My Tevis ride 1997- Nick Warhol
The Tevis- the biggest, the best. The one hundred mile endurance ride from Truckee to Auburn California which ranks as one of the (if not the most) incredible rides in the world, both in terms of tradition and difficulty. The mere mention of the ride name brings about certain emotions which can be truly understood only by someone who has ridden it, and even more so by someone who has finished it. I tried it this year as my first 100 mile ride, although I started on a horse other than my own. I told myself a year ago I wouldn’t make the Tevis the first 100 mile ride for my young horse Shatta, so I leased a horse from longtime endurance rider Potato Richardson of Cool, California. Remember that TV special on National Geographic last year where that rather large TV celebrity rode the Tevis with the local expert? The local expert was none other than Potato. He set me up with a spunky little nine year old Arabian gelding named Zion who has completed the Tevis twice on two attempts. I met the horse two days before the ride and took him out for a spin at Potato’s ranch. He’s a powerful little gray guy at 14.2 hands, but he seemed more than capable of hauling my 204 pounds of me and tack through the Sierra Nevada mountains. We loaded him up in our trailer and headed out to the start of the ride at the Robe equestrian center, out in the forest about nine miles east of the Squaw Valley ski resort. The start area of this ride is a site to behold- people and vendors everywhere. I saw way too many friends to list. I hooked up with my Endurance Net buddy Stephanie Schroeder-Teter at the main camp- she has been on the road away from her home in Idaho almost six weeks with her horses attending the Tiberon multiday ride in New Mexico and the Tevis for the first time. She had her international Internet buddy Leonard Liesens all the way from Belgium here to ride his first ever 100 mile ride on one of her horses. The Tevis as his first 100? Mine too! I have who has to be the worlds best crew chief in my riding club named Jean Schreiber- she’s the person I hold responsible for Judy and me being into horses. Jean was happy to help Steph and Lenoard’s crew out since we had: 1- a perfect crew spot set up on Friday in the cool trees at Robinson Flat (the first vet check), and 2- thanks to Jean we had permission to park my camper at the house of a friend of Jeans who lives in Michigan Bluff (the second vet check). It’s hard to describe the advantage of having these crewing benefits to people, but Tevis crews know! After shopping at the vendor show we attended the pre- ride dinner (complete with live country music- ugh! (sorry- my taste sneaking in there) and the ride meeting, which was handled very professionally by ride director Larry Suddjian- 45 minutes max! In fact, this ride was in every way as organized and professionally run as my standard for ride management excellence- the Race of Champions. (of course nothing can compare to the unbelievable ride management performed by Gary and Laura Fend that occurred at the 1997 Oakland Hills ride held in Northern California.) Head vet and overall nice guy Mitch Benson assembled a crack staff of vets for the ride which stood up to any gathering short of a regional DVM convention. Everywhere you looked there were vets, but not just vets- these were endurance vets. There’s a huge difference. Two of my favorites were there- Nancy Elliot and Jamie Kerr, and a host of others I can’t remember. We finished up our pre ride crewing details, fed the eating machine I called my horse, and went off to bed. Our wake up time of 3:15 AM comes up way too quick, but I had no problem sleeping. That alarm went off and I jumped into action. It was time! I had a quick breakfast and started my preparations so Judy could leave at 4:30 with the truck and trailer on her long driving mission to place the vehicles in strategic locations along the ride. Talk about a turnabout- I was riding, and she was crewing! Ahhh- life is sweet. She bid me farewell and good luck with a kiss and sent me off in the pitch dark to the start. Oh yes, the start. Never before have I seen so many horses in one place waiting to go down a road which would not hold them. It was so dark it was impossible to pick anyone out- I was looking for one of my riding buddies Pam Loftus in the chaos- no chance. Then mere moments before the actual start I witnessed something really neat- I was standing up on a small hill just off the road with my horse letting him eat (man, he eats!) some hay graciously left by an unsuspecting camper. (Zion thanks you, whoever you were) Suddenly all the horses moved together on the road to begin the ride and became all packed in to a huge mass of equine. One horse backed up in the crowd and caused a chain reaction of movement which flashed backwards through the mass of animals. All the horses started moving backwards- it looked like a wave of energy flowing through the crowd, almost like a wave in the stands at a baseball game. The start itself was interesting- I think it took me about five minutes after the start before I even moved. We just stood there, like a mass of