Smokies, Bent Arm Manway, Off Trail, 11-21-98 and Blanket Mountain 11-13-99

The Bent Arm manway was one of my early SMHC off trail trips on a route that would become one of my favorites. I have notes from the trip, mostly on the route, but no digital images. For this report I’m combining this first trip with my second trip, which also included an off trail climb up Blanket Mountain. My next two trips up Bent Arm used forks of Newt Prong as the descent route, so I will also combine those two trips into a single report. There is an additional blog from my 2022 SMHC trip at: (2022 Bent Arm). I have both GPS tracks and digital pictures from later trips on Bent Arm, and use images from my 2014 and 2015 trips to accompany this text.

Jenny Bennett on Bent Arm in 2015.

The 1998 hike was a SMHC trip with 19 people. I noted no names, but remember that Guy Griffith was along. We started at Elkmont and the Cucumber Gap Trail. The start of the Bent Arm manway begins just a hundred yards or so beyond Cucumber Gap where an old railroad grade forks to the right. The railroad grade turns into an old CCC trail where it bends right to travel above Huskey Branch. We stayed on the left side of the ridge for about 45 minutes until we reached a small cove. Then at about 1:15 we reached the crest of the ridge where we began the long rhodo tunnel. There was a long CCC wall where the trail was briefly on the right side of the ridge. The trail was open and there had been some clipping done. We saw some old pink, and newer yellow flags, as markers.

At about two hours we gained the main ridge in a small saddle. There was a short, steep climb ahead, and we could now see orange and yellow flags in the open woods on the top of Bent Arm Ridge.

At about 2:25 we took our lunch break. It would take us another 45 minutes to traverse the open top of Bent Arm Ridge. The trail was less easy to follow on the ridgetop, but stayed either on the crest, or just below the crest on the left side. The manway joined the Miry Ridge Trail in an unmarked spot about 5 minutes above the then new location of Campsite 26 at the head of Newt Prong. I was impressed with the navigating ability of our leaders (Probably Paul Threlkeld and Anna Marie Stefanick, who are listed in the 98 handbook). I thought it might be possible to repeat the route from the bottom, but following the hazy manway along the crest of Bent Arm from the top would have been trouble.

Soggy hikers, 2015.

On the return hike I noted the good overlook above Thunderhead on the Miry Ridge Trail. I thought the descent of Jakes Creek Trail was easy, but that neither the Miry Ridge nor Jakes Creek trail was especially attractive. We ended with 11 miles. I took pictures of both the Thunderhead Sandstone and the Anakeesta Formation, but nothing good enough to have scanned.

11-13-99, Blanket Mountain and Bent Arm

This 10 mile SMHC trip went up Blanket Mountain cross country, and then returned to Elkmont via the Bent Arm manway. The trip also included Jean, Ray Payne, Paul Treldkeld, Chris Johnson, and Chris Hamilton.

To access Blanket Mountain, we hiked just a few minutes past Campsite 20 on the Meigs Mountain Trail, then turned south up the left (east) side of Blanket Creek. We went about 45 minutes in relatively clear, gently sloping woods. We saw one old chimney which was likely the Andy Brackett chimney that Jean and I would struggle to find in 2015. 

Fringed phacelia on Bent Arm Ridge.

Where the drainage narrowed we cut to the right and confronted some moderate rhodo and a steeper grade. My altimeter read 3600’ when we cut hard right and went up a much steeper grade to Bearpen Gap. Bearpen Gap is the connection between Meigs Mountain to the west and Blanket Mountain to the south. There had been some old timbering between the ridgetop and the bottom of the first rock band.

Trout lily on Bent Arm Ridge.

We followed the north ridge of Blanket Mountain through three rock bands to the former fire tower site on the summit, which we reached in 2:30. The 1931 park map shows a trail up Blanket Creek to Bearpen Gap, but we saw no trace of a trail.

