Summer of Nolan’s: Part 2

(Link to previous post Summer of Nolan's: Part 1. Attempts #1 and #2)

Attempt #3: September 2, 2020: The ONE that WENT!

After Attempt #2, for both of us, there was a lot of processing and talking about coming to terms with limits. That we do have limits. And how really difficult and heartbreaking it can be to not hit goals. Adjusting our outlook at times. Perhaps a limit has been reached. Have we really accomplished anything out here? We have so many wonderful people in our lives who cheered on what had been accomplished, that we had tried, that it was an amazing effort. We have friends with injuries currently unable to pursue their goals, reminding us to be grateful for the opportunity to try. And all of this is so true and we could both feel it. Still, the lack of success was difficult.

We both wavered between Yes and No on going back to the Nolan’s line. Sometimes our answers aligned, sometimes they did not. Even when I was a No, not being able to bear the thought of going back for a third time this summer, of what John would have to endure, of possibly failing again, I never believed it was impossible for John to complete the line. In my soul, I always believed it was possible and he was capable. That is what kept me coming back. And I told him - I don’t think you should give up on your dream. The dream of arriving to Blanks TH. Don’t you want to know what it feels like to finish. Towards the middle of August it settled into a Yes for both of us. We were going back.

We got a good weather window, once again on weekdays, just terrible for having friends come out. The wildfire smoke window was less certain, but we always knew it would just be a roll of the dice on that one. In the midst of fires and smoke everywhere, we got really lucky for 3 days. John started on Wednesday morning at 3:57am. There are always such nerves at the start, hard to take that first step and hit the start button, even more so when you are headed out for your third attempt in one summer. What's ahead is abundantly clear. I’m always anxious until he gets a few peaks done, to see how he’s feeling. This one went very similar to the other two and talking to John coming off Elbert he was pumped and feeling great, it was a beauty day, and he was loving being up high. All systems go. Whew.

I’ve always felt the massive challenge of Nolan’s 14 was well suited to John’s skills. In that he is both an ultrarunner and a peak bagger. And the meshing of that trail running competence and mountaineering experience. We’ve been climbing mountains for awhile now and there is an understanding of gear, fueling, weather, and navigation choices that becomes very much automatic in knowing what is needed. And a confidence in feeling comfortable in abilities and decision-making up high and far away in the mountains.

Coming off Elbert looking at La Plata. Living high in the Colorado Blue. It was like this for days.

I had set an intention for this attempt to conjure up the emotions that were at the surface for me with the recent loss of our dog and adventure partner, Bella, and put the joyous emotions that she brought to our lives to good use supporting my positive energy flow. As a physical reminder, Jennifer painted several of my fingernails bright pink. This quickly expanded into an intention to be mindful of and leverage strength from the strong female influences in my life and (this may sound odd to some) be conscious of the feminine part of my being. Many connections were made to this along this journey.

Pink nails for our Bella girl

Mts Massive and Elbert went according to plan, as usual. The first 3 ½ or so miles in the early morning dark on the Highline Trail out of the Leadville Fish Hatchery is a good time to get the body and mind warmed up and in-sync. My mind wanders all over from feeling excited to working through the doubts and fears that always linger just below the surface. This season, I modified my line a bit just above treeline on Massive to stay higher toward the ridge that bends around the tundra that leads to the summit. I decided to capture some thoughts and feelings and terrain in some videos along the way. Here at sunrise, feeling grateful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5DoTsGP4l0

I made good time to the summit in just under 2hrs 50min, which had been my target on Massive this season. It was a beautiful day. Just after summiting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGsDY6j1fLI

After crossing Halfmoon Creek, Wade’s Way shortcut got me to the Jeep road in 15 minutes and then the hike up to the bushwhack to the base of Elbert. Thoughts along the way:
Jeep Road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU021yok0FY
Base of Mt Elbert: https://youtu.be/p7r0TYfyrYY
After summiting Elbert, the traverse along the ridge to Bull Hill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3QIgmQg9-Q
And the iconic Golden Fleece Mine on the descent of Echo Canyon to Rt 82: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlUk1WPFCV8

I had a strong 2 mile run on Rt 82 to meet Jennifer at the La Plata TH where she told me she had a surprise for me on the trail ahead. Turns out, she’d met Courtney Dauwalter in the parking lot as she was heading out to climb La Plata and I’d likely run into her on her way back down, as I was heading up. Very cool! Courtney is probably the top female ultrarunner today and she’s got great positive energy. Serendipity!

