Where's That RASCAL Now?

As of the end of day, Monday, January 13

Maps and Garmin data for each section

I intend to post maps and elevations charts for sections I've run, but for now, just have time to publish links to the Garmin data - so you can see how slow I am....

More details on each of the passages can be found here:
http://www.palmettoconservation.org/maps.asp


 
Day 1 - Passage 1 - Oconee
 
Day 1 - Connector 1 - A Long One!

Day 2 - Passage 2 - Blue Ridge Electric

Day 2 - Connector 2 - Starting from Table Rock
(We stopped about 3 miles short due to it being dark and on dangerous winding mountain roads, but we drove the rest of the way to capture the full route on the Garmin map.)

Day 3 - end of Connector 2
Glad we did this section in the day - there were gorgeous scenic views we would have missed at night.

Day 3 - Passage 3 - Middle Saluda (Jones Gap)

Day 3 - Connector 3

Day 3 - Passage 4 - Saluda Mountains
 
Day 4 - Passage 5 - Poinsett

Day 4 - Passage 6 - Blue Wall

Day 4 - Passage 7 - Peach Country
  
Day 5 - Connector 4
  
Day 5 - Lost at USC
  
Day 5 - Passage 8/9-Almost to Croft

Day 6 - Passage 10 Croft plus 3 mile connector
  
Day 6 - Passage 11 Glenn Springs
  
Day 6 - Connector 6 - Part 1

Day 7 - Finish Connector 6 then ran Passage 12 Blackstock Battlefield
 
Day 7 - Connector 7
 
Day 7 - Passage 13 - Enoree - Part 1
   
Day 8 - Passage 13 - Enoree - Part 2

Day 9 - Passage 13 - Enoree - Part 3

Day 9 - Connector 8

Day 9 - Passage 14 - Lynch's Woods

Day 9 - Connector 9

Day 10 - Passage 15 - Prosperity to Peak

Day 10 - Connector 10 - Part 1

Day 11 - Connector 10 - Part 2

Day 11 - Passage 16 - Capital City
               Stopped in at Palmetto Conservation office at 722 King St
               also - Gate 1 is closed at Fort Jackson.   The next passage starts on the other side of the gate.
               So, got driven from just before Jackson Blvd, into the for from another gate to the PT Trailhead.

day 11 - Passage 17 - Fort Jackson

Day 12 - Connector 11

Day 13 - End of Connector 11 to start of Wateree

Day 13 - Passage 18 - Wateree

Day 13 - Passage 19 - High Hills of Santee

Day 13 - Passage 20 - Lake Marion - Part 1

Day 14 (Two weeks now!) - Passage 20 - Lake Marion - Part 2
   
Day 15 - Passage 20 Lake Marion - Part 3
Note - ran to Jack's Creek Landing forgetting that this section was closed.   I may have chanced it anyway during the day, but it was night & didn't know what I was getting into if I went ahead, so decided to turn around and do the road bypass, which added over a mile.
   
Day 15 - Passage 21 - Santee

Day 15 - Passage 22 - Eutaw Springs
 
Day 16 - Passage 23 - Lake Moultrie
The start of this passage said it was closed and rerouted to Viper Rd.   So, started from Viper Rd which may cutoff 1.5 miles from original trail distance.   However, I added about 1.5 miles previously running to Jack's Creek Landing on the Lake Marion Passage, then having to run back, so I think it makes up for it.

Day 16 - Passage 24 - Swamp Fox - Part 1
 
Day 17 - Passage 24 - Swamp Fox - Part 2
 
Day 17 - Passage 24 / 25 Tailhead split between Fox Swamp & Awendaw
   
Day 17 - Passage 25 - Awendaw
 













  

RASCAL Run - Day by Day

Day 1 - Saturday, December 28.

This is going to take a long time! Came up short today. Ran 31.5 according to maual.34 according to my garmin. Got bonus miles in making wrong turn and having to escort puppies back home. Will upload pictures and garmin data later. Was interrogated by numerous dogs along the road. First day was rough. Only 3 miles on the trail followed by long 50k on the road. Finished at the entrance to Blue Ridge Passage, just up the hill from Bob's Place.

Day 2 - Sunday, December 29

Ran the Blue Ridge passage yesterday and it is stunningly beautiful.   It runs from near Bob's Place (near Rocky Bottom) to Table Rock park.  Then ran the next connector section and that was it.   So yesterday, only got in about 29 miles according to my Garmin - which included several "bonus" miles again.   

I liked the Blue Ridge passage so much I had an annoying habit of doing sections twice.   Twice, I made a wrong turn and when I got back to the trail, took it the wrong way, not realizing I was going the way I came from until finally I hit something I remembered - like the start of the trail the first time I did this.   (The trail looks different going the opposite direction!)
  

Coming up way short on the planned miles I intended to do, so my plan will need to be adjusted accordingly.  Why are the days in December so short - can't somebody do something about that?   I need to write my congressman....
  

Been taking lots of pictures, but having to shuttle back & forth quite a ways to a hotel after a long day, just not getting any time to post them.   Hopefully I'll find some time soon.
  

Please send inspirational messages!
  

Thanks!

Shaggy

Day 3 - Monday, December 30

At the end of 3 days, am now where I was supposed to have been at the end of 2 days.   This is taking awhile... Ran Middle Saluda and Saluda Mountain passages.   Middle Saluda (Jones Gap) is a trail that's not fooling around.   It pretty much goes straight up a mountainside.   ("Switchbacks?, We don't need no stinkin' switchbacks....").    It also has a ton of waterfalls.   But pretty technical trail - the beauty of the trail comes at a price.
             

One of the biggest issues is just logistics.   Still planning things for the next day at the end of the day before, so not getting any time to make the updates here I'd like to.   They'll just have to wait I guess.;   Barely getting a few hours sleep as it is.
       
Looks like we'll been spending New Years Eve in Spartanburg.
            

Happy New Year's, Everyone!

- Shaggy

Day 4 - Tuesday, December 31

Not sure many miles have been racked up so far, but seems like best I can do especially managing the logistics, is in the 30's.   Days are short in December - can't someone do something about that?

Dropped my camera at the start when my hands were so shaking so much at the start due to cold.   It promptly died.    I can take pictures with my phone, but battery life on my phone is an issue.   While out running, Usa picked me up an inexpensive electronic camera from the Dollar General.   Took lots of pictures but not sure how they're going to come out.

The trail is bordering NC at this point.   Ran Poinsett, Blue Wall and Peach Country passages.   Lots of road....

When I finished Peach Country in the town of Inman, fireworks were going off, so that was pretty cool.

Day 5 - Wednesday, January 1

Wednesday was "Bonus Day".   Lots of extra bonus miles.   Guess I like the USC and Spartanburg area so much, I had to explore it all....   So did not get as far as I would have liked and will pick up with Croft tomorrow.   Many thanks to Ned Barrett who came out to set me straight on course again and many thanks to my crew chief, Usa, for putting up with me!     Spartanburg seems to be a land of many parks & churches and is very bike friendly.    Garmin data is posted....

Was able to use my camera again.   It seemed to come back to life when plugged in.

Day 6 - Thursday, January 2

Started the day meeting Herald Journal reporters and ran the Croft Passage with Spartanburg Foothills Trail runner Ned Barrett and his four-footed pal Bristol. The Glenn Springs Passage had some pretty buildings but the trail was less so. Started  connector to Blackstock Battlefield. Had to stop early due to ankle issues. We'll see how the ankle is on Friday.
  
Here is the link to the Herald Journal article.
  http://www.goupstate.com/article/20140102/ARTICLES/140109942/1083/ARTICLES?Title=Columbia-man-aims-to-run-the-475-mile-Palmetto-Trail#gsc.tab=0

Day 7 - Friday, January 3

 Oy vey....   Got another late start, partially due to having to check out of a hotel.    Would be much easier if you could just do this sleeping in a van, and we considered that, but there is less access to heat, water, electricity & wifi in a van.   But on the plus side - in December, you would not need to worry about a refrigerator.   It's amazing how much stuff I have just to do a simple run.    I even brought my color printer to print off last minutes maps....
 
