I almost used this picture for the cover of my book. Didn't quite work but its still one of my favorite shots and unknown places of the trip.
3/13 I stayed with Kent and Irene Orr in Red Lake. They proved to be very helpful on a stretch I had anticipated to be incredibly difficult. Kent helped me patch up Ruby’s right tire and for the time being it seems to be as good as new. It was 49 miles to Kayenta and I had every intention of covering the distance in one day. Unfortunately my body disagreed with me. The stories I will wait to share later in life seem to be adding up. However, I will say that the constant mix of different foods and the extreme mileage leaves certain pastimes uncomfortable and messy. If you are ever traveling up highway 160 through Red Lake do me a favor and don’t look behind the left foot of the elephant feet rock formation. By my fifth stop I was getting good at anticipating the sudden eruptions and took a small amount of joy and satisfaction in the fact that I was no longer completely ruining my running gear. Despite my muscles and insides completely hating the days activities my eyes were fascinated on the extraordinary new landscape. Patches of pure white snow lay on the cliffs equally revealing the vibrant red rocks.
I reached Tsegi Canyon an hour before sunset and was able to enjoy the suns rays finding holes in the breaking clouds as they shone down on the truly beautiful painted canyon. An old sheep dog slowly walked up and sat down next to me. I found comfort in his innocent approach and enjoyed the company. We sat together appreciating the unique moment when you can watch God’s beauty unfold.
Solo and Unsupported Run across America blog rerun. Posted every weekday at 8am. Buy the now complete book and full story at www.abrahamlouis.com/runningwater
My troubles started soon after I began running. It’s incredibly frustrating when a road leads us to a dead-end. I was able to get around the barbed wire fence and made some decent time on a dirt road that serviced the billboards. This area was the start of the Mohoby Indian Reservation. The dirt road was direct and easy on Ruby’s wheels, but in the back of my mind I knew a barbed wire fence was waiting to block my exit.
Sure enough, I approached the fence and decided to make a run for it. With a determined rush of adrenaline, I threw Ruby over the fence . Just like that I was on the road again. This type of travel went on all morning. I had to fight for every foot. Some of the terrain I crossed would have been just as difficult with or without Ruby’s 70 lbs to push. None of these roads were on the map and the day was completely frustrating.
Throughout the entire day the wind was ripping through the valley, and I could hardly hear myself think. I was trapped in a wind tunnel created by the two large mountains on either side of me. When I thought that it couldn’t get any worse, I came to a fork in the road. On my left was a steep single dirt road leading up to fields with windmills. On my right was a sign that read, “ends in 500 ft.”
I started up the dirt road when a huge dump truck came around the turn a quarter mile ahead. Their was no shoulder on this road, and I instantaneously turned around and bolted down the hill. I took to the road that would eventually end and it turned into a small dirt path. Once again a barb wire fence separated me from the free way.
Not wanting to be forced on the free way, I checked the GPS and found route 62 a mile and a half away. Not wanting to run out of my way, I tightly hugged the edge of the free way. I ran fast, easily completing 5 minute miles. The wind was howling and cars where blowing by. I stared straight ahead whimpering, “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” The hill finally gave way to a ditch and I thrust Ruby to the left as my eyes scanned the unknown. It was extremely rough and I’m proud Ruby stayed in one piece. I made it to route 62 and was relieved when I started along the old 29 Palms Hwy. The road was empty. The scenery was breathtaking and I reached for my camera…
Devastation hit when I reached for my camera only to find it missing. I couldn’t believe it! I had just come through the worst stretch imaginable and had to go back. My heartbeat began to rise as I wheeled Ruby into the bushes. It was a risky decision to leave her, but I had to go alone. I ran back over the path, my eyes scanning the desert ground. I was back to the ditch along the freeway with no defined path. I wound my way through the mess and continued searching for two miles. I put my hands on my face and slowly began to lose it.
