Ya'at'eeh!

Greetings from Navajo country!  This past weekend Lisa and myself were in the Chinle AZ area to participate in the third annual Caza Ladron trail ride and hunt.  This get together included a ride into beautiful Canyon de Chelly as well as a fox (coyote) hunt west of town.  Fortunately for the one coyote, he was faster and more wile than the hounds.

Hounds Away!

Since Lisa is the horse person she did the riding while I was lucky to get in a couple of runs among some quintessential southwest scenery.  Perhaps next year I will give the equines a try.  The weather was great and as a special treat author Hampton Sides was in attendance.  He has penned some incredible books including "Ghost Soldiers" as well as "Blood and Thunder".  Additionally, Hampton has written about the MDS in the earlier years of the race.  Here is his article.  

The book Ghost Soldiers has a special connection to the Reader family, my great uncle Penrod Reader was in the Army Air Corps and was stationed in the Philippines at the start of WWII.  His unit eventually was assigned infantry duty and they participated in the Bataan Death March.  He died in the POW camps there on July 12, 1942.

Below are some photographs for your enjoyment!  
 

South Rim of Canyon de Chelly

Interesting Geology

 

 

 

 

 

This one says "Southwest"

A Study in Weight

An interesting post came out in the official MDS site the other day.  MDS Timing No 3 compared and contrasted the weight and calorie counts for Englishmen, Frenchmen and "Leaders". From a purely statistical standpoint some data may be lacking but having something to gauge against is invaluable.  Below is a summary of the data provided including my current estimates, weights are in kgs.  One must also factor into the load water weight (1.5-3 kgs).

Category	Total	Gear	Food	Calories
English	11.3	6.1	5.2	19,200
French	8.7	4.1	4.6	16,800
Leaders	7.2	2.5	4.7	16,000
My est.	8.5	4.2	4.3	18,200

While I am happy with my results, they are still estimates and subject to changes.  It will be a challenge to keep the gear weight down and perhaps even lower it some.  Items that are adding to this additional weight compared to "leaders" include:

• Camera (7.5 oz)
• Pad (8 oz)
• flip flops (4-6 oz)
• Cup/fuel/stove (6.5 oz)
• Misc supplies (4 oz)

Total 32 oz/2 lbs/0.9 kg

Each and every item adds up and eventually lines need to be drawn as to what is a luxury vs a necessity. Are you going to use the item daily?  Is it there a large benefit from using the item?  Conversely, is there a large negative impact from not having/using the item in question? I definitely wish to record the event and have a hot cup of coffee in the morning while lounging in bare feet after a reasonable night sleep.  Call me soft.

Relating to calories/count/weight it is apparent that finding high caloric foods are important.  My above numbers are based on 6.5 days at 2,800 Kcals/day which may be on the low side.  This works out to be about 120 Kcals/oz including packaging.  Most carbohydrate based foods are around 100-120 Kcals/oz not including packaging.  That is about the best you can do there.  Fats will be needed in order to get these numbers up...nuts, meat products, etc.  It is also obvious that there will have to be repackaging in order to minimize weight and volume.  Future posts will detail my anticipated gastronomical plans.

Pack Shake Down

On Sunday I took out the pack (Raidlight Evolution 2) for a quick 10 mile test spin.  I settled on this pack since the next size up was just too large and I would be tempted to fill it all the way up with totally unnecessary snivel gear.  While the first day or two may have this one bulging at the seams, I believe it will be fine overall. 

Load out was most of my gear and phone books as a mass mock for food.  Included 1.5 liters of water on the shoulder holders (add ons).  Total weight was around 20 lbs/9 kgs which is slightly light based on my estimates to date.  Fit and balance were excellent.  The front pack is nice from a balance perspective but it will get a little warm.  Placing 750 ml water bottles in the front pack side holders adds a little too much weight there.  This results in excessive bouncing when running but would be OK for walking.  The strap assembly on the top is nice for a pad/sleeping bag.  My only complaint about this rig besides being slightly small volume wise is that you have to do/undo four buckles to get in and out of it!