| The Second 25Miles: Todd's Cabin back to Lake Morena |
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| I felt good leaving Todd�s. The next two sections were mostly downhill. The nice thing about out-and-backs is that you get to see other runners on the trail. Between Todd�s and the first asphalt road crossing, I encountered Sammy Hans and another runner . Between the first and second asphalt road I saw Catra, Ammon and Linda M and other runners. Between the second asphalt road crossing and scenic vista point of the Anza Borrega Desert, I saw Joe, Mike , Rick and Terry. About 0.25mile before I reached Dale�s Kitchen, I readied my watch to take a split. The watch went bizzerk (sp?), and reset itself to 12noon and wiping out all of my saved splits up to that point in the race. So, I arrived into Dale�s a bit miffed and exclaimed to one of the volunteers my dissatisfaction with the watch. Oh well. I asked the present time, and then set the watch accordingly. (This is my second Timex VO2 Rush watch. I got it in July of 2002 to replace my first Timex VO2 Rush watch which did the same thing to me about 15miles into the 2002 Big Horn 52Mi trail race�. Both my V02 watches seem to have had a 12-16month lifetime, with a preference for failing during a race. I need to shop around for a different watch now, as I�ve lost my confidence in the VO2 Rush design). I capped off my water bottles and had some soda and oatmeal cookies.. thanked the volunteers at Dale�s and told them I�d see them again in about 12 hours. The 7.9Mi stretch between Dale�s and Cibbetts went by relatively quickly� I arrived to Cibbetts , capped off my water bottles, drank down some Boost from the dropbag and started back up the hill. I was about 35-40 minutes ahead of the WBN plan, but even with this lead I doubted I�d be able to make it to Lake Morena before darkness set in. One of the volunteers (Ken ?) was departing Cibbetts the same time as I was� he was going up to the PCT to set out glowsticks. So we walked up the dirt road together. When I told him that I was from Texas, he said �Oh your'e part of THAT gang�, and then continued to tell me that he had sat at the table with Joe, Mike and Margo during the dinner at Pine Valley Restaurant the night before. Joe and Mike filled him with stories from our Hill Country Trail Runner club�s Bandera Summer Camp weekend in August when 10-15 of us rent the old Ranch Group Lodge for a weekend of trail running , socializing and story telling. Closer to the top, the volunteer and I were passed by a station wagon containing two people. They stopped and asked us directions for the PCT�..apparently they were meeting some relatives at the junction of the PCT and this dirt road. Soon the volunteer and I were back to the PCT. He turned left to begin hanging glowsticks, and I turned right to head for the Windy Bandito Ridge and then to Boulder Oaks. This stretch to Boulder Oaks seems uneventful in my mind. I tested my memory from the trip out to remember significant landmarks that would come up as I continued to Boulder Oaks.. crossing Kitchen Creek Road, running by the hill that reminded me of Bandera , running through the section littered with granite boulders that resembled Yosemite granite, the tall Cairn (sp?), dropping down to the trees which were changing color, then under I-8, then crossing the asphalt road, running alongside pinkish stone markers for the PCT (two of which had been run over by a vehicle). Finally Boulder Oaks Campground came in sight. I was about 35minutes ahead of schedule. I was in and out of this aidstation quickly, as I wanted to take advantage of the remaining daylight. I grabbed my headlamp from the dropbag, but left my Green LED flashlight as something to look forward to after the 50Mile turnaround at Lake Morena. About a mile out of BO, a runner came zooming by me from behind� #30. I wondered if he had gotten off course, and was trying to make up some time now. Soon I reached the sandy section, which went through a dry creek/river bed under a bridge. The bridge columns contained a fair amount of graffiti for being that far away from a major city. From this point it is about 4miles to the Lake Morena Aid Station (LM)and the course climbs up a rocky chunk of terrain which from the top offers vistas of the partially dry lake bed below . During this climb, I begin to see the lead runners making their way on the second out-and-back. Curt was still in the lead. He warned me that he had seen a small mountain lion near the Lake Morena Campground in the �Boulder Section�. I told him �Lucky You!� and thanked him for the warning� but was puzzled as to how to identify the �Boulder Section� as this segment of the course seemed to contain multiple Boulder sections to me. I reached the top of this rocky chuck of terrain and started the descent to LM. Here I encounter Diane and another runner, she also warns me of the mountain lion that Curt spotted earlier. I note that she has added layers and seems prepared for the night section. Daylight is dissappearing quickly now. I turn on my headlamp and single white LED flashlight with about two miles to go to reach LM. I was looking forward to running with Philip after LM. I entered LM aidstation about 32 minutes ahead of plan. I was really satisfied with my first 50miles; I had run a comfortable relaxed pace and had gotten to run 10%-20% of the uphills. Philip was ready and waiting to start his 50mi race night adventure. I drank some Boost from the drop bag, and had some coffee from the aidstation. I was down to one water bottle. I had it capped off then put in my waist pack. |