Beverly-The dunes of Colorado are incredible. Who would have ever dreamed that Colorado of all places is the home of one of the best dunes in the Americas. In fact, when crossing the dunes of Colorado, one feels a bit like you are in the Sahara, minus the heat. Every dune is different. They cast such flowing, graceful shadows. All the while, you have fourteen thousand foot peaks looking down on you, like gentle giants.
I am glad to get that footage of Colorado that we did because Under Dog had not intended to go through the dunes. He felt it was going to be too hard. There was some miscommunication and he thought that he was going to be picked up when there was no such plans. Not only did he end up crossing the dunes, but he did not bring water for such a long distance. So, we had to share my meager amount of water.
When we got to the southern edge of the dunes, he wanted to cut straight for the Duofold RV at the Visitor Center. I was a bit apprehensive of him venturing out alone, off trail, after dark, without a map or compass, no radio, and no water. But, he assured me that he was fine. He just needed to go about 1.5 miles due east or towards the mountains, before he hit a road, or better yet, the Visitor Center. This plan took off about a half a dozen miles of off trail hiking from my planned course. So, I gave him my spare headlamp, and he took off. Just moments later, he yelled back that he could see the lights of the Visitors Center and would be fine. I proceeded several miles south to the southern edge of the monument and turned east. As soon as I turned, I realized that he had made a mistake. The only lights visible were miles out of his way. It was still several miles of sand before I reached the lights and the road. I had kept in satellite phone communication with the crew, and knew that Under Dog had never showed up. So, we devised a search plan. We knew that he would eventually come across the road because the mountains were the undeniable landmark that he was heading for, and the road ran all along the base of the mountains. So, the Duofold RV headed south and I headed north by foot. It was only about ten minutes later that I saw my spare headlamp shining from ahead. I came up running with water in hand. Under dog was very pleased to see me. Soon the crew picked up Under Dog, and I headed out to finish my last couple miles.
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Since we are on the topic of dehydration, let me move to your question about my water problems in Texas. I was in Big Bend National Park doing the Outer Mountain Loop. This loop climbs into the Chisos Mountains, then descends, spending the bulk of the route on primitive desert trails circumnavigating the mountains. This was not quite enough mileage; so, I did a beautiful side trip to the top of the highpoint in the park, Emory Peak. I had anticipated needing more water for this hot hike, but I had no idea. I drank six and a half liters of water and still got severely dehydrated. Part of what increased my difficulties was the fact that the trails were completely overgrown. The nature of competition in the desert is such that seemingly every piece of vegetation in the trail has a thorn, spike, bur, or blade. So, I had to wear thick pants even though it was excruciatingly hot. I drank all night and was in Oklahoma the next day for another hot hike. I was not able to catch up. I drank four and half gallons of water and did not urinate for two days. I did not think that was possible. It was completely draining. Fortunately, the next day was in Kansas with a cold front and wind. I finally caught up. By the end of the day, I was urinating clear.
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To answer your remaining questions: I was only drinking water. I rationed my water and so did not run out. I did not weigh myself before and afterwards. We were worried that if this situation kept up that my kidneys would start to have problems. Fortunately, it did not come to that.
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The only hike that I was really on the edge of not getting 50 kilometers (31.1 miles) completed within the selfimposed 24 hour cutoff was the Adirondack hike. We started the hike at 9:06 am on 11/28/5 and finished at 9:04 am on 11/29/5. It was planned that I would finish near the cutoff. I just did not figure it would be quite so close. In fact, I went to bed with just two miles left. We planned this so that it would make it easier for people to be at the finish. If I finished at five in the morning, it probably would have just been The Dog Team at the finish. I always had an out, though. If I had finished a few minutes after 9:06, I could have taken off running until 50km was achieved in 24 hours and not counted the beginning of the hike. It did not matter which 24 hours was counted as long as 50km was hiked within that timeframe. However, that would have been messy; so, I am glad that the timing worked out. I also may not have finished in less than 75 days. The final time was around 74 days, 23 hours. I did not keep track of the minutes because I did not find it important to the nature of this kind of challenge, which was not about speed. It was about the incredible scenery that we found along the way and had an opportunity to share with others. That being said, it would not be hard to figure out the minutes, if anyone was interested?
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Certainly, the speed challenges are hard on the body. I did not feel that this last challenge was hard on my body. It just was not at the same level of intensity, at all. If it had been, we would not have spent several hour each morning filming. I would not have taken so many pictures. We would not have invited people to hike with me, and then go at their pace. That was just not what this challenge was about, and because of this, I did not need any recovery period, with possibly the exception of regaining my normal body weight. Sugar Dog took it upon herself to take charge of this and I might add that she if very good at it. I gained back the weight in just a few days under her care. In fact, I have had to be cautious that she does not overdo it. This is something that I have read about a number of times. When people are in an extended period of starvation, their body seems to get very efficient at using every last bit of calories out of their food. So, it is a tendency for people to get overweight after the food is plentiful.
My usual weight is between 160 and 165. It feels that maybe 165 is bordering on a bit too much for me. I find this fascinating. Before I started training for challenges, my normal body weight was between 150 and 155. During the Colorado Fourteeners challenge, I got down to 140 pounds. It was when I started training for the Adirondacks that my weight started creeping up to 160. During the most recent challenge, I got down to 151 and looked famished. It is undeniable, I was undernourished, and that used to be my normal every day body weight.
Getting back to the speed records, they are hard on the body. However, I feel that I have not done anything to cause permanent damage to my body. Usually, it takes me about three days for the pain to go away and by a week I am starting to hike and jog again. I feel that this tells volumes about the success of my training and how I go about these challenges. I do not have any aches or pains, and feel like I am healthy and fit.
There are a couple exceptions to the above paragraph. I do feel that I pushed it a bit too hard without food or water during the first Long Trail attempt and was on the border of such on the second attempt. I have already explained that situation in detail on this bulletin board. So, I do not feel it is appropriate to go into it again here, unless people have specific questions. You can read my account on The Dog Team website:
http://www.thedogteam.com/Long_Trail-Web_Pages/The_Long_Trail/Descending_into_the_Maelstrom.pdf.
The other exception is with sleep deprivation. I feel that I have pushed this envelope enough. I really do not desire to do another challenge that would continue to push sleep deprivation. I would rather do challenges like this most recent one. There was some sleep deprivation, but it was not nearly to the level of the speed records. I would rather do firsts. They do not require sleep deprivation or speed, they just require finishing. They are also the only record than can never be broken. If I do another speed record, I would probably run more and sleep more.
), that's great advice, and you expressed something I often think about very well.
