2007-2008

Hello Runners!

Welcome to the new season of runs here in the hot, stinking desert.

We started off, appropriately, with a run up a mountain. Starting at a few minutes after 7:00 (thanks Ross for covering for the late RD) we had 16 runners blast slowly out of the starting gate and ascend Mt. Wrightson via the Old Baldy trail. This is the shorter, steeper route for a 5.2 mile run up of about 4,000 feet. The morning was perfect for living, but especially so for running. There was water at the spring, although not in the trough as the pipe connection is not functional, but the temps were mild, so the need was not great.

Again, the helicopter failed to show, so we had to run back down. Some descended via Old Baldy, while others descended via Super Trail, as did this author. The run down was perfect, with several of us pushing and pulling the group to an unprecedented pace. This route is about 3.6 miles longer but is eminently more runnable. The views on the south side, after the fire of two years ago, are spectacular. Water was coursing down a small drainage, so I naturally stopped to drink. It poured off of a rock at chest height, at the base of a dead juniper and as I drank the cool, clear water, Reed looked up at the burned slope and said "charcoal filtered". It was the absolute best water in the world and a memory I will keep on file and pull up every mid-June from now on. A great run on a great day with a great group of people! gj

Wrightson Ascent, Sept. 9, 2007

Joel Woppert 49 1:18:53

Nate Polaske 25 1:20:01

Bruce Johnson 53 1:31

Raoul Erickson 39 1:36#

Joe Plassmann 42 1:42:04

G. Joseph 55 1:44#

Tonja Chagaris 34 1:53:20*

Johnny Lyons 33 1:53

Mahendra Jani 53 1:54

Pete Chagaris 34 1:55*

Ross Zimmerman 54 1:57:56

John Hall 37 1:59

Kristi Kane 36 1:59*

Ann Vonkersberg 46 1:59*

Reed Harris 56 2:02

Brenda Koski 46 2:02

Saturday, Sept. 8, 2007

Joe Theobald -- ----

*= early start

#= late start

Charoleau Gap, Sept.29, 2007

The running conditions were perfect with relatively cool temperatures

and nearly full cloud cover. We encountered very few off road vehicles

so had the fire road mostly to ourselves. Joel had his path blocked by

a javelina at one point so he accelerated towards it and it moved out of

the way.

To River:

========

Mike Wilke, 3:43

Daren Sandbank, 4:21

Bruce Johnson, 3:50

Chris Fall, 3:50

Raoul Erickson, 4:04

Charoleau Gap:

============

Joel Woppert, 1:57

Diane Harper, 2:38

Bev Schultz, ??

Alex Kuimborg, 2:37

Jorg Hader, ?? [+3 miles on road]

Paul Vyriotes, 2:40

Doug Neill, 3:06

Joyce Vyriotes, 3:36 [+ a random dead end]

Bev Schulz, 3:28

John Litteer, 2:59

Next year I'll have to remember that sunscreen isn't needed if you

finish this run fast enough because you're mostly in the shadow of the

mountain.–Paul

Molino Basin, Sept. 23, 2007

It was a great day for a run, September 23rd, 2007. There were

20 people that turned out to run the AZ trail from Molino Basin west

to Sycamore Reservoir and back. It was t-shirt weather from the

start, at least for me. Cloudy weather provided some great views on

the outbound trip past Prison Camp. The sun was breaking out in

patches and it was an awesome sight.

Even a 100 miler two weeks earlier couldn't slow Chase down as he

was the first in at 1:35. Bruce, who never seems to stop running,

was second in 1:45. There were numerous rattlesnake sightings on

trail. The one Chase and I saw was fast asleep but, woke up with

Chase flipping it off trail with a long stick. Monica won the most

blood award with a nice gash on the knee and lots of blood.

Chase Duarte 1:35

Bruce Johnson 1:45

Chris Fall 1:50

Joe Plassman 1:56

Daren Sandbank 1:57

John Hall 1:59

Wayne Coates 1:59

Johnny Lyons 1:59

Tonja Chagaris 2:05

Alex Kimberg 2:05

Deanna Lewis 2:05

Brenda Koski 2:09

Ann Vonkersburg 2:17

Ross Zimmerman 2:35

Patricia Wiercinski 2:36

Joe Dana 2:37

Steve Kanoza 2:37

Doug Neill 2:38

Donna Kanoza 2:42

Monica Durazo 3:10

Mt. Hopkins Ascent and Descent Oct. 7, 2007

Sunday, Oct. 7 was a very perfect day for a run up this mountain. The temperatures at the start were in the low 50's and maybe the high 70's at the finish. The sky was clear and the air was crisp, especially in the shade on the way up. The profile of this run is simple: the first half is up and the second half is down. An interesting thing about this run is that from the start you can see the turnaround at 11.8 miles and from the turnaround, you can see the start. Cool, huh? And to top it off, on the way home, the radio played Pink Floyd's 'Brain Damage'. (For those of you who don't know, the fourth line of that song is the motto of the TTR_AZ RD's.)

