October 5-6, 2007
Pitchell 110K Fun Run

Last year’s Pitchell run had marked a new high for me in both distance and time on my feet. I hadn’t run more than 41 miles previously. This year, I had the advantage of having run a greater distance several times this year. That is also a liability as it’s easy to think you can always do something you’d done before. Last year, I didn’t really know what to expect but this year two sections really stood out as being formidable, Lane Pinnacle and Blackstock Knob.

The list for running Pitchell stood at 13, but dwindled to 9, and then 7, by race day. We met at Adam Hill’s house for pizza and a prerace briefing. After dropping vehicles at the Folk Art Center, we headed up toward Mt. Pisgah, one car dropping aid along the way.

Last year, we nearly froze waiting for midnight atop Pisgah. This year, a few of us planned on starting a bit earlier. I hiked to the summit with Mohammed Idlibi and India Coleman. We left the summit at 10:25, gingerly hiking down the wet, rocky Pisgah trail. When we arrived at the parking lot, the rest of the crew was ready to summit. Adam Hill, two time finisher, Kevin Lane, who started last year, Charlie Roberts and Stu Gibeau headed up the Pisgah trail while we hit the Shut-in.

The first climb is very steep and I let them go ahead, knowing I’d catch them on the downhill. This is the last stretch on the famous Shut-in Ridge trail run.

Descending it at night is rather precarious. A few spots have precipitous drops and the wetness added to the danger.

It didn’t take long before we had our first bear encounter. Mo was in front and the bear was right on the trail. It took off and ran up to the left of us into some brush. We soon made it to 151, where Sarah Almodovar was waiting with an aid car. Matt Kirk was also there, slowly driving my car back from Pisgah, along with Uwharrie, who had both hiked most of the AT already this year.

Refueled, we continued. I set a relaxed pace. Mohammed was holding back a bit since he likes to start out pretty fast. India and I pace very well together. We crossed the Parkway several times and had another bear encounter.

The climb up Ferrin Knob was difficult, made more so by rollerblading on the numerous acorns. On the way down, yet another bear was on the trail. It took off to the right. I searched for it with my headlamp and saw its eyes. The last thing you’re supposed to do is to stare down a bear, but with the light on him, he just froze.

A noise followed us in the form of Charlie. He had left an hour later but caught us just ten miles in. He flew past us and we met up with Sarah again at Bent Creek Gap. Just as we arrived, Kevin came in as well. Mohammed took off ahead of us and Adam came in just as we were leaving. Kevin went ahead and Adam soon caught us and stayed with us for a while. He then took off to catch Mohammed.

India and I plodded along, continuing to take our time. It would have been nice to break last year’s time but I wasn’t nearly rested enough to even give it a try. India just wanted to finish and become the first woman to do so.

After a couple more miles, Stu caught up as well. I felt for him being in the back by himself as I was for the entire run last year.

We met Sarah again at the Hardtimes trail. The yellow, crescent moon rose through the trees. India taped her feet and we were on our way down to the river. I stopped along the way and set my pack down, apparently in some poison ivy since I broke out a few days later.

The Asheville section is quite forgiving but we still took it easy. Sarah met us for the last time at the I-26 bridge. We got in more running but were still behind our expected pace. We took the Parkway briefly to save a few minutes and jumped back on the trail to hit the Folk Art Center, where the 50k runners started and where Matt was waiting for us with much appreciated sustenance.

This is the point where the climbing really begins. It’s mostly upward all the way to Rich Knob. I struggled on the climb and lingered behind a bit. After a few quick rest stops, we made it over the top and then enjoyed smooth sailing for a good while. The rest of the section contained gentle climbs and descents with a fair amount of relatively flat terrain, where I finally got my groove on with some bursts of speed.

The guardrail at Craven Gap provided an outstanding spot to lie down and relax our entire bodies. As the miles wear on, the desire to sit and to lie becomes rather obsessive. The next short section is one of my favorites.

