I left the AS in positive spirits, but I knew I had a problem brewing. All the food and drink I had just forced down was not sitting well and to make matters worse since the temperature had started to drop I had developed a persistent cough and it was getting worse. Bedford Peak was the next AS, it was only 3.2 miles, but they were freaking BRUTAL!!! For the first time in the race I had to stop several time to try to catch my breath and my coughing fits were getting worse. Jeff was trying to keep me moving but it was really slow going. About a third of the way up I had a terrible coughing fit, stopped and tried to get it under control, but couldn't. I tried to fight the inevitable, but could no longer hold down all the food and fluids I had just taken in. Jeff described it as "spectacular projectile vomit" but to me there was absolutely nothing spectacular about it. The thought of not finishing crossed my mind seriously for the first time. Before, I just worried and wondered, now I had a real problem and the thoughts were no longer just a "what if" they were here and now. I looked up at Jeff, and I could see he was worried too which wasn't good. I tried to compose myself and said "Well that sucked!" Jeff laughed and I did too, at least outwardly. I put my game face back on...and went on about the business of putting this mountain in my past. Up we went. The thoughts stayed with me "Should we just head back down to Silverado?" "If I drop at Bedford how long will I have to wait for a ride back down?"
We pushed on...and I decided to try to eat a gel and see if I could hold it down. I did...and could! I started forcing myself to drink more also and 15 minutes later was feeling MUCH better. I choked down another gel and we started moving a little better, but not well enough to avoid getting passed by Melissa and Hugh once again...DAMN! We could see the lights of Bedford Peak now and we cruised in with improving spirits. I had some more soup and a quesadilla, grabbed a couple gels for the road, and replaced the batteries in my headlamp with the ONLY spare batteries I had brought. We asked what it was like between here and Maple and got the standard Chimera answer of "Just some rolling hills." Which was described by fellow runner Geoff Cordner of the Slow Twitch Journal like this: "folks at aid stations kept saying "its just rolling hills from here on out." What I discovered is rolling hills means sharply up for 1-2 miles followed by gently up, followed by a medium up, followed by more steep up, and then 20 yards of flat before it goes up again..." I can't think of a more fitting description!
We left out of Bedford and I was back in my groove. We expected some gently rollers but got what Geoff described instead...so be it, I was once again focused and determined. Onward and upward we went. We were just below the clouds now and it was starting to SNOW! The lights of LA were behind us and it looked as if we were on an island of darkness in a sea of lights. Before long we could see the lights of Maple Springs aid station WELL above us and way too far off in the distance! We followed the fire road up and around and over and up some more, often the road would bend in a direction that made absolutely no sense according to where the AS lights were. The lights of Maple Springs haunted us for miles and I felt like I was chasing the moon...no matter how long or fast we moved it didn't seem we were getting any closer. We passed Melissa and Hugh once again during a steep uphill section, and Hugh seemed to be having some real trouble. The snow turned to sleet and started really coming down. We entered the clouds and lost sight of Maple Springs which seemed to help...then we crested a hill and ,were there.
While Silverado took the spirit award, Maple Springs had the market cornered on comfort. They had closed off one end of the tent and placed a propane heater inside. So while the outside temp was probably around 28 degrees...inside the temp was above 70! I entered the sweat lodge to find Lambert sleeping comfortably in a chair. Melissa and Hugh came in and also took shelter in the tent for a bit. Hugh didn't look good and took some time to doctor some chaffing issues. Jeff was once again on point filling my Camelbak and fetching food and gels for the long road ahead. I stayed a little too long, but it was sooo nice inside. I reluctantly stood up and left the coziness behind. I knew what was next and welcomed the climb...Santiago one more time. The peak meant one more mountain permanently behind me.
The sleet and snow gave way to a heavy icy mist and fog. Visibility was terrible and we had to hug the side of the road to not miss any trail markers on the way up...but we still did. We were cruising along nicely and found ourselves face to face with a radio tower. I had peaked Santiago twice during Twin Peaks and seen the towers up there...but these didn't look right. We weren't supposed to actually crest Santiago where the towers were anyway. There was a trail leading down away from the tower, and we thought for a moment of following it...but instead we decided to backtrack and I am so glad that we did. We were still over a mile from the peak and would have been lost on the mountain if we'd taken that trail. We found the markers, and the missed turn and were back on track. We started to once again make good time, then Jeffs light began to fade. Damn...I had only brought one spare set and my light seemed to be fading as well. I dimmed my light as much as was safe to conserve and we pushed on but had to slow just a bit due to our lack of light. We were passed once again by Melissa and Hugh just as we crested Santiago and started back down. We hung with them for a bit, then they opened a gap and were gone. There was a small AS at the top of Upper Holy Jim to direct traffic and as luck would have it, yet another example of a badass aid station! They had 6 aaa batteries of two different brands...we tried the first set and they were dead, DAMN. The second set went in my headlamp and SUCCESS!!! We were once again good to go! I gave Jeff my half dead set, his light was still working, but dimming a bit, but we only had about an hour till daybreak. We were back in business, and started making good time once again. I was familiar with the trail and the sky was starting to show grey to the East and Jeff kept reminding me that every step I took was a new pr. I was feeling pretty strong once again we reeled in Melissa and Hugh, they had been joined by Hector Aleman. I remembered him from very early in the race, we had reached the Candy Store together. He was also having some difficulty, and was in desperate need of toilet paper...and as luck would have it, I had some tissue for him. I have never seen someone quite so excited over TP before. lol
We left him to do his business and came into mile 75 the Indian Truck Trail aid station. As dawn broke we were greeted by yet another friendly face. Kristine Gillis was supposed to leave the aid station at 2am, but she had waited the 4 extra hours for me to come in. Ultra runners are an amazing group of people. I had met Kristine in June at the Holcomb Valley 33 mile and just like all the nice folks I met training for this race we were instant friends. She screamed my name as I approached and I sure was glad to see another friendly face! I sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee and she and Jeff got my mind right for what I thought was the last big challenge, the trip all the way down to Corona and then right back up to where I was sitting now. This was Steve Harvey's cruelest move of all, a 14 mile out and back losing 2500 ft of elevation then gaining it right back plus another 1000 up to the top of Trabuco Peak....to be continued.
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