From the tower site we then followed the abandoned Blanket Mountain Trail to Jakes Gap. Apparently, our group hadn’t been going as fast as anticipated by the leaders and it took some convincing (though Jean calls it a rebellion) to persuade the leaders to let the entire group continue down Bent Arm. It was an hour long hike over to the start of the manway, and then a slow walk on the faint ridge crest section. But Matthew and Pat knew how to find the place where the trail leaves the ridge for the long rhodo tunnel.

The rhodo tunnel.

The tunnel was still well maintained and obvious. I estimated the last half mile was old railroad grade coming in from Cucumber Gap and the Little River. I also noticed chunk of white quartz stuck in the hollow of a tree marking the start of the old RR on the Cucumber Gap Trail. We would be seeing it many times in the future.

The lower end of the Bent Arm manway.

1998, 10-31, Cumberland Trail, Tank Springs to Cove Lake

This Smoky Mountains Hiking Club trip was my first hike on the Cumberland Trail. Sometime just before I moved to TN in 1993 the State dropped its Cumberland Trail project, losing access to some sections such as those on Walden Ridge that were on private land. A few sections, such as those in Prentice Cooper State Forest and the Eagle Buff Section along the crest of Cumberland Mountain from Tank Springs in LaFollette to Cove Lake State Park in Caryville were kept, since the state owned the property. I believe this hike occurred before the CT was revitalized by the Cumberland Trail Conference. Leaders for this trip were Bill Grieve and Ellen Kilbourne. There were 25 hikers (usually a sign of a new, or logistically complicated hike) including Charlie Klabunde and Doris Gove.

At this time the trail was complete between I-75 Cove Lake in Caryville and Tank Spring in LaFollette, with a side trail to the overlook above I-75. From the unnamed gap just north of the overlook, the trail led south into Caryville and then followed an unmarked route along local streets to Cove Lake State Park. The current foot trail alongside I-75 and up Devils Racetrack would be a later addition.

This was a 10 mile long car shuttle hike, so the first task was logistics. We parked a few cars near a house along the trail near the park  in Caryville (I’m not sure why we didn’t park at Cove Lake), then moved other cars to the LaFollette end. My notes indicate that I doubted I could find either parking spot again.

The initial climb from Tank Spring was steep and our large group moved slowly. Once on the crest we enjoyed some great overlooks and walked beside a variety of sandstone fins. The trail builders had done a great job routing alongside long vertical crags. At one overlook the group split, and we joined Charlie and Doris in the lead pack. I enjoyed some sections of double crest where there were two thick sandstone layers separated by a small bowl. We found the campsite mentioned in our map description, a nice setting with water close by.

Unfortunately, the overlook Eagle Bluff had good dirt road access and so was trashed. The trail beyond the bluff was less interesting. For some reason (fatigue, weather?) we skipped the side trail to the overlook above I-75. The descent to Cove Lake wasn’t as fearsome as we imagined. We soon hit some houses, and abandoned the trail to walk the streets back to our cars.

Overall, it was good to find another nice trail only 45 minutes away. But there did not appear to be safe parking at either end. The trail also was too brushy to have worn shorts in November, so I imagined it might be near impassable in summer.

The Cumberland Trail, Eagle Bluff Section.

Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and Lake Tahoe, 7-6-98

Our plan for this year was to visit the Sierra Nevada. While I had already made a few trips into the Sierras, Jean had never been there. Jean had a conference in Lake Tahoe around the fourth of July, and our plan was for me to fly out at the end of meeting and join her for some backpacking. Our first choice was to hit the John Muir Wilderness and do a backpacking trip using some of the Pacific Crest Trail. We’d also add on day trips to Mts Tallac and Dana, a pair of my favorite peaks from earlier visits. Things started well, we were able to get a USFS wilderness permit to enter at Bishop Pass, and all our travel arrangements went smoothly.

Then in late spring Jean was watching a news story where a ranger pointed to a few scraggly branches pointing out of the snow, and mentioned that it was the top of a 100’+ tree. El Nino had brought twice the normal snowpack to the High Sierra.

