The Ozark run was really quite phenomenal. If you ever get a chance to run or hike the
Eagle Rock Loop, you must do it. I suggest that you start at Albert Pike. This is the site of the 2010 flash flood that
killed so many people. The family that owns the campground just outside the
national forest have owned that place since the 1860s. It’s a beautiful spot
and sure would help them if you gave them the business. They have nice cabins. I arrived on Wednesday around 10am. By noon I was running
the trails to see what I was going to be facing the next day – the day of the
ultra-run. I did about 10 miles. It was
rugged, rugged trails often climbing over 100 meters at a time. I knew I was
going to have a challenge.
 |
| The view at the top of a 110 meter climb. |
After my run I talked to a young man who grew up in the
mountains. He agreed that I would be wise making my attempt be a
counter-clockwise run. The temperatures had been in the 90s and the water was
low. He told me that even in the best of weather you need to be beyond a point
called Spirit Rock Vista by noon - a saddle about 350-380 meters or almost ¼ mile
up from the river - if you’re going to
cross the high mountains and get back before dark. He also to me that with
temperatures in the 90, it would be
foolish to try the high mountains if it is over 90 degrees at Spirit Rock
Vista. Having seen what I would be facing if I were running after dark, I
decided that it would be prudent to heed his advice and develop an
alternate.
I started out early on Thursday. My pack weighed in at
20#. I had my food, 3L hydration,
survival kit and first aide kit. I dug
my poles in and headed up the mountain. The first run was a climb of over 400
meters (1,312’ or ¼ mile) in under 2 miles. It wasn’t until I got to the top
that I realized that the trail ended. I
had been so engrossed in the phenomenal views that I had missed the turn
northwest. I went back down the mountain and tried again. Again, no turn. I did over 5 miles up and down
the steep incline but could not find the path. The third time I saw a forest
worker. He pointed down the valley and told me the trail continued “down there”. I had lost a lot of time. I made good time to
Little Missouri Falls. Because of the drought there was almost no water going
over the falls, but it was still beautiful.
From there to my first major turn – where I would take the Athens-Big
Fork Trail – was a bit unnerving. I
would encounter large camping areas and it was not easy to determine which of
the trails out of the camping area was the trail I wanted. The trail marker was yellow paint on the
trees. The problem with that is that I would find yellow bark lying on the
ground as I passed a tree. Sometimes I would go a fairly long time without
confirmation. This is where knowing how to use a map and compass comes in
handy. I had 17 topo maps on my iPhone. I have a good sense of direction and can use
a map, but again I lost precious time.
It was getting late and temperature was going up. My Casio Pathfinder with 7 functions and 4
sensors really paid for itself.
At noon I realized that I was still almost 2 miles from
Spirit Rock Vista. I had made up a lot of time, but I was still behind
schedule. I was about 200 meters (656
ft) up the side of a ridge protected from the direct sun by a large limestone outcropping
and trees. Even though I ate on the
move, I had to stop long enough to get the food out of my backpack. This time I
stopped long enough to check the temperature (they do recommend that you take
the Pathfinder off your wrist to check the temperature so your body heat doesn’t
skew the results.) and get out some jelly beans and trail mix. That’s when I
realized that I was almost out of hydration. (I run with a mixture of Gatoraide
and whey protein). I knew that I shouldn’t
try to cross the high mountains but I had to decide – go on to the junction of
the Little Missouri and Athens-Big Fork Trails where there was supposed to be
water (about 2 miles) or go back for water (almost 10 miles). Of course, with my steri-pen I could take
water from the river if I wanted, but I wasn’t near the river at that
point.
Obviously I opted for going on. A short while later I was standing where my
map and compass said was the intersection of the trails, but there was no sign
of water. There was a parking lot (of sorts) near a river ford. Two 4-wheelers drove up. They wanted to ride
the trail. They had come from Oklahoma and I hated to tell them that there was
no way they were going to take their machines on those trails even if it were
permitted, which it wasn’t. I asked
about water. They were hoping that I knew. They were already relegated to
drinking water out of the river. We were far enough up into the mountains that
it was probably relatively safe (apart from the deer pee, etc.). I decided to push on. I still had about ½ L of water in a filter
bottle.
From there I headed south. It was a long steep climb. I was
at 549 meters (1800 ft. or .34mi. Oh, I use meters because that’s what my
Pathfinder uses). It was 94 degrees and
I had been on the trail almost 7 hours.
This last climb had taken its toll. To my east was Hurricane Knob, a
peak of 2170 ft, and still 375 ft above me.
It was crunch time. The young man at the campground had told me that
trying the high mountains in this heat was dangerous, and I could now see what
he meant. Even if I had enough strength to get down the mountain, I couldn’t be
sure there would be water in Long Creek or that I’d have enough energy to cross
the three remaining mountains nevertheless make the final 5+ miles to get home
before dark. I can’t tell you how hard
it was to turn back. I had to take my alternative route. (At least I had one) At the bottom of the mountain I used my
Steri-pen to get 3L of water from the Little Missouri River. Instead of being
mountain stream cool it was almost bathwater warm but it was fresh, pure water.
I headed toward home disappointed that I would miss the
4.5-5 miles of high mountains to which I had so been looking forward. I had studied the terrain and features for
weeks and now I had to leave them behind.
Actually, the alternative route added miles to my run. The alternative route was actually 2-3 miles
longer than the loop. Add in the 5 miles of mountain climbing, my run ended up
being 39 miles as opposed to 32.
The return run was hard.
It was hard not because of the terrain but because of the heat and the
toll that heat and climbing had already taken on me. The return run crossed a
number of rivers and streams. At each I would dip my cap or soak my face cloth
in an attempt to cool down. I knew that
I was becoming dehydrated and I stopped a second time to top off my camel pack
bladder with water. I had taken 5
packets of salt with me and used them all. I was feeling all of the signs and symptoms. The last four miles felt like forever and I
was actually beginning to worry about the dehydration. The thing which helped was that I noticed
just after noon that the barometer was falling. Now it was beginning to get
overcast. That did lower the temperature
some and I was praying for rain. (The
rain came in the form of a thunderstorm that night.)
When I emerged in the parking lot about a ½ mile from my
cabin it was just becoming dusk. There
was still a young couple with their children and dog. I asked them to take my
picture . . . if nothing else but to prove I could still smile. The famous Missouri River swimming hole was
just yards from my cabin. I didn’t walk around it. I walked through it just keeping my pack
above water.
I had covered almost all of the Eagle Rock Loop except about
6-7 miles of high mountains . . . 39+
miles in 15 hours 54 minutes. I know for
younger and experienced trail runners that’s pretty slow. But considering that trekkers take 48 hours
to do the same distance . . . I also
realized that my pace was just slightly faster than the pace required for the
famous Mont Blanc ultra which is my (pipe) dream. In the end result none of that mattered. It was just data that would help me
analyze. But what was important was I
had completed an ultra-run on an exceptionally hard trail. And despite the
trials and difficulties the smile in the picture at the end of the run was
real. I had fun. Once I drank almost a ½
gallon on chocolate mile, I felt exhilarated and was ready to do it again.
If you love running trails as I do, the Eagle Rock Loop is a
must. Because I’m not very fast I must
run it in the summer so I have enough hours of daylight. Next time I’m going to be retired so I can
watch for a time when the temperatures aren’t so high. I’m really looking forward to those high
mountains.
RUN WILD. RUN TRAIL!
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