Mica Sky Island 2008

Mica Mountain Marathon is one of our original events, and a true classic. What follows is my visual account of my latest Mica Mountain Marathon. We’ve dedicated it to the memory of Bob Deeran, the short, stocky ex-marine engineer who directed our series for several years. He passed away much too young from cancer. This was one of his favorite runs, so you should keep an eye out for a gruff bearded runner on top of the mountain.
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The original version was billed by Ken Young as 26.6 miles, with 6700 feet of climb. With the new trail segments below Cowhead Saddle, the distance is now over 27 miles. Joe and I both have the same Garmin 60CSx models, and both claimed 27.1. This was the first time I ran my 60CSx at one track point per second, so I have 35,000-40,000 data points for this run, the same data the GPS uses for it’s guesses. The 2 mapping programs I’ve shown the data to so far think the distance is more like 27.3. The 6700 feet of climb may be pretty close to reality. Here’s a map and profile from my GPS track, using Terrain Navigator mapping software–

This run is loaded with memories for me. Like lying under bushes dehydrated the first time Ken took me on the run as a trainer in late 1979. This was before I even conceived of ultras, let alone had learned how to take electrolytes and carry water. It took me 6 hours, and Ken was annoyed when I finished because I had the car keys and the nearest refreshments were miles away. Other years involved several feet of snow under our feet. I will admit the memories of tearing up and down the mountain as fast as we could sustain tug at me, but that was many years ago when my body worked differently. Lately the challenge of getting through the routes in good order and making the record, written, visual, and in maps, has been pretty satisfying.

I was surprised by the turnout when I arrived at the east end of Speedway, and especially pleased to see my old friend Kathy Howard, down to hike with Jennifer Aviles, another old friend. I reset my electronics as Joe got us started. This run, I carried my camera in a pouch on my chest strap instead of in my pack. This made it a lot easier to whip it out and take pictures. I decided I would try and get a shot of every runner I crossed paths with. All told, I ended up taking 118 photos–I’ll include a selection here. As usual, I sized them down for the web. If you want a full-sized photo let me know. The background in the runners’ photos will give you a sense of the topography and vegetation along the way.

Mica is like a series of climbs to rolling shelves. It’s flat for the first half mile or so, then climbs to the first shelf. Here’s Kandi Karuza on the first climb–

Notice Kandi is still in Sonoran Desert with lots of flowers. At 3 miles, the trail climbs to the Reddington Pass upland. Here’s a view back over that first 3 miles–

This is where the saguaros drop out and we get into oak woodland. The old trail went right up the slope to the Reddington Pass upland, but they’ve added switchbacks and swung the trail south of the original route. I think this has lengthened the run by several tenths of a mile. At this point, I was deciding I felt weak and worthless and considered turning at Doug or Cow. However, I was on a mission to get a good visual account and GPS track. Here’s a landmark Ken Young taught me about a half mile before Douglas Springs. He called it “50 Minute Rock”–

Consider the implications. At this point, I can see the ridge of Mica looming above me–

Just before Doug Springs, I started encountering runners. First Enrique Aviles–

Followed shortly by Joel Woppert–

Then Julius Martinez at Doug–

Douglas Springs is a campground just before the next climb to Cowhead Saddle. It’s one of the most permanent water sources in the area and very picturesque–

Above Doug, there’s also been some trail rerouting. While the route is a bit longer now, it’s more runnable. After climbing a slope that used to be thick with red-trunked manzanita shrubs before the fires of the 80s and 90s, you swing around and drop into a pretty canyon that used to be the first true forest with pine trees. Much of that burned out, although vegetation is coming back nicely. I encountered Dan Laird on the slope–

After running up the canyon, you climb out and work your way up to Cowhead Saddle. I met Patricia Wiercinski next to a spot where I sometimes get water–

As I approach Cow, I’m always looking for the gnarled juniper whose roots I often set my pack down on–

From Cow, I turned east for the climb up the ridge of Mica itself. This is where I really started to see folks. Bruce Gungle turned up first, and we chatted–

Kyle Blasch whistled past–

Doug Kelly was next–

I later learned Doug made the classic mistake at Fire Loop trail and overshot to Manning Camp, then took the trail from Manning to Mica. In addition to people, I was shooting interesting scenes. Lone trees catch my eye–

