Hardrock 100
Joe Prusaitis
jprusaitis@austin.rr.com
Any relationship
with Hardrock is masochistic. There is little I can
do here that does not hurt. Yes, its beautiful beyond
compare, but how much am I willing to pay? My passion must remain strong to run
the entire 100 miles. I feel like a kid at times but the pain is full-grown
adult size. Each summit brings another pain and another joy, and each finish is
as glorious as the first. The mountains have beguiled me, using my passion to
overlook the hardship, remembering only the warm fuzzies.
It has become a child's game to clear all the obstacles, an adult's game to
deal with all the issues. I will be back yet again next year and the year after
too. Mentally, I have signed up for the Hardrock
Summer Camp 10year plan.
Silverton (0mi/
The race has run ahead of me, leaving me
alone for a moment to sit and watch. A fat marmot chirps at me, looking for
food. A falcon glides well below yet far above the valley floor. A mountain
meadow sprouts a multicolored wildflower garden, and a mountain stream thunders
with overflowing snowmelt. What a glorious setting. Another and another waits
behind each mountain pass, each more glorious than the last. I can't wait to
see it all, realizing full well that my cognitive senses will undoubtedly fail
and darkness will hide even more. Still, I'll keep what I can long after I've
gone back home. Finishing my break, I wander over the first of many high passes
and begin to run.
Cunningham
(9.2mi/
I was lost last year in this place.
Joyce and I had one small light between the two of us, and the sheep had filled
the valley, knocking down all the markers. Hanging desperately to a coattail, I
blindly followed another. Tripping just about every step, I stumbled along mile
after mile in the dark and was as anxious and nervous as I had ever been. In
the daylight, it seems so clean and simple. Now that I can see what my
imagination cannot invent under the sun's bright eye,
Nevertheless, it
is still a long climb to the summit, where a bit of snow allows me to glissade
down to the
Maggie (15.3mi/
I hadn't realized it until now, but I'm
feeling pretty poor. Is it the heat, the altitude, or my nutrition? For hours,
people have been passing by. Can't be many left behind. It's after
Just when I begin to question his selection,
we pass another one. I know most of the course pretty well but there are a few
places that are always confusing to me, so I'm very happy to once again have Ulli leading the way. The high mountain meadows of Pole
Creek are an elk's paradise and a runner's conundrum. I can't seem to run
because I can't seem to breathe. Ulli is only
walking, yet he remains constant, so that even with my mixed run-walk, we
remain close until the trail turns decidedly down into the rocks of Cataract
Gulch. It's only then when running starts to make a difference. A yellow shirt
has remained a phantom in the distance for many miles, and it is on this
descent that I finally reel in Roger, and then a group of boys who decide to
race me down the mountain. This galvanizes my forgetful muscles into a full
tilt sprint that lasts 10 minutes and ends at the footbridge.
I sit with my
feet in the water at the
ingle brush stroke
paints a thin line with all the color combinations I can imagine, lighting a
360degree band around the horizon. A kaleidoscope of reds,
yellows, and blues compressed by the dark hues of the earth and sky.
Handies personality is changing. The wind hits me hard,
pushing me over the summit and down, stormy at first, some rain, followed by
some rumbling, then back to calm. Matching her mood, I run with the wind,
drafting, dropping, and screaming with energy into the coming darkness of
r side does she lift
off the snow and drift into the sky. I have seldom seen a sight more beautiful
or serene. Again, I bid adieu to Ulli and start to
run.
Grouse (42.1mi/
us. But, I can't see
or think, so we eat up Bear Creek pretty fast. We sprint round the hanging
trail of blasted granite and crash down the breaking glass trail of thin flat
rocks, sounding I am certain, as if we are falling all the way down. Only
occasionally do we slow at the turns for fear of flying. Over the tunnel and
then through it, we arrive at the catwalk over the
Ouray (56.5mi/
The road to
hing
but level. The 2nd pitch, while covered in snow, is the easy one, but at 13000
feet, nothing is simple. The third and final pitch has steps leading up from
the right side but only butt tracks slide worthlessly down the middle under the
rope. The face is iced over, so we're trapped on the side path of footsteps.
