Detailed run report is now here including pictures and audio clips.
This turned out to be one of the most amazing, toughest adventure runs I have ever done. My brother, two of his sons, two sons-in-law and a friend were on a three-day backpack of the Paria River. This is an end-to-end hike from east of Kanab to Lees Ferry on the Colorado River through one of the most amazing and large slot canyons in the world. You hike from Utah to Arizona. I've hiked/run this route three times before. It is around 40 miles total depending on the conditions of the river and the various trails taken.
My plan was to catch up with the group, and cover their two-day distance of 27 miles, do it in only 8 hours, timing it so I would join them in the morning. And then hike the rest of the route (13 miles) with them.
I started my run after midnight, at 12:30 a.m. The river was the highest I have ever seen it due to the run-off and warm temperatures. I did notice that with the cooler night temperatures, the river went down about a foot compared to the afternoon depth. It was still pretty high and in the narrows areas covered the complete width of the canyon. The run would include at least 400 river crossing as I would need to zig-zag crossing the river in order to run along the beaches on the sides. The river would become higher and higher the further I went, until all the crossings were at least thigh deep. The water was a brownish mud color, so you could never see the bottom or be sure how deep it was before you stepped into it.
The challenging feature of this run was I did the most difficult portions in the dark. It was tough work keeping the pace up, focusing on the best route, developing skill in the river crossings, and somehow finding the springs in the dark. For most of the time, I had a blast, all alone in the dark, with cliffs towering above me on both sides for hundreds of feet. Stars could be seen high above in the gap between the clifftops. The sounds of the river were constant. At other times, it became very tough and frustrating, especially as the river became deeper in narrow areas. It was impossible to go fast in those sections.
To make a long story short for now, until I write my run report, my plan was very successful. I had worried that I had passed my brother and company camped somewhere in the dark. But when I reached the last spring area, I was hopeful that I would find them. About an hour after dawn I arrived there and found some campers. "Are you the marathon guy?" they asked. They were amazed to see me running in. I was pleased to know they had talked to my brother. They were right around the next corner. I ran into camp, and let out a whoop! It was a great reunion, so deep in the canyon. I arrived exactly as planned, just as they were preparing to leave their camp. I had traveled the 27 very tough miles in 8 hours.
We hiked together for awhile, but as the hikers started to tire with their much heavier packs, they wanted to keep their feet dry at a river crossing. I decided to push on ahead at a faster pace, but I no longer could run because of I had a tight hamstring that flared up during the hiking. So I just walked it in for the last seven miles and finished the typical 4-day backpack in 13 hours. That was about 7 hours faster than my best previous attempt. If I had run the entire route, I think I would have finished in about 11.5 hours. If the river was much lower, I think I could do it in 10 hours now that I know the route even better. Something to shoot for in the future.
It truly was one of the toughest, amazing running adventure I had ever accomplish. I long to return.
I now have over 1000 miles for the year, the earliest I have ever reached that milestone in a given year.
See Bob's pictures I am in at least one. I ran all the cool slot canyon areas during the night and caught up with them as we spilled out into the wide-open desert. | 