I looked up to scan the area one final time and miraculous saw my camera a few feet ahead lost in the brush! After catching up to where I left off, I knew I had one more climb before Morongo valley. Four miles up hill hwy 62 cut through the hills. Traffic was fairly heavy and it took a lot of will power to finish off the day. I made it to Morango Valley at 3 pm and began to look for a place to camp.
Solo and Unsupported Run across America blog rerun. Posted every weekday at 8am. Buy the now complete book and full story at www.abrahamlouis.com/runningwater
A decision was made. I would attempt to go around the mountains. The trade-off was a 4500 foot elevation and snow for extra miles. For the most part it was a gradual downhill route excluding one 3500 foot climb. It was another perfect sunny day, and I was excited to know I had a host family in the next town.
Everything was going good, too good. With 4 miles to go I hit a dead-end road. I had expected this from looking at the satellite map the night before, but didn’t expect the barbed wire fences. There was no clear-cut road aside the freeway but a mess of dead ends and dirt paths. To top it off every field was surrounded by barbwire fences. I found myself pushing Ruby through a huge field to find the other side of the fence. This would not have been a huge problem if not for Ruby’s 70 lbs. I found a dry water run off ditch that I was able to squeeze Ruby through after removing her back wheels. Long story short, I had to back track to find another dirt path.
I eventually connected to a service road that lead to an A+W. It seemed like a good meeting place to be picked up. It was awesome to have so much of the route be downhill, and at times I was doing 7 minute miles. I find humor in the reactions of people driving by. Some smile, some wave, some shake their fists, some give the peace sign and some simply point. One thing they all do is hold their stare a few seconds longer than socially acceptable! Kevin Allen picked me up and was very kind. He has a wonderful family and cute kids.
Solo and Unsupported Run across America blog rerun. Posted every weekday at 8am. Buy the now complete book and full story at www.abrahamlouis.com/runningwater
I woke at 6:30 to fill water bottles and mix my GU brew. After dropping the kids off at school with Chilto, we headed to where I had stopped running the day before. I started to put Ruby together when we both came to the horrible realization that Ruby’s wheels were left in there other car. Chilto was very nice about my mental lapse and drove us back to the house. By the time I was out and running it was 10am and I no longer had an early start to the day.
A locked gate blocked my entrance as I approached the Lake Perris State Recreation. I was hesitant to duck the gate and proceed but was left with little options. A sign on the ticket window read the list of fees for the park ($35 camping, $20 boating…) If the DNR stopped me, I would just kindly state, “their was no fee listed for run campers.” The park proved to be beautiful. With the whole road to myself, Ruby and I were off to a good start.
Eventually I wound my way out of the park, through Moreno Valley and over the Live Oak Canyon pass. The views were incredible with the San Bernardino Mountains as a backdrop. We were on a downhill course as Ruby and I rolled into Yucapia. Yucapia was in the shadow of a huge mountain with a dense population.
Doug picked me up shortly after I called and took me back to the house for some homemade turkey soup! We discussed my plans of passing over the San Bernardino mountains and both agreed it would be wise to stay clear of the 9,000 foot elevation and recent snow fall. My new route will take me south to Beaumont, east to White Water then I’ll stay on hwy 62 through Twenty-nine Palms.
For the amount of mileage I put in the past 3 days, (86 mi) I feel pretty good. I have some minor swelling in my feet, sunburn on the back of my ankles, a sore back and my wrists are starting to develop blisters from the tension of Ruby. I’m ready to hit the hay but will try to get a few pictures posted.
Solo and Unsupported Run across America blog rerun. Posted every weekday at 8am. Buy the now complete book and full story at www.abrahamlouis.com/runningwater
Day two is behind me and I must admit, I’m starting to feel the mileage. Kiki picked Jon and I up this morning and drove me to where I left off the day before. We had a few issues finding the location but figured it out and said our goodbyes. She took Jon to the airport, and I was off running. It was comforting to have Jon accompany me yesterday, and I’m grateful for the footage he was able to capture.
I ended up taking a different route then planned. I believed it to be less hilly even though it added a few miles. I have not fully tested its accuracy, but the odometer read 30 miles. Non-the-less it was a long route.