Ankle was much better today.   Occasional "twang" was it.

My friend Travis Cowan came out today to help crew & he was a life saver.   After running to Blackstock Battlefield & out to Enoree in Sumter National Forest, he met me after a section that was supposed to be 6 miles, but came out to 8 on my Garmin.   There was some "bonus" milage as I got turned around a few times, but not that much.
               
Started the next section at dusk.   Had two lights and spare batteries, but one light died and I could not get it to work again even changing the batteries.   The one light was not cutting it for finding trail marks - could never find the next mark, so after 3 hours, made my way back to where I started.   Fortunately I was able to reach Travis on phone.   Coverage is spotty at best out here and maybe it's the cold weather, but my phone battery life is horrible - I swear it seems to lose battery life even powered off....    If you were going to get lost in the woods all night, it was a good night for it though - the stars were beautiful!

While I was in the woods with not enough light trying to find trail, I used an extra shirt I had that was somewhat reflective as a marker.   (A South Carolina Runner of Trails and Ultra Marathons shirt.)   However, I eventually could not find that any more either.
   

Have not seen an abundance of wild animals, just mostly birds, and then I am never certain what they are.   Saw some wild turkeys, a kingfisher, something that looked like a large woodpecker, but had a large stripe on each wing, a large raptor that may have been an owl and another that may have been an eagle.   They could have been hawks, but seemed larger & different, but could never get a good view.   No bears, although we did see one scouting out the trail a month before.   Saw some raccoon tracks (I think).   

Looks like another late start on Saturday....   Hard to find time to sleep and run & do everything else too....

Day 8 - Saturday, January 4

Staying at my house now, but it's over 90 mins to where I left off, so definitely got another late start.   Had hoped to finish Enoree today, but it is the trail that never ends.   Got 15 miles in,    Looked for my lost shirt, but still could not find it.   I was picturing some little bear wearing it, showing it off to his bear buddies.

  

However, my phone battery died when I was out there.   I had two friends coming out to help me, but had no way to reach them.   The day was pretty cold by South Carolina standards (low 30's) and I think that must have something to do with it, but I have not had time to research it.    My phone had a good charge when I started, and I had it powered off.    But within a few hours, the phone (a Droid Bionic) would power up only enough to tell me it had no more battery left, then would power itself down.    I did not have my car charger with me, but when I got home, the phone's battery was fine - like 70%.     When running, I had my phone in an outside jacket pocket for convenience, but tomorrow, I will start wearing it closer to my skin in a shorts pocket & see if that helps.
        

After the 15 mile section it was around 5pm, I met up with both Hunter Smith and Andrew Touzel who had been looking at me at previous meetup locations, but we had never been there at the same time.   The next section would be in the dark.   I might have gone for it, but I don't think any of us were for being out there another good 4 hours in the dark, so called it quits for the day.   

I guess it was an easy day but I feel like a light-weight.
  

After I got home & got online, got a message from a friend who had been running that section earlier that day and had found the shirt.   He had asked if it was mine.   Too bad I had not gotten an earlier start and maybe we could have caught up.
   

Day 9 - Sunday, January 5

Hunter met me at my house & we took separate cars, leaving mine where I hoped to finish at the start of the "Peak to Prosperity"  passage (at the Prosperity side).    He crewed for me at met me at several stops.   He had to run with me at the Lynch's Woods Passage, but I got there later than I would have liked and he had to take off.
   

Lynch's Woods is only supposed to be 3 miles, but of course, I ended up making it 6 miles.   Where I found the Palmetto Trail, it was pretty clearly marked with with trail signs or yellow blazes.   However, after one turn onto a road, I could not find any more Palmetto Trail marks anywhere.   Searched repeatedly all around the turn.   The park has other trails that are not PT, and I tried some of them.   I had their map but was not finding it very helpful.   But eventually just made my way out of the park but was probably there an hour longer than planned.    On the plus side, pretty sure I saw another owl....
        

Finally got back to my car at 8:30pm & didn't get home til probably 10pm.   

Day 10 - Monday, January 6

Peak to Prosperity (or Prosperity to Peak the direction I was going) is one trail even I cannot get lost on.   It's rails to trails so all straight.   Also a little rough, running on railroad ballast.   Pretty though and lots of train trestles to run over.   The trail is surrounded by trees on both sides which was nice because it was extremely windy and cold, so it did not feel so bad on the trail with the trees blocking the wind.

Then followed Taba's Guidebook making my way to Columbia.   Got as far as Harbison State Forest.   You could tell you were getting closer to Columbia as the houses started changing gradually from shacks to mansions.   Ran the last few hours at night.  
             

Day 11 - Tuesday, January 7

Started from Harbison and made my way to Riverfront Park on Broad River Road crossing the Broad River over strangely enough, the Broad River Bridge.   And what a broad river it is....   The bridge is under construction, being widened, but you can still cross on foot.   Looks like it will be nice when finished.   Tho book however says to go down a walking path off the bridge to a canal trail, but that path has been disconnected from the bridge during construction.   My jumping abilities are not what they used to be, so I continued over the bridge to the other side of the canal and crossed over the canal to the trail using a construction site & hopping a fence.   I am a better hopper than a jumper,
    

Had Franklin McKenzie crewing for me today.   He met me a couple of times throughout the day & Usa came out with coffee too.    Stopped in at the Palmetto Conservation Foundation and enjoyed speaking to Suzette Anderson who was very helpful.   One good tip she had was that the Fort Jackson gate I was going to use was closed!    That gate is near the Palmetto Trailhead.   So ended up having Franklin drive me in through another gate and to the trailhead.

Along the Capital City passage, managed to drop my camera again.   Looks like it may be down for the count this time....
  

On the Fort Jackson passage was surprised to meet up with local barefoot runner celebrity John Richards who ran with me for a few miles.   Then met up with vegan friend Lisa Kopek later on trail who ran with me to the end of it (or as far as Taba's book goes).   Finished around 8:30 pm.
  

Today was probably the coldest day yet - I don't think it ever got above freezing, but it really didn't feel that bad, at least when I was moving.    The day before was actually worse because it was a lot windier.

Predicting another late start tomorrow....   seems to be a vicious cycle....

Day 12 - Wednesday, January 8

Latest start yet.   Tried to get some stuff done for work before starting and all electronic devices were conspiring against me.   Scanners would not scan, printers would not print...
        

So ended up with an easy 19 mile day, only running the back road connector section between Fort Jackson and Wateree finishing sometime after 8pm.     So, didn't even run any actual Palmetto Trail today despite running 4.5 hours.
  

Tomorrow will be the Wateree and High Hills of Santee Passages.

Day 13 - Thursday, January 9

Today got a ride to & from the trail from Joel Froese.   It's starting to get kinda from from Columbia, so tomorrow may stay in a hotel.

Found out why the Wateree Passage is called that - there was maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile under water - maybe calf to knee high.    Nothing like a nice swamp walk to wake you first thing in the morning.   It starts with a rails to trails section, but then shoots off up some hills and into the woods with some nice views.

The next passage was "High Hills of Santee".   Got followed by "Ranger Dog" for a ways.   Ranger Dog had a tag with a phone number.   Her owner was a ranger, so not sure if that was actually the dog's name or not.   The Ranger came out to meet us & take the pup home.   The last few miles of this passage were all sand rutted with hoof prints from horses, so not much fun.

Started the Lake Marion Passage but only got in 5 miles.   Had good light with me, but the trail blazes were still difficult to find.    Was met my Karen Jackson and Brian Reddish.   Even with 3 of us in the dark we kept losing the blazes.   So I guess running at night in the woods is not such a good idea unless you know the trail...
   
