2005-2006
Butterfly Trail 5.7/11.4 mi
September 11; 7 AM
Well it was another beautiful day in paradise. The start was cool (almost jacket weather) and the trail was green and wet at the creeks. There were lots of flowers along the trail, especially the yellow columbines and the purple, high elevation mallow.
This, the first run of the season, brought out over 20 intrepid* souls (that’s 40 plus soles!) with various ideas of what to do. There were one ways, out and backs on the trails and the original Butterfly Loops and one Loop and down to Sabino (!) This is a hard group to pin down. gj
p.s. This was a great route with very comfortable temperatures, especially after being in the hot, stinking desert all summer. How about adding this to next year’s schedule, possibly even before the traditional Wrightson starting run (which this run replaced due to trail closure)? This gives somebody all season to think about it and step forward as RD for a New Run!
* I checked the dictionary for the correct usage of this word. intrepid: characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude and endurance! How about that! Intrepid ‘R’ Us!! I propose a name change: Tucson Intrepid Trail Runners TITR!
Results:
Out and Back on Trail
Johnny Lyons 2:48
Jeff Balmat 2:55
Tonja Chagaris 3:14
Heather Knapp 3:46
Gene Joseph 3:47
Alan Delamere 4:18
Ross Zimmerman 4:52
Out and Back on Road
Bill Cuculic 1:39
Jerry Riddick 2:05 (On his way down Palisades Trail to Sabino Canyon Visitor Center!)
David Ramirez 2:08
Whitney Moore 2:10
Tom Gormley 2:11
Heather Garrick 2:12
Pam Golden 2:12
Kim Ferranti 2:54
Barbara Leinweber 2:54
Trail One Way
Bob Bachani
Chris Fall
Rachel Gutierrez
Andrea H.
Doug Neill
Mt. Hopkins Ascent 11.8/23.6 mi
Sept. 25; 7 AM
After I had to dodge a carabid beetle, and Eleodes beetle, and a Jerusalem Cricket, I figured I’d reached my weird creature quota. A Jerusalem Cricket is a truly strange-looking insect, and darn big (http://kaweahoaks.com/html/jerusalem_cricket.html). This was our second Hopkins Ascent, with 8 runners and 1 mountain biker (me). My plan was to juggle riding up the mountain with getting down in time to drive my Trooper up to the gate at 7.8 miles up the 11.8 climb. As it turned out, this was a very bad plan, since I’m not fast enough to accomplish that before the first runners were well below the gate. The lead group of Julius Martinez, Chris Fall, Tom Gormley, and Jorg Hader were getting hot and tired by the time I met them with my Trooper. I had given them as much water from my camelback as they wanted when I passed them on my way up and down, but that was hardly sufficient. Next year I’ll need to either forgo riding up or get some aid station help. I apologize for my poor judgement. Despite this the runners did well and seemed to have fun.
The route is mostly a straightforward trot up a sometimes steep dirt road, none of it as steep as the steepest part of our trails. What makes this run interesting is the spectacular vistas as you climb, the attractive slopes and crags of the mountains, and the amazing little city on the top, capped by the enormous multiple-mirror telescope building. There’s an extraordinary 360 view as you walk around the base of the building.
Julius Martinez topped out in 2:13, a strong time even with a wrong turn, albeit 20 minutes off Bill Cuculic’s record from 2004. My 2:44 bike ascent was well off Chase’s 2:26 from last year. Unlike Chase, since the weather was decent, I got to ride all the way down. Serious fun. So far Jennifer Aviles is the only woman to complete the ascent, posting a 3:45. We all noticed the prominent piles of bear scat in the middle of the road on the upper elevations. However, I was the one who actually met the bear. Just above 6 miles, I saw a very large, fuzzy, cute black bear bound across the road in front of me. I realized it was really fast, and that I’d have to ride my bike right past where it went, with several bear taste treats in my pack. I kept eyeing the left side of road, then looking over my shoulder, for quite awhile. At the very top, I made it further up the 26% grade than I had the last time I did this successfully, but still ended up hopping off the bike and trotting it up the final 50-100 feet. Then I got the fun of zipping down and getting to say hi to all the runners, whether they were headed up or down. Everyone was well past the gate by then. Julius and Jennifer both managed to do interesting side trips, since there are some road junctions in the little city of buildings and telescopes on top of the mountain (I’ll need to think about better directions for next year.). Oh, on the way up I got to ride along side Tom Wiper while he ran for a bit, so I got to catch up with him on things. He and Jim Shea run part way and left before I got down (Guys if you could drop a note telling us how far you went and anything interesting you encountered, that would be appreciated.).
Jennifer hitched a ride down from the gate. We stopped to look at a mine shaft, and a car appeared with Chris, Tom Gormley, and Jorg. They came up to check and get more of the aid I’d promised. They were gracious about my logistical miscalculations. We continued down with a stop to hand a couple more drinks to Enrique Aviles as he headed down. We found we were sharing our parking lot at Whipple Visitor’s Center with 2 bulls. One was larger, had horns, and wandered off. The other was a kind of cute little guy (little is relative here), with a round head, docile manner, and no horns. He was grazing away under the mesquite that flanked the north side of the parking. He ignored us until I walked over to see how close he’d let me get. Truthfully, I wasn’t paying attention and didn’t realize he was a bull until Enrique pointed that out when I was about 20 feet away. Fortunately, he just looked at me unconcernedly. He was still grazing when we left.
Distance notes–Skip if this is boring!
Tom asked about distances. Gene Joseph said he did remember the kilometer markers from last year. Like me, he is suspicious about their accuracy and thinks it was probably done with a vehicle odometer. I ran my GPS again, made a track, and transferred that to my MapTech Terrain Navigator Pro software. The GPS takes a location reading every few seconds, and the software draws straight lines between those readings. That means if you’re going fast enough and the route is twisty enough, the software will underestimate the distance a bit. Here are some maps of this route and the Butterfly trail (http://www.topout.info/ttr_az/trails/) (And yes, expect more maps to show up at that URL over time.). Click on Hopkins2D_Profile.jpg. You’ll see the map the software generates and a profile. This is the ascent-only, when I was going slow and the track is pretty accurate. It’s following the road nicely. MapTech calculated the ascent as 11.84 miles, so our round trip would be 23.68 miles. This is very close to my previous measurements. Interestingly, the total climb (Climbing + Descending for round-trip climb) is 5305 feet. It’s probably coincidence, but the 8533 top out elevation would be about where my GPS was on my arm relative to the ground versus the map elevation of 8530. Pretty respectable. Ignore the last column on the profile map. That’s where my cursor was when I captured the screen shot. The actual distance may be a little bit further than the 23.68 mile estimate, but I’d be surprised if it were more than 24 miles. Obviously we need a wheel or a calibrated bike computer for more accurate measurements. Maybe by next year I’ll have bought one of the wireless bike computers. I don’t trust to wired ones to survive long on my mountain bike.