We realized right away that our Bishop Pass route wouldn’t be accessible by July fourth. A little research showed that conditions were the same up and down the Sierra, a deep snowpack that was in no hurry to melt off. We checked south to Death Valley and even east to some of the ranges in Nevada, but even these drier areas were still snowed in. We were at a loss until our friend Paul suggested that we just hit the best local outdoor shop in town and ask their advice.

At Paul’s recommendation we went to Sierra Mountaineering and chatted up a salesman. When we first asked advice on locations, he started with ”in a few weeks you can go….”, but we jumped in and asked where we could go now. Luckily he’d just gotten back from a trip to the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and could vouch for a route that was snow free. We got his route information, bought a map and guidebook, and we were off. Our guy also recommended a day hike to Mount Rose as a warmup.

 

7-6-98, Mount Rose (10,778’) Day Hike, 12 miles

I had lived in Reno in the early 1980s, but hadn’t visited Mt. Rose before. It is the highest summit in the north end of the Carson Range, and just 30-45 minutes outside of Reno. We didn’t have a map or guidebook, but the instructions from Sierra Mountaineering were good enough to get us to the trailhead. My journal notes don’t describe the specific route, but it is likely we went up FS Trail 51 from NV 431 near the Mt. Rose Campground.

The first three miles or so of the trail were old road that was mostly snow covered beyond the first 30 minutes. We had a few hazy views of Lake Tahoe. At three miles, the trail left the road (to the relay station?), climbed over a small divide, and headed across a meadow where we had nice views of Mt Rose and Slide Mtn.

At first the meadow was marshy, but then it became snow covered and we got concerned about losing the trail. But luckily we spotted a group ahead of us. The trail took a long detour around a ridge, then went up a draw until we reached a sign at the Mt. Rose Wilderness boundary. Still thinking we would soon lose the snow, we followed the steepening trail up the ridge. One of the group ahead of us turned back, and we hiked briefly with the other four, and their two dogs. Eventually we broke out of the snow and followed a nice ridgeline trail to the signed summit.

Jean at the wilderness boundary.

Jean and I were both tired, and had slight headaches, possibly from the altitude. But the fantastic views and a lunch break refreshed us. From the top we could see north to the Sierra Buttes, across Tahoe to the Granite Chief and Desolation wildernesses, to Mt Jobe at the south end of the Carson Range, and east to Reno, Carson City, and the Virginia City range. Our weather had been cool, but we relaxed out of the wind in shorts and T-shirts. 

On the summit of Mt Rose.

The hike back was tougher than the climb. The snow was softer, but since we now knew the route we were able to slide down a few sections. We saw two other parties heading up, plus a mountain biker on the first mile of the trail. The entire round trip took about 8 hours.

 

7-6-98, Rodriguez Flat to Llewellyn Falls, 6.8 miles

Carson Iceberg Wilderness is a great lesson in how spectacular the Sierra Nevada is. Carson-Iceberg covers 160,000 acres and has about 190 miles of trail, but few have ever heard of it. It gets lost between the huge Lake Tahoe Area/Desolation Wilderness to the north, and the even bigger Sequoia/Kings Canyon/John Muir Wilderness/Yosemite area to the south. Carson-Iceberg sits south of the 105,000 acre Mokelumne Wilderness north of CA 4 at Ebbetts Pass, and south of the 113,000 acre Emigrant Wilderness at Sonora Pass and CA 108. Even better for us, there were trailheads just a short distance off US 395.

Location map Carson-Iceberg Wilderness.

Our route was to go in at Corral Valley and make a loop down to Connels Cow Camp, with a one day side trip out to Soda Springs. This would not be the magnificent, glacial terrain of the classic High Sierra backcountry, but we would be in the mountains at 7-8,000’, and most importantly, out of the snow. Our worries would be bugs from the late snow melt off, and high water in any creeks we would need to cross.

Carson-Iceberg Trail Map.

We followed the trailhead directions in Jeffrey Schaffer’s Carson-Iceberg Wilderness guide. The 1997 reprint of this Wilderness Press guide is still the best resource on the wilderness. The drive took about two hours from Reno with a stop at the USFS Carson RD office to buy a map of Tahoe and the Toiyabe NF.

Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Boundary.

We started hiking from the deserted Corral Valley TH heading west (TR 21019). The first mile was a gentle climb with only one snowbank to the ”Driveway” in an open sagebrush and wildflower covered meadow. There were yellow violets, bluebells, yellow asters, and scores of species we couldn’t recognize. Even the shrubs were in bloom, with the early spring flowers being some consolation for being snowed out of the high country. Jean’s list for the trip soon reached 30 types. A huge cairn marked the middle of the meadow. The surrounding peaks were still mostly covered in snow, so there would be no peak bagging for us this trip.

Meadow along the "Driveway".

Our first ford across Corral Creek (Silver King in my notes) wasn’t easy, mid-thigh on me, with a solid bottom, but cold and swift. Luckily we both had poles. I ferried my pack across and then came back for Jean’s. The next crossing (Silver King Creek) was tougher. We found a log upstream, but we didn’t dare walk it, and it was too branch covered to butt scoot across with packs. Again, I forded first with my pack and then returned for Jean’s, so that she could use the log to cross. The water was crotch deep for me, and the current was about all I could handle. I suspect we were near the maximum of spring runoff, and that typically these fords would be less of an issue in summer.

Detailed trail map Carson-Iceberg.

After the crossings was easy walking while watching the creek and the snowy peaks above them. Long Valley was a bit marshy and buggy, but still had great views. We had planned to stop at Commissioner’s Camp, but didn’t want to ford the stream again and suspected the site would be too buggy for camping.

We went another half mile to a flat above Llewellyn Falls and set up camp with some nasty storm clouds approaching. We heard two booms of thunder, but the rain stayed to our north. Unfortunately, when the skies cleared the wind dropped and the mosquitoes came out. Bugs at dinner time can be a terror. They know when you’re tied down to intricate tasks around the stove, that’s their time to feast. Even with repellent applied, and full clothing on, there was no way to avoid them. We ended up eating dinner almost running around the campsite.

But we were also not proving to be the most prepared campers. Somehow my fuel bottle cap had mis-threaded and had been leaking slowly in my pack. We had just a quarter liter of fuel left. My fleece pants had absorbed most of the fuel. We used creek water to rinse the pants, but now most of my gear smelled like fuel. We weren’t planning a long loop, and could resupply, but I hated to have my gear potentially ruined, especially mid trip. 

Then as Jean took her boot off for the night, the heel began to separate from the sole. The glue had been giving away at the sole, but now it looked like she’d be lucky if the boots survived the trip. We made some field repairs with duct tape, but weren’t confident for the next day.

We were surprisingly tired for only 7 miles of backpacking, maybe the long day on Mt. Rose was affecting us. Our packs were heavier than usual, with food for a full four days. This would be Jean’s longest backpacking trip to date. We knew Carson-Iceberg wasn’t giving us the full alpine experience we’d hoped for, but this surely was the time to visit, the snow was mostly gone, the flowers were peak, and we’d seen no one else all day.

 

7-7-98, Llewellyn Falls to Coffee Flats, 5.9 miles, plus a 2.0 mile side trip

We rose early to try to avoid the mosquitoes, but as soon as the sun cleared the ridge they were at us in a fury. By the time we’d cooked breakfast, just eating and packing up became a chore. We blasted down the trail, past the cabin at Connell Camp, looking for drier country. We found salvation by Coyote Creek where we stopped for a long break. We though of making our camp there, but decided to head for the high flat, flowery area about a mile from the trailhead, and then do a day trip to the Soda Cone the next day.

We took another break at Corral Creek, where Jean spotted a coyote below us across the meadow. Soon we heard a small pack howling and yipping, and saw a large coyote moving through the trees about 200 yards away. Coyotes are very secretive, to see a pack out in the open in daylight was spooky. In all my outdoor time I’ve only seen coyotes a handful of times, and never a group like this for so long. Luckily for us, they moved off.