We had 17 runners and 1 biker do some version of this run on an otherwise empty course. It is such a beautiful place. I am always amazed that nobody goes there.

Thanks to Paul and Joyce for aid station help and Aron for runner transport. gj

23.6 Miles

Nate Polaske 3:33

Gillian Hubble 4:20

Bruce Johnson 4:25

Wayne Coates 4:30

Gene Joseph 4:47

Johnny Lyons 5:12

Kandi Karuza 5:36

16 (+/-) Miles (Top and back to gate)

Paul Vyriotes 3:00

16 (+/-) Miles (To gate and back)

Jorg Hader 2:48

Andy Gillespie 2:57

Reed Harris 2:57

Patricia Wiercinski 3:38

12 (+/-) Miles (Top plus)

Joe Plassmann 2:41

12 (+/-) Miles (lower end of course)

Charlie Hangartner 2:12

8 (+/-) Miles (top of course)

Joyce Viriotes 2:00

Aron .... ...

6(+/-) Miles (lower end of course)

Dori Arter 1:45

Bicycle 20 miles

Mindy Horst 3:33

Bear Canyon Loop, 16.8m; October 21, 2007

Well, we finally got to legally run Bear Canyon loop, after 13 months of closure due to the flooding and subsequent land slides of last summer. The limiting trail section for the closure was the Sabino trail from the Basin crossing to the top of the road. This section is now passable. The worst damage was within about a quarter of a mile from the top of the road. The trail has actually been re-routed and shortened somewhat. The rest of the course is overgrown and rutted, but will get better with more use. I would like to ask any runners with GPS to do this route and post the results.

10 of us used these trails this past Sunday, starting a few minutes past 6 after a couple of false starts. The day was perfect for a run with temperatures in the low 50's at the start and low 80's several hours later. There was a lot of excitement in the air for the runners chomping at the bit to run what has probably been the most used TTR_AZ training route. We are hoping to do some trail work this season to make the course more runnable. This author was the first official finisher and now has the dubious distinction of having the slowest winning time for a Bear Canyon 'official' run! This only happened, though, because Doug decided to hold back and run with me and also because he finished down the Phone Line trail (at that, only a few minutes behind me). The return to Bear Canyon was deemed a success!! gj

Ross's Phone Line Impressions

I've been running Phone Line trail since 1978 or 1979. As with Bear Canyon, the trail had deteriorated pretty noticeably over the years. However, when I ran it Sunday for the first time since the 2006 debris

flow event, I was struck by how little affected the trail was. Most washouts to bare rock have been there for years and weren't significantly worse. Rocks that I've been stepping on or over for years are still right where I left them. There were a few minor spots of repair, but the first major change was about 4.5 miles up the trail, just before the Sabino Historic trail junction. For a couple of hundred yards, a large chunk of slope was gone and new trail had to be built from scratch. I suspect that might be the stretch where Bob Magon

talked about roping people together and blasting. Then a bit past the junction the trail drops down on a pair of switchbacks. I think the lower switchback had to be reworked because it had suffered a lot of

erosion. Overall, I think the east slope of Sabino has less damage than the west slope, although I could still see lots of change above and below me. I'm wondering if the USGS is tallying some of the existing

scoured side canyons as part of the debris flow event.

I was most surprised by the last side canyon crossing, just before you climb to the junction with the trail coming up from the top of the road. That's the canyon that washed away the restroom and filled the road

turnaround with debris. Where the trail crosses was already thoroughly scoured and didn't suffer significant new damage. It's possible the approach was rerouted a bit, but I'm not even sure of that. Looking up,

you could see a lot of jumbled slope that wasn't like that before the debris flows, but it passed through that channel with little new damage.

To bring the run up to approximately 10 miles, I trotted up the saddle where the metal sign is and the trail turns back into the main canyon. That stretch and the switchbacks from the road had to be extensively

reworked. They've completely redone the lowest switchback before the road top, doing an east instead of a west jog. However, I had learned this from the previous weekend.

Instead of taking the jog down to the road top, I doubled back and came down the Sabino Historic Trail. It's a perfectly runnable route that comes out at the 3 mile point on the road. Some stretches are a bit steep, and the bottom section did get pretty messed up by the 2006 floods. I'll bet it was the route used by travelers before the upper 0.7 mile road was blasted into the cliffs in the late 1920s or early 1930s (I forget). It seemed to me the upper part was rebuilt on old trail or wagon road bed. If you want a route that's bit less road, but almost exactly the distance as the standard up trail/down road route (9.3-9.7 miles), try it.