Ross Zimmerman Run/Ride Director
Runner Ascent Roudtrip
Julius Martinez 2:13 4:23
Chris Fall 2:20 4:27
Tom Gormley 2:27 4:28
Jorg Hader 2:31 4:41
Enrique Aviles 3:31 6:10
Rider
Ross Zimmerman 2:44 3:26
Ascent, down to Gate (~15.8 miles)
Jennifer Aviles 3:45 5:09
(There was a visit to the Gamma Ray Telescope, so no telling on actual distance)
Partial Ascent, unknown distance
Tom Wiper
Jim Shea
Sabino Basin 13.2 mi
Oct. 2; 6 AM
We had a total of 11 runners that ran varying distances Sunday and a few others that ran on Saturday. The course was pretty overgrown about a mile past the turn above the tram road and was that way all the way to the turnaround at Sabino Basin. I saw 4-5 white tail deer Saturday about a mile from the turn around point at Sabino Basin. I also saw a young deer trot across the road just before the last hill, a mile from the finish on Saturday. The weather was great. Here are the results. cf
Out to Sabino Basin and back:
Joel Woppert: 2:23
Julius Martinez: 2:26
Tom Gormley: 2:39
Bob Redwanc: 2:40
Julie Arter: 2:45
Tonja Chagaris: 2:47
Bob Bachani: 2:48
Joe Plassman: 2:56
Enrique Aviles: 3:37, down road
Phoneline:
Tony Celentano: 2:00
Jennifer Aviles: 2:25
Saturday, up and down road to Sabino Basin:
Jorg Hader: 2:25
Chris Fall: 2:25
Bear Canyon Loop 16.8 mi
Oct. 16; 6 AM
The fall edition of the Bear Canyon Loop is typically overgrown due to the summer rains, this year was no exception. But for people like Gene Joseph that have been running it for many years it was not the worst shape it has ever been in. Everyone finishing showed signs of a trail that wanted to take blood samples from everyone. Everyone finished in good spirits and seemed to have had a good experience. bc
Bear Canyon Loop, October 16, 2005, 16.8 Miles
1. Chase Duarte 2:33:40
2. Julius Martinez 3:01:14
3. Tom Gormley 3:14:02
4. Jorg Hader 3:17:55
5. Joe Plassmann 3:21:00
6. Tonja Chagaris 3:21:10
7. Gene Joseph 3:21:46
8. Jeff Belmat 3:22:50
9. Pete Chagaris 3:40:17
10. David Ramirez 3:48:35
11. Tony Celentano 4:03:45
12. Heather Garrick 4:26:07
Ross Zimmerman Past Seven Falls and Back
Trish Duarte and Friend Seven Falls and Back
Wayne Coates Sabino Basin (Phoneline) and Back 3:24
Romero Pass 13.2 mi
Oct. 30 7 AM
8 people showed up at the start and the run started promptly at 7:02 am on Sunday Oct 30. It was a beautify day to run temperatures ranged from the high 50′s to the mid 70′s. This trail is still very overgrown near the top – much like last year. I would suggest we either do this run in the spring after the winter snow has flattened some of the shrubbery or finding a substitute. Joyce and I did laps of the Canyon Loop because dogs are not allowed on the Romero trail. Only Joel Woppert made it all the way to the pass and only 1 came back bloody. guess who. –Paul
Tony Celentano: 3:20 – turned around at ???
Tom Knutson: 3:20 – turned around at ???
Joel Woppert: 4:17 – Romero Pass
Angie Lyons: 1:49 – Romero Pools
Paul Vyriotes: 3:25 – 8 laps of the Canyon Loop
Joyce Vyriotes – 4 laps of the Canyon Loop
Rex Vyriotes – 5 laps of the Canyon Loop
Mielo Vyriotes – 5 laps of the Canyon Loop
Agua Caliente Ascent 15 mi
Nov. 6; 7 AM
We had 16 humans and 3 dogs affiliated with this year’s Agua Caliente Loop. The run direction was a joint effort by Laura Beer, Tom Gormley, Pam Golden, and Ross Zimmerman. Tom had intended to show up early and sweep the trail for skunks and other rabid creatures, but he overslept badly (Something to do with a birthday weekend. Seems to be a lot of that going around.). Tonja Chagaris turned up without him and started at 6:15, since she needed to go up to Phoenix later in the day. To atone, Tom needs to say a few words about the actual run, since he’s the only one of the 4 of us who actually ran.The rest of the field and the birthday boy showed up in time for the 7:00AM start. Most were planning the full 15 loop with the climb to Agua Caliente Hill. Laura and I got people started, then rode our bikes to the Rincon Valley store and back (25+ miles). It was mostly easy-paced social riding, but in a couple of stretches I got object
lessons about the difference between a 53-year-old fading distance runner on a bike and a 37-year-old former USCF licensed bicycle racer. Wow…Runners started to turn up shortly after we got back (i.e. Tonja). Laura took names and numbers. Pam had set up our brunch table, then
ridden to Saguaro NP using a different route than the one Laura and I returned on, so we missed her on the road. Barbara Leinweber was the first 7AM starter, having done the 11 mile version of the run. Julius Martinez was the first 15 miler to appear, with Johnny Lyons not far back. I think the person who had the most trouble with the route was our new guy, Tom Knutson, just moved here from Minnesota. Since Tom’s an experienced ultra runner, I told him although he might get off, I wasn’t real concerned about him dying on us.Please contribute your own comments (Tom??). A post on the blog would be nice (topout.info)…
Ross Z, Brunch Assistant
Full 15 mile loop with ascent
Julius Martinez 2:55:28
Johnny Lyons 2:58:32
Tom Gormley 3:18:30
Gene Joseph 3:26:28
Tonja Chagaris 3:36:32
Tony Celetano 3:41:00
Wayne Coates 3:48:00
Sasha Vyriotes (dog) 4:29:30
Paul Vyriotes (human) 4:29:30
Partial ascent (mystery event ~13 miles)
Tom Knutson 3:26:28
11 mile loop without ascent
Barbara Leinweber 2:55:18
Donna Kanoza 3:08:55
Joe Dana 3:08:55
Joyce Vyriotes 3:56:01
Rex Vyriotes (dog) 3:56:01
Mielo Vyriotes (dog) 3:56:01