We climbed up to the flat area near the Driveway intersection and found a good tent site not far from the mega-cairn. We found snow for water in a pocket of trees to the west. Since we were so close to the car, I hiked back to the trailhead and got more fuel, more beer, and Jean’s running shoes from the car. Her boots had held up on the six mile hike through the first layer of duct tape, but we wanted more reliable footwear for the next day’s hike. 

Jean in meadow.

We spent the afternoon just enjoying the view, which extended from Lake Tahoe to Sonora Pass and south to the crest of the wilderness. The sun was harsh enough that we decided to tent down in the trees to get some shade. On all our trips out west, we’ve needed some time to adjust to the harsh sunlight, after living for so long in the East Tennessee haze. We liked our campsite enough to dub it Coffee Flats.

With the extra fuel we were able to wash Jean’s hair, with hot water and shampoo! My fleeced pants got dried out, and the fuel smell removed. We did some flower watching and Jean’s list grew to around 60 different types, amazing for the Sierras. 

Flowers near Coffee Flats.

My notes indicate (probably from Shaffer) that above Lewellyn Falls are potentially the only(?) population of endangered Piute trout. Hybrids could swim up Silver King Creek to the falls but not beyond it. Much of the use of the area is by fisherman.

Also, from the first intersection with Silver King Creek to Corral Creek we walked on granite. The start of the hike, including our campsite is on volcanics, mostly andesite, and the trailhead area is mostly metasediments, Jurassic, according to the guidebook.

 

7-8-98, Day Hike to the Soda Cone, 9 miles

Our open camp was no match for the morning mosquito horde. We hurried on down the driveway, forded the creek and walked an easy, and relative bug free, two miles to the Soda Cone. At first we went past the cone, then backtracked to find it on a rough trail.

The Soda Cone

 

The cone is a high, rounded knob over a foundation of granite. The pool is cool, and contains mats of algae, making us wonder if it got contaminated by cattle. We saw some gas bubbles, but couldn’t smell any H2S. The water level was about two feet below the rim, and the grass around it came to rim level. We had lunch there and ate some of our precious smoked salmon (there are advantages to being out of bear country). The cone was skeeter free, so we took naps in the sun. It was an easy walk back to the ford, then a long hot walk back to camp. We both ran out of energy before we ran out of trail. With lunch consumed, we just had to tough out the rest of the hike. Near the end there was a light shower, and got a cooling rain with a little thunder once we were back in the tent.

The driveway cairn.

By later afternoon Jean’s flower count was up to 78. We were used to some 430PM thunder rumbles by now, this day no rain came with the thunder. Our snowbank refrigerator had already shrunk by six inches, prompting me to move my beer to keep it cool.

After dinner, we heard a surprising noise, people. Three hikers with their dog passed us heading down toward Silver King Creek. Meanwhile we wandered down to the cairn for a few last photos. Jean spotted a deer headed to our camp. 

Driveway cairn, close up.

 

7-9-98, Coffee Flats to Trailhead 1.2mi, and Tahoe Rim Trail N of US 50, 8 mi.

We woke up to another clear and buggy morning. After soaking in our last few views, we hiked back to the car. After a long slow drive to US 395 we headed north to Carson City, where we got a room at the Super 8. After stopping to resupply, we headed up US 50 to Spooner Summit to hike an 8-mile loop on the Tahoe Rim Trail and FS Trail 504 in North Canyon.

The trail itself was a little disappointing. We wound through a sparse forest, climbing and twisting without any clear vistas or trailside attractions. With our late start and the heat of the day, I was glad to leave the Rim Trail for the 1.2 mile descent down to the North Creek Road (FS 504). We took a long break on the road, watching dozens of mountain bikers ride by on their way to Marlette Lake. After a fast trip down North Creek Road we came to signs for the Spooner Lake Recreation Area, and signs for the cross country ski area, and backcountry cabin rental. Beyond the sign board our way was unclear, but luckily we saw no tempting side trails and passed Spooner Lake successfully on our return to the trailhead.

 

7-10-98, Tahoe Rim Trail south of Spooner Summit, 3.5 mi.