Today’s run did prove to be flat. It seemed like I was running along in the valleys for most of the day, though I did pass over two hilly ridges. These ridges were both long and gradual which were easier than the steep hills I experienced yesterday. A couple of hours into my run, I saw a hot air balloon rising above the approaching hills. Four hours later, I found its source. Balloon rides and indoor skydiving peaked my interest, but I had a lot of ground to cover due to my navigational errors yesterday and such childish games would have to wait.
At sunset I was losing energy and stopped at an ice cream shop. I downed a medium and ran a pretty impressive 5k in the dark. I reached my second day check point and waited on the corner for my host family to pick me up. Around 7:30 they arrived and ordered me a large pizza! They threw me in the shower and sent me to bed in a large double. I had no complaints. I wasn’t sore when I woke up but have little confidence in giving the same report tomorrow morning.
First off, you two are married! Tell us how you meet? and why you decided to take this seemingly impossible journey on?
We first met while training and competing on the University of Wisconsin Ski Team. We began doing additional morning workouts starting Carolyn’s sophomore year (my senior year). Soon after we began dating, and a year and a half later we were engaged. It was my senior year that you put the idea into our heads with your run across the nation. We both thought it was amazing and would like to do something like it in the future. It wasn’t until about this December that the idea of doing it this year popped up. Both Carolyn and I spend way to much time training and trying to make finances meet and we felt that there was something missing. All the focus was on ourselves. Given that we have minimal leisure time, we wanted to find a way of incorporating all the hours that we have to spend training, with a greater good that reaches beyond ourselves. We also want to inspire others to reach beyond their own goals and aspirations for the betterment of our world. We want to live our faith by setting an example. This is how the idea materialized. From then on we have gone full speed ahead to set up all the pieces necessary for this trip to happen.
For those of us who don’t even know what roller skiing is, lets start of with the basic question. How can you ski across america in the summer? There’s no snow.
In the summer we roller-ski on the roads. Roller-skiing is a method of dry-land training for cross-country skiers. It simulates skiing on snow and can be used on pavement. Roller-skis resemble very short skis and have wheals on each end. Regular cross-country ski poles are also used on the pavement, but the snow tips are replaced by harder, sharper carbide tips to stick into the pavement. The same boots and bindings are used on the roller-skis as on regular cross country skis.
A lot of adventures have the luxury of looking back on history for advise, However, no one has ever skied across America ocean to ocean before. What are some of the unknowns going into the Journey? What are some of the logistic and gear challenges that your facing in the planning process?
It definitely is a little difficult planning on undertaking this adventure since it’s completely new to us. However, you along with other cyclists have provided very useful planning, coordinating, and execution strategies. In combination with this, Carolyn and I brainstorm all the possible requirements for the trip to go smoothly, then we go down the list and get the things done. We are very fortunate to have been getting gear sponsorships. We sent out a bunch of letters to companies a few months back and have gotten responses. The U.S.company V2 Roller skis is providing us with roller-skis, extra wheals, and accessories. New Moon Bike and Ski is also providing us with clothing, bindings, a head cam, and the service of selling our fund raiser shirts in the store. In a couple of weeks people can buy them from their website www.newmoonski.com. Outdoor Creations in Hayward has also provided us with a huge price cut on getting fund raising t-shirts printed. We have several other potential sponsors that have gotten back to us with the possibility of providing printed supplies, a cell phone car booster, mobile wireless, and gear.
Your untraditional route starts in the south east and ends in the north west. How many miles will this route be? how many days are you planing to do the trip in? Is there any reason for choosing this specific route?
The route will be approximately 3,000 miles. If we average 50 miles a day this would be 60 days of roller skiing. We are setting 90 days aside to complete the trip. The additional days will provide us time to fund raise. We chose the route east to west, because we are trying to avoid the western mountain passes while they still have snow. Roller skis don’t work well in snowy conditions. With this route, by the time we hit the mountains there should be less chances of hitting snow.
