Elevation Changes at Pan Am

[guest@endurance.net]

K S SWIGART   katswig@earthlink.net
Maryanne said:

> The largest elevation change was about 5 thou meter descent between
miles 64
> and 66, but they did this over and over and over.

Unless I am not understanding this correctly (possible) a five
thousand meter descent would be the equivalent of about 16,250
feet; and since two miles (66-64) is 10,560 feet, it is, quite
literally, impossible to go down 16,000 feet in two miles of
trail.  Not even if you free-fell straight down.  Even if it
were from the beginning of mile 64 to the end of mile 66 (which
would be three miles instead of two), you still couldn't go
down 5,000 meters by free-falling straight down.

I am curious, just how many feet of elevation decent was there
between mile 64 and 66, since clearly it was not 5,000 meters
worth.

I ask this just out of curiosity, mostly because the former
statement about how hilly the trail was because

> In the first 5 miles they climbed 900 ft and descended 800 ft

And, from my point of view (whose driveway, which happens
to be the LEAST steep section of trail that I have, goes up ~800
feet in just over one mile and has one section of trail that goes up
~1100 feet in ~ 5/8 of a mile), this doesn’t qualify as being
particularly hilly.

Although, if the other 95 miles of the course were to consist of
the same amount of but such climbs and descents, that would, indeed
entail a lot of elevation change.

Just trying to put this into my own frame of reference.

kat
Orange County, Calif.