It really wasn't my intention to go back to Arrowhead to "finish" the event that I have started twice and failed to complete. When I was asked if I was interested in returning to try it again, I immediately said yes though quickly mentioned that I was not interested in doing the entire 135 miles... just the second half. I have seen the first half twice and was anxious to see what lies beyond the 95 mile mark. There were three others who wanted to attempt the whole thing as they felt their fitness and preparation for the February 1st event, which for various reasons they had to cut short, would be wasted if they didn't try again.
The plan was for me to stay at Melgeorges resort (approx mid point of event) Saturday night and meet the others Sunday morning. That would work out well for me as I would get a good nights rest, make them breakfast in the a.m. and we'd be on our way. Well, this is Arrowhead where you really have to learn to roll with the punches. By the time I reached the resort Saturday evening, there was 1 down (Anton) at about mile 25, another (Pierre) at 37, and the other (Alicia) on her way to meet us in the a.m. at Melgeorges. With Anton back home in International Falls and Pierre and I waiting for Alicia, he mentioned to me that her pace for the second half would be quite slow and that it may be difficult for me to slow to her pace. I assured him that this would not be an issue and, not only was I prepared for her slow second half pace, I was also prepared for her to not want to continue. After all, this is Arrowhead where I have heard the phrase "What was I thinking?" more than "It's cold here". When she came off the lake and into the cabin, I was at the stove cooking breakfast. Our eyes met and I could see that familiar "What the h*** was I thinking" look. She said, "I have never been in so much pain in my entire life." She didn't have to say it. I knew I was going to be on my own and that was ok with me. She also stated that she would never again attempt the Arrowhead 135. I won't hold her to that. I know she's tougher than the Arrowhead and I sincerely hope she'll be back to try again.
After the 3 of us finished breakfast and Alicia had officially called it a day, I got my things together and I was off. I'm not certain what the temperature was when I got going at 1:30, but it was warm enough for shorts and a single long sleeved shirt. Who would have thought my first day of 2010 in shorts would be at Arrowhead? The snow was soft and it was a constant search for a good place to land my foot. I found I was getting a back ache from looking down at my feet all the time so I worked on keeping them flatter to keep my heels and toes from digging in so much. That worked better.
I enjoyed the warm, sunny afternoon with a couple dozen snowmobilers passing by and waving nicely though I was looking forward to the night when, hopefully, the trail would firm up and allow for better footing. I wondered how cold it would get. I've always been told the second half of Arrowhead is much more hilly than the first. I have done 25 miles of the second half and, from what I could remember, the hills didn't seem too bad. I guess when you are to the point of hallucination, your memory isn't so good. I did not recognize miles 87-95 which I had traveled just 4 weeks before. I had to laugh and wonder how I did not remember some of the very difficult up hills, down hills and bridges. I guess I was more far gone than even I thought. I thank God for keeping me safe and Pierre for his persistence in mentioning that our mandatory equipment is there for our safety and that our -20 sleeping bag is our sanctuary if we get into trouble. Which 4 weeks ago, I did.
I stopped at a trail shelter around 10 p.m., called home, got a bite to eat and took a nap. 10 hours by yourself in the middle of the woods, it was nice to hear my wife's voice. I had planned on stopping there as I knew there was cell phone coverage. It was the trail shelter I was at when I decided to stop at the last event. I jumped in my sleeping bag and fell asleep right away. I didn't set an alarm as I really didn't care how long I slept. I woke up, packed up my stuff and started on my way again. It was 12:30. All together it was about a 2 1/2 hour break, which proved to be more than enough to keep me energized through the night. Another thing I had been told, but had to prove to myself again, is that when I stop on the trail to rest I will get into my sleeping bag with my shoes on. It takes too much effort to put them back on when they are frozen stiff. The only way to keep them from freezing is to bring them in the bag with you. So, they might as well be on your feet. I only took them off this time because the temperature was mild compared to -20 as it was about 5 above.
The next few hours were fairly uneventful except for all of the hills. At mile 108 is a big hill with a trail shelter on top of it. I intended on stopping and refilling my water supply. I had brought extra water to fill my hydration pack I carry on my back. The bottles were partially frozen so I put them inside my shirt for a while to thaw as I looked at the sights from this high point. From here you could see south out over the town of Cook. The moon was setting in the west and the sun had just started to light up the sky in the east. I had to pause and take it in. I stood there enjoying the sights and for a moment, there was no shivering, pain or fatigue. It felt like I was being given a gift. I felt fortunate that I was there at that very moment and wished everyone could have this experience. It was one of those moments in life that you didn't look for, didn't expect, and couldn't recreate if you tried. I then proceeded down the other side of the huge hill. Little did I know that it was the last one in all of the 135 miles. Maybe that special moment was the Arrowhead's gift to me for making it through all of the hills.
The last 25 or so miles were all flat and straight. At some points I think you could see a couple miles in front of you and a couple miles behind you. Though I was still dragging my 40lb sled, it was not very taxing physically, but mentally. It had gotten down to -8 just as the sun was coming up and I was eagerly waiting for the temps to go up. When I finished just after 1 p.m., it was well into the 30's. I crossed the imaginary finish line and then went and found my vehicle that Pierre and Alicia were nice enough to park there for me and I was off. I got about 5 miles down the road and the sleep monster came after me. I felt so good when I finished that I thought I might be able to drive home. I spent the night in Virginia and made it home in the morning just a couple hours late for work. Don't tell my boss.
All in all, it was an excellent experience and I think I gained some knowledge that will help me at next year's event. I got to try out some different things that I don't know if I would get the chance to in other types of training runs. I feel bad for Anton, Pierre and Alicia that they fell short of their objectives. Though as my friend ,Tim, always says , "Every run is a training run" so you just take what you can from the experience and move on. Such is life.
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