The final stage was about 15 km ( metric for 10 miles or so ).   The day started off very nice

and ended even nicer.   Mostly because it was over, there was beer, and I could shower.

That said, here are some random thoughts that I took away from this thing:

Yes, you can carry everything you need for a week ( minus water and a tent ) on your back.  In fact, when ( yes when ) I do the next one, I will actually take less stuff with me.

To give some perspective, here is some of what is actually in this pile:

• One short-sleeved t-shirt
• One long-sleeved t-shirt
• One pair of short compression tights
• One pair of long compression tights
• 4 pairs of those funky socks with the toes
• 4 pairs of thin wool socks to wear over the funky toe socks.   This wicks away moisture.   Dry feet are happy feet.
• The thinnest, lightest windproof jacket I could afford
• A spork
• About 15,000 calories of food
• A bunch of random safety items the race folks require
• A sleeping bag
• Hand sanitizer
• Wet wipes
• Random other junk

Wearing the same shirt for a week really isn’t as bad as it sounds.   Same with not showering for a week, or going to the bathroom in a hole in the ground shared by 150 other people, or not shaving, or sleeping on the ground.  After the first day you just get used to it and on the second day it’s just part of your routine.

There is a lot of downtime to share with your tent-mates and other folks.   It’s actually pretty interesting because you get to know people fairly quick.   They’re from everywhere around the world and from all walks of life, but they’re all dumb enough to do these things, so there is actually quite a bit to talk about.
 

ANYONE can finish one of these races.  You don’t have to be a great athlete, or in super amazing shape, or smart, or whatever.   Really, you just need to be naive enough to send in your deposit without telling your Mrs. Stockdale, cross your fingers, and hope  you figure out the rest. 

So, I really don’t know what else to add about this thing.   If you want to join me on the next one, it could be Atacama ( October 2013 ),  Madagascar ( August 2014 ), or Atacama ( October 2014 ).   My guess is 2014 race in the Atacama desert, but it really just depends on what random part of the earth Mrs. Stockdale has us living in by then. 

Any questions, let me know.

Stage 4 was actually fairly draining.  ( The next bit should have been in the last entry, but I messed up.  )  Not saying it was impossible or that it sucked all the life out of me, but the course was a lot more difficult than anything we had before.  At the end of Stage 4, after a bus ride from the construction site, after I got things situated, this is what was waiting for me.

This was about the billionth ( metric for way too many ) of these freeze-dried salty rice based meals I had eaten and at this point my body said ‘NO MORE’.  I had two bites of this ickified paste of disgustingness and I threw the rest away.   Then I ate some pepperoni slices and my body rejected any further processing of greasy meat.  At this point I could have been reasonably concerned about my prospects for the long day ahead, but all doubt was removed when this appeared:

The only thing cooler than the single rainbow, is the double rainbow.  Now, all I needed now was a unicorn to ride the next day.

After the previous four days, my shoes were looking kind of ragged,

and having the fluid drained from under my toenail daily with the hot needle was getting less and less enjoyable,

So, I got some rest to prepare for the long day.

As you can tell from the elevation chart, Stage 5 was 73 km ( slightly less than two marathons ).   The good news was that the last 30 km ( you do the math ) was downhill.

The start for Stage 5 was actually two hours away from camp.  So we woke up in dark, boarded buses, and toured the scenic western cities of China.

Please note than no one lives in any of these buildings.  All the stories you read about the ghost cities of China are completely true.

When we arrived at the start of we had a short time to get ready and enjoy the scenery.

And then we were off for a stroll though the nothingness.

Nourishment for the entire day consisted of a pack of oatmeal, some ‘Swedish Fish’, a couple hundred calories from powdered drink mix, and a couple small bags of trail mix.   ( So, here’s the thing that is hard to explain.  This really isn’t a big deal.  It would have been nice to have eaten more, but at this point you are so screwed up that it really doesn’t matter.  Your body goes through a transition where it really doesn’t care if it has food or not, because in reality I had plenty of calories in reserve around my mid-section.  Could you continue like this for another 4-5 days?  NO!  That said, a day or so isn’t going to kill you.  Probably.  Maybe.  At least that is what I told Mrs. Stockdale. )

After about 12 hours of walking, the sun went down.

And then I walk some more.  I vaguely remember finishing around 3:00 am or so.   The real men in my mind were the guys who finished last for the day.  They were both slightly injured from previous days and walked the entire thing in around 24 hours.  I’m sure each and every step was more painful than the last.

Someone at the FC Kim Hee Tae Academy might want to get the bus repainted if they ever decide to drive it in an English speaking country.

Or maybe all these metric conversions are getting to me and I’ll find pointless humor in anything.

The next two stages were really just more of the same.  Stage 3 was about 35km ( metric for less than a marathon ) and Stage 4 was about 26 miles ( metric for a marathon ).  Even though it wasn’t the longest stage of the trip, Stage 4 was arguably the most difficult.

Stage 4 started with a trip up to Shipton’s Arch.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipton%27s_Arch  

After the Arch, the rest of the day was just up a big hill and down a big hill.   Up a big hill and down a big hill.

Up a big hill and down a big hill.

Up a big hill and down a big hill.

Up a big hill and down a big hill.

Up a big deal and through a goat farm.

Up a big hill and past a camel.

