June 6th - Palm Springs 67º-89º

[zippetydude]

Mark! I was thinking you might PR tomorrow with it being cooler, then Ellen posted you already took care of business today! Nice job. I'm looking forward to the TR too.

z

[Florian]

I went to the 4300' level this morning. The temps for June were amazing! At 9:30am when i turned around the temp was 58°. I thought there were some fresh tracks ahead of me but i didn't see anyone else on the trail.

-Florian

[Marknhj]

Mark! I was thinking you might PR tomorrow with it being cooler, then Ellen posted you already took care of business today! Nice job. I'm looking forward to the TR too.
z

Yep, I can't hike tomorrow, was planning to go Sunday but was concerned I'd miss this break in the weather. I really wanted to break 5:00 so made a snap decision to go up solo this morning.

Left at 4.45am and it was mid-high 60's with a nice, cooling wind. Didn't feel humid at all. My previous best was 5:09, about a month ago, but last Saturday, on our abandoned c2c attempt, I took 6:02 and it felt more like 8:02! I dislike hiking in heat and humidity with a passion.

Didn't know what to expect today, but within 50m I knew it was totally different. Got to the picnic tables in 23 minutes, which felt easy, and decided to push on. I'd concluded that for me to break 5:00 I needed to get to Flat Rock in 3:30 and, extrapolating backwards, to do that I should target 4300' in 2:10. My best times for these points were 3:41 and 2:18.

Was rather surprised therefore, actually shocked would be a better word, to reach 4300' in 1:59! Being slightly unsure whether this was a good or bad thing, I sent bluerail a text warning of potential collapse further up the trail! His stolid reply was, "keep at it". I think I woke him up.

Decided that I could back off the pace a little, and still make FR in 3:30. Had a two minute break at Florian's stash then was surprised, yet again, to reach FR in 3:16. Then I started to feel it. Spent the next hour very concerned about cramping, as I was getting twitches in my left calf, left abductor and both quads. Was surprised to then get a cramp. In my right tricep!

After one short detour at a point I've lost the trail before, another thirty second break to dust myself off after falling over, I made it to Coffman's extremely tired. But, I manged to get to the top without further incident, looked at my watch and was astounded to see I'd made it in 4:41! I was delighted, naturally, and very tired (including a spell of dry heaves when I stopped), but I know I left everything I had on the trail.

The weather was perfect. I was never too hot, the wind was nice and there was cloud cover most of the way.

Have fun tomorrow, everyone....

[Zé]

congrats on the PR!

cramp in the tricep?!!! wtf?

[Florian]

Great hike Mark. You were a couple hours before me on the trail today.

-Florian

[Marknhj]

congrats on the PR!

cramp in the tricep?!!! wtf?

That was my reaction too! But, I use poles and did triceps in the gym last night....

[zippetydude]

Great TR! I noticed you teased us along, not revealing your time til the very end. I resisted the temptation to skip ahead, but I admit, it was killing me.

Your tricep cramp sounds familiar...like we talked about at the notch, getting cramps in random places when at the point of exhaustion.

I think you are a great strategist on the trail - like saving some before Flatrock so that you'd have energy to do that last painful part.

Sorry to hear about the dry heaves, but I really respect the effort - you must have been workin' it hard that last section.

Well, there seems to be no stopping you...what's your next goal?

z

[magikwalt]

Great job Mark. Sub 5 hours is my goal. Thank you for showing me the way. Just imagine what you are going to post come Oct!!!

[Winston]

Wow, I can't believe the temperature is going to be so low this weekend. I was thinking that I was going to have to wait until late fall to do C2C, but now I'm going to go Sunday!

[Marknhj]

Well, there seems to be no stopping you...what's your next goal?
z

To get everyone at your upcoming soiree eating steak & kidney pie?