Nobody's going up the butt slide. Again, it's a very slow but steady ascent
that gets steeper near the summit.
DeWalt and
Andrea must be both running well because we run the downhill hard from Mendota
to Telluride and don't see John until just before the station and never do see
Andrea. On the edge of Telluride is a small house with a kids
playground slide. A fellow from the house chases us down to present a
wonderfully cold ice pop. What a treat! He's as excited to give it, as we are
to have it.
Telluride
(72.6mi/
Its difficult
to lift my head, let alone my feet. Our ascent switches up the face on a
beautiful single track into the upper basin of the
ks!
Joe! Look at me!
Listen up! I'm putting your hat, flashlights, gloves, rain pants, and a fresh
med-kit into your pack. I'm taking out the used socks, hammer flask, &
bandana. Anything else? Take your jacket too. You need
to talk to me. Tell me now or suffer later! Ok, keep eating! Drink this. Now
get up and go. Take this sandwich with you. Get out now. Joyce has been waiting
here for hours to spend precious little time to take care of us. From one
station to the next, it is repeated. I smile and take whatever she gives me. I
have learned to never argue with her during a run. She chases Letha off who is
trying to visit with me. She's the best and I am damned lucky to have her here.
I get up and go.
Ophir (81.9mi/
Paul isn't ready
yet, so I walk out with Joyce. She turns back at the creek and then Paul
catches up a few minutes later. My energy level is strong. We pass a few others
and then catch a big group near the top at the edge of the snowfields. We're
now at the base of the toughest part of Grant-Swamp. The traditional route on
the left is bare. A new route of steps kicked into the snow is frozen in place
on the right. It appears much faster and easier than the abandoned scree route. A half dozen of us begin a slow desperate
dance up the ice ladder. With crampons and YakTracs, tent pegs and sharp rocks, anything to avoid a
misstep which will send us into the rocks. There's not much for
conversation on the ascent. All I can hear is heavy breathing. From base to
summit, not a word, and each of us roll onto the summit to lie on our backs for
a moment.
The light is
fading fast and I'd like to be at KT before nightfall, so I get up and sprint
off the other side. Heels sunk into loose rock, arms out for balance, sliding,
stepping, and running, I surf the scree off
my goal no more than
to get as far as possible before we lose last light.
Kamm Traverse (88.9mi/
The tiny creek is swollen with snowmelt
and running fast and deeper than usual. Hard to tell how bad
it is, but in the dark, the water looks dangerous! Hans and Roger stand at the
edge, looking for safe passage and finding none. I go past them without
stopping and drop into the cold water. Somebody yells for us to link arms and
then the others are in the water also, hooking elbows. Holding desperately to
one another, the five of us push and pull each other out into the freezing cold
torrent: Roger, Hans, Roger's kid, Paul, and me. The force of the water slams
into us, forcing our angle a little downstream. As we near the other side, I
turn back towards our desired slot in the muddy bank. Across, we climb quickly
into the frozen mud. The slot, no more than another inlet of
snowmelt pouring in between the brush. We wade up the side flow, our
feet sinking into the slush, ankle deep, high stepping, and the mud attempting
to suck the shoes from our feet. I continue up the narrow!
chute until I escape
the water trap for dry land and wait for Paul. The climb is steep at first,
full of mud traps and water seepage, hidden in the dark. In and out of snow and
water, my feet should be freezing, but none of this seems to be bothering them
very much. Actually my entire body is numb, but for my stomach. My tummy is
hypersensitive to anything and everything right now. Even water tastes bad.
Aimlessly following Paul in the dark, I lose track of the streams, snow,
tundra, and rocks, until we are on the face of the next big climb.
The big mountain
cries, tears streaming down her face. The tundra captures the snowmelt in
thousands of tiny pools, water cascading from one to the next, the stars reflecting and sparkling a million times in each.