Any human powered crossing of america is a huge physical and mental challenge. What do you expect the hardest part of the journey to be and how are you hoping to over come those down times?
It’s hard to say, as we have never done this before. However, we are guessing that 3 months of not knowing exactly where we will be staying the next night, and having to coordinate fund-raising, food, skiing will be part of the equation. We will get through the hard times through prayer, and reflecting on how much of an impact the overall fundraiser will have on the starving.
What are you looking forward to most about the journey?
Adventure, and the knowledge that our efforts will be helping the starving and underprivileged.
Your raising money for an organization called Champions for the Poor can you tell us a little about desire to bring awareness to this cause?
Champions for the Poor is simply a part of the Food for the Poor charity. It provides individuals with the tools to create their own fund-raising campaign. Food for the Poor, is the largest international relief and development organization based in the U.S. It is an interdenominational Christian agency working to physically and spiritually renew impoverished people throughout 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean Food for the Poor provides food, medical supplies, clean water, shelter, and disaster relief in the Caribbean and Central America. Food for the Poor feeds over two million people a day. It is also one of the most efficiently run charities in the world with only 3 cents out of every dollar going towards administrative costs.
Your stepping out and putting forth a huge effort for this cause. How can we donate? or help in other ways?
Checks can be written out directly to Food for the Poor. Write Ski Across America SC 80316 in the memo line and mail them to:
Food for the Poor
Attn: Ski Across America SC 80316
6401 Lyons Rd.
Coconut Creek, FL 33073
On our website we also have a list of things people can do to help us fundraise. We also could use a few more fund-raising stop coordinators to help us look up and contact media, churches, and chambers of commerce in the towns we will be going through. If someone has a bunch of spare time and would like to assist us, they can e-mail us at skiacrossamerica@gmail.com.
Often times it seems that the hardest part of an adventure is deciding what to do. What trail? What Country? What mode of transportation? In most cases we are only given so much time and it can be hard to decide how to maximize it. Below is a video that was posted on running and rambling blog. (they also reviewed my book “Running Water” Read Review or Read a funny review from Mellissa Morrow Read Review) The video is of a group of artist, photographers, filmmakers and writers who decided to take on the famous John Muir Trail. For 25 days they hiked through 230 miles of gorgeous sweeping mountain views. I am excited to see the full film soon. It is titled JMT The Muir Project.The trailer made be excited for a few of my friends who will be embarking on some pretty epic adventures of their own.
Troves back in Texas after riding 9,000+ miles around america on his bike.
King Troves Bain Gilbert III (he’s not technically a king but he probably will be some day with a name like that) he will be attempting to complete the entire Pacific Crest trail, this trail has been dubbed one of the most challenging and longest single track trail’s in the world. (It might be the longest in the world i’ll have to look into that) This will be his first major hike but far from his first major adventure. In 2008 Troves rode his road bike 4,000 miles from Austin TX to Anchorage AK as part of the Texas 4,000 group raising money for cancer research. Troves was also a key member of our small h2oride this past summer. The h2oride was a 8,840 mile cycling tour around the outer states of the continental 48 raising money for Living Water International. (Read more about that adventure HERE). Troves is two months out from his departure and we will defiantly be following his progress and try to get a Pre and Post Q&A from him about his journey. (Follow his blog HERE)
This next adventure is one I am very intrigued to follow because no one has ever done it before! It is extremely hard to find a legit adventure that has never been attempted. Carolyn and Santi Ocariz are going to attempt to Ski Across America! Ocean to Ocean in a similar style as my 2010 run. Using Roller Skies of course the semi-pro ski racing couple will be putting it all out on the table and using their gifts to raise money for the hungry through an amazing non-profit organization called Food For the Poor. Santi and Carolyn are in the process of answering some interview questions about their up coming journey which will be posted as an upcoming adventure spotlight post. Check out their website HERE skiacrossamerica.com. If you don’t think they will make it just check out their wedding photo below and you will change your mind!