Usa had picked up a new camera for me the day before & I started using today, so should get some decent pictures again - if I ever get time to post them....

 

Day 14 - Friday, January 10

REALLY late start today, but still got in 23 miles of the Lake Marion Passage starting around 3:45 pm and finishing around 10:45 pm with some nice "where the heck is the next blaze?!?   And where did the last mark disappear to???" sections in the woods at night.

Since I got a late finish will try to make up for it with an extra early start.   Oy vey....  Need to finish this thing!
 
Has it really been two weeks now?

Day 15 - Saturday, January 11

Started off the day finishing the Lake Marion Passage going over a closed two-lane 2 mile bridge over Lake Marion.    I guess they built a new bridge for I-95 which runs parallel.   So the old bridge seems to be dedicated to the Palmetto Trail now.   Glad I did not try to do this at night as it was a nice view.

A little warmer yesterday, but everything comes with a price.  Wore shorts but ended up going through some of the most unkept section of trail full of briars, so ended up with you could say, a few scratches.   And of course, the warm weather brought rain with it, so at least I could cool off the scratches with a little torrential thunderstorm rain...   Still got in a good 39 miles, but finished kind of late.

  

But my crew is taking off tomorrow!   Not sure how I am going to work out the next couple of days...

Day 16 - Sunday, January 12

Lake Moultrie - Done (but started at Viper Rd due to a sign saying the section in-between was closed).

At the end of Lake Moultrie, was joined by old & new trail running friends Karen Jackson and Troy Harper who got me through the first 7 miles of the Fox Swamp Passage.   We were later joined by Brian Reddish who taxi'd us to our cars.   

Did not get in as many miles as I would liked yesterday, but had gotten another late start (2 pm).  With my crew having to go home to Columbia, we had to drive an hour to drop off my car and then another hour back to the start of Lake Moultrie.   

The Lake Moultrie passage was mostly on top of a dike that goes around the lake and was mostly easy running.   The beginning of Fox Swamp seemed mostly easy running too with a clearly defined trail and easy to find marks, even at night, although it was a bit swampy, fancy that, and despite the occasional boardwalk, our feet were soaked...

47 miles to go!

  

Day 17 - Monday, January 13

           
Done!
  

Longest day out there.   Fox Swamp was the easiest running, but Awendaw was a little tricky with lots of tree roots waiting to trip up the unsuspecting tired runner foolish enough to take it on at night....
  

Started at 10 am and got about 15 miles in when I met Chad Haffa of Eagle Endurance who puts on many trail races in the Lowcountry.   When starting the Fox Swamp Passage last night, I kept tripping over holes on the trail and the occasional tree root.    I think because of this, my ankle was giving me grief again.   I asked Chad about the holes and he said they are a result of fires burning out the stumps.   Chad's a firefighter, so he should know...   

It actually started to get a little too warm to run during the day - a far cry from just a few days ago when temps were below freezing.   The Fox Swamp trail in the Francis Marion National Forest is quite pretty in parts.   At least during the day.   It's a long trail so I finished it at night, being joined again by Karen Jackson and Troy Harper.   They are both driving about an hour to come out & run with me - how awesome is that?
 
Finished Fox Swamp maybe around 8:30 pm.   The section I ran was about 40 miles.   We had some issues trying to figure out where Fox Swamp ended and Awendaw began and probably did a mile more than we needed and then got some more bonus miles trying to figure out where Awendaw went.   Eventually sorted it out and later met up with Brian Reddish again who ran in from the end of Awendaw.   Even at night, I could tell Awendaw was quite scenic, but did not take many pictures since it was night.   The Awendaw Passage is about 7 miles.

A little after 11 pm, we rolled into the end of the whole Palmetto Trail (or the beginning if you're going the other way....).   Had to dip my shoes into the water, which is probably not technically the sea or ocean, but the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway.   Not sure if the waterway there is natural or man-made, but it feeds into marshy creeks which feed into a bay which is off the Atlantic.

Pretty much right after we got there, my friend Usa Engelbrecht also arrived.   She drove up from Columbia (over two hours away) just to see me finish.   Usa crewed & put up with me for a good part of the previous two weeks - I could not have done this run without her help!

Not sure I would say there was fanfare, but there was celebratory beer and picture taking...

Went back on Tuesday to take more pictures of the Awendaw trail during the daylight.   It is quite nice.

Will post my pictures somewhere on this blog and on Facebook as soon as I can, as well as some acknowledgements....
 
Be sure to support: these great causes for whom I ran:

The environment (kind of) - Palmetto Conservation Foundation
http://www.palmettoconservation.org/

The animals:  Carolina Wildlife Center (Wildlife Rehabilitators)
http://carolinawildlife.org
 
People (kids with cancer) - St Baldrick's Foundation
http://www.stbaldricks.org/

Thanks for all your support & stay tuned for more updates!

 - Scott

RASCAL Run (Running Across South Carolina in Altruistic Lunacy)

 for people, for animals, for the environment

What is this all about?

I am running across the State of South Carolina using the Palmetto Trail to help raise funds and awareness on several issues - because I'm not just a one issue kind of guy....
   

Many of you know me as a vegan and an advocate for animal issues.   So part of this is to show you don't need meat or other animal products to perform great at physical activities and sports.   I'd like to support the animals of South Carolina by promoting wildlife care.   The Carolina Wildlife Center is a great place for animal rehab. 
  

But I love helping people too!   There are so many great organizations out there that benefit those in need.   If you're more of a people person than an animal person, then let me direct you to a great organization that helps kids with cancer.   How can you argue with that?   The St. Baldricks Foundation does a lot of promotion in Columbia, SC, but they are a national organization, so your support can help kids wherever you are.
  

Of course there are many ways to keep the environment in good shape so it can still be used and enjoyed by future generations.   One way is going with a vegan diet - it is much more sustainable and causes less damage to farmlands.    Another way is to support groups that maintain parks and trails which encourage others to foster a love of nature.   So why not support the Palmetto Conservation Foundation which works to improve the quality of life in South Carolina by preserving greenways and historic landmarks along the trail.


Running the Palmetto Trail is something I've been pondering for awhile.   Scot Taba Ward through-hiked the entire trail last year & produced a great detailed guidebook.   It is a must-have for anyone who runs to explore large sections of the trail (but check out the trail, regardless!!)   I had the chance to hike with Scot a couple of times last year on the PT.   

However,  now is the time for me to try this!    December & January  is not the ideal time, but it looks like I am moving to the Seattle area soon, so this is my last chance to give it a shot.    And if I am going to run it, may as well see if I can give back to the State of South Carolina, since the good people of SC have put up with me for almost 5 years.....

Who are these groups?

The Palmetto Conservation Foundation:  

http://www.palmettoconservation.org/

St. Baldricks

http://www.stbaldricks.org/

Carolina Wildlife

http://carolinawildlife.org/

I don't have any way of tracking, so if anyone does help make a contribution to any of these groups, please leave a comment, even anonymously, or message me.   Would be great to know.....   Thanks!

How am I doing this?

Since it is the middle of winter (it gets cold even in South Carolina) and since I want to run and not carry 50 pounds of gear, I am going to the equivalent of "day-hiking" the trail.   (There probably will be just as much walking as running....)   My friend Usa is going to meet me at the end of every day & pick me up and then take me back again in the morning.   

My original plans had been to "through-hike" the trail, basically staying on the trail the whole time, but that's just not going to happen now.

I hope to average roughly 45 miles a day and hope to do it in 12 days.

The Palmetto Trail

The trail currently has 25 defined passages, but it is still a "trail in progress".   Some passages connect one to the next, but in some cases there are large gaps and you have to make your own way in-between.   The defined passages are about 425 miles.

I may be wrong, but I do not believe the Palmetto Conservation Foundation has established official ways to connect the passages together.   