Mt. Lemmon Ascent 18.6 mi
Nov. 13; 7 AM
1. Julius Martinez 4:41:15
2. Chase Duarte 4:52:19
3. Johnny Lyons 5:04:50
4. Bob Redwanc 5:15:40
5. Jerry Riddick 5:15:40
6. Joe Plassman 5:24:35
7. Matt Chamberlain 5:25:55
8. Tonja Chagris 5:35:20
9. Gene Joseph 5:35:20
10. Tony Celentano 5:45:10
11. Deanna Lewis 5:45:37
12. Tom Gormley 5:51:22
13. Pam Golden 5:59:14
14. Bob Bachani 6:27:30
15. Tom Knutson 6:27:30
16. Dwayne Arter ~12:00:00 (10 PM start)
Top to somewhat below the Wilderness of Rocks trail and back to the top:
A. Angie 3:09:05
B. Ross 3:09:05
Top to just below the granite boulders:
Bruce time unknown
To say it was a lovely day for a run would be an understatement, even by Tucson standards. An energetic crew of 15 runners—about twice what I expected—arrived at the Sabino Canyon parking lot for the 7:00 AM start. There was still a sharp nip to the air at that hour, but the sky was cloudless and the sun was rising. After numerous admonitions from Ross and Bruce about the poor quality of the trail and the need for extra vigilance over the section between Hutch’s Pool and Romero Pass, we hustled over to the starting rock on the Sabino road, quickly checked in a couple of late arrivals and sent the runners off at 7:07 AM.
Peter and Paul, who had brought bikes rather than running shoes, headed off for a ride to the top (in Paul’s case) and to 7 Cataracts (in Pete’s case). Ross, Bruce and Angie hooked up on top of Lemmon some 2 ½ hours later, and ran down & ups. A couple of miles below the top we met up with Dwayne and Julie Arter. Dwayne had set out at 10 PM the night before and was at the end of his power hike. He’d lost the trail 4 times which had us concerned for the other runners, although it had been in the dark, of course, and he’d managed to relocate it each time. Bruce turned around where the trail runs through a series of large granite boulders, perhaps 3 or at most 4 miles from the top, while Ross and Angie continued down until they met Johnny, somewhere below the Wilderness of Rocks Trail junction, which they estimated to be at least 5 miles (10 RT).
Back on top, Bruce, Joyce, Mary Alice and Julie hauled 2 coolers, a table, 3 or 4 chairs and 5 or 6 bags of food from the Lemmon Summit parking lot to the run finish at the iron gate just below the summit. A series of downed logs and cut stumps provided us with a wide range of seating and make-shift tables, and in short time an impressive schmorgasboard of trail runner nutrition was assembled.
Ten minutes later we had our first customer, Julius, with the top time for the day of 4:41:15. He and Chase and Johnny had run together for a good part of the day, but after Romero they had spread out somewhat—Chase “turtling” up the steep stuff to the top, and Johnny a bit behind that. Chase and Julius were the only folks to break 5 hours on this not always runnable trail.
Johnny was the first of the long string of 5-6 hour runners, about 25 minutes behind Julius. Bob “I’m never running another 100” Redwanc along with Jerry “Sure you’re not” Riddick rolled in 10 minutes behind Johnny at 5:15: forty-something. Smiling Joe Plassman came in 10 minutes later. He was a minute ahead of his buddy Matt Chamberlain, who I believe was out for his inaugural TTR run and put in a sturdy performance.
While the runners continued to trickle in, those who had finished and those who had come up the mountain by more conventional means to greet them were able to enjoy temps in the high 60’s, plenty of sun (or shade, as preferred), and lots of food and drink. Chatter punctuated with laughter filled the forest under story, and Mary Alice had a couple of dozen birthday hats at the ready as it was Bob B.’s 50th birthday. But where was Bob?
Back to the action:
Around this time, Ross & Angie reappeared, both having had a good run with a solid 10 miles of distance on a stellar blue-sky morning.
First female runner was Tonja at 5:35:20 alongside ever-steady Gene Joseph under his omnipresent agribusiness hat. Tony rolled in 10 minutes later and quickly disappeared—you did get home OK, didn’t you? And Gene has your black sweatpants.
Deanna Lewis, another TTR neophyte, turned in a solid performance, trotting through the gate just 27 seconds behind Tony. Tom “I’m gonna teach this camelback a lesson” Gormley came across looking like an ambulatory salt lick in 5:51:22 and proceeded to drink more water in one sitting than a black & tan coonhound. Pam Golden, who I believe was also in the birthday department this past week, rounded out the sub-6:00 hour group.
And that leaves us to wait for just the birthday boy, Bob Bachani, who had clearly indicated at the bottom of the hill, while still on the pavement, for that matter, that it was his birthday run and he was going to take his time and enjoy it. And honoring the buddy system as requested, Tom Knutson stayed with him right to the top. They were greeted by about 15 or 20 of us wearing pointy purple birthday hats and a whole lot of cheering.
Folks, it was a great time, one of the best I’ve had at a run, and I didn’t even run it. I hope everyone else enjoyed the day as much as I did. And those of you who didn’t turn out, you missed one heck of a nice time.
–Your humble servant, Bruce (RD)
Post Script:
Of interest to at least Gene if not one or two others, I wrote this summary while sitting in a hotel in Sierra Vista, eating kung pou chicken from the Golden Dragon, whose dumpster is the center piece of the Buffalo Soldier 24 Hour Race.