What is better than a little weekend canoe trip with some friends? How about a 6 months, 4,300 mile journey across all of Canada! The college age group of six friends spent a year paddling the ambitious quest. Karine Houde, Katya Saulnier-Jutras, Xavier Giroux-Bougard, Ellorie McKnight, Dalal Hanna and Nicolas Desrochers dubbed the journey Team Trans CanEAUda (a play on words in French and English meaning “across Canada by water”). The team paddled 6 – 9 hours a day often covering 55 – 70 miles and camped out along the rivers and lakes across four Canadian provinces and one territory. Racing again the inevitable freezing temperatures the team paddle the last 2 weeks of their journey in snow and ice. “The cold is a very good motivator,” laughed Giroux-Bougard in a telephone interview with Canoe & Kayak from his home in Quebec. “We knew that winter was looming and we were going to cut it pretty close.” The team quest was in the name of watershed and wilderness preservation by supporting the nongovernmental environmental organizations Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Ottawa Riverkeeper. This adventure really fascinated me for a number of different reasons. First off they had a few good instruments along (fiddle, guitar) and looked to have a great time on a low budget adventure. Secondly they camped much of the way going through some very desolate stretches! (Hardcore) Below are a few pictures from the team’s journey across Canada. I also emailed them a few Q&A’s so I will post those if they get back to me!
The hot Utah sun sucked a bead of sweat out from his burnt dried skin but the strong cross wind carried it off before it had a chance to roll down his spine. I followed close, within inches of his spinning tires that were propelled by his pumping quads and steady cadence. Caught in a daze of watching the pavement streak by and listening to the hum of a chain, miles passed. The hum occasionally interrupted when he dropped his right hand and with the slightest movement he changed gears, I changed gears. The ground rose slightly adding to the drag. My eyes rolled down to the odometer that read 18.2 mph, 58.4 miles. He stopped pedaling, I stopped pedaling, he reached for a water bottle, I reached for a water bottle, when his hand connected his legs began pumping once again. My shoulder blades and neck begged for a new position. I lifted my head, my eyes with it and saw the towering red rock formations, blue sky, and waving grass that covers southern Utah. He must have been feeling the same discomfort because he rose out of his saddle pressing, pulling, pressing, and pulling his bike rocking side to side like a pendulum. The music stagnate noise, wind, cars, gears. 17.2mph, 60.5 miles. He settled back into his saddle, looked over his shoulder and veered out into the lane and dropped back. His work was done for the time being. I looked over mine as well, half expecting to see open road, half expecting to see three others. They were their hiding in the tunnel of nonexistent wind. His absence left me with a new view; the cost hit my face and then my chest. My quads picked up the workload and I put my head back down.
The hot Utah sun sucked a bead of sweat out from his burnt dried skin but the strong cross wind carried it off before it had a chance to roll down his spine. I followed close, within inches of his spinning tires that were propelled by his pumping quads and steady cadence. Caught in a daze of watching the pavement streak by and listening to the hum of a chain, miles passed. The hum occasionally interrupted when he dropped his right hand and with the slightest movement he changed gears, I changed gears. The ground rose slightly adding to the drag. My eyes rolled down to the odometer that read 18.2 mph, 58.4 miles. He stopped pedaling, I stopped pedaling, he reached for a water bottle, I reached for a water bottle, when his hand connected his legs began pumping once again. My shoulder blades and neck begged for a new position. I lifted my head, my eyes with it and saw the towering red rock formations, blue sky, and waving grass that covers southern Utah. He must have been feeling the same discomfort because he rose out of his saddle pressing, pulling, pressing, and pulling his bike rocking side to side like a pendulum. The music stagnate noise, wind, cars, gears. 17.2mph, 60.5 miles. He settled back into his saddle, looked over his shoulder and veered out into the lane and dropped back. His work was done for the time being. I looked over mine as well, half expecting to see open road, half expecting to see three others. They were their hiding in the tunnel of nonexistent wind. His absence left me with a new view; the cost hit my face and then my chest. My quads picked up the workload and I put my head back down.