We just wanted another easy walk so we headed back to Spooner Summit, this time heading south on the Tahoe Rim Trail. This time we expected less views and more flowers, but got the opposite. We walked about 40 minutes out to an old prospect pit with a good view across Lake Tahoe. After a quick lunch we headed back. This time we saw only a lone hiker and lone biker.

We drove around the lake and then down to Reno via Mt. Rose, just for the sightseeing. We spent the afternoon at Trader Joe’s, Sierra Trading Post, Earth Quarry Rock Shop, and the mineral museum at UNevada, Reno. Next we headed over to visit Karl and Laurie at their place outside of Sparks. Dinner was at an Italian place downtown. The next morning, I joined them for a three mile run, and then it was off to the airport for the flight home.

Jean on the Tahoe Rim Trail.

1998, 4-11, Wupatki National Monument Backpacking

This is a trip that remained on Jean’s bucket list long after her sabbatical year in Arizona. The Crack-in-Rock backpacking trip visits a part of the park normally not open to visitors, and visits several amazing panels of petroglyphs. The ranger-led hike is available on just a few weekends in the spring and fall, and is popular enough that there is a lottery for each trip. Jean and I had applied a few years in a row for a spring trip and despite being selected, weren’t able to make the trip. We finally decided we needed to make it a priority and were determined to go when we next got the opportunity.

Luckily, we were chosen again, and even better, our friends Anthony and Helga also drew tickets. We planned to meet them for the backpacking trip, and to stay over a few extra days to visit some other areas in northern Arizona.

4-10-98

We flew from Knoxville to Phoenix, rented a car, and immediately drove to the REI in Phoenix. They got the bushing on Jean’s stuck hiking pole operable again for us. Leaving Phoenix we stopped at Montezuma Castle National Monument, which was just off I-17. We didn’t find much hiking there, but there is a nice visitors center and two ruins, one small one on a short interpretive trail, and the larger “Castle” on the cliffs above. Both structures were built by ancestral Puebloans and occupied from around 1050 to 1400CE.

Further on we stopped at Walnut Canyon National Monument, also a Puebloan site occupied from around 1000 to 1250CE. It was afternoon when we arrived, so there was only time for a quick hike on the one mile Island Trail, and for a trip to the visitors center. At the monument are numerous cliff dwellings constructed into overhangs in the Kaibab Limestone along Walnut Creek. Most of the buildings had some damage, most likely from looting in the pre-park days. Even without the dwellings, the canyon was scenic hiking with a steep, narrow gorge.

We met Anthony and Helga and spent the night at the Innsuite in Flagstaff.

4-11-98

We met our group at the Wupatki visitors center at 8 the next morning and loaded into trucks for the trip to the trailhead. The NPS is sensitive about the location of Crack-in-Rock, so there will be no location details here. We had two leaders from the NPS with a group of ~20. Early in the ~8 mile walk we saw several historic era Navajo sites and several Puebloan sites. We saw two “forked stick’ sweat lodges built with juniper branches. Most of the Navajo structures seemed to be built of uncemented blocks of the Moenkopi sandstone. The Puebloan sites were mortared and had 1000-1100 y.o. pottery fragments. The ground was covered in black cinders, presumably from ancient eruptions of Sunset Crater. We passed one group of petroglyphs on the hike.

Navajo Ruin. all the images here are scanned slides, so my apologies for the quality.

The hike to the campsite was fairly straightforward, not too hilly, and over relatively gentle terrain. I had a pair of still new boots, my old reliable sundowners, and managed to get a large heel blister. Most of the hike was a flat sagebrush scrub with sparse juniper trees. By the time we reached Crack-in-Rock campsite the winds were howling. Jean and I failed at our first attempt to set up our tent after being blown several tens of feet downwind, and were only successful on the second attempt by staking everything down solidly before trying to erect the tent. We gave Anthony and Helga a hand with their rental tent.

Crack in Rock Petroglyphs.

Crack in Rock Petroglyphs.

Jean and Ranger at Crack in Rock.