This rocky stretch features a gradual climb with some short dips and rock gardens. We were met half way through by Mike Jackson, who had helped plan the original Pitchell run with Adam, but was unable to run it due to injury. At the aid station, Matt Johnson was waiting for us. He had run a portion of the first Pitchell and continued from that point on the second running to cover the entire course. A nagging ailment prevented him from trying the entire run this year so he assumed the role of support.

The next eight miles would be a serious test. Last year, it took me over three hours to run it. It starts out with a relatively easy bit and then climbs gradually toward the site of the old Rattlesnake Lodge. We saw more than a dozen hikers at the site. There's a half mile trail leading up from the Parkway to the site.

From Rattlesnake Lodge on there is nothing but climbing. It's not all steep but it increases in grade as it ascends. It also becomes very rocky. We stopped a few times to rest and get off our feet.

The trail goes through a gap and then ascends sharply to the left. This is the area that can break a runner trying to complete the task. It's here where you can question why you're even bothering to do this. Last year, I'd had the luxury of ignorance in not having any idea when the madness would stop. I always remember the difficult spots but I'm always a good bit off on remembering the true distances of such spots. I thought we only had to traverse several small peaks before Lane Pinnacle stared us down. It was closer to a dozen.

These peaks weren't all that tall but they were steep and arms were required to help pull tired bodies up their faces. On one of them, a large bird landed about eight feet in front of me at about eye level. At first, it appeared to be a hawk, but the markings weren't quite rifgt. It was more grey than brown with a white pattern. Unfortunately, I said something and scared the Peregrine Falcon and off it went. The falcon taking off was quite a sight. Neither of us had ever seen a falcon up close in the wild before.

The trail wore on over more peaks until Lane was finally within sight. I saw it early on but thought there was no way it was that far off so I dismissed it as a peak we would have to climb. Lane is steep and even has a ladder built over a portion of its rock face. Above the ladder is one of the finest lookouts to be found. I'm sure everyone stops here for a spell and we were no different.

The downhill is a slow go. There's a fair amount of boulder hopping, something that has to be expected on the last twenty miles of Pitchell. The downhilling got a bit easier but the trail likes to fool you as you think you're about to pop out on the Parkway but then it turns you left through a sea of green bushes. Here, we took stock of food and ate most everything. Traveling at a slower pace, much more solid food is necessary. We were both famished and looking forward to the aid station.

We ran across a grass field next to the Parkway. Last year, I'd been upset because I thought this was where the aid would be. It was still a mile further. We headed back into the woods for another climb. It started raining lightly. When the trail turned to the right, I knew we were about there.

Todd and Gary greeted us with coolers full of food. We tore into some pizza and other assorted goodies. We were told that we looked much better and were in better spirits than anyone else. The clock was ticking and it was evident that there was no way to make it to Mitchell before dark.

After leaving the aid stop, we made our way to the Craggy picnic area and just then, it started raining again. It came down much harder this time, but fortunately, we had shelter from it so we avoided getting soaked.

It's a steep climb up to the CCC shelter on the trail. Beyond it, the trail gets extremely rocky. The trail actually becomes a series of boulders with no dirt whatsoever. India slowed down a bit. She was feeling the overall body punishment that Pitchell wields to anyone who dares to conquer it. I thought she might want to drop at the next stop. She wanted to make it through but it's one of those endeavors where there is no guarantee. Simply finishing is an incredible accomplishment, no matter how long it takes.

We slowed our pace further and she wasn't feeling well. A couple of stops helped but I still figured she was through. I would have to decide whether to continue by myself or drop as well. Considering there wasn't much time before nightfall, I came to the conclusion that I would drop as well, despite having plenty of energy.

Adam and Stu were at the aid station. They'd dropped after 55 miles and expected us to do so as well. Fortunately, as we rolled in, India said she wanted to continue. Although I would be okay wityh stopping, I really wanted to continue as well. We just had to work out an automobile scenario because nobody would be able to wait until 10:00 or whenever we would finish. Adam and Jon Snow set up two food drops and brought India's truck near the finish.

