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XAIPETE NIKΩMEN
A Here to There, LLC event
The Ghost Town 38.5 - course map
Updated 12-19-07
This is an out and back course, with a couple of detours along the way. It is challenging and gorgeous. I have made one route change over the earlier postings for two reasons...safety and beauty. The Forest Service trail is ATV accessible except for the last .2 miles and it's a really lovely trail. I also thought having the turnaround at an open mine shaft is more appropriate than just picking a random dead tree on another more treacherous trail.
So here's a run-down, so to speak:
START AND FINISH are at my place. START TIME: 6:00 am.
You'll head up Hwy. 152. This is a paved 2 lane road, run on the left, and please look for traffic. There are a lot of blind spots. I recommend headlamps or flashlights for the earliest hour, also for the later finishers. Reflective clothing is vital! The only potties will be at my house...you are entering the wilderness in 6 miles, tissues and baggies will be available at aid stations and in your race packets.
Station 1 - 6.3 miles up 152. Cross the road and a volunteer will be waiting for you. This is a fully-manned station, food, water, etc. You can leave gear here. You will now be on Forest Service Rd. 157, it will be your route for the majority of the rest of your miles.
Parking for support vehicles - I cannot have the road closed, but I am going to be very strict on support vehicles. At 8.2 miles from start there is a large smooth area with some campsites. Support vehicles must park here. If I learn that any have gone beyond this point, the runner will be pulled from the course. It is for everyone's safety. We are not going to run vehicle rescue for your friends and family. If they break down and block the road, we won't be able to get the volunteers in and out, nor could our trained medical people be able to get into run a rescue. This road narrows and is only passable by the most expert 4x4 drivers. Support people are welcome to park and walk further up the road to meet you, but there will be no potties and the food/water supplies are for runners only. Please keep this event safe by reminding your loved ones to respect all the runners and the volunteers and park at 8.2.
Station 2 (also #6 on the way out) - 9.6 miles into the race. This will have volunteers. You can leave gear, re-supply on food, water, power drink, etc. There is an old stone hut in ruins marking this place. Plus there will be signs. This is the first of two designated gear drops - you must get your gear to me by Saturday if it is to go with the volunteers ahead of you. Nolan and Bill have anchored stations for me every year, and they've volunteered again for '08. They're even feeling a little territorial about their spot and you should plan on seeing them again at station #2/6! If there is nothing to interrupt their plans, they will be there for the day, cheering you on twice as you go in and then out of the Gila. Your relatives and friends may want to sit and visit with them for awhile...they are both artists and very entertaining people. Note: at station 2 you will actually turn up a dirt side road and run .1 up, and .1 back. Nolan and Bill will be at the junction of the side road and the main route to guide you. This will be done both on your way out and on your way back. Don't worry, it'll be easier when you do it than when you read about it here!
P. Luis' grave is on the left as you run into the Gila. It is at mile 12.1.
Turn off C -Maree will be at the low end of this trail. We'll be placing a cone on the road so you can see the sign. There will be other cones to guide you onto the uphill. There is a water crossing at the start/finish of this trail. Actually, there are several water crossings on this spur, but none are difficult. This is not knee-deep kind of water, but possibly ankle-deep.
Turn-around D - You'll come up the Forest Trail 1.3 miles. It is a 300 ft. ascent, the last .2 miles being 150 ft. of that ascent. You'll pass the spring that comes out of the mtn. on your left, trickling down into little waterfalls. The turnaround is in a clearing at the top of a fairly steep climb up. Tom Myers (he manned one of the early stations last year) will backpack in waters and be waiting at the top. Tom built a cairn as the "official turnaround point" in '07. I'm thinking things will be similar in '08. There's an old mine to your right at this location.
Back onto 157 - You'll come out the way you went in, but then you'll turn left onto 157. The volunteers will point the way, then everyone who supported the trail will be leaving. You do not repeat this trail on the out-leg of the course.
Station 3 - 16.2 miles This station will have volunteers and plenty of amenities. This is the North Percha Creek station. If the Percha is running, the crossing can be wide and fairly deep. However, we found in '07 that if you go up the creek to the right about 20 ft. there's a much easier spot to cross in. You should manage to keep your feet dry. Water levels are checked closer to race time. Let's do our "good-weather" dance!
A NEW MEDICAL STATION HAS BEEN ADDED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FOREST TRAIL SPUR. MAREE WILL BE THERE FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE ONLY. SHE WILL HAVE BLANKETS, CHAIRS, OXYGEN, BASIC EMT EQUIPMENT. SHE CAN DO ANY KIND OF SPLINTING, MANAGE BLEEDING, BREATHING/AIRWAY MANAGEMENT. SHE WILL NOT PROVIDE ITEMS LIKE TYLENOL OR ADVIL. iF YOU WANT TO HAVE ANY KIND OF PAIN REMEDY YOU MUST BRING IT WITH YOU. LAST YEAR I HAD A REQUEST AFTER THE RACE FOR VISINE ON THE COURSE, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS UP TO THE INDIVIDUAL RUNNER. YOU'LL ACTUALLY PASS THIS STATION THREE TIMES - UP AND DOWN THE SPUR AND AGAIN ON YOUR RUN BACK TO THE FINISH. PLEASE ASK FOR HELP IF YOU ARE HURTING.