Bear Canyon Loop

G. Joseph 55 3:27

Andy Gillespie 41 4:02

Reed Harris 57 4:03

Pam Golden 52 4:17

Alli LaCroix 31 4:17

Donna Kanoza 56 5:00

Steve Kanoza 57 5:00

Joe Dana 71 5:03

Bear Canyon Loop with Phone Line finish (longer than 16.8m)

Doug Kelly 42 3:31

Phone Line Plus (10+/-m)

Ross Zimmerman 54 3:06

Agua Caliente Ascent, Nov. 4, 2007

Wankers,

Agua Caliente Ascent results are as follows.

Chase Duarte- age 40- Ran the whole enchilada in 2:49

Gene Joseph- age 55 ? really ?- Full Run-not sure about the enchilada- 3:30

Jerry Riddick- age 55- 11 mile loop- 2:09

Wayne Coates- age 59- 9.8 mile loop according to his gps device-2:36

S. Kanoza- age 57- 11 mile loop ran it backwards & didn't fall once- 2:52

Joe Dana- age 20 prime # divided by 80 then times by 80- also running backwards- 2:58

Ross Zimmerman- age 55- Ran it on his hands,not to be out done- 3:30

Patricia Wiercinski-Age classified- 8.5 to canyon- 2:42

Thanks to all who came & ran,it was nice to see everyone again.

Tom Gormley

826 N. Desert Ave

Tucson,Az 85711

520-403-8596 \

Mt Lemmon Ascent, Nov. 11, 2007

It was a great day on the mountain. It was cool on the top at 8:15am when Jerry and I started our shorter run. Sounded like most people stayed on trail but it was tough going between Hutch's Pools and

Romero Pass. No super nasty cuts that I saw but lots of scraps. Everyone looked in good spirits as they arrived. Kudos to Darren for doing this two weeks out from a 100 mile finish at Javelina. Kudos as

well to Tonja and her friend for completing the ascent one week after a double crossing in the canyon. It was nice to see Pam at the top after she and Donna climbed the road on their bikes. Also chatted

with Ross who was mountain biking on the top of the mountain. Here are the ascent times:

Full Ascent:

Joel Woppert - 4:58

Doug Kelly - 4:59

Mike Wilke - 5:17 (via Wilderness of Rocks\Aspen Trail)

Tonja Chargis - 5:45

Steve Greenwell 5:45

Gene Joseph - 5:46

Andy Gillespie - 6:16

Bruce Johnson - 6:24

Darren Sandbank - 6:51

Steve Kanoza - 6:51

Joe Dana - 7:30

10 mile fun run:

Jerry Riddick

Chris Fall

Mt Lemmon bike ascent:

Pam Golden

Donna Kanoza

General improtptu Mt biking:

Ross Zimmerman Later, Chris Fall

Saguaro West Loop, Nov. 18, 2007

Well, it was a nice, albeit warm, day for a desert run. Run variations were the rule for the day as no one completed the entire planned route, although the entire route ended up being run in the variations. Now that I think of it, teams Wiercinski/Coates and Vyriotes did end up completing the entire loop in their respective

team accomplishments. I'm not exactly sure where everyone ended up going, but I was given times and distances. Most people sounded content with what they ended up doing, so I guess the run was a

success! Next year we just need Jerry, Bruce G. and other westsiders to come out and lead through the maze of trails. Johnny

Runners:

Wayne Coates - 4:21, 17.8 miles Picture Rocks Road over Wasson Peak

to Hugh Norris trailhead

Paul Vyriotes - 4:10, 17 miles Picture Rocks over Wasson to

Sendero/Esperanza Trailhead

Joe Plassman - 3:27, "Who knows? Coyote Pass, Gila Monster,

Windmill, No trespassing, Coyotote, Camino del Cerro

Mine, Cactus Canyon, Picture Rocks, Ironwood, TURN

RIGHT!"

Doug Kelly - 2:58, 17.5 miles ?