The Nolan's 14 elevation over distance

We had an 8 minute turn around at the La Plata TH, our fastest yet. 21 miles with 8,800’ of ascent in 8:47. And then I get to walk with him for a bit and hear how things are going. These moments are always the best part of this adventure for me. We are used to adventuring together and we spend so much time apart on this Nolan’s project. It’s really nice to be out in the mountains together, even if it’s only for short bits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ydPIPEi260 Every time we said goodbye, I would always yell to him as he went out of earshot - Nail your navigation! Nail your nav! I knew this was an area where he could make time (or not lose time) if he focused on it the entire way. He did a good job with that.

Heading up to La Plata

About 1000’ below the La Plata summit, I heard my name being yelled from above and there was Courtney running down toward me with her husband Kevin and another companion behind. She had endless words of encouragement and was reminding me to eat and drink. Little did I know that would not be my last encounter with Courtney on this run of the Nolan’s line. This was my best trip up and down this mountain. Spending time with Jennifer, then seeing Courtney, and finally running into Hannes Gehring training for his own Nolan’s attempt gave me a lot of positive energy. And I’d need it, because the next segment after the upcoming Winfield crew stop is the loneliest, covering over 20 hours, an entire night and 6 mountains.

John and Courtney on La Plata

John and Hannes on La Plata

Next up was the long, slow drive into Winfield with our truck camper. Weather was really good, maybe almost too much sun, not a cloud to be found anywhere. Turn around at Winfield was 21 minutes and then I get to walk with John again for several miles. Stats at this point were 32 miles with 13,000’ of ascent in 13:32. We both know this is a tough section up ahead, 20 hours solo without crew access and an entire overnight. So, that is sort of looming in the conversation, but we both know it and accept it and there is a lot of talk of staying strong/positive/focused/hitting small goals through this section. It’s palpable in John’s voice as we walked out to Winfield: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vG5r30fYHQ . It was a beautiful evening and I told him how proud I was of him, how strong he is and how much he is kicking ass. We named ourselves TKA (Team Kick Ass) many years ago and it has stuck though all our adventures. John was talking about what this whole process of Nolan’s attempts has been to him, how he almost needed to go through the process, and all that he has learned throughout. That maybe the process was necessary. I realized “This is about him finding his own strength”. I’d learned a lot from our attempts as well and had made little notes of things along the way I believed important. Patience, empathy, encourage, find a path forward, assess all options, don’t get pushed into bad choices by the clock. What is best for him, or us, as a team. What is needed right now. This isn’t for anyone else. This is for us. Then, too soon, it was time to say our goodbyes.

Winfield Crew & Endless Colorado Blue

Heading towards Huron

That first night was tough, for both of us. It was really difficult for me to wave bye to John up at the Huron TH knowing he’s all alone going into this 20 hour stretch and also going into the dark. I know he’s capable, that isn’t what worries me. It’s just sending him off all alone, I feel like I should be there. Most of our adventures have been side-by-side and it feels odd to send him off solo. Overnight, I’m in the camper watching his dot. Often, in these moments, I want to give up, stop, quit, and have John stop this really hard thing and stop suffering. I want to tell him it’s okay, you don’t have to do this. I wanted to do that so many times on Night #1. And it swings from that to feeling so incredibly proud, like heart bursting proud, even tearing up, of what he’s doing out there and how he’s crushing and pushing and nailing it. Solving each puzzle as it comes up inside this really gigantic hard puzzle. And always, always, always moving forward. Proud. It is in pushing into the uncomfortable and enduring that growth and learning occur. Learning about limits and where they are, and where they aren’t. And what is possible.

On the climb up Mt Huron, I enjoyed the views over to the Three Apostles in the setting sunlight’s alpenglow and thought some more about channeling feminine strength to get me through this challenge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOKgtgoMcis. With about 90 minutes less daylight allotment compared to my July attempts, sunset came before I made it to the summit. Every one of these sunrises and sunsets in the heart of the Rocky Mountains fills me with gratitude and humility for the experience.