Scott Taba Ward did that in his guidebook.   So this is as close to a Palmetto Trail bible as you will find.   Buy his book if you really want to explore the trail and figure out how to get from one passage to the next.

http://www.thru-hiker.us/palmetto-trail-2013

The trail is a work in progress and there have already been changes since his book.    I will try to connect all the current passages and document where I deviate from his book in this Blog.

Here's my current plan.....

Link to the Plan

This plan - and this blog - is also very much a work in progress!   There are many people I plan to acknowledge but it's time for me to hit the trail!   Will update more later!

Thanks!   I would also love to have people to run with!   I will have my phone:  (803) 543-0562.   You can also contact Usa, but message me on my phone or on Facebook to get her #.

RASCAL Run Plan

RASCAL RUN PLAN *

       
* subject to change - contact Scott or Usa to confirm.
Scott's cell is (803) 543-0562, but may only check irregularly.
However, message Scott on FB or phone for Usa's number.

Day 1 - Saturday, December 28   -  Oconee to Table Rock

Mileage

             Section 1 of Taba's Guidebook
   0        A.  Passage 1 - Oconee Passage

   3        B.  Connector 1   (starting at Oconee Station) 

  31       C.  Passage 2 - Blue Ridge Electric

================================================

  44       end of day      (day total = 44 miles)

Day 2 - Sunday, December 29   -   Table Rock to Middle Saluda to Poinsett

             Section 2 of Taba's Guidebook

  44       A. Connector 2    (Starting at Table Rock State Park)

  55       B. Passage 3 - Middle Saluda (Jones Gap)

  64       C. Connector 3    (Starting at Jones Gap Visitors Center)

  74       D. Passage 4 - Saluda Mountain

=================================================

  84       end of day         (day total = 40 miles)


*****************************************************
Plan is getting off schedule already!!   On Day 3, just starting Passage 3 Middle Saluda / Jones Gap, so the plans below are getting pushed back accordingly.   Will hopefully finish Passage 4 today at least....
*****************************************************

Day 3 - Monday, December 30    -    Poinsett Passage to Hub City Passage

              Section 3 of Taba's Guidebook
  84        A. Passage 5 - Poinsett
  90        B. Passage 6 - Blue Wall   (Deviate from Guidebook - continue to end at Equestrian Center
104        C. Passage 7 - Peach Country (new) - ends at Inman, SC
118        D. Connector 4 - (Inman to USC Upstate - John M Rampey Jr Center)
====================================================================
128         end of day        (day total = 44 miles)

Day 4 - Tuesday, December 31    -    Hub City USC Spartanburg to Enoree

               Section 4 of Taba's Guidebook 

128         A. Passage 8 & Passage 9 - Hub City Connector & USC Upstate

139         B. Connector 5   (short - 1 mile)

140         C. Passage 10 - Croft

152         D. Passage 11 - Glenn Springs

160         E. Connector 6   (deviates from Taba's book)

===========================================================

172         end of day          (day total = 44 miles)

                     

Day 5 - Wednesday, January 1    -    Blackstock Battlefield to Enoree

172           A. Passage 12 - Blackstock Battlefield  (not in guidebook) - 4 mile loop
176           B. Connector 7   (deviates from guidebook)
                 Section 5 of Taba's Guidebook
184           C. Passage 13 - Enoree  (36 mile passage)
==========================================================
220           end of day           (day total = 48 miles)

Day 6 - Thursday, January 2  -  Lynch's Woods, Prosperity to Peak to Harbison

220            A. Connector 8  (to Lynch's Woods - deviates from book)

226            B. Passage 14 - Lynch's Woods  (3 mile loop) - not in guidebook

229            C. Connector 9 to Prosperity  (deviates from book)

                  Section 6 of Taba's Guidebook

241            D. Passage 15 - Prosperity to Peak

250            E. Connection 10-A  (to Harbison State Forest)

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269            end of day    - at side entrance to Harbison park              (day total = 49 miles)

                    

Day 7 - Friday, January 3  -  Harbison to Capital City to Fort Jackson

269            A, Connector 10-B   (to Riverfront Park)

279            B. Passage 16 - Capital City   

                  Section 7 of Guidebook

287            C. Passage 17 - Fort Jackson   (be sure to bring ID!)

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302            end of day             - ends on Leesburg Rd            (day total = 33 miles)

                    

Day 8 - Saturday, January 4    -    Wateree & High Hills

302             A. Connector 11   (at Eastover)

322             B. Passage 18 - Wateree

329             Section 8 of Guidebook

                   C. Passage 19 - Hill Hills of Santee

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339            end of day    end at Mill Creek County Park     (day total = 37 miles)

                             

Day 9 - Sunday, January 5  -  Lake Marion & Santee Passage

339             A, Passage 20 - Lake Marion

                   Section 9 of Guidebook

372             B. Passage 21 - Santee Passage

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385            end of day - (at Eutaw)      (day total = 46)

                           

Day 10 - Monday, January 6 - Eutaw Springs to Lake Moultrie

385             A. Passage 22 - Eutaw Springs

407             B. Passage 23 - Lake Moultrie
===========================================
432            end of day    (at Swamp Fox)     (day total = 47)

Day 11 - Tuesday, January 7 - Swamp Fox

                     Section 10 of guidebook

432               A. Passage 24 - Swamp Fox - it's a long one!

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478               end of day   (day total = 46)

Day 12 - Wednesday, January 8 - Awendaw

478               A. Passage 25 - Awandaw

==============================================

490               end of day               (day total = 12)

END - approximately 490 miles!

Wales in a Whirlwind

I wanted to jot down some of experiences from my recent trip to Wales and London as I am already forgetting what happened when.   However, even though I’ve been back a week now, I’m still recovering…

(note - some pictures here are "borrowed" from Lucy Preston and Chloe Vincent)

It all started in the wee morning hours of Tuesday June 5 when North Carolina trail running bud Mark Connolly posted on my wall about the world’s first all vegan ultramarathon.   He thought I might find it interesting.   Hold still, my beating heart – did I hear that right?    World’s first…   All Vegan…..   Ultramarathon….  ?   Really?   Praise Seitan!      That’s really all I needed to hear.   Where do I sign up?   It’s on June 16 – just 11 days away.   So what if it’s 3800 miles away in Wales.   Plenty of time….    Mark told me he heard about the event on the Ultra Talk Podcast:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/talk-ultra/id497318073      


(fyi – Seitan is high protein wheat gluten frequently used as a meat substitute.   (I know – crazy vegans…)

  

I’m not in the middle of anything too big at work, I have enough vacation, a preliminary check of airline prices is expensive but within reach.     I’m not always great at making the best of opportunities thrown my way (as demonstrated later in London), but didn’t see how I could not at least look into this.  

The run was just under a 50K and was to go up the 15 tallest peaks in Wales (all the ones over 3000’) and was to raise money for Sea Shepherd UK, kind of a rough & tumble conservation group that takes on groups that do illegal whaling, etc.    All the mountains are in the region called Snowdonia of which the tallest (and only pronounceable) mountain is Snowdon.   (But I think Snowdon has an unpronounceable Welsh name too)

The planned route:  Starting at Pen y Pas as the sun rises the team will first scale Crib Goch ridge before going on to climb Crib y Ddysgl and Snowdon. They will then down to Nant Peris for a breather before they head up the torturous Elidir Fawr, and on to Y Garn, Glyder Fawr, Glyder Fach then down the scree and up Tryfan. They will then head back down to Ogwen Valley and their last breather before heading up the wonderful Pen yr Ole Wen, Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llewelyn, Yr Elen, Foel Grach, Garnedd Uchaf, and Foel-fras. Even after the final peak of Foel Fras they will still have over four miles to run...