Mary Croft - 2:50, 12 miles desert ramblings

Joyce Vyriotes- 2:23, 10 miles Picture Rocks Road past

Sendero/Esperanza Trailhead via Camboh Trail and

dirt road round trip

Patricia Wiercinski-1:42, 7 miles Hugh Norris to Picture Rocks Road

via dirt roads and Camboh Trail

Johnny Lyons - 1:02, 5.4 miles Hugh Norris up to Sendero/Esperanza

and back

La Milagrosa Loop 15.2 Miles 09DEC2007

It has been three years since I have been able to direct a run because of military schools and duties so I was really looking forward to being able to make it to La Milagrosa. As I was driving to the start, just after I passed Ross and Pam's house on Soldier Trail, I noticed several vehicles coming from the opposite direction at 6:30 in the morning on a Sunday. I thought this was odd for a backcountry road but I know how EMD works so I wasn't surprised. The surprise was that the road was barricaded due to the Agua Caliente River flowing heavily from the previous day and night's rains. The cars heading my direction were runners trying to get to the start that also had to turn around. I turned around at the barricade and pulled up to one of the vehicles stopped on the side of the road. I rolled my window down to find Carl Childers from "Sling Blade" sitting in the passenger seat holding the driver Kandi Karuza hostage. Carl claims he was looking at a map to figure another way to the start. Kandi spoke nervously about crossing the barricade and police involvement so I took that as a hint that she needed help. Rather than waiting for Carl to pull out his blade I sped on down to Roger Road and went east only to find no help and much private property. I phoned Ross for help and he informed me that the barricade was just taken down by the Sheriff. I went back to Soldier Trail and came to the same barricade I recently left. I thought, "What the hell is Ross talking about?" There were headlights on the other side so I figured whoever was in the car was waiting to see what I would do so I made a move and went around the barrier. I went through the foot deep water which was flowing at a mild pace for my wife's F150 Ford Triton with good clearance. It turned out the guy waiting for me was the Sheriff. I gave him a brief description of the situation at the wash, mentioned I seen Carl in the area and thanked him for his time. He was happy for the tip and said he would let me off without a ticket for the public service I provided.

Anyway, after clearing the wash I sped up to the start at 7:03 which led to a 7:11 take-off time. A hearty group of lean, well muscled runners took off down Horsehead Road to the west and onto Mt. Lemmon Short Road and then up Catalina Highway. Water was flowing in many places after ascending the first part of Old Soldier Trail. The views were outstanding as usual and the clouds actually broke up a bit by 9am allowing for some extra warmth. Mike Wilke finished strong and everyone else came in looking refreshed on a cool Sunday morning. Trish and I hung around to the end and enjoyed good post run discussions about the sanity of 100 milers. I never saw Carl and Kandi again but about 8 hours and 25 minutes after the start I received an encrypted voice message from "Sling Blade" claiming all was well and Kandi is better off now. See you next time. Cd

Mike Wilke, 43, 2:42

Chase Duarte, 40, 2:47

Doug Kelly, 42, 3:05

Jerry Riddick, 56, 3:12

Bob Redwanc, 51 yrs, 7mo. 3:12

Frank Giglio, 29, 3:12

Pam Golden, >21, Trail to Molino down highway

Gene Joseph, 55, 3:15

Eskimo Pie Diver, 45, 3:21

Joel Stamp, 47, 3:21

Joe Plassman, 42, 3:36

Bruce Johnson, 53, 3:37

Ross Zimmerman, 55, 5:57

Gabe Zimmerman, 27, 5:57

Carl Childers, ???

Kandi Karuza, ???

Joe Dana, Monday completion 5:09

Steve Kanoza, Monday completion 5:09

Az. Trail 50K, Dec.16, 2007

Fellow Runners

The day started off a bit cool, it was 26 degrees when we left our house at 6:15 AM. The wind was a bit of an issue at the starting location making it cold while standing and waiting for the official start. This forced most of us to wait in the vehicles until the last tardy runners showed up.

Still 14 brave souls showed up and were off on the run a few minutes late. The weather at the aid station was much better, essentially no wind, lots of sun, etc. It really was great waiting there for the runners to pass through. By the end of the run it had started to cloud up a bit and the wind was still evident at the highway 83 start/end location.

A few souls, who shall go unnamed, got lost on the route but nothing serious resulted and all turned up at the end. Everyone who took part in the run commented how beautiful the course was and hoped that

it would be continued.

Times and distances:

Full distance - to Mile 46 aid and back - 31.6 miles (times are for

arriving at the aid the first time and total time, respectively)

Julius Martinez - 2:20 - 5:14

John Artley - 2:25 - 6:19

Gene Joseph - 3:03 - 6:40

Andy Gillespie - 3:15 - 7:26

Ross Zimmerman - 3:56 - 7:41 - by bicycle no less

Kandi Karuza - 3:32 - 8:29

Rick Kelly - 28.4 miles/45.8k 8:53

To Mile 46 aid then back to aid: Joe Plassman – 3:03 - 3:30

To Mile 46 aid: Elizabeth Little - 3:32

To Kentucky Camp and back:

Steve Kanoza - 5:45

Joe Dana - 5:49

Exploratory trips:

18 miles: Patricia Wiercinski - 4:59

17 miles: Kelland Thomas - 3:24

Wayne - your injured RD

Wasson Peak, Jan. 6, 2008

OK , so the directions were not the best- accurate but maybe they could have been more precise. Nevertheless, 20+ runners showed up for the ascent of mighty Wasson Peak. The weather was the warmest in recent memory- cool but not cold. The rain held off until the last chips were finished. While most of the runners chose the `official ` figure eight route, there were several variations on the theme. The lower loop was popular, a full reverse loop ( easier?), and a few routes yet to be determined. Ali showed up at the finish in a BMW , courtesy of Mike Wilke. Rumor has it Paul V. declined a ride back as he was returning

from an aborted second loop, but not before he logged an extra five (or more) miles. All returned without incident and search and rescue was again sent home.

It was great to see so many familiar faces, as well as many new ones.

We hope to see you all at the next event.

Thank you all for not getting lost.

Until 2009….

Jerry

PS For all the speedsters- The new official course distance is a lean 14.2 miles with an elevation gain of 3143 ft. None of us are as fast as we thought.( see posted files for new course data Courtesy of Ross Z)

Also- good luck to the Avalon 50 runners this coming weekend.

Full loop ( 14.2 miles)

Julius Martinez 2:08

Mile Wilke 2:15

Doug Kelley 2:27

Bob Redwanc 2:39

Gene Joseph 2:39

Joe Plassman 2:46

Raul Erikson 2:52

Michael Wylen(?) 2:52 ( sorry for the spelling)

Chris Fall 2:53

Jim Donahue 3:04

Diane Harper 3:04

Wayne Coates 3:05

Bruce Johnson 3:18

Darren Sandbank 3:43

Ross Z 4:09

Joe Magliolo 4:09

Short loop ( 10.2 miles)

Leslie Jones 2:43

Mary Croft 2:43

Joyce Vyriotes 2:43

Longer short loop (12 miles)

Patricia W. 3:24

Special loop ( 12+miles + 2 miles by car)

Ali LaCroix

Extra Special loop ( 20 miles?)

Paul Vyriotes

Winter Bear Canyon Loop, Jan. 20, 2008

Fellow runners

Well Sunday was a real BEAR for some. It was cold at the start - someone said 30 F on their thermometer! Two runners saw a mountain lion up the canyon! Your RD slipped on ice and saw his foot at 90 degrees to the direction it normally should be! Regardless of these issues we still had another great day and saw a very large turnout (this has been two runs in a row now) - 24 runners finished one version or another of the course, and 3 (by my count and recollection) ran the canyon. Everyone loved the new section of trail from topout to headsplitter - just like a four lane highway some said. Really the day was great for the run, clear skies and the temps were great at the end. Not sure if it was the cake or the weather, but lots of visiting took place at the end of the journey.

Thanks to Monica for helping out with the timing and handing out the goodies, and thanks to Mike for the cake so we could give Matt a bit of a sendoff. wc

Full Bear Results

Julius Martinez 2:29

Mile Wilke 2:57

Matt Chamberlain 2:57

Jerry Riddick 2:58

Chris Fall 2:58

Joel Stamp 3:04

Doug Kelly 3:04

Joe Plassmann 3:08

Harry Fagg 3:08

Unknown runner 3:14

Bruce Johnson 3:20

Brad Poe 3:35

Diane Harper 3:38

Daren Sandbank 4:09

Steve Kanoza 4:10

Wayne Coates 4:15 (including the 2 mile limp out which took 46 min!)

Kandy Karuza 4:19 (second loop: 5:41)

Donna Kanoza 4:22

Joe Dana 4:27

Patricia Wiercinski 4:58

Ross Zimmerman 5:34

Seven Falls and Back

Joel Woppert 1:13

David Williams 1:51

Tom Kittle 1:52

Cow Head Saddle, Feb. 3, 2008

Perfect day for a run. Enrique and I learned as we started everyone out promptly at 7 am that the temperature over in Oro Valley was 20 degrees higher than at the start where it was in the mid-30's.