We set out again and I came up with an idea which would allow us to finish safely. A 5 1/2 mile stretch involved a ridiculous amount of boulder hopping in a very dark and remote forest. The boulders would be wet and it would be completely dark by the time we hit them. There is a rocky, gravel road which skirts the mountain range and leads to the entrance to Mt. Mitchell state park. Deciding to take the road eased my worries. There would be no one to search for us if one of us had gotten hurt. I really banged up my knee on a boulder there last year and it was plenty dry and bright.

After leaving Adam and Stu, we entered a gorgeous section replete with blueberry bushes and long range views. We took our time and soaked in the vast panorama laid out before our eyes.

A succesion of small mountain climbs led us to Balsam Gap. This is where both the gravel road and the ridiculously difficult boulder section begin. Adam left a well stocked cooler for us. I took off my shoes and socks to massage my feet. We saw Adam drive by to drop off the truck. I ran out to the Parkway in bare feet and waved my arms and he saw me in the rear view mirror. I confirmed that the gravel road did indeed come out where I thought it would and he picked up the cooler.

We forged our way down the road but stopped when we saw a truck parked in front of us and a man approaching from the rear. We ignorantly asked if it was okay to use this road since it went through private property. Signs clearly state "no trespassing". They only applied to the land along the road. The man, who is a landowner, stated that the road was open to the public. We talked for a while and said we'd just come from Pisgah. He looked at us incredulously, realizing that 6 more miles of trail wouldn't be an issue for us, even in the dark.

We didn't do much running. After all of the hiking required to reach that point, it was difficult to get the legs moving quickly again. We stopped a couple of times and wondered if the road would ever end. Some of it was overgrown, some very wet and some quite rocky. It hadn't seen vehicular traffic in some time.

After two hours, we finally made it to pavement! We searched for the truck but it was nowhere to be found. I'd expected it to be just outside the gate but all we saw was one passenger car. It was almost ten o'clock. We opted to find the truck first and then summit Mitchell. Just then, someone approached with a flashlight. It was a camper who'd shown up too late to secure a spot in the campground. He offered to take us down to the Parkway, where he'd seen a truck with a logo on its side.

On the way down, a young coyote ran across the road. We drove the truck back up to the gate and got ready to summit. Then, flashing lights came toward us. It was the feds and we thought they were after us for parking in a no parking zone. It turned out that they were searching for some lost hikers and wanted to know if we'd come across them. They may have been on the section we circumnavigated.

The trail can get to you after a while, as can aches and pains. We could have taken the Old Mitchell trail like we'd planned but opted for the road instead. It was a little longer on the road but much, much easier.

We made it to the parking lot and the elevation sign, lay down for a minute and then headed back down. The summit is still closed due to construction of a new observation tower. We hiked the road with our lights off to observe the starry sky. It grew quiet for a while but then we were startled by what sounded like several deer running on the pavement. Switching on our lights, we couldn't tell what had just happened. I scanned a cliff above the road and saw what looked like six sets of eyes. Eventually, I could make out the outline of a rather large bear.
The other sets of eyes could have been other bears but it wasn't possible to positively identify them. The noise was claws scrambling up a sheer rock face. Perhaps, there were six bears but I've never seen more than three together before.

We finally made it back to the truck and headed back toward town. The trek took about 24 hours. On the way back, There was a heavy rescue truck and several other vehicles mobilizing to search for those lost hikers we'd heard about. The ride down the Parkway took a couple of hours since we were both falling asleep and had to pull over for a few quick cat naps.

This year saw five finishers. India Coleman became the first woman to make it through. Muhammed Idlibi, Charlie Roberts and Kevin Lane all became first time finishers and I completed my second Pitchell journey. Kevin set a course record with an astounding time of 15:18. Thanks to all of the volunteers, including Jason Hayward and Jon Snow, both of whom we didn't get to see but who were manning aid stations.

B-Rex