Here is the Vegan run’s website:  http://www.vegan-welsh-3000s.co.uk/#/about/4560205792    

And here’s a link about the Welsh 3000’s challenge:  http://www.welsh3000s.co.uk/  

So I messaged the group right away expressing interest and by the end of the day, I had been on the phone with Kirsch Bowker, the organizer in Wales, we had exchanged sign-up forms, I had been in contact with Lucy Preston, Chloe Vincent and Andrew Spencer Taylor, folks coming in for the run from London.    I had also got the time off from work and made plans with Verizon about getting a phone that would work in the UK (which did not end up working so well).   Lucy, bless her (geez - I’ve been in the South too long), had also offered to let me stay in her flat in London with her other flat-mates.    In Wales, Kirsch was letting runners stay at her place in the town of Llanrwst  (“W” is a vowel in Welsh.)   Somewhere in the middle of all this on Tuesday occurred the “Transit of Venus”.   Perhaps that was a good sign and there’s something to astrology after all….   Of course, the run didn’t turn out as planned – maybe it’s because Venus is a stormy temperamental planet.   There were other omens to come later.

The Transit of Venus

By Wednesday June 6, I booked my flight & based my itinerary on travelling with Lucy, Chloe and Andrew from London to Wales on Friday by rail & returning to London on Sunday.   Gave myself one extra day returning Tuesday.   Trying to squeeze in all the time I could, I would have to leave immediately after work on Wed June 13 and get back just in time to go to work on Wed June 20.   (Neither of those Wednesdays were very productive work-wise….)    Glad to let others make the travel plans inside the UK.   If I had rented a car, there would have been a “crash course” on driving on the other side of the road….

Perhaps I should just go ahead and introduce the main characters in this tale.   Obviously spent more time with some than others so these are just my impressions.    Apologies to anyone if they feel mischaracterized or slighted in anyway, not my intention.

(I don’t want to know what their impressions were of me – that could be scary… not sure I represented the States well…)

Kirsch Bowker is a non-stop Welsh whirling dervish and instigator behind the Vegan Welsh 3000’s.   She is a longtime vegan and a force to be reckoned with.   Mother of Maisie and keeper of Pinkle.   Has Snowdonia as a backyard – can’t beat that!

(Lucy, Kirsch)

Lucy Preston is from London, health enthusiast inspired to become vegan via the book “Skinny Bitch”.   This Renaissance woman knows science (degree in geology), is creative (works in P.R.) and is a caregiver, now taking up physical therapy (or physio as they say in the UK).   Lucy is a runner but is just volunteering this time.   Next time, she’ll be out there.

Chlöe Vincent is a New Zealand native loving life in Dresden, Germany.   A hardcore vegan who can’t get enough of exploring extreme trails and I’m pretty sure enjoys good expressive music.

Andrew Vincent Taylor is a trip.   Quick with a joke and fun to hang with – the disco floor was his domain, but a serious English vegan who does wildlife rehab and wields a mean plumbing wrench.

Joe Sawyer knows Snowdonia inside & out.   He made sure everyone stayed on trail and survived.  Always cheerful, Joe loves his music, is well read & enjoys a good philosophical discussion over a pint.

Roger Mills is a Welsh triathlete & ultrarunner with eclectic taste in music.   His laptop kept us entertained Sunday with everything from hardcore to Sinatra.   And he loves his football…

Ray Hasler is an incredible Welsh endurance runner who’s been vegan for 20 years and a raw vegan for 10 years and is quite an inspiration!

Mark Thomas is an English animal advocate & distance runner who’s been vegan for two years & veggie for 16.   His wife makes the best vegan brownies!   And their cute little dog kept us quite entertained.

Kate FitzGibbon is a long-time vegan champion cross-country runner who represented Scotland in world championships and is also a champion for animal rights and advocacy.

Steve Jones has been veggie his whole life!   He also lives near Snowdonia.   While he was probably our fastest runner, his bio says he’s only been running for two years – amazing!   He’s a philosopher as well.

Daf Davies, Aubrey Thomas, Marcus McTurk – these three guys left an hour early, so did not get to talk to them much.   Only Daf made the pre-race briefing but Aubrey & Marcus did show up briefly at Kirsch’s Friday night.    I believe all are long-time vegans with Daf being from Wales but I think Aubrey & Marcus may be English (not sure).   All are rather imposing individuals (not your carnivore’s image of a stereotypical scrawny vegan).   All seemed pretty cool & friendly.   Interestingly, an English friend here in the states, has an American friend in England who apparently knows Aubrey & Marcus, but I did not see them long enough to confirm or deny that…

Daf

Aubrey

Marcus

This wasn’t a race so much as an organized group run.   The course was not marked.   There were descriptions of how to go and a GPS file showing it, but unless you’ve been out there, it would be pretty hard to know where to turn.   They recommended having a GPS and a map with you.   I would need to get a map over there.   The Brits use an “Ordnance Survey” grid system which is pretty good – everything is in decimal squares.   The map of Snowdonia we used was broken down into 1K squares which were then divided into 10 x 10 co-ordinates.    Still – seemed like the best plan was to run with someone who knows the area.  

The loaner phone from Verizon supposedly had GPS capabilities but I had a hard time getting it to work.   In fact, I had a hard time getting it to do anything useful – like make & receive calls & texts.   It was a Microsoft OS phone – works nothing at all like a Droid.  And there don’t seem to be many useful apps written for the Microsoft phones.   If you’re in the market for a new smartphone – can’t say I recommend Microsoft.    I did test drive it by giving Lucy a surprise call the day before my trip just to make sure it worked – that was nice.

My next order of business is if I’m travelling somewhere – is there a hash group?   My only free nights were Sunday & Monday.   My friend Google told me that London H3 hashes on Monday!   On On!   No better way to meet the locals and see sights that tourists may not usually go to is to run with the local hashers….   (Of course, there may be a good reason tourists don’t go to these places, but it’s all fun.)

What else to do when I’m there?   Fortunately I know several ex-pat Brits that are Stateside.   Jenna, Justine, Maggie & Sarah gave me all kinds of brilliant suggestions.    These included going to Camden Market, riding the “Eye”, taking a boat or water taxi down the Thames, Mags gave me a list of great vegan restaurants, and there were many others.  Unfortunately my time was limited.   Jenna suggested I try Marmite and Hobnobs (the non-chocolate kind are vegan).   Sarah requested some Wine Gums (which are not vegan due to gelatin but since they were for her, I got them).   The Wine Gums have odd ingredients such as stinging nettles (which I encountered in London), black carrots, and turmeric.

Since Lucy & Kirsch were putting me up (or should I say, putting up with me), I wanted to get them something.   Was trying to come up with something that represented the area where I live now.   I asked around for suggestions.   I had been thinking of books – maybe something by Pat Conroy and a friend suggested Conroy’s cookbook.   My hosts are vegan, so ran with the cookbook idea and found a southern & western vegan cookbook (one side is called The Dirty South Cookbook and the other side is Hot Damn & Hell Yeah!)   Although I have yet to read Pat Conroy (he’s on my list & have recently acquired Prince of Tides), I have the impression he is the quintessential Palmetto state lowcountry author, so also got my hosts “The Water is Wide”.   Guess I better read that one now….    Also got “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil”, which I have read.  It’s not SC (or PG for that matter), but Savannah is close enough.   Tracy, my cookbook suggestor, was on a roll and also suggested checking out the gift shop at the State Museum.   I picked up some SC tea there as well as some boiled peanuts in a can from Mast General.     I thought music would also be good and got them The Restoration’s debut CD, “Constance”.   I am totally blown away by that CD – it’s one of the most creative works I’ve seen or heard by any band anywhere.   “Constance” is a concept album concerning life in the “dirty south” that’s flawlessly executed & even comes with it’s own book.   Also picked up Drink Small CDs – a legendary blues icon from right here.  I may not have gotten the best CD, but it’s still representative.   If you live in South Carolina and have not heard or seen The Restoration or Drink Small, do yourself a favor.   (Be warned -  you may need a Drink/English dictionary to understand what the heck he’s talking about.)

http://www.myspace.com/drinksmallblues

http://www.therestoration.net/

I digress….   So where was I?

