Pittsfield Peaks
Saturday, March 8, 2008
That was easily the most difficult snowshoe race I've ever done. Of course, the cold drizzle that was falling much of the time I was out there didn't help!
6 AM found me happy that it wasn't raining and making the short drive from Rutland to the tiny hamlet of Pittsfield... a very pretty drive along a winding road through the woods. I secured a handy parking space at the Yoga Studio (the closest parking to the race site... a good move, as it turned out!) and then hiked a quarter mile up the road to the Pittsfield General Store, where I picked up my packet and had my mug shot taken for race records. Then it was time to hike back to the car, grab my gear, and hop the shuttle van to the start at Riverside Farm. Only half a mile or so, and then a short walk down a slushy driveway to race HQ, outside one of the Riverside Farm barns. RD Andy confirmed that we could leave our gear anywhere we wanted... I picked a spot under a small tent that seemed like it might be somewhat dry once the rain started, and then wandered around waiting for things to begin.
About 10 minutes before the race was scheduled to begin, Andy let us know they were going to have to delay the start because of difficulties with the shuttles. More wandering, and then around 8:10 or so we all wandered over to the starting area at the edge of a large, snow covered field. Andy had a few words to say about the race and the sponsors, then he turned the mic over to course designer Jason for a preview of where we'd be running today... and then it was time to go!
The first stretch was around the previously mentioned large, snow-covered field... judging from the postholes I saw from a few folks who'd gone out on the snow without snowshoes, I'd guess between 18 inches and 2 feet of snow, with the racers running on a packed snowshoe trail. After we looped around the field we headed into the woods... and then the climbing began.
We had been warned that the initial two miles or so contained the worst of the climbing... that was definitely true. (Actually, there turned out to be very few level areas on this course - most of the time we were either climbing or descending.) Initially we wound our way uphill through the woods, with a brief downhill stretch which served both to give my legs a break from hiking and add to the climbing, since at the bottom the path headed back up! Up and up and up. While it still wasn't raining, it was hard to tell that since the ice on the trees was melting and dripping down on us. Still, I found myself overheating pretty quickly, so I paused and tied my rain jacket around my waist. We had a short loop to a fairly nice viewpoint (or at least, it would have been a viewpoint if the valley hadn't been covered in fog.) And then more relentless uphill. At about 2 miles the climbing eased up, and the course followed a rolling traverse along the side of the ridge. The woods were a little less dense in this section, so we had some nice views down the hillside. All in all, it was very pretty (other than the sky being overcast and grey.) But the hard work of all the climbing made me think that it was unlikely I'd do a second loop... I was having a tough time imagining slogging up that hill a second time!
Eventually, that let out on a long, wide downhill... some sort of snow-over dirt road or snowmobile trail. As I ran down that it was clear that a light drizzle had started... it was also clear that my legs were pretty cooked from all the hiking, and I was still somewhat entertaining the possibility of a second loop, so I jogged down the hill rather than blasting down it. If nothing else it was a nice break from hiking! Partway down I passed a cheering volunteer, who informed me that the aid station at the halfway mark was just ahead. I checked in with the folks there, grabbed an apple, and headed off into the woods... for more climbing. Sigh.
The rain picked up and I started to get cold, so I broke out my rain jacket and pulled it back on.
more to come...
2008 Event Totals
Run 0 mi / 0 min
Bike 0 mi / 0 min
Snowshoe 45.7 mi / 13 hr 19 min
states visited: MA, NH, NY, VT