I have three to four volunteers who have offered to be mounted on horseback. They will be riding relay into the woods, checking up on you and carrying communications from one station to another. These ladies and gentlemen are also fire dept/emt folks and they're there if you need them. Please don't spook the horses, but be on the alert for them. They will certainly ride between stations 3/5 and 4...maybe even between 2/6 and the deeper ones as well. This is a real service to a remote race, be sure to let them know they're appreciated.
ONce you cross the Percha, follow the cones. If there's a fork and there's a cone on the right, go to the right. ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MAIN ROAD UNLESS YOU"RE GOING UP THE DRIVE TO STATION 2/6 (TWO DIFF. TIMES) OR UP THE FOREST TRAIL SPUR (ONCE).
Station 4 - 20.6 miles. My Matt will be at this station. It is the last one before you head back. You will run into remote woods and come out in a little clearing and there they'll be. You must make it to them by 12:30 pm or you will ride out with them. The sun goes down and Hwy. 152 becomes a dangerous place. This time limit is based on a 3.2 mph pace. Please understand that it is set with your safety in mind. My guys will have loads of food and drinks, also tissues and baggies. This is the second designated gear drop - turn in your bags to me on Saturday at packet pick-up and we'll see they go with Matt early on Sunday. In '07 you could smell this station ahead of your arrival - Gabe had a fire going and the bacon in the skillet! Gabe has just accepted a position at a ski resort in Colorado and will not be with us for the '08 race. Bwaaa...Matt and I will miss his humor and his muscles!
Station 5 - 24.8 miles. You're back across the Percha, refueling. You can leave gear at any station.
Station 6 - 28.9 miles. Since this was a gear drop as station 2, you may still have stuff waiting for you. Please, just send one bag to this station even if you have enough supplies for two stops here. Give Nolan and Bill some kudos, they've been here all day now.
3.2 miles beyond Station 6 you will turn left onto Hwy. 152. You do not cross the road. Please stay on the left. Please be careful on any bridge crossings as they are narrow. Heed the vehicles...they are not usually generous about the pedestrian right of way.
Station 7 - 34.1 miles. You won't have seen this station in the early hours of the race. It is just there for the back-lap of the race. It will be fully manned. You just have 4.4 miles to go. Yippee! It looks like our Public Regulations commissioner, Sandy Jones, and his wife, Ginni, will be handling things at your last aid station. They're terrific and will cheer you on and supply you with food, water, power drink, etc. They'll collect whatever last minute things you want to leave behind. There is a strict time limit...you must reach this station no later than 4:45pm or Sandy will gently but firmly encourage you from the course and give you a ride to the finish. Again, please understand this is for your safety. It is imperative that you finish by 6:00pm and this limit is based on a 3.2 mph rate.
The finish line - my place, once more. I'll be there, cheering you in, handing you goodies, and sending you inside for refreshment and warmth. There is plenty of space for you to have a bag waiting for you with whatever you need to get comfortable. The post-race bbq will begin at 6pm, but there will be finish-line food as well. Job well done...I hope it was fun and what you hoped for!
MAP - Hope this inspires you, and please don't hold me to every turn in the road...no way I can chart them all, but you'll get the basics down just fine.
For some reason the elevation chart is not loading. I will work on this soon and hope to get it back online before too long. Thank you for your patience with this!
The elevation chart is the best I could do with a handheld brand new GPS. I'm still learning about the little gizmo, so if you have your own system and find we have some discrepancy during the race, remember that I am giving you this not for debate, but just to give you an idea of what you're in for. As this is an out and back route, where you go up once, you will go down on the return. ps...the spurs are not charted, but I know for a fact that the spur from A to B is a 300 ft. climb over about 1.3 miles...150 ft. of that elevation increase occurs in the .3. You'll be just under 7,000 ft. at the top of this spur.
And here are the map and chart. Hope you can read them. Enjoy! susan
There is a last minute change to this map. As of 06 Jan. '07 I hiked the trail points A-B and back and it was slightly longer than originally figured. So, you will turn and cross the N. Percha at Station 3 instead of continuing on to turnaround C. I'll be adjusting the mileages accordingly...we've begun placing milestones on the route...they are actually stones painted with the mile numbers. Little orange flags mark them, so you should spot them easily. They're there so you know where you are and how much ground you've covered, also to help you figure your pace. Always look to your left to spot them. If you see one on the right, it will be marking your return mileage.
This event is brought to you by Here to There, LLC, which organizes and promotes walks, treks and runs of varying lengths in beautiful places.
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