Sunset on way up Huron Night #1

I nailed my “nav” on the descent off the back side of Huron in the dark and only had a few minor falls, crossed the outlet of Clohesy Lake with mostly dry feet and put my head down for the long climb up Mt Missouri. Some nighttime footage in the headlamp bubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMP2gCm7KcA. The traverse along the loose talus of the south slopes of Missouri to Elkhead Pass is never fun and it felt more like constant stumbling and falling, but eventually it was over and I was on my way back up to Mt Belford and then quickly to Oxford. As usual it was cold and windy along that long, exposed 13,000’ ridge. On the descent from Oxford to Pine Creek (which I like to call Purgatory), I had a mishap, where a big rock I’d stepped on shifted and bucked me off, smashing my left shin into another rock with all my weight and also scraping my right leg. I was fortunate to be wearing running tights and lower leg compression sleeves, which prevented more skin loss. As it was, I later noticed that blood was staining my ankle gaiter and my tights were thick with hardened blood. This severe contusion, skin shear and puncture would be the most severe injury of this attempt. Overall it was a challenging night #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrrpOJRhVus, but Nolan’s is full of innumerable challenges. I made it to Pine Creek in decent time. This is the most remote and lonely feeling place on the Nolan’s line and just ahead of the big climb up big ol’ Mt Harvard: https://youtu.be/nXFCzKVQLtU

Synchronization

The sun coming up on Day 2 is always such a grand thing, giving energy and hope, and turning off the headlamp. John made good progress overnight, I was so proud of how he managed Night #1 solo out there. Being solo on the Nolan’s line is just such a different ballgame than having partners or pacers. Every single decision point lands solely on you. There is no one to laugh and joke and shoot the shit with to pass hours on the clock. Doing all the navigation and never following someone. You never get a break from your own head, you have to provide your own distractions. He lost about 20 minutes going up Missouri, but had his fastest time ever on the traverse over to Belford. And lost about 25 minutes going up Harvard off of his previous attempts. In advance of the attempts, we had talked a lot about not comparing one attempt to another. It is so easy to slip into that with 3 attempts in one summer. Each attempt, each segment, is likely to feel different and go differently. We had the PoV not to get wrapped up in any of that. All summer we’ve gone out on these attempts with 2 goals. #1: Finish the line in 60 hours and #2: Finish the line in one push (however long it takes). These 2 goals actually ended competing with one another at various points. We made decisions in pursuit of #1 that hindered the ability to accomplish #2. On this third attempt we were steadfastly aligned with finishing the line in whatever time, if 60 hours came together, then fantastic. But we would not sacrifice finishing the line in one push. I talked to John briefly on the phone as he came off Harvard, he was feeling good, the night had been long, he knew he lost a little time and I reminded him to simply focus on what was directly in front of him, the traverse over to Columbia and ended with my ubiquitous “Nail your Nav!”. I think of Hour 31 (around this time) as the real start of Nolan’s. Adequately prepared (mentally and physically) and short of major unexpected issues, most can get through the first 30 hours. It is what comes after that. The tests of how committed you are and how much you want to finish. It will smack you down like you’ve never been before. And there is still so much work to do. Easy to get lost in the physical and mental hugeness of the task still ahead.

Supplies at crew points

I’ve been out on this line, scouting and attempting it, a LOT in the past 4 years. Here’s a tally across scouting and attempts:

· 93 summits of these 14 mountains

· 440 hours

· 750 miles

· 310k’+ of ascent

And yet, I still forget how some sections feel. This time, the terrain on the climb up Mt Harvard seemed different. Not steeper, or more rugged or slippery footing, but just different than I remembered, and it had me checking my navigation app more than usual. That likely slowed me down a bit, but the summit came eventually just the same, and I headed off down to the boulder hopping traverse to where the climb of Mt Columbia begins. I was thankful for the company of a 3-pack of guys doing the same traverse in the heat of the day for a while and I grunted some conversation with them, thankful to alternate leading through the boulders. One guy with whom I shared a few words with on the summit of Harvard, guessed I was doing Nolan’s and I guess my fatigue was obvious, since he said he wished he could give me some of his energy. If only! The steep descent down the East ridge of Columbia seemed to take forever and I was hoping for a cool breeze, but it only got hotter as I descended to finally meet up with Jennifer, my oasis in the forest. Here’s what guy who needs to see his wife sounds like https://youtu.be/YGHWWBg4pSg