people trying to leave the movie theater at one time. We got going in a terrible cloud of dust which made it impossible to sense anything about where we were going. I just stuck to the dusty shape in front of me and trotted along after it. The riders spread out a it after a couple of miles, but we still had major traffic jams at two creek crossings and where the trail became single track. It’s funny to be standing there for five minutes in a line in a ride, but everyone took it in stride. We finally got to where we could get going, so off we went at a trot. Zion just bounded down the trail, happy to be going, but listening to my commands as he wanted to catch the horse in front of him. There was a solid line of riders single file all the way to the first highway crossing at highway 49, which was manned by a whole bunch of folks. Very safe, and very professional. We scooted across and headed up the trail towards the Squaw Valley Parking lot. I winced as I crossed over the dreaded slippery paved bike path which claimed Judy and Warpaint last year, along with a bunch of others. Larry made it a point to mention it at the meeting, and it was well marked. We wound our way up to the main parking lot at the ski resort and walked up to the entrance. The Crews were already supporting riders here- Zion drank about 20 swallows of water. Wow! My horse doesn’t do that after nine easy miles. Good boy, Zion. We trotted right past the window where you buy you ski lift tickets. Off we went up the ski mountain. I mean right up the main ski run. Past the gondola, the ski lodge, right up the mountain I have skied down so many times I can’t even count. I was loving it! What a trip. It was here I ran into Steph and Leonard who were taking it real easy. I joined up with them at that point as we mostly walked and jogged up the long climb to the summit of Emigrant pass. Steph was riding her big (and I mean as in large) Arab/Orlov cross named Khruschev (what else?) He’s a neat horse- really big, but a strong mover. Leonard was riding Steph’s new Arab Suskaro HCC - he’s a big nine year old gelding who was still feeling his oats as we walked up the climb. Steph just looked at me funny as I pointed out the Squaw Valley Palisades- the cliff I jumped off of on skis once. It looks a lot less formidable with some snow on the ground. Up we went slowly while lots of riders passed us on the climb. We climbed up the ski runs, past the mid mountain lodge and skating rink, and stopped for a drink from a spring as we approached the 8200 foot Emigrant Summit. The top of the world awaited us- what a view! And there was the monument I have seen in so many pictures! No time to stand around since it was chilly up there, so off we went down the back side of the pass, right into the depths of the Granite Chief Wilderness. Here’s where the trail got interesting. I have heard from riders about this trail, but you have to experience it to believe it. It’s a miles long section of tight, rocky, twisty, muddy, boggy, steep, challenging walk-your-horse-slowly terrain. The scenery is unreal, but the trail is tough. There are even sections of trail made entirely of rock that you have to climb with water running down it. Zion picked his way through the nasty turf as carefully as a little mountain goat- he looks at his feet as he works his way through the rocks. Good boy, Zion. We came across a horse in trouble in the worst possible place in the world- the middle of this wilderness. The rider thought the horse was tied up, but she was not going anywhere, and riders were giving her their jackets to act as blankets. Endurance riders are good people. We later heard they used a helicopter to air-lift the horse out- there is no other way on earth to get a horse out of there. Just as the tough trail ended we came across Becky Hart leading her horse Laine, who had injured one of her legs. Steph gave Becky some vet wrap to help support the injury- Becky thanked us as she continued to lead her horse towards the Lyon Ridge trot by vet check. After a stop in a neat water hole we trotted the next few miles to Lyon Ridge and passed the trot by. Zion drank another few gallons of water (good boy, Zion) and I had a glass of lemonade. Now we headed off down the trail toward the infamous Cougar Rock. I approached it and watched a couple of riders go over as I stood in the line. It looks a lot worse in the pictures, but I had already decided to go around via the bypass trail since I was not taking any chances whatsoever. I had to wait for a woman who could not make her horse go over (dumb), but eventually got by and continued on down Elephants Trunk (why did they call it that? It’s just a short hunk of trail that drops down on one side.) Some nice single track trail wound through the ridges, and down we dropped to Red Star Ridge. Nice ride volunteers were everywhere offering us anything we wanted, but the horses got more water and all ate hay. Off we went without hanging around- we were sticking to our time schedule. A nice five or so mile rolling trot on a road led us to Robinson flat- the first check. There was our crew all ready and waiting! The place is a madhouse! Horses