February 10, 2007
Mt. Mitchell Summit 30 Miler

Another cold morning and we were in no hurry. Six of us headed up the very steep Appalachian Way. Adam Hill had a mishap in the first 100 yards. His Camelbak started flowing onto his gloves. He made a quick change and joined us up the hill. I didn't start drinking early enough and my first sip was a Gatorade slushy. I had two Camelbaks and both mouthpieces were soon frozen solid.

We were joined by Steve Parrish, Chris Sields, Sarah Almodovar and Drew Shelfer. The pace was relaxed since the Challenge was only two weeks away. The run was uneventful up the Toll road except for some icy patches. I fell behind a bit as usual and ran most of it by myself. Drew and Sarah turned back at the Parkway.

The Parkway had wonderful ice sculptures flowing out of the rock. Naturally, I forgot the camera again. We ran up route 128 until the Buncombe Horse trail veered off to the right. Much of it was snow covered. The icy patches were much more slick than the ones on the Toll road. Chris and Steve put on their Yaktrax and had no issues running on the ice. I, on the other hand was slipping and sliding and going off trail to avoid it. One spring had frozen completely into a cascade of ice leading well down the mountain. There was no way around it so I felt better traversing it on hands and knees. It was an amusing sight but I made it across.

The other ice floes were easy to get by until we came to a mini glacier. The stream was frozen and water had flowed down the trail into the stream as well. I was faced with an uphill climb over a sheet of smooth ice. Steve went right over it but I had to bushwhack my way around it for a good distance. We met up with Chris and Adam, who was wearing just a t-shirt despite the subfreezing temperatures.

More ice awaited us on the Commissary trail. One stream was mostly ice covered but the ice had plenty of give. We were fortunate to make it across without the ice giving way and dumping us into the frigid water.

The last mile to the summit is mainly very rugged singletrack. The forest transitions to a thick spruce-fir covering with mossy undergrowth. Ice was less prevalent in the forest except for two springs which turned intp massive frozen Niagras.

Beyond the singletrack and the signs which stated that none shall pass lies a wide gravel road leading to the summit of Mitchell. The old tower has been removed and a new tower is to built in its place. The summit is currently closed to visitors. The signs on the trail had been knocked down or perhaps had blown over. Anyway, we really didn't know what they said so onward we went to the summit.

I'd never been all that impressed with the views from Mitchell. It had always been hazy when I was up there. On this day, every mountain range for 100 miles was crystal clear. Adam and I pointed out mountain ranges and marveled at the distance of the Pitchell run. We saw Mt. Sterling, where we'd run on New Year's Day.

The weather changed abruptly and the wind really picked up so we headed back down. I took the lead for the onlt time during the run since we had a steep, rocky downhill, my favorite type of trail. Adam commented "Brian's downhill name is Beduhnasaurus Rex. Mine is Sally." That's certainly not true as Adam is one of the best downhillers I know.

We took the Old Mitchell Trail all the way to the Ranger Station. The northern exposures were snow covered but we were ascending them so there wasn't much of a problem. From the station, it was pavement back to the Toll road. A lenticular cloud was positioned right above Table Rock. It appeared a bit like Close Encounters.

Along the road, we all split up and ran at our own paces. I took 7:10 to make it through. It was a confidence builder since we didn't push it and we spent time admiring views. This was the last long run before the Mitchell Challenge.

On Sunday, a day after the run, there was a 5k Valentine run. Not so wisely, I had signed up for it. I started off a bit quicker than usual and didn't have any issues with tired legs. I couldn't push as hard as I'd wanted to but maintained a steady pace for two+ miles and then sped up a bit after that. I kicked it into high gear at the finish and ended with a full, powerful sprint. It was a new PR for me at 23:45. That may not sound all that impressive but it was acheived the day after a 30 mile run to the summit of Mt. Mitchell and back.

Raging Bull