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Two years ago at this ride was the unforgettable heat wave disaster
which caused the rides to be halted halfway through. It was something
like 110 degrees on that fateful weekend. Last year the ride was rained
out. (Don't you love Northern California weather?) On Friday night
before this years ride it was hot at base camp. So hot, in fact, the
ride management and vets were very concerned about the ride. They
decided to be safe, not wanting a repeat of 1995, and lowered the pulse
criteria to 60, which got a round of applause from the riders. I woke
up at 4:30 am on Saturday morning to the sound of the Barbara McCreary
canceling the 70 due to the heat- all riders would do the 50. It was
already something like 80 degrees at 4:30- not a good sign. We saddled
up and headed out, me on Shatta and Judy on Warpaint. She started out
at the very back of the pack once again in order to do a slow ride.
After a mile of flat meadow, we climbed up out of the cool? air. It got
warmer as we went up. The first 15 miles of this ride are truly
beautiful. You wind through redwood forests, through creeks, ride on
shaded trails in the trees, ride along the open coastal plains- really
nice. The first vet check at Swanton was crowded, but there were lots
of vets- very little waiting. Shatta was down to 52 when we arrived,
but he was slightly inverted- it took him a couple of minutes for his
breath to settle down. Hmmmm. Just about every horse was struggling a
little with the respiration. Internet buddy Val Weizer was there
crewing, and took great care of Shatta and I. Thanks so much Val- with
out that water I'd still out there lying on one of those uphills. We
left the check and began the climbing. Up, up, up we climbed. As soon
as you reach a summit, you go down a little, and then climb some more.
It was to hot to hurry, so we just took it easy and walked the climbs- I
tailed up some and walked up some. I realized how hot it was after
walking up a mile long climb. We finally reached the top at Lockheed
Ridge, where we got to trot along the top of this mountain range with a
full view of the Pacific Ocean - what an incredible sight. The ride
provides a quick 10 minute hold up here at 25 miles where they had horse
and human water available. By the way, this ride was marked as well as
any course I have ever been on, and there were more water opportunities
than you can imagine. (good thing) We began the long descent back to
camp and hit lunch at 33 miles. I arived the lunch stop at 11:59 and
washed down Shatta with a handy hose. We got our P&R at 12:01 and
headed for the creek. I bathed him in the water for a while (and me
too!) and took him to the vets. He looked superb- the vet asked me if
I was sure I rode the first loop. Shatta began drinking at about mile
10, and drank at just about every water he came upon. (Best he has ever
done) We went to the truck for a much needed lunch and many fluids.
I saddled back up on a fresh horse at 1:01 and headed out. Let's see
now. 1:00, I only have 11 miles to the last check, and then 6 back to
the finish. No problem- I'll just continue taking it easy. I know this
is where it gets hard, but everything looks great so far. We trotted
down what had to be at least a mile and a half, maybe two of perfect
flat trails- hey, only 9 more to the check. It was very hot, but I had
not heard of any real problems yet. Until I got to the beginning of the
climbs. I started up, and began climbing for what seemed like ever.
This first one was a killer- straight up for a long time on an exposed
hot road. I tailed and walked up most of it- what an effort. I quickly
ran out of water for me. The trail would drop a little , and then start
climbing again. Where do these hills come from? It felt like we were
climbing Mt Everest. Straight up, then straight down, then up again,
then up again, all at a walk. I know we were going slow, but I hopped
off and jogged along side Shatta on most of the down hills. The clock
ticked on, and when I looked at my watch at 4:00 I almost fell out of
the saddle. It had been 3 hours, and I was not even down off the
mountain yet. Where the heck is that last vet check? I arrived there
at 4:25- after trotting another mile or so down the access road when we
finally got down. 3 hours and 25 minutes to go 11 miles? Not possible.
I was not going fast, but I sure wasn't poking along. It turns out the
last vet check was issued a cutoff time of 4:30, which brought out no
end of controversy. I got my P&R at 4:29, mostly because there were 20
or so other horses there as well. My out time was 4:44, and I only had
6 mile to go. Fellow Internet buddy Kathy Ruiz was riding her big
Chestnut Fire Alaarm, and was in the same boat as I was. Many of us
agreed there was no way that was 11 miles from lunch to this check. It
had to be more like 15 or 16. We all decided we better not dawdle if we
were going to make it by 6 pm. Given what we had just been through, it
didn't seem possible.
We rode out from the last check at a good pace along the creek, and then
began yet ANOTHER climb. Why? Don't know, but up we went again. This
one was not near as bad as the others, but it was still a lung sucker
all the way up. Down the other side with all eyes on the watches, I
realized we were fine when we dumped out onto the road at the bottom. I
hit the finish at 5:25. Hmmmm- 40 minutes to go 6 miles, and 3 hrs
and 25 minutes to go 11? Something did not compute. It was tough, but
not that tough. The group of riders I was with all made it to the
finish with time to spare, but boy, not much. I found myself thinking
I'll try and finish, but only if Shatta feels OK. No problem there. He
was stellar, and trotted out again for the vet like at lunch. They told
me great job- you have lots of horse left. He got As and Bs all day. I
was very happy with how he felt, especially after seeing so many horses
who would not go up the hills out on the trail.
The bad news was for all those riders who were taking it real easy, just
going for a completion. The ride pulled 18 riders at the last check for
overtime. That was bad, since there were never any announcements about
cut off times, and riders were encouraged to take it real easy. The cut
off time was 4:30, which also did not make any sense, since it was easy
to make the finish in 40 minutes or so. Poor Judy was one of the pulled
riders for time. She was depressed, but the good news was that Warpaint
was fine all day, and if he can make those 44 miles unscathed, he should
be able to do just about anything.
Guess who won? Becky Hart and Rio. Thats right. Can you believe it?
What a horse. 20 years old. Even Becky thought that last loop was
closer to 15 miles, and was heard to say she would not have liked going
out and doing that last loop if they were riding the 70. It's a good
thing they canceled the 70, since not many riders would have been able
to deal with the time problem. Heres the numbers for the Castle Rock
ride with the lowest completion rate in history:
finishers 72 (59%)
pulled rider option 7
pulled lameness 13
pulled metabolic 11
pulled overtime 18
-------
49 (41%)
Yikes. The ride was indeed tough. The heat had a lot to do with it,
but the mileage issue was a bigger factor. The McCreary's are some of
the best ride managers there are, and have held this ride forever. They
were very concerned about the problems at the end, and were looking for
all the input they could get to help understand what happened. My
suggestion? Keep the ride the way it is all the way through lunch. Go
back out and do another climb or two, but not five. From Swanton to the
finish- take the creek back. Get rid of that last climb, cut back on a
couple of the others and you would have one of the best endurance rides
on the planet. I had a great ride, since Shatta had so much horse left
in him. Good thing- his first 100 is looming at the end of the year.
Now he is 4 for 4 this year after his recovery, with a CTR win on top of
that. No spooks during the ride all day, either. What a good boy.
Nick Warhol
Hayward, Ca
Shatta Who did his toughest ride to date, and came out great.
Rowan Who stayed home and stood in the shade all day.
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