Sabino 50K
Dec. 11; 7 AM
At Sabino 50K I was busy coming down with something. Between that and the demands of getting up to speed on Civilizaton IV to stand up to my sons (not there yet), I managed to malinger on the write up until I got a lot sicker and Soldier/La Milagrosa happened. I recovered enough to direct (Alli has a conflict on Sundays at the moment.). So here’s Sabino. Hopefully the various participants won’t pick up my influenza…
This running festival kicked off with Pam Golden (my spouse), Angie Lyons (Johnny’s spouse and Ash’s mom), and I scouting on the weekend of Dec. 4th. More fun than the Tucson Marathon. We went up the road, then took the trail to Sabino Basin, then followed all the trails labelled Arizona Trail to Molino Basin. By my calculations that came to 14.3 miles. I don’t remember the time, but the pace was leisurely, mostly set by me. Angie picked it up near the end. As you may remember I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the trail. All we did was set up a couple of cairns. I noticed that the cutoff from Sycamore to the Bear Canyon Loop trail had gotten more obvious, but I decided not to say anything–no one else would notice and take it by accident. Wrong!
18 people turned up for variations of the 50K course on Dec. 11. I started the runners off and drove my friend and co-worker Scott Ferguson to Molino Basin. Scott is kicking off his training for the Canyon expedition at the end of March. Scott headed west and I headed east at Molino. I wanted to get a new GPS track of the last little climb up to the turnaround. While I was gone, Angie and 3-year-old Ash came to help at the aid station. We soon determined that my bike tool box had many objects of interest to a curious three-year-old. I had not realized my GPS bike mount was actually a robot. Ash was a real pleasure. He got a big kick out of getting water out of the water jug for the runners.
I tried to figure out the distance variations people ended up doing. I’m pretty sure the basic trip out via Phone Line, up to the turn around, and back down via the road at Sabino is an honest 50K. Here’s a table of various distances. The third column is some climb estimates.
The Basic 50K–
Phone Line 4.978 2359
Phone Line to Molino 9.883 2864
To Saddle and back 1.880 680
Molino to Phone Line 9.883 2066
Switchbacks to Road 0.521 0
Down Road 3.916 317
Total 31.061 8286
Weird variations–
Sabino to Headsplitter on Bear 8.5 miles (from the hiking map)
Sidetrip on Sycamore Cutoff the Bear Loop, then over to Headsplitter +0.6 (You’ll see…)
Bob Redwanc, Jerry Riddick had planned to go up Bear, then join the normal route at Headsplitter, They managed to recruit Johnny Lyons. The three of them were first into the aid station,right at 10 AM. As was typical, they just dropped their packs and trotted up to the turn around before coming back and using the aid station. Other people started turning up quickly. Pete Chagaris turned up on his bike to see how Tonja was doing. Patricia Wiercinski cmae to help with Wayne Coates specific aid (Old guys need a little extra care…). Most people showed up by a bit after 10:30. Garrett and Lisa Ford had left a vehicle there, as they planned to stop at Molino. The Wrublicks were about 30 minutes later, and Barbara Leinweber brought up the rear. Barbara decided to hitch a ride back. Since James Wrublick looked like death warmed over, I encouraged him to ride back, but he actually looked better after going to the turn around, so he and his dad Rodge continued. One of the stranger variations on this run was Joe Plassman’s exploits. He felt guilty for missing the trail at Molino and running on the road through the campground, so he did the trail out and back to make it honest. Then he ran up to the turn around and back. THEN he hopped on his bike (which I brought in his drop bag) and rode up to Prison Camp and back. Then he rode the bike back to Sabino Canyon.
We adjourned to Sabino. Johnny showed up first, having broken with the B&J R pack to come down the road. Joe showed up seconds later. B & J R turned up after a bit–they and Scott came down Phone Line. They said he was flying for a hiker. Others started to appear. An anonymous GPS expert turned up to discuss dithering with Wayne. I’ll try to list all the variations in route–if I miss yours, feel free to note it to the group. The variation I hadn’t allowed for was the Sycamore Cutoff. Apparently Tom Gormley and Austin Lenhart managed to notice the junction I thought they would ignore and go up to Bear Canyon Loop trail, then down to Headsplitter and on back. Tom went down Phone Line, too, to help make up for turning at the aid station instead of going up to the saddle. I think that gets him close to 50K (but not quite..:)..). I came to believe in resurrection when James Wrublick showed up a few steps ahead of his dad looking gret. This is a hard course, and everone should be pleased with their efforts. I think the 50K has over 8000 feet of total climb.
So in more-or-less descending distances:
Standard Sabino 50K (Dec. 11 2005)–
Wayne Coates 7:25 (Oldest runner, too)
Julius Martinez 7:27
Gene Joseph 7:36
David Ramirez 8:12
Austin Lenhart 8:24 (Plus the sidetrip!)
James Wrublik 8:48
Rodger Wrublik 8:48
Out Bear Canyon, back down Phone Line–
(Should be about the same distance)
Jerry Riddick 6:37
Bob Redwanc 6:37
Out Bear, back down road (~30 miles)–
Johnny Lyons 6:08
Aid station turn around (~29 miles)–
Tonja Chargaris 6:44
Annette Fleet 6:44
Unique variation I (30+ I suspect)–
(Cutoff + Phone Line return)
Tom Gormley 7:58
Sabino to Molina via Phone (~15)–
Garrett Ford 3:10
Joe Plassmann 3:15
(But then all the other stuff, total time 6:08)
Lisa Ford 3:18
Barbara Leinweber 5:03
Molino to Sabino via Phone (~15)–
Scott Ferguson Speedy hike, finished at 1:58PM clock time
(Scott, I missed your start time. Drop me a note…)
Soldier/ La Milagrosa Loop 15.2mi
Dec. 18; 7 AM
Well this one’s a little easier to recount. Many of you have probably read Johnny’s tale. It’s a route Pam and I put together using some of the trails we (mostly Pam) train near our house that’s very scenic. It starts at the top of Suzenu north of Synder. People take the road east to Soldier Trail road, then run up to Mt. Lemmon Highway. Then they take the actual Soldier Trail up to Gordon Hirabayashi Campground (Prison Camp). They turn east on the Arizona past Molino to an unmarked junction 2.5 miles east of the highway. Then they come out La Milagrosa Trail, which is also the original route into Bellota Ranch, predating Reddington Pass Road. Personally, I think the unmarked turnoff Johnny referred to is really obvious, but I’ve been there a few times…
On Sunday morning we had 10 runners. I got people started, then went up to the Soldier Trail trailhead and took a few photos as people came by. Then I went to GH/Prison Camp and walked down the trail a bit to high point with a nice view of the runners as they came over the ridge and took a few more photos. This turned out to be good, because Jeff Balmat had some knee problems and decided to bag it. I ran him down to the Start/Finish and got a finish refreshments station going. The gang of three that led throughout, Bob # Jerry R and Dean Lueck came tearing in with Bob first among equals by a few seconds. They were trying to break 3 hours, missing by seconds. The rest of the field was more leisurely. There were more comments about the unmarked turns. We had a very nice post-run chat session. I’ll post a few pictures in a few days.
