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Phew!!!!

Even though I'm a native Angeleno, this was my first time out to Death Valley. Majestic. Harsh. Ancient. Punishing. Beautiful. All words that pop in to my mind to describe this unique environment. I drove out with Steve Matsuda and Diana Rush on Friday afternoon.

When we crested Towne's Pass and came in to Death Valley proper, we were laughing as we watched the temperature gauge on Steve's car visibly rise with each mile. It stood at 115F or so by the time we arrived at Stovepipe Wells at about 4:00. We checked in and scurried out to the pool to cool off.

Friday night all those who had come got together in the restaurant for dinner. After that, Ben & Denise Jones (check their website) gave a little talk and Denise pre-taped one of my feet to see if there were any significant difference.

Saturday morning we met around 7:00 and drove the roughly 41 miles out to Badwater. We stopped at Furnace Creek to grab a muffin and some coffee (!) and at 7:30 wearing my complete sun suit it was stiflingly hot.

The first day went very well for the first 24 miles or so. I threw up around mile 25, and my ankle (which I had twisted two weeks prior) was getting very stiff. I pressed on for a bit (Steve and Diana paced me much of the first day) and we continued to laugh grimly at the heat waves that were clearly visible toward the horizon.

Nancy and the rest of my crew kept me going until my stomach got a better, and I decided to stop a little after mile 30 and try to have a good second day.

Sunday went much better. The climb up Towne's pass is just that, a climb. The altitude at Stovepipe Wells is 5 ft., the summit of the pass is 4956 ft. If you've ever driven across the desert and stared at a road that looks like it just goes and goes as it climbs, then you can picture what we were experiencing. Depending on who you ask, the distance is anywhere from 16.5 to 18 miles. I (along with just about everyone else) did a brisk walk up the whole thing.

My crew pounded fluids down me for the first couple hours, realizing that I was still a bit low from the day before, and by the time I reached the top, I felt very good. At the top of the pass, the temperature had cooled to roughly 90F, and we turned back downhill. Steve and I ran about 8 miles back downhill, stopping at a small rest area with some restrooms--around 25 miles for the day but feeling great.

A busload of German tourists happened to have stopped at just that moment, so I was pressed into some impromptu German conversation (my college German being a bit rusty), but we were able to describe the event such that they were duly asonished.

I already believe that my attendance at the clinic has perhaps doubled my chance for success in July. I learned so much about strategy, conditions, equipment, and other intangibles that could very easily have caused problems for me in July had I not hit them this weekend.