Backcountry aid station at Cottonwood

I headed over to Cottonwood to setup my little backcountry aid station. I consider Cottonwood the halfway point of the N->S line. I used to think it was Pine Creek going by mileage and ascent, but that never took into account the factors of fatigue/degradation over time and terrain. The challenges of this point on the line for John are realizing how much you’ve already done, and yet, how much there still is to go, with Yale, and then Princeton and Night #2 staring you in the face. Nolan’s just NEVER lets up. Climbing. Talus. Descending. Rock hopping. Navigation. Scree surfing. Rinse and repeat. For a sense of the off trail terrain, check out this Joe Grant/Black Diamond video: https://youtu.be/ZzghU_wLbQ4. When John is out there, he is literally constantly moving, he doesn’t take breaks, he doesn’t stop. It’s always so great to see John here and I give him the biggest hug, and do my best try to raise his spirits and try to pump him up for what’s ahead. I get eats and drinks into him, fresh sunscreen, share messages from friends. He was still doing a super job of eating. It may sound silly if you haven’t experienced it. But it is difficult to continually take in calories around the clock for days. You get tired of eating and stuff that you’d love to eat any day of the week is not appealing. John has an iron stomach, so he has a big benefit in that. We’ve learned and adjusted and changed our fueling over time, and I’ll write more about that in another post. But at hour 34, he was coming back to me with all, or almost all, of his food gone from his pack. And I was so happy to see him really staying on top of that. It can make all the difference in a positive, or negative way.

A few minutes of lying down and not moving

Arriving to Cottonwood

Yale is always a challenge for John and he was feeling overwhelmed in that and a bit behind on time (he was ~1:15 behind previous attempts), he was getting into a negative headspace and I firmly told him I wasn’t going down that rabbit hole with him. That he was going up and over Yale and I’d see him at Avalanche TH. And he did just that, we said goodbye and he walked off into the woods. Current stats at 57 miles with 26,000’ of ascent in 34:47. When I crew John at Cottonwood, I park the camper about a mile below the TH in a spot where parking is easy to find as the TH is often full and difficult to navigate with a big truck. And I hike in a few miles to where I meet him. After he ate and drank, I found him some nice soft ground cover to lie down for a few minutes, during this time 2 hikers passed us going out. I later ran into them, they were driving down as I was hiking back to the truck. I carry a new pack in to John at the crew spot, and come out with my pack on my back and his old pack on my front. So they saw me carrying 2 packs and no John and were kind enough to ask if everything was okay and if I needed any help. I’ve had some bad feelings and some downright scary encounters with sketchy people crewing out there solo, but have had encounters with many kind and generous ones as well. I thanked them and explained that John had been at it for 35 hours and was headed up his tenth 14,000’ peak in a row, hence the laying down in the woods for a few minutes and me carrying 2 packs.

Double packing

Jennifer’s crew spot at Cottonwood is the best I can estimate as the halfway point of Nolan’s Southbound for me. “Only” 5 mountains left, but a long way to go when I’m already beat up and spent. After making it to the top of the “airplane gulley”, there’s still a way to go to get to the summit of Mt Yale. I was tired, but moving steadily https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2iU4YaRtuk This time the line of demarcation between the first and second halves was more pronounced, as I’d soon meet up with my friend Mr. Brandt Ketterer near the summit of Mt Yale and he would be my partner all the way to the end of this journey. Totally changed my energy and experience for the remainder. Here, happy to have joined up with Brandt, who is a Nolan’s Northbound finisher in 56:56 in 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS1f5r3-4wk

Night 2 arrived as we descended Yale via Hughes Ridge and we saw headlamps coming up the mountain in our direction. As we got closer, I heard my name yelled out of the darkness and what do you know, it was Courtney Dauwalter attached to that voice. She was now pacing Meghan Hicks, who was beginning her Night 1 en-route to a Fastest Known Time (FKT) of 50:32 for female supported northbound effort. More female power, energy and great vibes to absorb! We exchanged a few words and laughs from our headlamp bubbles and continued on our respective pursuits in opposite directions on the steep side of this mountain just below treeline. Brandt continued to update me on Meghan’s progress as we climbed Mt Princeton and were amazed at her speed. In less than an hour later, I was with my main female power supplier and supporter, Jennifer, at the Avalanche trailhead, the low point for me on my previous attempts and as the only point on the line that dips below 9,000’, it’s also the literal low point. Interesting fact…the average altitude one is at along the entire Nolan’s line is 12,000’.