See you next year! It’s been a good season so far.
Thanks, Ross Z
Friday Soldier/La Milagrosa (12/16/2005) 15 miles
Johnny Lyons 3:20
Tom Gormley 3:23
Matt Chamberlain 3:24
Sunday (12/18/2005)
Bob Redwanc 3:00
Jerry Riddick 3:00
Dean Lueck 3:00
Annette Fleet 3:12
Joe Plassmann 3:20
Wayne Coates 3:20
Gene Joseph 3:39
Pam Golden 4:17
Laura Beer 4:17
To Prison Camp
Jeff Balmat
Wasson Peak 15 mi
Jan 1, 2006 7 AM
While most people were sound asleep in their comfortable beds following a night of drink and debauchery, a select few arrived at 7:00 AM for a jog in the park. Saguaro National park West to be exact. This years Wasson peak figure eight had the finest weather in recent memory and none seemed to reget starting the New Year with a few hills and stairs. Patricia Weircinski made her first run with the group with a fast short loop. Johnny Lyons, not to be outdone, was seen pushing a stroller up the dirt roads.I went for a casual run with Ross up the Norris trail figuring I had all the time in the world to get back ahead of the group. Imagine my dismay when the front runners ( Julius, Joe and Wayne) popped out at the saddle just below the peak. That gave me about a 5-10 minute head start to get back before these three speedsters. With Julius breathing down my neck , my jog became a tempo run and I barely made it back, but not before Johnny and Patricia who were patiently waiting for me to get the goodies out. Sorry Guys. Final results-no lost no blood- good time. I almost forgot- Chris and Tom ,wanting the best of both worlds ,showed up a day later, and ran the full course in good time. Thanks for showing up all- I didn’t know if I would be alone at the trailhead on New Years day.See you next year. jr
Full Loop:(14.4 miles 3400′ ascent)
Julius Martinez 2:40
Joe Plassman 2:52
Wayne Coates 2:52
Gene Joseph 2:55
Tonja Chagris 2:59
Angie Lyons 4:38
Short loop ( 8 miles?)
Patricia Wiercinski 2:29
Stroller loop ( 8.9 miles )
Johnny Lyons
Norris Trail ( 10 miles?)
Ross Zimmerman 2:50
Jan 2( Full loop)
Tom Gormally 2:43
Chris Fall 2:50
Short Loop:
Patricia Wiercinski 2:29
Winter Bear Canyon Loop 16.8 mi
Jan. 8; 7 AM
Beautiful day, beautiful weather, and a great BIG group of people. I think we set a record on attendance yesterday, but some of the older (oops I mean more long timers) might set me straight on that. We had a total of 27 souls show up for the 7:06 (late start) because some people, not to mention names (Laura) were a little tardy. Anyway, after trying to get the massive group organized, trying to figure out who was going to do what (in case of rescues) the group was off. This took place about 45 minutes after three other crazies (Chris, Matt and Tom) had taken an early start.
Bear Loopers were:
Julius Martinez (39) 2:40
Chris Fall (43) 2:48
Johnny Lyons (31) 2:49
Bob Redwanc (49) 2:50
Jerry Riddick (54) 2:50
Garrett Ford (35) 2:52
Matt Chamberlain (34) 2:59
Tom Gormley (36) 3:00
Joe Plassman (40) 3:11
Paul Vyriotes (43) 3:11
Gene Joseph (53) 3:20
Laura Beer (37) 3:30
Kara Middendorf (27) 3:30
Justin Peschka (30) 3:30
Tony Celentano (51) 3:32
Jorge Hader (37) 3:35, but started 16 minutes late
Unnamed runner (??) 3:49
Beverly Rogers (44) 3:49
Annette Anthony (52) 3:49
Bob Bachanni (50) 4:19
Mary Alice Bachanni (44) 4:19
Other Routes – in descending order of distance
Patricia Wiercinski – (41) 3:53 – Sabino Basin
Tonja Chagris (32) 2:26 – out past 7 falls and return (11.3 miles exactly per her GPS)
Craig Guernsey (51) 2:26 – out past 7 falls and return (10.3 miles per his guess)
Joyce Vyriotes (31) 2:24 – phoneline
Duane (??) 2:25 – version of phoneline
Other Routes…………………….
Lisa Ford (??) ?:?? – did her own little thing, so she said
Cowhead Saddle 17 mi
Jan. 29; 7 AM
Jennifer and Enrique Aviles did their usual capable job of directing this run. Then Jennifer gave me the results and between work projects, dissembled computers, and sheer forgetfulness, I’ve been slow to post them to the group. We had a decent turnout. Someone’s car thermometer claimed it was 26, so people wanted to get moving. I did Doug Springs, and that part of the trail is about like always. No one reported anything odd higher up and there were no rabid wildlife encounters this year. Joel Woppert was the only person to break three hours on the full Cow.
