Hardrock 100 2009 Virginius Pass to Telluride

Mile 67.6 to mile 72.6
Arrived 11:21 am
1:49 from Virginius (Kroger’s Canteen) , 51 minutes in the aid station (ouch!) (2:56 total in aid stations)

The first several feet of descent from the pass go straight down loose scree. In the other direction, there would be switchbacks cut into the crumbling hillside, and some of that was still present (and I tried to follow as much as I could) but for the most part, it was faster (not safer, of course) to just bomb straight down.

Eventually, I made it down to what passes for trail, though it is on the hillside, traversing Marshall Basin, and at any time you could take one step forward and some number sideways (which would take you right down the hill - NOT where I wanted to go!)

The trail wound around, we passed the powerlines below us but couldn't see where the Aid Station folks had parked their vehicle. I don't remember any snow this year, as there were several patches to cross in past years; just the same old scree, and, in places, the 'ball bearing' rocks. After another long time to cover a short distance, we came upon Mendota saddle, going through the pass and down some more short switchbacks to traverse Mendota mountain. It should have been going quickly here, with the morning sun warming my body and my spirits, but I started to get hot spots on my heels, so was going down gently. In 2007 I had bombed this LOOONG downhill, and fried my feet; I was going to try and be careful and not do that again. We
passed Liz Hodges, who had paced Rick from either Ouray or Grouse, I can’t remember. Rick had gotten ahead of her and she told him to go on. I figured she probably had a ride at Telluride and would meet him later. Chip and I continued on down the hill, finally reaching treeline, when he told me that he was done at Telluride. I tried to talk him in to going to Chapman or beyond but I think his decision was based more on just how he was feeling or how much more distance he had in his legs...

Eventually, I just had to stop to try to patch my feet. I pulled over to the side and tried, painfully, to sit down. As I was pulling my first aid/patch kit out of my pack, Liz caught back up to us. She asked if she could help but I let her know that I was alright and thanked her for offering. I couldn't really get the tape to adhere to my feet in any way that would have been of use (or would have lasted on the long grind) so it ended up just being a 'sit down' break. We finally started up again, going even slower now since I didn't want to fry my feet. I knew that I could get them patched up well enough once I got to Telluride.

The sun that was so welcome a short while ago was now starting to get a bit too warm. Fortunately, we were in the trees so it wasn't radiating too badly. This also meant that we couldn't initially see the dark clouds rolling in. Once we were closer to Telluride, we could see the dark clouds threatening, but it was still an overall nice day (and I was trying to focus on the positives...)

We passed several hikers and saw one woman, who was hiking with her dog, just ahead of us. I usually try to keep pace with, or preferably pass, anybody in front of me. This woman, however seemed like she was just trying to stay ahead of me; I thought this was unusual since she seemed completely oblivious to her surroundings (which I keyed on from the fact that she didn't acknowledge any 'hello' and that she had the telltale wires of some music player headphones which probably meant she wasn't going to hear much of anything around her...) Fortunately, I didn't have to worry about it as she turned off on to the Jud Wiebe trail just as I was about to pass her. Once we got to the last set of switchbacks before town, we could see the town - and the darkening clouds around town. I was hoping for some cloud cover and really wouldn't have minded a gentle rain, but Mother Nature had a bit more in store, as I was to find out.

There was a volunteer letting us know which way to turn at the bottom of the trail, and he took my number and radioed ahead to the Aid Station. We made the turn onto the long downhill street, the worst part of the downhill for me...the pavement.

As we crossed the bridge, we noticed some kids playing in the water...I may have been a bit warm but I wasn't going to get wet just before stopping. Then, I arrived with all of the folks cheering; it was nice to be there, but I knew I couldn't stay very long.