I know there's a trail here, but we can't find it. The muddy trail and the
muddy tundra all look the same. We struggle uphill into the teeth of the soggy
mountain stream, the swamp massaging my ankles on every step. Each reflector
draws us in a strait line from one to the next, likely taking the most
difficult route. Some are easy to find while others are not. We split up now
and then to search different possible routes. Seems to take a long time and are
eventually surprised to find ourselves on top of Porcupine. The summit is iced
over and slippery as snot. The edge rolls over and into the darkness, butt
tracks leading out and gone. I have no trust left! It is the right way but I
fear what I cannot see and the ice keeps me from stopping when I want. I
nervously st!
are into the void
while Aaron walks past me and down, heel kicking as he goes. I try the same,
slip, and then slide down on my butt, past the snow and into the muddy muck at
the bottom. We run from ice to swamp, then back again, the ice more comfortable
than the swamp. Others arrive, all of us drawn to one another, yet moving
forward, splitting up and rejoining on our quest for the next flag, splashing
through the mud, and the swamp, and the snow!
Putnam rises up out of the darkness,
black as a void. Stars dot her face, flashlights of those ahead. The last
ascent fills our view, urging us on. Ice steps at first and then tundra. This
climb is dry suggesting no snow on top. Paul surges ahead and I try to hang on.
Depleted, I senselessly climb on all fours ever upward. The others seem to fall
behind. We stop to take a break, lie back, and look up at a sky full of stars.
Both of us struggle for air, struggle to keep from vomiting. Paul offers me
more salt and I offer to puke on him. He keeps the salt and we start again. We
climb some more and eventually find the lateral trail on top. A pacer is
sitting there waiting on his runner, so we sit next to him for a short break.
This time when we start to run, we don't stop for a long time. Our steady
downhill roll ends abruptly at Mineral Creek in a line waiting to cross over. DeWalt's a bit nervous about crossing, thick with
trepidation. Nobody is doing anything; so I quickly !
drop down to get
after it. Hell, I need to get this done. Half asleep, tired, and senseless, I
realize the others are yelling at me. It's not your turn! Wait in line! You gotta be kidding? I climb back up and then sit down. John's
really shook up about the water. I offer to go with him but again they say no.
He must go alone. It's too dangerous with two people on the rope. John finally
gets in the water and begins to cross slowly. After he's across, then his pacer
starts across and takes just as long. Jan Gnass sends
his runner across next, and then Jan. Finally, I can go. I take DeWalt's abandoned trekking pole
and rush across. When Paul starts across, he gets half way then stops. He seems
to be having a problem. His calf cramps up and he can't lift his foot. He turns
his foot sideways and begins to drag one leg across the swollen creek. We're
both freezing by the time Paul gets across. He was in the water way too long
and I've been standing still way too long after crossi!
ng.
Paul picked up quite a bit of rock dragging his foot and h!
as to pu
ll his shoes to dump out the rocks. We both seem to be
coming undone all of a sudden. My legs are cold, my lips chapped, face burnt,
my stomach's inside out, my eyes keep closing, and my
lower back and leg muscles have a constant twitch. I sure am glad we're almost
done. I need a shower, a toothbrush, and a bed.
This is my 5th
running of Hardrock and Paul Schmidt has helped guide
me four times now. There is little my good friend wouldn't do for me. He tells
me to go on ahead, but there is no way I could finish without him. DeWalt and I talked about finishing together because we are
usually pretty close, but these things don't always go as planned. I let it go,
choosing instead to enjoy a slow victory stroll into the finish with Paul. My
wife Joyce has crewed me every year and paced me a
fair bit as well, but mishap just days before the race kept her off the trails
this time. She stayed awake the entire time, thinking for me, and making
certain I had what I needed the entire race. Her care and understanding are a
big part in my success. Barbara & George Hitzfeld
came up from
I got another great support person. And then
there was Lyle and Jo Clugg of Montrose, who drove
many miles to