Ross Z, participant
Full Cow
Joel Woppert 2:57
Chris Fall 3:05
Bob Redwanc 3:27
Joe Plassmann 3:44
Wayne Coates 3:44+
Joe Donovan 4:13
Pam Golden 4:27
Gene Joseph 4:35
A bit above Doug
Rob Carruth 3:28
John Carruth 3:28
Doug Springs
Tonja Chargaris 2:45
Barbara Leinweber 3:27
Tom Gormley 3:46
Ross Zimmerman 3:46
Tanque Verde Loop 28.5 mi
Feb. 12; 7 AM
Fifteen runners started out on a cool morning with good light from a full moon and were soon treated to the setting moon and the first light hitting the Santa Cats. The moon was bright enough that Bob and Bob who started at 6, could see well without flashlights. It soon warmed up and by
the time most runners had passed through Jennifer Aviles’ very welcome aid station at Javelina Picnic Ground the temperature had reached 70 degrees – making for a warm finish. In addition, there were some tired legs from people doing back to back runs to get ready for OP. And to think we worried about too much snow on the trail when we moved this run up from late Feb.!
Let me know if I’ve erred on any details; I’ve rounded times to the nearest minute.
Johnny Lyons 32 5:37 (Last 8 miles on trails)
Female Ghost Runner 45 (Road)
Julius Martinez 39 5:53 (Trail)
Matt Chamberlain 33 6:07 (Trail)
Wayne Coates 58 6:19 (Trail)
Tom Gormley 36 6:22 (Trail)
Bob Redwanc ? 6:26 (Road) 6 am start
Rob Carruth 45 6:27 (Trail)
Bruce Gungle 47 6:28 (Trail)
Bob Bachani 50 (?) 6:39 (Road) 6 am start
Tonja Chagaris 33 6:42 (Road)
Jorg Hader ? 6:55 (Trail)
John Litteer 40 7:33 (Road)
To Javelina (c. 20 miles)
Jerry Riddick 54 4:55
To Cow Head Saddle and Back
Joe Dana 69 4:34
Ventana Loop 18 mi
Feb. 26; 7 AM
Three hardy souls turned up for Ventana Loop Sunday. Bob Bachani and Geno Foushee started at 6AM. Julius Martinez turned up for the 7AM regular start. I trotted up the trail a ways, then went back down and drove over to Sabino to give people a bit of aid on the road. I was reminded what an interesting canyon Ventana is. Well up into the oaks, I was still seeing saguaros. There’s also a veritable forest of coral bean plants along the way, more than on any other trail I’m familiar with in these mountains. The rock formations in the lower canyon are pretty striking, too. Geno turned up just as I got to Sabino, with Bob close behind, both much sooner than I expected. They got some fluids and reported the trail was dramatically easier to follow than last year. Someone has been doing some good trail work. This isn’t to say it’s perfect, since Julius
later reported ending up off trail on top of a cliff near the top out. When I told them Julius was behind them and hadn’t seen the stretch from the Window to Esperero before, Bob said “Oh, then he’ll be awhile. That’s the hardest part to follow.” They trotted off and I looked over and saw Julius coming across Sabino Canyon road. He caught and passed the pair. His 4:10 finish time sets our best time for this loop, I believe.We all agreed this is a beautiful trail, albeit darn tough. I’d like people to think about a better weekend for it next season, since many people laid low for OP 50 this weekend. Ross Z, RD
2006 Ventana Loop 18 miles
Julius Martinez 4:10
Geno Foushee 5:04
Bob Bachani 5:16
Esperero Canyon Loop 21.3 mi
Mar. 12; 7 AM
You would need to be a Rogaine champion to successfully navigate the snowy back side of Esperero today. Fortunately, Matt Chamberlain IS a Rogaine champion. When he and Bob Bachani had trouble following the trail down through the calf-deep snow, he whipped out his map. They went where the trail should have gone and managed a speedy descent. At Sabino Basin, Matt pulled away and finished a few minutes ahead of Bob. Geno Foushee had gone to the top out (breaking trail actually), then decided he needed to turn around to get back home when he had said he would. As usual, I trudged behind. I went as far as the junction with Cathedral Rock Trail (about 900 feet and a couple of miles below topout) and decided I was too tired and the snow was getting too deep. My feet were cold and wet, and the incident years ago where I picked up some frostbite on the back side of Esperero kept coming to mind.
What I saw was spectacular. The snow started at the little notch you cross before dropping into Esperero Canyon itself, somewhat over 4 miles up. The sun had come out and I was surrounded by white slopes. Bridal Veil Falls was trickling. Things had already melted visibly on the way back down. Matt and Bob, it would be nice if you said a few words about the top and back side. Matt took pictures and will be posting them. It was a pretty magical trail day. Ross Z
Matt Chamberlin 33 6:30
Bob Bachani 50 6:38
Top out and back
Geno Fouschee 44 4:52
Cathedral Tr Junction
Ross Zimmerman 53 6:29
Mica Mountain Marathon 26.8 mi
Mar. 26; 6:30 AM
As we assembled at the end of Speedway this morning a spectacular sunrise complemented by the thin crescent moon greeted us. What a grand way to start the run to Mica.
There was almost no running water on the course. But there was enough snow on the top 3 miles to augment the runners water supply. The temperature slowly rose from 48 at the start to the low 70′s by the time the last participant had finished. A thin overcast and light winds help keep it from feeling to warm. All in all a very nice day.
Julius made a side trip to Manning Camp on the way down, and Nate did a full and a partial Cowhead. Tonja and Dan did the Douglas round trip. Chris Fall and someone else did an early Douglas, Chris let me know you time and I’ll get you included in the results. Ross and Laura did Cowhead. Laura set a personal longest time and distance, well done Laura.