Twenty-three enthusiastic folks showed up (24 if you count Linda, a park volunteer who moved here in the 1940's, is now in her 80's, hikes at least an hour each time she comes out to offer information to visitors, used to ride patrol on horseback for years, and has wonderful tales to tell about adventures in the park). John, Joel, Chase and Doug all set their goal to break three hours. John Artley came back from a nagging injury to break that barrier while the others were very close behind. This is the second time in a week that a

skunk was spotted along the trail so thought I'd mention it here. There was no mention of it being belligerent; just possessive of the trail. J&EA

CHS Finishing order -

John Artley 2:58

Joel Woppert 3:00:38

Chase Duarte 3:02:04

Doug Kelley 3:02:05

Harry Fagg 3:26

Joel Stamp 3:31

Bruce Johnson 3:36

Tonja Chagaris 3:43

Gene Joseph 3:44

Diane Harper 3:46

Daren Sandback 4:15

Reed Harris 4:31

Donna Kanoza 4:32:35

Steve Kanoza 4:32:44

Monica Durazo 6:02

Ross Zimmerman 6:46

Kandi Karuza ---

Rick Kelley ---

Joe Dana approx 11.4 miles 3:24

Paula Morrison approx 8 miles 2:27

Tanque Verde Loop, Feb. 17, 2008

Hello all, well the day dawned bright,clear and cold. with the prospect of deep snow up top, all but 3 brave souls decided to not traverse the Tanque Verde ridge. Most went to cowhead saddle, some did loops down low, everyone did what they were comfortable with; an added note, it was a record setting day for hikers on the trail with over 240 starting up Douglas Springs trailhead, not counting horseback riders. You all did grand! Lots of smiles on everyone's face. s&dk

Full Distance

Doug Kelly 5:50 entire route with trail return

John Artley 6:13 entire route with road return

Ross Zimmerman 9:53 javelina picnic area (+/-20mi.)

Joe Plasman 4:53 almost to tanque verde

Stella 4:08 19.1 mi. "

Tanja Chagaris 4:08 19.1 mi. up & around lower desert

Alli Lacroix 4:08 19.1 mi. up & back

Bruce Johnson 4:24 cow

Chris Fall 4:26 cow

Bob Redwane 4:26 cow

Jerry Riddick 4:26 cow

Joel Stamp 4:26 cow

Christina Luis 5:50 cow

JohnLee ? cow

Angi Brown 4:59 16 mi. total

Joe Dana 3:42 9.02 mi. up & back

Esperero Canyon Loop, Mar. 16, 2008

Chase 4:52

Gene 5:24

Jane Larkindale 5:30

Jim Holmes 5:30

Troy ??? 6 ish

Joe Plassman 6:23

Bruce Johnson 6:33

Joel Stamp 6:33

Ross 9:50

Kandi Karuza 9:20

Rick Kelley 13:27

Steve Roark 5:32 (with phone line finish)

Doug Kelly 7:40 Esperero+Cathedral

Runners:

Reed Harris 3hrs Phoneline

Steve & Donna Kanoza, Joe Dana 3:15 Phoneline

Much has already been said, I see. Perhaps we DO need to have a bit more of a system in place in case a wheel falls off...But i reckon I'm too much of a libertarian to really encourage too much codification. Maybe for runs like this one, Ross's Blurb should encourage people to follow Bachani's Maxim : Take what you need to spend the night. Bachani has had some bad things happen to him, and he is still standing. Sounds like Rick Kelley can wear the "tough hombre" mantle now, too.

Anyway, the worst bit for me arose because one of the runners wrote down that he was only going to do 2 1/2 hr run, out and back. Since I covered the lower 4 miles in the time frame when he should have been returning, it was apparent that he had done some kind of jack move. So at 5 hours, I started to get concerned and called his wife. Started to scramble the capable Jim and Jane Rescue Duo, and then the missing runner shows up... Having run the whole thing. Apologies to your wife, man. Didn't mean to cause her alarm. But it was a rather nasty day to be out on the mountain if you were there much past noon.

cheers,g

Mica Mountain Marathon , Mar. 30, 2008

A very nice day for a run. Everyone was off at 6:33. Some negative comments about the steps above Cowhead and some steep sections. Once above that the trail was really nice, the water cool and delicious and the deer were abundant. Lots of wild flowers out to delight the eye. A breeze came up around 10 AM which helped keep the runners cool on the way down from the mountain. Another successful adventure.

Joe Dana

Results of the 2008 Mica Mountain run/walk

Mica Mountain ~27.1 miles

Kyle Blasch 5:23:47

Chris Fall 6:13:03

Jerry Riddick 6:13:28

Jim Holmes 6:14:10

Jane Larkindale 6:14:10

Joel Stump 6:46:19

Gene Joseph 6:55:31

Ross Zimmerman 10:43:00

Rick Kelly 11:53:00

**Kandi Karuza 11:53:00

*Doug Kelly 5:33:47

Steve Olson 7:30:00 Saturday

Donna Kanoza 11:31:00 Friday

Monica 11:31:00 Friday

Steve Kanoza 11:31:00 Friday

Joe Dana 11:31:00 Friday

*Doug took the Manning camp Alternate route adding about 1 mile to his run for a total of 28.1 miles