One thing I loved about my email exchanges with Kirsch & Lucy is they would frequently describe things as brilliant.   It left me feeling all shiny and smart.   Love that phrase.    Another cool thing is they tend to sign their emails and Facebook posts with lots of ‘x’s.   I have seen folks here sign notes with xoxo’s  but usually reserved for more intimate friends.     In the FB posts I have seen from my new UK friends is they freely give out ‘x’s (but ‘o’s, not so much – go figure).   The ‘x’s do mean little kisses, so it makes us Americans seem rather stodgy by comparison.

  

Weather on tops of mountains can be quite unpredictable (as we were to confirm soon enough), so came prepared with YakTrax (shoe grips you put over your shoes for traversing on snow & ice).   I carried them but never needed them.   Also rented a pair of trekking poles (I should just buy a pair) which were quite useful.   But I did not have a jacket with an attached hood.   All the brilliant kids had them and I felt quite the opposite of brill in that regard on our run.

  

I did not test my luggage before packing.   Last time I used my smaller bag was 3 years on a trip to Scotland with my Rebel Runner friends for the Loch Ness Marathon.   The wheels on my bag refused to roll then and for some reason never fixed themselves while sitting in storage for 3 years.   Go figure.   Those who do not learn from the past….

I left Columbia at 7pm Wednesday & changed planes at Dulles in Wash.D.C., leaving there around 10pm or so.   Was a 7 hour flight but with 5 hr time difference, arrived in Heathrow around 10am Thurs.    Didn’t get a lot of sleep but adrenaline keeps you moving more than energy drinks I think…   Read a nice article about the British liquor Pimms on flight, which I don’t think I’ve ever had.   There is now a new item on my agenda….

Exchanged texts with Lucy who had given me good directions & tips, but it was still a little tricky figuring out trains and tubes while carrying around two bags of luggage which barely rolled, a PC bag & my trusty Cooper River 10K rucksack over the sidewalks of London, filled with the business people & the occasional punk in a kilt.   Somehow I got there and it was great to finally meet the mysterious Lucy Preston who I had been emailing and texting for several days now.   It some ways a relief too, to know this is real and I’m not in some Twilight Zone episode where fictional people have convinced me to travel overseas for nefarious purposes….   Wow – I’m paranoid.    Lucy was & is truly brilliant in every sense.    Seemed kind of weird coming up to this business office, a P.R. firm with tons of luggage, but Lucy was cool with it.   Dropped it off & we went off to lunch at a nearby little vegan-friendly place.

Lucy went back to work afterwards, leaving me on my own to explore until she got off at 5:30 or so.   Maybe this is lame, but the first thing I did was go to a Starbucks across the street & get on the wifi with my PC.   I still had not gotten FB or most things to work on my Microsoft phone.   Little did I know this would be my last time online for several days (oh, the horrors…).   I pretty much drained the battery in my laptop.   I did bring American to UK power adapters.    However, what I did not realize was my PC power cord was 3 prong and my adapter was for American 2 prong.   Of course, I did not have an American 3-prong to 2-prong adapter and never had time to search for one anywhere.

So I then wandered around the theatre district and then over to the big London Eye.   The thing is huge.   It takes 45 mins to go round and the queue to get in was a good 15 mins.   I spent too much time in Starbucks to have enough time to ride the Eye and get back to Lucy’s work.   Bummer.   The park around there reminded me of the park around the Eiffel Tower and other places in big cities  that attract mimes & street entertainers.  

Made my way back to Lucy’s office & with her help, carted my non-rolling luggage back to the tube & back to her flat.   (Gotta get new luggage…)    Met both her roommates, English Matthew and American Sydney (from VA) who both had recently come back from independent trips to Paris.   Europe is great – some other country & culture is always just around the corner…

We still had to pack for Wales.  I had to repack what I brought so I only took what was needed for this leg of the trip & plan out drop bags to have in the van for the two planned aid stops.   Lucy also went over the map of the course.   Lucy’s a veteran on the Welsh 3000’s but still wasn’t sure about a couple of places, so I’m thinking I definitely better stay with someone out there.    No way I’ll figure this course out on my own.

Friday morning saw us leaving the flat a little later than we should have, so we really had to run the whole way to get on the tube to get to the train, which is easier said than done when your luggage does not roll….   There seemed to be a misunderstanding (on my part anyway) when changing lines on if I still needed my subway card.   It was getting somewhat formless anyway after all that running & sweating.   I thought the answer was I did not need it, but that was the wrong answer.   When we reached a point where I needed a card again and I no longer had mine, it was obvious I was trying Lucy’s patience.    She put up a good front, even though I think she may have had visions of throwing me onto some tracks.   Somehow we got through it though and even after texting Kirsch to let her know we’d be late, we got to our train with just minutes to spare.   And Lucy spotted Andy & Chloe so we joined them in a booth on a train for the 3 - 4 hour ride to Colwyn Bay, Wales.

Lucy knew Andrew and Chloe from a previous Vegan walk over the Welsh 3000’s.   I think Andy & Chloe may have known each other from before that.    Fortunately I brought my Silk Creamer over from the states with me as it was useful on the train for tea & coffee.   Lots of lively discussion including the ponderance of why certain languages like to ascribe gender to nouns and others do not.   For some reason, this question kept repeating itself throughout the weekend.

Kirsch met us at Colwyn Bay.   The train station was my first experience with Welsh – I swear, it’s like they have another word for everything over there!    While I mostly heard English spoken, all the signs were in both English and Welsh.   But I did hear Welsh spoken a few times.   It has a very nice sound, almost lyrical.  If I understand correctly, the town where Kirsch lives seems to have a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than many due to its history.   At some point, the English forced out Welsh speakers from parts Of Wales and Kirsch’s town was just outside that border, so many Welsh speakers migrated there.   That was ages ago, but apparently the tradition continues.  

We picked up the Vegan 3000’s Van from some rental place on our way back.   Passed a nice castle along the way back to Kirsch’s.   Met Kate at Kirsch’s.   Andy was put to work straightaway to use his famous plumbing aplomb to get the hot water work.   Success!   Probably would have been a lot of cranky vegans otherwise…  Lucy got to show off her freshly made awesome Vegan 3000’s banners and Pinkles was presented with her own Vegan 3000’s doggie bandana.   She was the dog about town.

  

Then off to the pre-race review in the town of Betwys-y-coed (I think) in a little café with many great vegan items on the menu, including cakes!    Another volunteer named Alan was there.   Alan is a vegan chef and was going to staff a second aid station van.   The plan was that the first van should be good for all runners for the first stop, but the pack would probably be split up enough that two vans would be needed for both the second stop and one to wait at the end.    (However, no one made it as far as the second official stop, so I never saw Alan again after Friday.)   After the review, there was a nearby outdoor outfitters store walkable from the restaurant where we could get maps and other last minute supplies.

Back to Kirsch’s for conversation, preparation, consternation and anticipation.   Aubrey & Marcus made a brief appearance as did Kirsch’s lovely mother.   Maisy was on-hand to present the runners with various swag including gnarly Sea Shepherd flags and pins and the most fragrant vegan soap ever.   Joe gave us another once-over of the course again.   I now had my own map & marked it up accordingly.   But portents were brewing if we only recognized the signals.   In the middle of Joe’s dissertation, Mark’s Jack Russell terrier jumped on the map and became a little whirlwind chasing his tail over & over again over the mountains on the map, just like a storm.    It was an omen, I’m positive….

Later in the evening, many of us walked over to the local pub where football was on of course.   And they had Brains on tap!   (Brains English Summer Ale).    A stateside friend, Robyn asked if I could bring back some Brains, but I never saw it in bottles – just on tap at the pub.   But I did have to try it….   This variety seemed like a lighter kind of Guinness.   Seemed like half of the locals in the pub were for England the other half were for – whoever the heck England was playing.  