Finally, the group headed on to Crack-in-Rock which loomed from a small mesa above us. A prominent cliff band below the top has several petroglyphs, including a panel with more than 25 elements, more than I’d ever seen in one panel. The ruin gets its name from the entry to the top, a narrow, twisting fissure that ends in one of the pueblo rooms. The NPS had concreted the top of some of the walls to preserve them, but much of the structures were still in good shape. Jean had mentioned the petroglyphs as a highlight, but I had assumed the structures would be much of the attraction. We then went over to Middle Mesa and saw even more petroglyphs than at CIR. The panels and elements at CIR were more elaborate, better preserved, and more numerous than any of us had seen elsewhere.

Middle Mesa Petroglyphs.

Middle Mesa Petroglyphs.

But after Middle Mesa the group started to fade, and we headed back to camp for dinner. Jean found a narrow ravine beyond our tent site, and we were able to successfully cook in the shelter there, finishing just before dark. We had a huge moon and bright stars, but the night was cold and windy.

4-12-98

Fortunately, the next morning was warm and calm. We all made a quick trip over to Horseshoe Mesa to explore the petroglyphs there, and then to another single panel site. We used just a slightly different route on the return hike. Again, the winds picked up after lunch and we glad to reach the cars by 2PM. Anthony and Helga headed home to Logan from the visitors center while Jean and I took a brief tour of the extremely windy 100 room, 3+ level, Wupatki Ruin.

We decided to stay the night at the Bonito Campground at nearby Sunset Crater National Monument. We found a site out of the wind, but should have gotten the hint when we noticed only 4 other sites were occupied. After dinner we managed a quick walk out on the lava flows to watch the sunset. We zipped the tent up tight for the impending cold, but each of us had trouble falling back to sleep after our inevitable nightly journey. I had a new sleeping bag, and slept warm, while Jean did not, and she was cold through the night. Our water bottles stored in the tent froze overnight. The next day we discovered the overnight low had been 13F.

4-13-98 Sunset Crater National Monument

First off, we hit the visitor center for some displays and the joy of central heating. Then we hit a grab bag of short hikes.

Lenox Crater was a 1.0 mile loop around an old, eroded cinder cone.

Lava Flow Interpretive Trail was also 1.0 mile. The trail was missing many of its signs, the ice cave was closed, and we couldn’t climb on Sunset Crater, so this one was a bit disappointing. We headed back to Wupatki.

At Wupatki Pueblo we revisited the main ruin, this time going to the ball court and the blow hole.

Donney Mountain turned out to be our favorite even at just 0.8 mile. We could see all of the San Francisco Peaks volcanic complex, plus the line of cinder cones that runs north from it. The wind had come up, so we had the trail to ourselves.

Finally, we went to Citadel/Lomatki pueblos. Of the two Lomatki was prettier and better preserved.

After the cold the previous night, we headed for the Flagstaff Innsuites again for hot showers then a stroll through town to check out some bakeries and brew pubs.

Jean at Lenox Crater.

4-14-98 Sedona

Sedona was a last minute add-on to our trip, so we didn’t have things perfectly planned out. We wanted to hike the West Fork Trail, but the water in Oak Creek Canyon was too high for us to ford it. After a few other false starts we headed up the Wilson Canyon Trail, even though it wasn’t shown on our maps. The trailhead is just a few miles north of Sedona in the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness.

We went about 1.75 miles up the canyon, nearly to end of flow in the creek, had some lunch and returned. We got just a taste of the famous Red Rock Scenery Sedona offers. The trail system there is really large and worthy of a much longer visit.

We then headed down to Phoenix to spend the night before our flights back to Knoxville the next day.

For a great pair of books about exploring the southwest and the ancient Puebloan cultures try In Search of the Old Ones and Lost World of the Old Ones both by David Roberts.