**Kandi was about 1.7 miles down when she meet Rick and turned to top out with him. Adding about 3.5 miles for a total of 30.5 miles

Spud Rock ~26 miles

Chuck Spurling 6:41:24

Tonja Chagris 6:41:24

First Stream near top ~22.2 miles

Bruce Gungle 5:40:05

Angie Brown 7:47:00

Cowhead ~18 miles

Julius Martinez 3:09:00

Joel Woppert 3:09:04

Dan Laird 3:54:13

Patricia Wiercinski 5:21:33

Douglas Springs ~13 miles

Enrique Aviles 3:51:40

Jennifer Aviles 7:06:24

Kathy Howard 7:06:24

Bigelow Ascent and Descent, Apr. 13, 2008

Bigelow came in waves this year. On Saturday, Maryalice Bachani, Steve Olsen, and Chris Fall run up from the Sabino start. Maryalice did the ascent, while Chris and Steve did a round trip. On Sunday, Kandi Karuza and Rick Kelley started from Gordon Hirabayashi Campground, aka Prison Camp, at 6:00 AM. The rest of the runners did the semi-official start at 6:30 AM in a ferocious wind. I designated Gene Joseph the GPS Bearer. The Bachanis came out with their Land Yacht and hauled drop bags up to the aid station at the top of Palisades. Joe Dana and Steve Kanoza drove up as I was sending people off and ended up being the 6:35 start.

Bob, Maryalice, and Molly Bachani handled all aid station details, complete with the fabled turkey wraps. Doug Kelley was the first runner to appear at Palisades and trotted on up to the top. Others appeared with tales nearly being blown off the ridge. Various decisions were made and I ended up giving Doug and Cristina Luis rides down. I set up for the runners who were coming down, and chatted with Lance Lindy, the weekend parking ranger, when he came past and ticketed everyone who forgot to put out their passes. When the runners who had expressed interest in the 50K came down, the flaw in my staging became obvious. No one had the least interest in continuing past Prison Camp to Molino and back. If we want to stage a full 50K next year, I'll need to move down the road to Molino. Between the direct GPS estimates and my mapping of the GPS Bearer's track, it appears the full Prison Camp to Bigelow an back is somewhere between 24.8 miles and 25.2 miles. A bit shy of a marathon, but still hard work. Climb and descent estimates seem to be about 6400-6500 feet.

Thanks to the Bachanis, and all the runners. If the Saturday wave could share some times, that would be nice. I'll post some pictures to the blog (http://blog.ttraz.org )

Ross Z

Saturday Ascent and Descent from Sabino--

Steve Olsen

Chris Fall

Ascent to Palisades Trailhead (correct?)

Maryalice Bachani

Sunday Ascent and Descent--

Full 25 mile round trip--

Tonja Chagaris 6:44

Chuck Spurling 6:44

Gene Joseph 6:44

Kandi Karuza 12:42 (Plus some extra up top)

Rick Kelley 12:42

To the top of Palisades and Back (21-22 miles)--

Chris Fall 5:47 (Yes back for more)

Jerry Riddick 5:47 (Did a mere Bear the day before)

To the top of Bigelow and back down to the top of Palisades (about 15 miles)

Doug Kelley 3:09

Cristina Luis 3:57

Ascent to the top of Palisades (11 miles or a bit less)

Steve Kanoza 3:55

Joe Dana 3:55

Az. Trail 50Kish, Apr. 20,2008

Fellow Runners

Well a small group showed up, but we all had fun, I think. Temp at the start was lower 40s, wind picked up later in day but temperatures were great. Kim and Celestino Fernandez showed up after spending the night in Patagonia and having celebrated their first year anniversary. Ross drove in with his son's bike on the carrier. Patricia and I were waiting. Patricia started out early, 6:35 AM, to get a jump on the fast runners.

Kim and Celestino left a little after 7:00 and were planning to run a couple of hours out and back as they were planning on going the Tree of Life for Brunch. Ross left a few minutes later on the bike saying his first objective was to catch Patricia, and Wayne drove away to meet the group at the Turnaround. Ross did catch Patricia - he can tell the story better than me, and will be longer for sure................

Times.................

Patricia - 4:48 after taking and repeating a part of the course while

running through protected reserve area (Artley shortcut?) - 16 miles

Ross - about 4:40+ to Canelo, total of 6:47 when coming back by road

Kim and Celestino - 2 hours?? distance unknown

Wayne - out and back from Canelo looking for Ross and Patricia - did

find them after being concerned at not finding them on trail at all

distance 11.5 miles, 2:47......... Wayne

Multiple Wrightson Massacre, May 10, 2008

Up and down Baldy

Up Baldy and down Super Trail

Up Baldy to Josephine Saddle and down Super Trail

It proved to be a beautiful day for this year's Wrightson Massacre. Only 7 runners ( 4 women and 3 men) and an RD braved the high gas prices and ventured down for the event but that was all we needed for a great day.

