Western Chicken Burger....Western Chicken Burger...

I went for a great run on Saturday. I've been reading a lot about other people's experiences with "ultra" running and the emotional and physical roller-coaster experiences they've gone through. What has appealed to me is the idea that running really far seems to have the effect of stripping away people's protective layers, and showing them who they really are.

That and it's just really cool to be in the woods and get a lot of views in one day.

I went to Bull of the Woods Wilderness and started my run on the south end (about a 45 minute drive from Salem, OR). It's a nice area, with old-growth Fir and several creeks just made for boulder hopping, and swimming in the summer.

It was a little chilly, and the first 8 miles were a steady uphill (not steep...about 2500 ft over 10 miles). Something about continuously climbing for that distance, the rocky footing, and my being slightly chilled started to get to me. When I got to a saddle (by Battle Ax peak and Beachie Saddle), I took a quick break to check the map and put on my jacket.

It was so strange, but that little break, putting on my jacket, and a Tiger's Milk bar completely changed things for me. It helped that I was now running downhill too (though the trail was still really rocky).

Soon I got to Elk Lake, and some flat ground! I didn't care much that I was on a gravel road, and was happy to be nearing my half-way mark (later I would realize this was not halfway, but rather something like mile 13 of 33). In my relief that I was not lost (I had a few question marks in my head on that), and was on flat ground I accidentally missed the next trailhead.

A little less than 2 miles down the road I started really wondering what was up, so I stopped to pull out the map. I had to do this many times during the day, since the trails were not well marked and were often pretty overgrown. Taking the pack off was a bit of a chore since it involved an intricate dance with my headphones, and 50% of the time they seemed to get tangled with my arm and pack. I was pretty bummed to realize I had strayed and added about 3.5 miles to my day.

When I did find the trailhead I found that I was (for the first time in about 16-ish miles) finally on nice pine-needle carpeted trail in thick woods.

Eventually I stopped at a creek to get some more water, munch on my second energy bar and stretch. I started up again and ended up on more rocky trail pretty quickly, but had some great views as I headed down toward the north side of the wilderness and came close to a place I'd camped before by Welcome Lakes.

I started up trail "573" - none of the trails have names. They're all just numbered, and they each have one small sign. Very easy to miss, so I had many earphone dance removals of my pack to access my map throughout the day.

Trail 573 should really be called "Steep Rocky Rhododendron Branch Game Trail". See, this name would tell people like me what to expect. That is people who just up and say, "I think I can run 30+ miles in the wilderness". Then we might shorten our plans by a few miles, or bring more food for the journey. It was on trail 573 where I started realizing my day was going to take a lot longer than I expected, that I didn't have enough food or drink with me, and that I needed to start walking more. The walking part came naturally since the trail was so steep.

It was also on trail 573 that I started intermittently clapping and making noises with my voice. This was because I realized I was on a trail that nobody uses and there are mountain lions around the area. I figured I didn't want to surprise them, or a bull elk. I'm sure I looked a little silly, and if you'd seen me I suppose you'd think I was getting my groove on to my mp3 player. Then again, the weary look of my face might have just made you think I was a loony tune to avoid.

Either way, I made it up to Twin Lakes, where I should have filled my water bottle, but didn't. After Twin Lakes I climbed up to Silver King mtn, and then Whetstone mtn. I followed a nice ridgeline for a while and seemed to be getting my momentum back, but the trail was still rocky, and I was getting tired.

By Whetstone mtn, I was getting really down. I was hungry to the point of being lightheaded and my arms and hands were tingling. My legs were tired and I could only run for about 5 minutes at a time. I had taken about 1.5 hrs longer than expected and still had a ways to go. I pulled out the map one more time (and grumbled at my headphones).

As I went to put on my pack again, I bent down and felt sore and tired. I think I said something like "ooey wooey" and let out a sigh. Now I hadn't seen a single person all day...about 30 miles at this point. As I put on my pack, I turned to see a young couple approaching from another trail I had just passed. I was too tired to be very embarrassed, and exchanged a polite hello before moving on. A while later I realized I should have asked for some food from them, but then I don't know if I would have done that had I thought of it.

It was at this point when I started walking even the downhills. I tried to run, because I knew Sarah would be nervous by now, having not heard from me. I was just so tired, lightheaded and hungry. The trip down from Whetstone mtn took much longer than I expected and I was feeling really low. I suddenly got this image of the Carl's Junior western chicken sandwich and it's all I could think of. Having sweated out electrolytes all day I could just taste the salty burger...mmm. I just kept seeing the sandwich and wishing so desperately to be done. I was pretty sure I didn't want to run for a long time after this.

It started raining lightly when I finally made it back to the road and knew that I only had a quarter mile to go. I got to the car and put on clean, dry cotton clothes. There's nothing so nice as clean, dry cotton after a long backpacking trip or a hard run. It's honestly part of what kept me going, knowing I had my cotton friends (undies, socks, shirt, pants) waiting for me at the car. I swilled down a carbonated juice drink, started munching on pretzels, and felt a wonderful sense of satisfaction.

Then I started wondering where my next long run would be...

Oh, and I did go get that Carl's Jr burger. Forgot my credit card and had to go back to get it too.