Two runners got lost in the Cleveland National forest since Late Sunday.  Both are said to be experienced ultarunners.  The first runner returned to the trailhead on Wednesday morning after being separated from his partner and sister-in-law since early Sunday.  The second runner was found by helecopter on Wednesday afternoon.  This is the fist day out of the back country they can breathe easy.   A team of people from the Ultrarunner community assisted in the search giving of their time to find one of their own.  I am glad this came to a safe and positive outcome for the runners. But I question their preparedness in these mountains and their experience.

I know what it’s like to do these kinds of runs.  You should know the terrain, trails and the physical dangers.  When running with friends we keep tabs on one another.  We signal each other to let each other know we are OK.  We wait for them at critical trailheads.  What drove these runners to separate and not keep tabs on each other…were they searching for water as one post intimates?   Were they duke-ing it out on the trail to see who could last the longest in the oppresive heat?  Don’t know although when the older runner is passed by the younger woman runner as he is throwing up as cited in her interview you wonder why they did not stick together at that point to ensure the safety of both.

Experience comes not only from the number of miles you put in and the races you have run but the time on feet in conditions that test your stamina, strength and judgment.  Most critical in this circumstance in my opinion is judgment.  Judgment to pace yourself, working as a team, knowing the trail and your bearings. There is much to learn from this this experience for these runners and I hope other runners and outdoor adventurers will take notice on what occurred here and take steps in their own passions to be prepared mentally and physically prepared for what mother nature decides to dish out.

On a related note today was the first day in a week I could actually fill my lungs to capacity without stabbing pains in the left side of my chest.  Was was up early taking with Jeanne and decided to get out for a short hike and watch the sun rise.  It was probably the slowest I have ever covered this section but it was nice to get out.   Now I need to strengthen my muscles in my mid section and ensure all the blood pooled between my lungs and plural cavity gets absorbed.   On the road to recovery but my adventures scheduled still hang in the balance.

Make my way through some rocks and stopped in my track only to see a California Mountain King Snake motionless on the trail. I was awe-struck. I have seen only a handful of these in my lifetime. This was the first I had found i this park in 20 years of hiking and running on these trails. I snapped some pictures and videos and grabbed him ot get some close-ups. What an amazing animal. This species is restricted to steep canyons and cooler temperatures. They are secretive and at most 3 feet

in length. This one was about 2 feet long and despite the cooler temperature of the area was quite fierce.

After snapping some photos I let him continue his crawl under a rock.
On to Sandstone Peak. Met a guy up there and chatted a bit then back down the trail where I stashed my rem

aining water for a cache I will access later in the week.
I ran down Chamberlain Trail toward Sycamore where I ran ito a group of 9 senior citizens make thier way up the hot trail. I was surprised too see them. They were spread sout and the last guy was having some major difficulty getting up the trail. I offered him water but he just said his legs were tired and he was out of shape.  I felt for the guy and I could tell he had a great desire to complete the hike.  He paused, gathered his energy and forged forward.  I was proud of him as he had to be in his late

60s or older.  His companion remained at his side despite the speed of the faster hikers ahead.

I continued down the trail and stopped to fill up my water bottle at Danielson Ranch.  Just as I was going to turn on the faucet a lizard that was in the sink started frantically trying ot get out of the sink.  He couldn’t get any traction on the porcelain and just spun his wheels.  See this video of him and what happened next. 

Back up The big BB hill to the car for a nice hike/run.