But no one had the treat that Steve Kanoza and I had on Friday when we did the run! On our way back down about 1.5 miles above Cowhead we were treated to the sight of about 15 Ring-tailed Cats. They were lounging in the sun on a pile of rocks about120 meters across a small canyon! Yes I have a picture, I’ll try to attach. Joe Dana
Mica
Chase Duarte 5:31
Geno Foushee 6:03
Bob Redwanc 6:18
Bob Bachani 6:52
Julius Martinez 6:52 about 28.5 miles
Cowhead
Nate Polaske 4:43 about 19.8 miles
Ross Zimmerman 5:28
Laura Vogel 5:35 a distance/time PR
Douglas Springs 26 March 2006
Tonja Chagaris 2:41
Dan Laird 2:48
Mt. Bigelow Ascent & Descent 13.5/17.3/30.8 mi
Apr. 9; 6 AM
With all the talk of massive turnouts in the old days, 20 people for Bigelow doesn’t sound like much. But since this is a tough run with 4 different options, drop bags to ferry, and an aid station to see to, I figured I’d have my hands full. Fortunately, Maryalice Bachani came up to help me again. Her worthless spouse Bob was on his way back from doing a Grand Canyon Double, instead of getting back in time to run Bigelow and the Double in the same weekend. At the start I saw most of the people who had said they were coming. Joe Dana started way early, while Carmen Fleet and Bev Rogers took off at 5:49. I got the crowd going at 6:01, then walked back to my vehicle as Matt Chamberlain, Raoul Erickson, and Sarah Moesker turned up. I got them off, bought more ice, went home and picked up more ice, and headed up to Palisades trailhead on Organization Ridge Road. Maryalice turned up as I was setting up the station and added her table and chairs, turkey wraps and munchies, and MORE ice (see a theme here? 84 pounds of ice…). She brought Molly, the miniature Schnauzer, who got along with everyone. Julius Martinez appeared soon, a few steps ahead of Chase Duarte. Chris Fall was close behind, and they all trotted up to the summit of Bigelow together. We had a steady stream of runners after that. Tonja Chagaris was the first woman up. There was lots of complaining about climbing over fallen trees. It could have been even worse. Fred Grizzly turned up–he had come up the night before and gone down quite most of the way to the basin, clearing smaller trees off the trail and branches off the big ones. Then he came back up, and did Butterfly out and back doing the same thing. He said Butterfly is worse, so be ready on Santa Catalina Ascent.Matt Chamberlain was the only one to actually climb the tower on Bigelow, so some argued he was the only person to complete the ascent. All our newcomers seemed to enjoy themselves, although Halle Rogers
mentioned going off trail a couple of times. I encouraged them to come out to Mt. Wrightson, which is now open to the top. Sarah begged off–some excuse about a 24,000 foot peak in Nepal. Nate Polaski, who had done his first Cowhead 2 weeks ago, thought the Bigelow Ascent was
distinctly more difficult, to say nothing of the idea of going back down. Temperatures were very pleasant up top, which meant the descent might be warm. Gene said that people he saw coming down complained about our aid station–it was too hard to leave. Jane Evans, Django, and Dollie came up to retrieve Gene. Raoul and Sarah swore they had a ride, so I left them walking up the road.I hauled runners down and started to get set up again at Sabino just as Julius come trotting in. Jerry and Bruce turned up next, and Bruce proceeded to harass me about moving the finish–I had decided the shade under the ramada trumped the map’s claim that the start and finish were
the 0 Rock (Next year there will be new maps and revisionist history. I liked the shade.). Over the next hour or so, everyone else doing a flavor of round trip turned up. Tonja was the first woman again. I could tell everyone was hot and thirsty. They kept asking if there were
enough drinks to have seconds and thirds, which there were. Patricia Wiercinski came out to wait for Wayne after running up the road in the canyon. She did her first Rim-to-River-to-Rim the previous weekend.Thanks to all the participants for running smart on a tough course. Thanks once again to Maryalice.The distance options worked out as shown below, based on my map numbers. Wayne Coates’ estimates are a bit higher. I know some of the recent GPS readings are higher than his. The longest route may be a true 50K. By all means jump in with your numbers. If I made any mistakes on the times, please let me know–it was complicated.
Thanks, Ross Zimmerman, RD
Full Bigelow 28.9 miles
Julius Martinez 6:32
Chase Duarte 6:42
Geno Foushee 6:59
Matt Chamberlain 7:01
Chris Fall 7:16
Tom Gormley 7:35
Wayne Coates 7:41
Palisades Turnaround 25.8 miles
Jerry Riddick 6:39
Bruce Gungle 6:39
Tonja Chagaris 7:17
Carmen Fleet 7:38
Beverly Rogers 7:38
Pam Golden 7:36
Joe Dana 8:52
Bigelow Ascent and back to Palisades 16 miles
Nate Polaski 3:58
Johnny Lyons 4:55
Raoul Erickson 5:03
Sarah Moesker 5:03
Ascent to Palisades Trailhead 12.9 miles
Gene Joseph 4:08
Halle Rogers 4:23
Multiple Whrightson Massacre 10.4 mi
May 6; 7 AM
The 2006 Multiple Wrightson Massacre was bloodless this year with four runners making the climb to the top and back down for one trip each. Three other runners chose shorter trips, two turning at Baldy Saddle and one turning at Josephine Saddle. Raoul Erickson started late and came flying past me as I headed up to Josephine. We stopped and introduced ourselves, recalling that we met 5 or so years ago when I was still actively training and competing. At the time he was hiking Wrightson and I was running some repeats. I told him about the TTR and the trail series. I am glad to see he followed through and is now involved with the runs. Nate Polaske went up to the top then went back down to Baldy Saddle and met Laura Vogel and Kandi Karuza. The trio headed up to the top, meeting Raoul as he came down on his way to finishing up on the Super Trail. Nate headed down the Super Trail as Laura and Kandi headed down Old Baldy. Nate evidently missed the Super Trail Jct at Josephine Saddle as he finished on Old Baldy minutes before Laura and Kandi. Dr Wayne Coates and his lovely bride of two weeks, Patricia Wiercinski, were short on time and turned at Baldy Saddle. Dr Coates finished on the Super Trail a few minutes after Raoul while Patricia came down Old Baldy. Congratulations and best wishes to the newlyweds!! I hope the Grand Slam this Summer turns out well. I took a trip up Baldy to Josephine Saddle and then down .2 miles to Sprung Spring. I was disappointed to see that only drops are coming from the pipe and that the water level in the tub is down. Bellows Spring which is now dry and Sprung Spring have always been quite reliable water sources and very nice places to hang out.
Though we had few people show up, everyone seemed to have a good time and that is what it should be about. I visited with Raoul, Laura and Nate after the run. I am glad to see such nice young people participating. This was Laura’s first time to the top of Mt Wrightson and seemed extremely pleased with the experience.
Co run director Ken Greco did not make it out to the event. As some of you may know, Ken has been dealing with some serious medical issues and had hoped to make it out to visit with folks.