everywhere! Crews everywhere! But the stop is as organized as it can be. We went right into the P&R as Zion was at 56. Good boy, Zion. We breezed though the vets and went to our crew spot. Man, this is the life. Lots of horses pulled- someone said 30! Ouch! But not us! I sat in a chair as I watched all three of the horses get great attention. Judy fed me and took care of my tack, Jean rubbed my shoulders, it was great! The stop was over to quickly, but we mounted up and left right on our minute. The horses were perky as we began the first long descent of the ride. It was an uneventful but rocky few miles to a nice wide gravel road where we trotted a few miles to make up some time. Off into another single track, back onto the freeway, and at the bottom a nice river for drinking. Zion keeps drinking like a water truck being filled up. He uses every chance he has to eat grass and stuff on the side of the trail as he walks along. Good boy, Zion. We trot up a while on roads which lead to Dusty Corners and a vet check. No delay here, but the vet notices a slight paddle on Zion’s right rear leg as he trots out. He notes it on my card, but says lets just keep an eye on it. We trot on down the road through a place called Last Chance which I never even saw, and began the plunge! The trail heads down into the first of the two big canyons, and it went down into the bowels of the earth. I hopped off Zion and ran down the single track trail with him right behind me all the way. He was perfect- no rushing, he’d slow down automatically when I did. I went on ahead of Steph and Leonard since they were riding slowly down the descent, and spent some time sitting in the river at the bottom. That sure felt good. I went on across the swinging bridge (whoa! That’s a wobbly thing, but really neat!) and began the climb up the mountain towards Devil’s Thumb. I thought I have been on climbs before with a lot of switchbacks, but this was ridiculous! There must have been over 100 switchbacks, all of which were very steep! Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up- It seemed to never end. I rode Zion up this one since I thought it was the easier of the two canyons, but I had it backwards. He walked right up, his heart rate staying very constant. I met up with Gary Fend, from my neck of the woods in the Bay Area, as we walked up the long climb. We finally reached the top and went right to the water troughs. I hope they had a lot of water there, cause’ Zion drank most of it. I had five glasses of lemonade. We quickly continued down the trail towards the next vet check at Deadwood, only a few miles away. I entered the check to find two of my buddies from my riding club there as the in timers. (Karen Schwartz and Carolyn Shultz). Zion was down instantly, and I told the vets about the right rear leg before we trotted. He said yep, consistent, but it looked minor, and we were once again on our way. I wanted to let Zion eat since he was grabbing hay from other horses mouths, but I wanted to keep on schedule. I grabbed a half a flake of hay and walked down the trail with it stuffed under my right arm. Zion followed me down the trail for the next couple of miles eating as he walked, just like my arm was a hay bag! Once he finished eating, we started the long descent down into Eldorado canyon, me running, him following again. It was getting hot, and I was a little warm after the long run all the way down the hill. I flopped down into the river at the bottom again- feels good! Zion tanked up again before we started up the last long climb up to Michigan Bluff. This climb was long, but not as steep as the first. Same deal, though. Up a billion switchbacks- Up, Up, Up, Up- you get the idea. It was at the top I had one of the funniest things happen to me I have ever experienced on a ride. Gary and I were talking as we neared the top- I told him it was a good sign when I saw an empty folding chair up on the side of the trail. That meant we were close! We came to a turn and I suddenly saw about thirty people up ahead on both sides of the trail, waiting for their riders. Gary said something like “look at that- do you recognize anyone?” “No,” I said, “no-one I know.” As we walked up the entire crowd jumped to their feet and began yelling and cheering “HI Nick! Hoooray! Hey Nick! You made it! Go Zion!” I just looked on in disbelief- Gary said “I thought you didn’t know anyone!” It was hysterical- I was amazed until I figured it out. One of my nuttier crew members, Tom Sloan, (who was hiding in the bushes) had made a deal with everyone to give me a cheer as I approached. It was really funny! Into the vet check- Potato walked in with me as we talked about his wonderful horse. Zion recovered in the time it took drink again, strip his tack, and walk to the P&R people. The entire P&R crew turned out to be more friends from my area- Rita Schlim, Cathy Nixon, Priscilla, and special guest Sue Reily from Arizona! We went though the vets again, watching that rear leg. No problem. Lots more horses pulled, though. This is a tough ride. Just as I finished Steph and Leonard walked up and vetted through with ease. We went to the camper