It was not a late night though.   We had to be up by 2:30 or 3 to leave by 3:30 so we could start the run by 4:30 to get in all the light we could.   We did start out with head “torches” but by 4:45 or so, it was getting light out – or as best it could under the clouds & rain.   We started at a place called Pen-y-pass and it was already miserable with rain and wind.   Was going to start off in shorts, but it was pretty cold.   Had two pairs of running pants with me and opted for a pair I had not used before because they looked more rain resistant.   This turned out to be a bad move later on.    We had planned on a group photo, but no one wanted to stand around in the miserable weather, so off we went.   The terrain, from what I could see, was not much like what I’ve run in the states.   No trees anywhere, although it was grassy on the hills.   However, the trail was mostly rocks – not much dirt.   Despite the clouds & rain, what you could see of the views was still stunning.   

It was an even earlier morning for Daf, Marcus and Aubrey as they hit the trail at 3:30am.   They decided fairly early on that this day was not a good one to attempt all 15 peaks, so chose to stop early & try again another day.   Wise move, I think…

It was about a 3 mile climb up to the top of Snowdon.   There may have been some peak before Snowdon, but just seemed like part of the trail up.   Even by 5:30 am, we were hitting traffic jams.   We passed other hikers going up and even more coming down!    But each group gave the other a hearty “G’morning”  “Morning!” as if climbing up or down some mountain in pouring rain & wind at 5:30 am is just an everyday occurrence.    Ray mentioned some people could be doing the 3 peak challenge – where you need to climb the tallest peak in Scotland (Ben Nevis), England (Scafell Pike) and Wales (Snowdon) in 24 hours.   But the hardest part of that is the driving – not the climbing…   http://www.thethreepeakschallenge.co.uk/

Kate, Roger & Steve were the fast group.   Chloe, Andy, Mark, Ray, Joe & I stayed together as another pack.   Joe made sure everyone was accounted for.    However, we still met the fast group at the top of Snowdon and got a couple of pictures, but we all held on to each other to keep from getting blown over.   It was gusty as hell.    Also discovered that rain hitting your face at over 40 miles an hour feels a lot like hail….  

I wound up getting behind the group a bit everytime I’d try to take pictures.   I had to spend time getting my camera in and out of two bags  I was using to keep it dry (to little avail).    Gong up to Snowdon was mostly a fast walk climb.   But  going down and across to the next peak, it was runnable.   At least for more people.      I learned why you should always try out your gear.   Something about these new running pants I’d never used before, kept pulling my shorts down.   Or maybe it was something else, or some combination of my waist pack that I have used before and these pants – I don’t know – but I kept having to stop to make adjustments.   I’m sure I looked like a total idiot.   Honestly, all Americans are not this incompetent.   It’s just me…

Coming off the mountains to our first rest stop, I saw a sheep on the hillside which I thought was unusual, but next thing you know, the hills were alive with sheep.  I don’t usually encounter sheep on my trail runs at home.    Everywhere you looked there were waterfalls streaming down the mountains.   I didn’t get the impression was usual.   It was a grassy climb down and with all the rain, it was frequently a nice slide down the mountains.   Still rocky here & there and one of my fingers had a close encounter with one.   Still stiff as I write this two weeks later, so apparently I sprained or broke it.   Guess I just ain’t right, but what else is new…

At the bottom of the mountains, all those little waterfalls emptied into a creek, which now appeared to be a raging river.   Fortunately the bridge that crossed it was still passable.    Soon we were greeted by Lucy’s banner and the welcome site of the Vegan 3000 Mobile  - along with the welcome site of Kirsch & Lucy who kept us nourished with hot tea and tasty vegan sausages.    Kate, Roger & Steve were still at the van when our group arrived, but they took off again soon.    Mark decided he had enough fun at this point.   The rest of us took a fair amount of time and while probably pointless, mostly changed into some dry clothes again to get us through the next section.     I thought maybe it might be letting up a little, so went back to just shorts.   But there was no letting up really – the worst weather was still to come.   In fact, another ominous sign was Kirsch brought up the weather on her smartphone and the wind map of area just had circular arrows in what looked like one of those hypnosis patterns.   That just can’t be good….    So anyway, I may have been cold in shorts, but at least my shorts stayed on now!   When changing clothes, made another error.   Changed my soaked hat for a new knit hat borrowed from someone else.   This one was just a little loose which was just enough in these gales to cause it to keep blowing off or falling down into my eyes.   So ended up just carrying it.     

Our intent was to finish this thing.   It would be a good 11 miles or more until the next planned rest stop.

The next mountain was just a never ending climb – must have been uphill for 2-3 miles.   The trail was over grassy fields and the wind & rain was not horrible – probably because it was blocked by the sides of the mountains.   But once we started getting close to the summit, it became all rocks and the wind & rain ratcheted up several notches where it became difficult to stay upright in the wind.   Just before we got to the summit, Kate & Roger were coming back down.   They had enough of the wind and cold.   Steve forged ahead on his own.    I didn’t take any more pictures after this – probably would have ruined my camera and I had to keep all my energy into not falling over.

I’ve been in some smaller hurricanes and their winds did not come close to this.   It was hard to even breathe when the wind is whipping past you like that.    We were on a lot of ridgelines too with steep sides that would not have been pretty if you fell and rolled down.   The talk was that if you got injured up there, you’d be stuck in this weather as there’s no way a helicopter could fly in it.   They’d have to get a harrier jet….   Joe said he knew the way back to the road and suggested we pack it in too.   There was no argument.   Unfortunately the quickest way back to the road was over another windy summit.   You kind of had to laugh it was so ridiculous and absurd to be on top of a mountain being pelted in a wind tunnel where you could only take tiny steps to keep your balance, but the only way out of the situation was to keep moving.   So we did.  The way down the mountain was over a lot of wet rocks – frequently going down the middle of waterfalls, but somehow, no one took any major spills.  I may be wrong but I don’t thing anyone had yet called Kirsch & Lucy to let them know we were coming, but somehow they were coming down the road as we arrived.   Perhaps Steve called them as he apparently made the same call to turn down where we did.   I think Steve would have continued if he had not been by himself up there.    But we all made it back to the van in once piece and all were accounted for….   Yay!

Now back to Kirsch’s.  with a van full of soaked freezing runners who were all quite relieved to have this over with, but with mixed emotions as everyone was disappointed we could not run the whole thing.

On the way back, Ray discovered his car keys were nowhere to be found.   We stopped at the first rest stop to see if they were anywhere over there and there was lots of talk of locksmiths.   But once at Kirsch’s the van was emptied and the missing keys were found in some bag.   Since the van was empty, it was then cleaned for it’s return.   Perhaps Kirsch hid those keys as a way to get the van emptied and cleaned….

There was dinner & lots of beer and then the sun came out.   No one was real gung ho to go back & pick up where we left off.     Spent lots of time hanging out with everyone choosing music from Roger’s eclectic jukebox he had on his PC.    Being in the middle of the world cup games, it was not long before folks ended up at the pub again.    And the pub was next to some disco, so Kirsch, Chloe, Lucy, Andy, Roger & found our way there.    Andy, Roger & Kirsch hit that floor like they were magnetized to it, but after a few shots, Chloe, Lucy & I were out there too.   Soon it seemed like the whole town was out there.    Andy was quite the trip dancing with everyone – and I mean everyone – and going around picking up people two or three times his size and somehow getting away with it all.   Everyone laughed.   He seems to have a way with people, that guy….    Somehow everyone made their way back to Kirsch’s.

  

On Sunday, before Kirsch took the slightly hungover group of Lucy, Chloe, Andy & me back to the train station, I did go on a nice walk along the river with Kirsch & Pinkles who seems to have a talent for finding and carrying trees in her mouth.   Maybe they were just branches, but they seemed incredibly large for this medium sized dog to cart about.  She was quite talented in this regard.  