Ken, you were missed and we all hope you get this behind you soon.
Best regards, Rick Kelley Co RD
“The race continued as I hammered up the trail, passing rocks and trees
as if they were standing still.” – Red Fisher, Wasatch ’86
Wrightson (1 trip each)
Raoul Erickson 38 (Up Old Baldy down Super Trail)
Nate Polaske 24 (Old Baldy) *
Laura Vogel 20 (Old Baldy)
Kandi Karuza 47 (Old Baldy)
Baldy Saddle
Wayne Coates 58 (Up Old Baldy down Super Trail) *
Patricia Wiercinski 41 (Old Baldy)
Josephine Saddle
Rick Kelley 55 (Old Baldy)
= Did some added mileage
Chase Duarte sent me this report to pass on to the group. While they
were on Wrightson, my sons and I were on Mt. Hopkins on both road and
mountain bikes. We should have waved to the runners… Ross Z
Mt. Wrightson Massacre, part 2
Sunday May 14, 6:30 AM
Chase Duarte – 2 trips via Old Baldy
Paul Vyriotes – 2 trips via Old Baldy
Tonja Chagaris – 1 trips via Old Baldy, 1 out and back to Josephine via
Super Trail Pete Chagaris – 1 trip via Old Baldy Trish Duarte – Out and
back to Josephine via Super Trail Joyce Vyriotes – Out and back to
Josephine via Old Baldy
3 dogs belonging to Paul and Joyce went to Josephine via Old Baldy The trail was in good shape. We started to feel the heat on the second descent. I felt like I could have done a third trip but we started a BBQ and enjoyed a cold beer instead.
Santa Catalina Ascent 25+ mi
May 21; 6 AM
Eight hearty souls lined up at 6:00 am sharp this past Sunday for one of the best runs in the Tucson trail series. { my opinion } The Santa Catalina Ascent. Three nut cases said they were going to attempt the loop, which was pioneered last year by Bob Redwanc. Only a real nut job would think that up. The weather was not as hot as last year but still warm for the runners. As the run progressed the clouds started to roll in and became quite welcome. Everyone coming through Palisades looked a bit worn from the sun exposure. Gene almost had his very first blister ever, but we fixed it. After fueling up and with a few words like “ get out of here already ”, they moved on to the Butterfly Trail which last year was known as the meat grinder. It wasn’t as bad this time but it still had a lot of downed trees.. Matt got off trail or should I say got off of the correct trail and on to the wrong trail some where on Sunset. He ended up down in the creek bed and had to climb out. He is still young and strong and always ready for an adventure. Mean while the 3 loopies cut through Summerhaven in order to get aid from the finish line for the next half of their adventure. Chris left the Ascent finish line thinking that this whole nut job idea was not such a good idea and decided to come back and join the party. Raoul, who is just one Mean Mother Machine and Wayne, who can walk faster than I can run, just kept motoring up and up and up. Both of them unstoppable. Mr. Joseph was just happier than a P.I.S to be out on the trails and Tonja looking fresh as a daisy all day finished with a big smile as always.. Hats off to Angie who says that she is planning on doing OP next year. You go girl. We’ll see you at the 40.
Bob and Jerry actually got soaked by a rain storm around Romero Pass and came close to being struck by the same lightening bolt that started the Romero Fire. They both told me they plan on making it an annual event. Fun, Fun ,Fun.
Okay, enough of my tired, attention deficit rambling ! Have fun out there. bb
Raoul Erickson 38 7:36
Wayne Coates 58 7:38
Matt Chamberlain 33 7:51
Gene Joseph old 8:11
Chris Fall 43 8:11 Summerhaven route + extra 3 miles
Tonja Chagris 33 8:21
Bob Redwanc 50 13:06 Santa Catalina Loop 43 miles ?
Jerry Riddick 54 13:06 Santa Catalina Loop 43 miles ?
Angie Lyons young 3:10 Palisades to Ski Valley via Bigelow Rd.
Johnny and Ash 3:10 Aimless Wander
Bob Bachani
Palisades Loop 16.7 mi
June 4; 7 AM
Well, 8 hearty soles showed up yesterday morning. Joe came a little early and had already left the parking lot when the others started showing up. At the late hour of 7:02 AM we were off, with the old fart leading the group up the trail to Bigelow. This was done, I think, to take
pity on the guy since all knew he was slow. At the turnoff to Butterfly, the old fart let the fast dudes go by and the run was officially underway. When the old fart was approaching the plane turn off he noted the three fast dudes (who clearly were not that fast) were heading up to the plane. On inquiring as to what was up, were they wanting to look at the plane, one in group said no, thought the route looked different. The old guy kept on the correct path and continued on, only to hear one of the fast dudes say – now look we are behind Wayne. Continuing on down the trail the old fart stopped to fix a shoe problem and fast dudes caught up and passed once again. As they went by there was a lot of grumbling about the trail, unrunnable, too many trees down, rocks in the way, etc. Oh well these guys had seen the same route just two weeks before on the Lemmon ascent – memory is a fleeting fancy, even for the young guns! The old fart caught up to the young dudes on the Crystal Springs trail for the second time. Again more whining by the young guns about the trail. Anyway, to make the story short, but not to forget that Bob and Chris
got lost and took the tour to the top of Bigelow, when the old fart got to the finish one young gun (Riddick) was sitting there asking where the other young guns were? This dude had no idea at that time. Anyway when all had finished and the old fart said he was going to do another loop he was certified CRAZY by all present. Those that had planned to run down to Sabino (the young guns) saw the light and cancelled the whole idea, leaving just one crazy to run for a few more hours.
Many thanks to all who showed up, and particularly to Patricia for her help with the aid, then staying to the bitter end with the old fart.
Jerry Riddick – 54 – 3:22
Wayne Coates – 58 – 3:49 (second loop at 4:52 – edited by Patricia
so no disparaging comments by the old fart about the time are presented)
Chris Fall – 43 – 3:50 (Bigelow route)
Bob Redwanc – 50 – 3:50 (Bigelow route)
Gene Joseph – 53 – 4:01
Tonja Chargis – 33 – 4:05
Pete Chargis – 33 – 4:06
Joe Dana – 70 – 4:53