and crew area and took showers while the horses were worked on. This is the life! 60 miles and I still felt great. Zion was pounding down food, as were the other two horses. This hour went too fast as well, but I waited a few extra minutes to go out with my buddies. We departed Michigan and wound our way down yet another canyon- is there no level ground in the Sierra Nevada? I don’t think so. More steep nasty rocky dusty down hill trails led to another river, than back up again. Up, Up, but not nearly as bad as earlier in the day. We got to the third check at Foresthill sooner than I thought, and right on our time schedule. The crew was there, waiting as we got the horses through the vet. It was here I scared Judy to death as I was in with the vets. The vet asked me to trot Zion a second time to look at that rear leg, and Judy worried something was wrong. She watched from outside the vet area as I talked it over with the vet. He said yeah, I see it, but it seems we’re doing a good job watching the situation, and it still seems consistent with the notes on the ride card. I could go on. I flashed Judy a thumbs up signal, but she read it as a pull, sort of like an umpire would yank his hand when he calls “Yer out!” She was horrified as I walked up smiling. I saw her look and asked what was wrong. She asked me was I out? No! Whew! Got to work on that sign language. Zion was not as interested in eating here, since it was only 90 minutes or so before he had chowed down at Michigan. He looked a little tired, but who wasn’t? We headed out and worked our way through the town of Foresthill to the cheering of many spectators. Cool! Back into the forest and down once again into the canyons. More rocky, dusty, downhills. It was just beginning to get dark as we reached the depths of the canyon above the American River. We started trotting on the really neat single-track trails as the moon came up. What a sight! It got darker and darker, but the horses were superb. Zion began to show another special trait- he would stop automatically at any steep up or downhill, or when rocks were really bad. Steph shouted from behind: “How can you see those rocks in the dark?” “I can’t!” I could not see them either, but Zion could. Good boy, Zion. We flew along in the dark, just absolutely enjoying the feeling of riding quickly with your life in the hands of your horse. Maybe that’s part of why it feels so neat to ride like that. We worked our way along the river trails until we turned up towards the top of the canyon once again. We were going to White Oak flat for a vet check up on top rather than the normal route down to the river at Francisco’s. Zion was so funny- he KNEW we made a wrong turn. He really wanted to take me down the normal trail. Up we climbed again, more rocks, dust, trees, all at a walk or trot. We reached the top and had to trot through this weird section of trails through a residential area. It was dark, and there were many branches to the trails. Poor Zion chose a wrong turn or two since he had not been on this part before. After a couple of missed turns, Steph suggested putting her big guy in front, since they had pre-ridden this section a few days ago. What a horse. He led us though that section like a mouse going after cheese in a maze. We hit the check right on our schedule and went through without incident. We were treated to the most unbelievable service from the ride crew people- they were everywhere making sure the riders had everything. I think I ate a sandwich, two brownies, an apple pie, 3 cokes, and a hunk of melon. One more look at the right rear leg, and off down the trail. Mile 80! Neither Leonard or I have been this far before- Steph is a veteran of long rides, and kept telling me 100s were the best. I still felt great, so I hopped off Zion and jogged him down the three miles or so down the beat up road to the river. It felt good to run along with him, even at this late hour. Midnight! On the river! With 20 miles to go! What an experience. We woke up some campers as we trotted by- sorry! We began a long ride down yet more trails by the broken light of the moon. Me in front, Steph next, Leonard behind. On we went, letting Zion show us the way. He just kept on trucking. I stayed relaxed as we trotted over stuff, around turns, and through the dark. I wonder what the trails looked like? I might not want to know. I was really enjoying this ride- I told Steph this is as neat as it gets. There was no other way on this planet to experience this feeling of excitement, danger, trust, and friendship in your horses and riding partners. This 2 hours was worth the price of admission. After looking at my watch a lot I began to wonder if we would ever get to the river crossing. Trot, trot, trot, down the wild trails along the river. Then suddenly in the distance I see a string of Christmas lights down at the water’s edge! It was a great sight! Zion zoomed down the sandy trail to the camp, where we stopped and asked the nice people for a drink. I took a coke and drank it in a few seconds, much to the amazement of everyone present. I would have had three more if they were available. The caffeine could