last year my feet were feeling very trashed from this section.  With out that extra padding I don't think my feet would have survived the 6 miles of downhill with all the rocks.

Finish

I hit Big Springs and was still ready to go.  I dropped my pack with the family and headed out for the finish.  I knew by then I could do sub 11 and I was bound and determined that I was going to hit it. I crossed the finish in 10:47, something I didn't think I would have been able to do.  I had a permanent smile on for several days after.  It felt great to not only achieve goals, but exceed them.  Its a memory that I will always cherish. The only problem with having such a successful race, is what do you do next?  Kachina Mosa, Bear, Pony Express, or Antelope.....