There was no ceremonial start because runners for the most part started as soon as they arrived, Tonja and Anonymous opted for a 5:30ish start. Kandi started about 15-20 minutes early followed briefly by Patricia and Bruce. Wayne Coates waited to start with the 7am crowd but at 7 am he was the lone starter as there was no 'crowd'. Mike Wifall who arrived a bit late started a few several minutes later.

As Mike was heading out, a few turkeys (the feathered type) started into the Old Baldy end of the parking area. I was pretty much stunned to see so many. A total of 16 turkeys made their way through the parking lot. I later saw them again in the creek bed in the lower section of the Super Trail. I had never seen more than one at any time. One of the real treats of going to Mt Wrightson is the wildlife. You never know what you will get to see and what you get to see can be very cool.

Tonja and Anonymous posted the fastest two repeats, followed by Mike and Kandi. Patricia provided a fine finish for the long version of the single, showing that she is getting faster, stronger and more confident. The women were clearly taking Wrightson seriously.

Best wishes to Tonja at Western States for her first 100 miler next month and to Patricia who will be doing her first 50 miler in August at Lean Horse 50 Miler.

We also wish Wayne well as he heads to the Vermont 100 to earn his fifth finish there and to Anonymous going for a tenth race across the sky.

You folks will be in our thoughts as you seek to realize your goals.

And to all of you that came out this Saturday for the Massacre....You ROCK! Thanks for coming out.

I hope we get to see Mike out there again soon. Rick RD MWM

Santa Catalina Ascent, May 18, 2008

What a great day on the mountain. Eight hearty souls made their way up to Ski Valley from Sabino Canyon. Due to the Tram Rd. closure the Phoneline Trail was used as the entry point into the Catalinas.

Most started at 6:00 chasing Tonja and Stella who started at 5:30. Chris Fall caught them at some point, with the 3 of them strolling into Palisades at 9:30. Jim, Jane and Joel were about 30mins behind. Jim and Jane wasted no time at Palisades and were on their way in 5 mins.. Bruce came in feeling bad and called it a day. Joel headed out to find the Bigelow Trail. Kandi came in looking tough as ever. Joel came back to Palisades after not finding the trail and then decided to go on with Kandi. My hat is off to both of them.

The Butterfly Trail was the meat grinder it always is. Stella said she had never seen it so bad. The runners came in all in the same order as Palisades only looking a little more tired and dirty.

Jim and Jane were relentless in their pace. Never stopping long. Just enough time to refuel and then getting back to business. Two tough hombres’.

We went on to Ski Valley where Pete was holding a parking space for us. Lucky us because the place was packed. Rick stayed behind to wait on Kandi and Joel.

Ross, Steve, Donna and Doc showed up on their bikes and kept us company for a while. Everyone was enjoying the cool temps.

All in all it was a great day for a tough training run for those folks readying themselves for a summer of 100 milers. Good luck to all.

Thanks to Rick Kelley and Pete Chagaris for helping out.

On a side note, Pete drove up to Palisades in his truck. Rode his bike all the way down the highway and then all the way back up to Summerhaven and then back down to Palisades to help with the Aid Station before any of the runners showed up. And I mean bicycle not motorcycle.

Chris Fall 8:01

Jane Larkindale 8:23

Jim Holmes 8:23

Tonja Chagaris 8:31

Stella Stubenski 8:31

Kandi Karuza 11:24

Joel Stamp 11:24

Bruce Johnson 5:00 Palisades Bob Bachani

Sunset Loops, June 1, 2008

Sunset Trail Loop was the final run of the TTR 2007-2008 season. A small group showed for the run but it was an exquisite day on Mt Lemmon and the few hardy souls that attended had a great run. Mike Wifall had a 4:06 finish looking fresher when he finished than when he started. Bruce Johnson and Kandi Karuza rounded out the field feeling quite satisfied with their runs. Jim Holmes and Jane Larkindale did the run on Memorial Day with Jim providing an excellent briefing on trail conditions prior to Sunday's run. Jim and Jane stopped at the trail head on Sunday as they were riding their bikes up the mountain and informed us of the Lemmon road closure due to apprehension at Molino Basin of the individual that killed the TPD officer in a shooting spree. Our thoughts go out to the officer's family. After a two hour delay, we were allowed to go down the mountain.

On to the 2008-2009 season! See you at the potluck and next season's runs!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Memorial Day

Rick STLR RD