not hurt! After thanking the workers we went to the river, where all three horses stepped in and stopped to drink. Hey- leave some for the river rafters downstream! Zion stepped in, and crossed the river in water up past my ankles while riding. Wow! Out the other side- another milestone complete. Up a nasty steep hill, but all three trucked right up. Here’s where we hit the best trail on the ride- the old Tevis trail. Steph led for a while to get out of the dust- she and her big guy took off at a trot. This trail was dark, since we were on the shaded side of the canyon. It was so dark I could not really see her in front of me. Keep on trotting, trusting the horses. I was feeling so good it’s hard to put into words. All I can say is there’s nothing else like it in the endurance world, at least as far as I have been at this point. After a few miles of this we were really wondering where that darn lower quarry was! We had used up an extra half an hour in the last section, and wanted to keep on schedule. After an eternity, we found it! A lit up oasis in the dark. We entered to another crew of incredible workers who were just to helpful for that time of night. When did they sleep? I was noticing my eyelids a little as I stood in the vet line. Steph and Leonard got through quickly, and our plan was to just keep going as soon as possible. I spent a few extra minutes with the vets, so my buddies walked on down the trail. I got though fine, and quickly caught them a mile or so later. Now it was something like 2:30 am, and only 7 miles to go! Adrenaline! Excitement! Wow! It looked good. Across highway 49, up a nasty hill, down a nasty trail to the no hands bridge! Across yet another milestone. The horses were tired, but kept on trotting ahead like the athletes they are. Not much further now! I have been on this part of the trail a few times before, and I knew we were close when we turned up the trail to climb out of the last canyon. It was 3:45 when I saw the street light at the top! We made it! No, we didn’t. No finish here, just more trails. Wait a sec- it used to end here! We realized they must have needed to add a few miles to make up for other trail changes, so off we went again. More trails, more rocks, more dust. We looped around some hills, and at 4:10 am we rounded the last corner. There was the finish! I can’t even begin to describe the feeling. It was fantastic. We got our in time cards and headed to the quickie vet check at the end, before the walk to the stadium and the parade lap. Steph and Leonard quickly passed, I presented Zion who trotted willingly, although a little slow. I turned around to trot back and saw Jamie Kerr frowning. I had told him about the right rear, but when I trotted Zion back towards Jamie, I watched my little Arabian friend limp badly on his left front leg. I just stood there in shock. Jamie saw the rear, but he said Zion was off on the left front. He suggested I keep him moving, and go right down to the finish, don’t take a parade lap, and get Mitch Benson to look at him. That 3-minute walk was one of the longest moments of my life. I was tired, but the thought of what was ahead kept my stomach in knots. I quickly found Mitch and told him the situation- he checked Zion’s vitals and found them all excellent. Just as I trotted him out for Mitch the announcer reads my name over the PA as finishing. My crew comes running up all excited and cheering as I watch Zion trot grade three lame. I walked him back to a very somber group of vets. Mitch takes me aside and begins telling me they have to pull him, since they have to maintain the fit to continue criteria. “Of course,” I said, “he’s hurt. I’m just incredibly disappointed.” They all felt so bad, but no one as bad as me as Judy came walking up, wondering why they called my name and I was not on the track. She could tell by my look Zion was pulled.
Epilogue:
I did it! I finished the ride of rides. I just didn’t get a completion. It took a while for it all to sink in to a tired brain, but I actually felt great about the whole experience. All I can figure was Zion tweaked himself somehow in the last couple of miles of the ride. He was fine at mile 93, and I sure didn’t notice anything wrong as I finished. Maybe he stiffened up, maybe he twisted a muscle on one of the bazillion rocks out there on the trail. Potato came over and told me I had done a great job, and that was the worst luck he’d seen. Nancy Elliot told me she thought I’d done a superb job of getting him through, and felt so bad about the pull. Me too. My crew was devastated, but only until I explained that I could not have been happier about the entire event. It was the highlight of my endurance career so far, and now I sort of have the right to say I finished the Tevis.
This story is dedicated to Zion, that spunky Pit-bull of an Arabian who gave me his all, and more than I could have asked for. I only met him a day before the ride, but I’ll never forget him as long as I live. I don’t have a buckle, but I have the ride. And just wait till next year when Shatta is ready!
Special thanks to Zion’s dad, Potato, the man who put me in touch with this fine creature.