Around this time Kirsch had a disturbing call from the police about wanting to speak to her about texts from her phone.    I guess texting can be monitored there, which I think is a little disturbing – although it may have been a text sent to the wrong person.   We found out later that Kirsch’s daughter had texted someone mischievously about “hiding a body”.   It all got sorted out In the end….

Sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially Kirsch, who was a wonderful host and organizer.   Kirsch did a tremendous job organizing the run, the websites, getting sponsors, getting money raised for Sea Shepherd.  She had great help, such as Lucy, but of course the best people attract the best help.

This time at the train, we somehow ended up in the “quiet” car and could not all sit together.   Being in the quiet car did allow for a little sleep, reading and recovery from the night before.    But we were soon back in London…

Plan was to get something to eat & find a German bar to watch the Germans play later on.    We had our Wales luggage to carry around too.    

While walking the streets of London, me dragging behind as usual trying to get my unrollable bag to roll, had a missed opportunity experience I am still kicking myself for.     I passed some type of flyer taped to an outside wall that had something to do with the Kate Bush Homeground fan magazine.    To say I adore Kate is like saying it gets a little hot in South Carolina.   I have a few copies of Homeground and I thought this was just saying you could find the magazine here.   OK, cool.   Will need to stop back later & get one.  Or grab one of the flyers if nothing else.    I didn’t want to hold up anyone more than I was.    To flash-forward, later that night I was out exploring London & found my way back to the spot, which was near an independent book/magazine shop, but the flyers were gone.   All right, I’ll come back tomorrow – which I did.    And no, they did not have Homeground.   Never carried it.   So what the hell was that poster all about?    I asked my friend Google if she had any idea, and Goog’s told me about this:  http://www.katebushnews.com/index.php/2012/06/the-homeground-30th-birthday-party-sunday-17th-june-2012/     Damn!   I need to be more observant & more obstinate & less oblivious – maybe more obtuse?   I give up.   But to have gone to some Kate Bush party in London would have been like a kickass dream come true for me.   Geez.   Somebody else kick me – I’m getting tired of kicking myself.

Anyway, meanwhile back on the streets of Soho, it took us a couple of attempts to find an acceptable restaurant (vegan sushi followed by a vegan ice cream store) and it seemed like all the German pubs had expensive cover charges and were going to be crowded.   So we decided on a pub in Lucy’s neighborhood.  Chloe & Andrew went there straightaway & Lucy & went back to her place & changed.

Again, I proved once again how totally incompetent I am and how fantastic Lucy is.     We were both rushing around.   I had recently acquired a new new non-leather belt with this heavy buckle to kind of twists around (still trying to figure out how to attach my MMT 100 buckle).   In my rush, in some kind of freak accident, I managed to clasp the end of the buckle onto the skin under my thumb on one hand in a way that that hand was pretty much useless but it seemed like I needed two hands to free myself without ripping my flesh off.   “Uh, Lucy – got a sec?”   I cannot blame her if she’s making fun of this absolutely incompetent American staying at her place, but I don’t think that’s her style.   Rest assured, not all Americans are this useless – just me…

Oh yeah – somewhere in here, Lucy also brilliantly bandaged up my broken/sprained purple finger, wrapping it with another one for support in lieu of splints.    It eventually became less purple, but I never kept up with the makeshift splint.   Oh well, nothing like a broken finger to have as a souvenir I’ll always have with me…  in addition to the case of Marmite, Wine Gums, Hobnobs & Pimms I came back with.

While at the pub, I perused a “Timeout London” magazine to see what was going on around town.   I’m sure they did not say anything about the Kate Bush party, but I did see that Grace Jones was closing the “Love Box” festival that evening.    Seeing Grace Jones would also have been an 80’s fantasy come true.    If I had planned my trip better & had known about this, I could have pulled it off, but as it was, did not seem very workable.   So just decided to explore London some more on my own that evening.   It was already pushing 10pm probably.   Lucy took the time to write down great info on places I may want to see & more importantly, how to get home, since the Underground shuts down at midnight.    Lucy recommended Ronnie Scott’s, a late night jazz club, so I looked for that (after an unsuccessful attempt at finding those Kate Bush Homeground posters).   I finally found it at 1am – it was supposed to be open til 3, but the doors were all locked.    Somebody must have tipped them off that I was on my way…. 

Monday morning got a late start, not surprisingly.    Lucy had extended her holiday to one day to take an entrance test for new physio classes.   Monday is a hashing day and I had potentially talked Lucy, Chloe & Andy into joining me, although Andy was kind of doubtful he could get there in time.    Again, Lucy took the time to write down detailed info on places I may want to go & how to get around.    Lucy is quite detail oriented and organized….    Was going to hopefully meet Chloe as well as she was also staying in London for a couple of days, but she was having phone issues, and that never happened.   I had hoped to take a boat down the Thames, which was a suggestion from my friend Maggie, but unfortunately, this never worked out.   I did take a trip to Camden Market, a crazy neighborhood who’s only purpose for being seems to be to make you a deal on  T-shirts and more unusual souvenir items.    But it was a fun place to walk around.   And per Lucy’s suggestion, had to go to Inspiral – an all vegan restaurant whose specialty seemed to be cheesecake.   So of course, had to bring some carryout cheesecake back to the flat to share to hopefully make up for me being such a pain to deal with….

Hash House Harriers is a type of drinking club that has a running problem.    They can be found in any major city worldwide.    All are similar but they all tend to have local traditions, so it’s neat to see how other hash “kennels” do things.   This hash started at 7pm in West Ealing, a somewhat out of the way borough of West London on the way to Heathrow.     All the running around was catching up with Lucy, so I ended up making my way to the hash myself.    Fortunately the hash started on hash time, meaning they were all drinking at the pub and didn’t get going until about 7:30, which was good since I was running late.    Hashers are easy to spot – a bunch of ne’er-do-wells in On On t-shirts with lots of pints about.   They had pretty much taken over the pub anyway.   I was not the only visiting American as there had been a couple from Washington state too.   All the Brit hashers were welcoming.   Amazingly, I knew one of them.   I had been to hash 3 years ago in Edinburgh, Scotland (while there to run Loch Ness Marathon with my Rebel Runner friends from Delaware) and one of those hashers was here, Eric.   Yes, that was his hash name (hashers get special hash names that are often quite, uh, colorful).   Actually don’t know if I would have recognized him, but he remembered me being the American visitor again.   One major difference between hashing here vs back home was there was no beer on trail which would be sacrilegious in South Carolina.    The hash did manage to find lots of “shiggy” to run in (fields & woods & stinging nettles and barbed wire to cross…).   It was a good time (if you like stinging nettles & barbed wire).

Tuesday was my return day, although not until the afternoon.   It was back to work for Lucy too.   Once again, Lucy brilliantly wrote down some running routes for me along the Thames as my plan was to just go for a run & then take off after that.    That all went well and I knew how to get back to the airport now via the tube through West Ealing.   But it was sad saying goodbye….

Thanks to me friends in the states who helped me plan this!    Never would have heard about it without Mark!    Jenna, Justine, Sarah, Maggie, Tracy, Robyn all gave me great tips to help plan this trip.

It was great fun to get to hang with Chloe & Andy on the train and an honor to run with Joe, Mark, Ray, Kate, Roger & Steve.   Wish I got a chance to get to know Daf, Marcus & Aubrey.  

Many thanks Lucy & Kirsch!    It was an excellent adventure in London and Wales and all because of you!   I’m sure if I look up “brilliant” in the dictionary, I will find your pictures.    I can’t imagine more awesome hosts and am honored to have you as friends.   Love you both!   xxxxxx

Scott 

     

Good luck to all the runners giving this another shot on 4 August, 2012.