Jerry Riddick and Chris Fall turned up a bit further on–

They stopped to tell me about the new trails in their neighborhood. There will be a mountain bike expedition…

Jane Larkindale and Jim Holmes came up on me before I could get a great shot of both of them (sorry Jane!)–

Going up a chute, I still managed to catch Tonja Chagaris and Chuck Spurling–

As I approached Mica upland and the creek where Joe Dana promised water, I met Gene Joseph, my partner in crime–

We talked about where everyone was, trying to make sure all were accounted for. Then I trotted on and got a shot of Angie Brown just before the creek–

I filled up a water bottle in the creek and enjoyed trotting through shade and relative flat terrain. Shortly thereafter, I started meeting whitetail deer. The first two were laid back, one letting me get within 50 feet before she trotted up a bit to give me space–

After taking several pictures, I trotted on, only to meet 5 more deer, all of whom ran off as fast as they could. This run, the “sky island” effect really caught my attention. All the tough climbing was before we reached the creek, then it’s easier terrain to the highest bump on the ridge, Mica Mountain, in cool pine forest. I’m always struck by the plump Claret Cup hedgehog cacti up at 8000 feet–

Soon, I began the easy climb up to the North Slope trail junction, which came with its own moccasin on the sign–

That’s Helen’s Dome in the background. I started looking for Fire Loop trail to the top of Mica. These days, the junction is a lot more obvious–the signs are better and the trail’s more noticeable. I started the climb over over the burned ridges leading to Spud Rock. I soon encountered Kandi Karuza again–

She looked fine and commented I didn’t. In truth, I was not having my best day, even allowing for being old and slow. Soon after, I did the dip and back up through the picturesque area at the base of Spud Rock–

From Spud, you drop sharply down to a saddle with a junction to the trail down to Manning Camp. Then you trot up the easy slope to the high point of Mica Mountain–

Today you see the sign (which wasn’t there 29 years ago), but only the concrete anchors of the old tower. Here’s the tower picture from 1985 that Kathy Howard shared, with Kathy in the foreground–

I spent a couple of minutes taking electrolytes and getting re-organized, but didn’t hang around. On the descent, I noticed another “lone pine” scene just past Spud–

Just a bit further, a striking tableau of rock outcrop and burned tree caught my eye–

The burned areas below Cowhead and near the top are the most striking changes to the mountain over the 30 years of the run’s existence. Just after that, I encountered Rick Kelley coming up with Kandi, who had turned around with Rick. I found my camera battery was low, so Rick will be only a legend for this run.

I continued trotting down Fire Loop, back to the main trail. I found if I rested it between shots, my camera would still take an occasional picture. The 2 laid back deer were still near the trail when I got back down to their neighborhood. I got to the edge of the sky island and filled my water bottle again, then dropped over the edge toward the abyss of the Sonoran Desert. I saw several more lone pines, and here’s the most interesting one–

I dropped out of the pine forests into more oak and juniper. At one point, the trail curving below me caught my eye–

I could see where I needed to go in the distance–

As I approached Cowhead Saddle, I could see the canyon I would follow toward Douglas Spring–

This was the last shot my camera batteries would allow. Since I was starting to need to concentrate more on forward motion, it was just as well. As I dropped from Cow down toward Doug, I was really starting to notice that my running muscles were getting tired and my stomach was getting less happy. I switched to my speed hike and noticed that I probably sped up a bit. So I started to use the speed hike, with a trot over rough spots.

I was looking at my watch, because I was hoping to beat 10 hours. At Doug, it was pretty obvious that wouldn’t happen, but I still wanted to get done. I did pass a couple of young run/hikers with my power hike, although one passed me later when he smelled the barn. The strong breeze was keeping temperatures pleasant. I had finished the water in my bottle and switched back to my Camelbak, which still had cold water. It helped my stomach.

Soon I was down on the final descents, then on the last half mile. None too soon, as my stomach was telling me it was about done. I had taken to sucking on Cliff Bloxs to get the sugar without putting anything in my stomach. That seemed to help some.

I got to the parking lot, stopped my GPS, hopped in my Trooper, and called Joe. I learned the status of the rest of the runners, and told him Kandi and Rick were together and doing fine. Since I’m unsure how many more years I’ll be able to do this, I was fairly pleased with myself, and pleased to have a photo record of the journey. Perhaps I’ll put the complete series on a CD to share…