1998 3-14 Holiday Lake 50K

When I first started running ultras 50 miles was the standard course distance. Of course, there weren’t nearly so many races back then and you had to take whatever distance was offered. My first three ultras (twice at Deadwood and once at Mtn Masochist) ended up being 50 milers, and it wasn’t until 1998 that I would try a 50K. My recent racing had been sporadic, I had run a road marathon in 1995, but didn’t do a big race at all in the preceding two years. My only ultra since moving to Knoxville had been Mtn Masochist, but since David Horton directed both Holiday and Mtn Masochist I expected a fun time. This would be the third edition of Holiday lake, which had finally settled in to both its permanent race day date and ultimate course arrangement. My training for the race was unfortunately relatively modest. I started with several 12 milers at Knoxville’s Lakeshore Greenway, but didn’t do too many big weekend runs early on. After the New Year I was finally able to get in some Smokies runs, mostly on the West Prong and related trails near the Townsend “Y”. But still I managed only two 17 milers and a single 21 miler. Jean offered to join me for the trip up to the race. She drove to Jefferson City and left her car at my work, and we both drove north in my car at 330PM. We made a stop for dinner in Wytheville, VA and got to the Super 8 in Appomattox at 930. Back then the race started at 530AM, so we were up at 330 and on the road by 415. With the early start I had a light breakfast cereal with donuts and danish washed down with coffee and juice. The course then was similar to today’s; basically, the Lakeshore Trail in the Holiday Lake 4H Camp to start, and then the majority of the race on the Carter-Taylor Trail in Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest. The race was an out and back run on a loop course, what some folks call a “washing machine.” We started in the dark, but under a full moon. I began with a group of 4 running with flashlights along the lakeshore, probably the most scenic part of the course. Jean would later comment on how pretty it was to watch the string of lights move around the lake. As we moved into the state forest there was an ugly clear cut and some running on a reclaimed logging road. There was a recently cleared section of trail alongside a paved road that had plenty of low stubs from cut off saplings. I stubbed my toes, and stumbled trying to navigate the obstacles in the dark. I got to Aid Station 1 in 40 minutes and was feeling good. The running in the state forest was mostly on old roads with a minor amount of pavement and a pair of easy stream crossings. The terrain was gently rolling, with only a few hills on the order of 100 yards long, nothing like some of Horton’s other courses! The only tough stretch was from Aid #4 to the turnaround. Horton had recently added that section to the course and, not surprisingly the change added some bonus distance as well. Temperatures would stay in the 35-40F range, ideal for fast running. I met Jean at the turnaround and gave her my fanny pack. With the aid stations only ~3 miles apart, there was no reason to carry anything extra. I ran essentially all the first loop and pulled into the turnaround in 2:58, and in ~40th place. Just beyond the turnaround my lack of training began to catch up to me. The outer sides of both knees began to hurt, probably because of inflammation in my IT bands. I was forced to run in short segments, 1/4 to ½ mile at first, but sometimes only a few hundred yards before I needed to walk a hundred yards or so to let the pain subside. I had a running partner between aid 6 and 7, but otherwise ran solo. Later on, my hip flexors also got sore, another symptom from my lack of conditioning. Ironically though I was never low on energy, and felt I could have run the whole course if my knees had held up. I finished the race in 6:22, 47th out of 71 finishers. Despite the amount of walking needed to finish, the time remains my official PR for 50K. We left about an hour after I finished, and again stopped to eat at the Country Kitchen in Wytheville. I drove for an hour after lunch, but otherwise slept for much of the drive. We got home at 8:15 and I promptly slept for 13 hours and was barely able to walk a mile and a half in the neighborhood the next day. Longer term, my recovery was good, we were able to go backpacking on most weekends after the race and I had no issues on our long awaited ranger-led backpack trip to AZ’s Wupatki National Monument in April. I learned the hard lesson that I really needed some longer training runs in my pre-race preparations. I would fair well the next year running the Mt. Mitchell Marathon, but suffered from extremely painful IT bands when I twice tried the longer Black Mountain Challenge 40-miler. IT band issues and tendonitis would continue to flare up through about 2014 before a combination of added strength/stretching work and the ability to maintain a higher base level of fitness seemed to address the problem.