Idle Hour Adventure

I'm not sure how to start the story of my AC training run this weekend. It was fantastic in so many ways, but utterly miserable, too. I got in my 40 miles plus, but had to be pulled out by a helicopter, lifted by a cable. I know, it sounds almost James Bond or plain stupid.

We started the run around 7:15 from a place called Short Cut off of highway 2. Bill's wife dropped us off and the weather wasn't too bad, yet. We knew we were in for a hot day and most everyone was prepared, carrying extra hydration stuff. I thought I would be fine with my normal hydration pack. We were all together for the first 30 miles or so, but started to stretch out as we got closer to our last water cache. I was out of water for hours at this point and feeling pretty funky. I kept going, slowly, knowing I was close to the water.

With Flaco only a few minutes in front of me, I went straight on a trail that I should have turned uphill on. I realized after a bit that the trail wasn't much of a trail after all. I decided to try climbing straight up the hill to find the trail again. I did this for a while, with no luck. I resigned to going back to where I knew the trail was. Finally, after about an hour detour, I was back at the trail. Here's where I made the biggest mistake. I headed back the way I came instead of toward the guys and the water. By the time I realized my mistake, I was so dehydrated and tired, I could hardly walk.

I managed to climb toward Mt Wilson to get cell reception. I tried Guillermo, who didn't have his phone with him. I thought he might give me some direction out of the Idle Hour campground. The only way I knew was straight up Mt Wilson or back the way I came. Both were uphill and about 10 miles. I was in no shape to manage either one. Finally, I called 911, who connected me to the fire department. I explained my situation, that I was severely dehydrated, vomiting constantly and far from anything. He assured me they would get me out before dark, but to go back to Idle Hour so I was near an actual place they could find on a map.

I shuffled my way back down the hill and waited. I soon heard a helicopter overhead and waved my arms each time they passed overhead. I was sure they saw me, but then they left. I was certain, now that I would be spending the night out there. I even found a nice place to lie down. Every time I tried to get up, I would puke, it was awful. Finally, the helicopter came back and hovered right above me. I had mixed feelings about being rescued by a helicopter, but decided, what the heck, it's gonna happen.

I see this guy being lowered with a cable and try to walk over to him. The helicopter creates such a storm of wind and everything is swirling around in my face, but I manage to get over to him. He puts a harness on me and attaches me to the cable, along with himself and up we go. He is holding me very tightly and the cable starts to spin as we are lifted into the air. I try hard not to puke on him as the spinning is really turning my already unsteady stomach. There is one guy waiting at the entrance and he pulls me inside and buckles me into a seat. I can't believe I'm in a helicopter! They make me drink lots of gatorade and water. After checking my vitals, they want to take me to the hospital. I adamantly decline.

The moral of the story is to drink more water early and eat more food, during and before the run. What happened to the 4 guys I started with, you ask? Well, they came back looking for me and saw the helicopter lift me out. The didn't get to the road until dark and had to call Bill's wife to pick them up, as they had gone backwards, like me, trying to find me. I was relieved to learn that no one was angry at me for losing my way and making everyone worry. In fact, it seems they were psyched to have gotten in more miles and enjoyed the adventure of it all.



I love ultrarunners. I think we just look at life differently.