Down a big hill and through a village.

Through a village and into an active construction site.

Although I wasn’t wearing a helmet, somehow I survived.

Here is the 2012 official little Stockdale first day of school picture:

It can be contrasted with the 2011 version:

The 2010 version:

The 2009 version:

The 2008 version:

The 2007 version:

Or the 2006 version:

Sorry for the delay in finishing this series.   I was preoccupied spending the summer in the United States of America with the little Stockdales.

Stage 2 was referred to as ‘Mars in the Gobi’ and was about a marathon or so in length.  The pictures will test most of the story.

This wasn’t the most difficult stage, but it also wasn’t easy.  It was just walking for hours on end with 20+ pounds  (metric for 10 kilograms) of random stuff on your back through the heat of the desert.

The little Stockdales and I got back to Korea a couple of days ago and it feels good to be ‘home’.  However, we left the best Stockdale summer EVER behind us.

Can’t wait for Summer of 2013!

Happy 4th of July from the Stockdales!

No need for pictures, no need for a stock flag photo, we’re back in the US of A for this one!

Best holiday on the planet, hands down, no doubt about it.

In these races there are a variety of different types of competitors and you should be sure not to confuse them.  First, there are the folks trying to win.  They aren’t human.  Then, there are the folks trying to do really well.  They might be human, but probably aren’t.  Then, there are the folks trying to run the entire race.  They are definitely human, however they are also the naturally gifted athletes you knew in High School who played every varsity sport for four years without getting sweaty.  Then there are the folks who will run part of the race and walk part of the race.  These folks trained really hard to get this far and deserve a ton of credit for their accomplishment.  After all these folks is this guy. 

Please don’t confuse him with anyone in the previously mentioned categories.

The first stage was supposed to have been about 41 km ( metric for almost a marathon ), but was shortened to 32 km because a river we were supposed to cross became swimmable.

Each day was different, but also the same.  The course was marked with these pink flags that were set about 50-100 meters ( that’s metric for something ) apart.   They were reasonably easy to follow IF you paid attention.  Anyone who knows me, should realize I had varying levels of success with this throughout the week.

The terrain was different throughout each day.  Some of the course was dirt road, some gravel road, lot’s of dried river beds full of various sized rocks, some paved road, some hills, some bridges, some water crossings, some camels, some goats, and some random open vastness.

In a general sense, the area resembled the United States desert southwest in Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.  It was much different, but similar enough to give you an idea of what things were like.

Checkpoints were usually 10km (metric for 6 miles ) apart.  At each check point you could get up to three half-liter ( metric for kinda small, but not ) bottles of water.  There were doctors at each checkpoint, as well as other volunteers to assist you in getting in and out.  The volunteers were awesome and deserve a ton of credit for everything they did.

This first stage wasn’t easy, but wasn’t impossible.  It was a good start and I walked the entire course in a reasonable amount of time.

At the end of Stage 1, we had a ‘Home Stay’.  So, instead of sleeping in tents, 160 people crashed on the floor of some villager’s house like a giant slumber party of homeless smelly hippies wandering aimlessly through the desert searching for a Twinkie.

Nothing says fun like a cow watching you pee.

Saturday morning we had our pre-race meeting at the hotel.  This basically amounted to the race directors going over various boring topics and providing information on not dying from dehydration or being eaten by a camel. 

Following that, we had gear-check where our packs were inspected to verify that we had all the mandatory equipment and nutrition for the week.  My pack weighed about 11.5 kg ( 25 pounds in metric ) and included approximately 15,000 calories to keep me alive for a week.

You are required to bring a minimum of 14,000 calories.  Most people bring the freeze-dried camping food and a variety of power bars, gels, etc.  ( Hot water is provided each night at camp. )  I had the camp food in addition to nuts, trail mix, crushed potato chips, pepperoni, oatmeal, and candy.  One guy brought nothing but this powder he mixed with water.  Another guy brought ingredients and basically cooked dinner each night.  ( HINT – If you bring the freeze-dried meals, don’t bother bringing them for any day past day 4, because by then just looking at them makes you want to vomit and you somehow exist on Swedish Fish and Gatorade for the 80 km day. )

My pack weight was about average.  The lowest was close to 6 kg and the heaviest over 17 kg.  How/why either one of these folks got to these numbers is completely beyond me.  I had 6 kg worth of food alone and with 17 kg, he probably had a Sherpa in there to carry everything for him. 

The whole idea of pack weight is a vanity thing for people to brag about how little they brought or how smartly they packed.  In a way it is good, because it forces you to question all the random crap you shouldn’t even consider bringing.  On the other side, it made me be dumb enough to not bring an extra 1.5 ounce camera battery.

After going through the most inefficient hotel check-out process every, ( HINT – If anyone at a Chinese hotel ever gives you a blue piece of paper, NEVER EVER EVER let it leave your person and make sure every single person in the line in front of you has the piece of paper because the crazy people behind the counter will refuse to check you out without the blue piece of paper even though at check-in no one even remotely bothered to mention the importance of this random slip ) we boarded buses for the 4 hour trip from Kashi to the desert.

When we arrived at Camp 1, the locals had prepared a welcome for us that included various forms of entertainment.  One of the guys with the accordian may or may not have been the Governor of the region.  The translator needed a translator.

Plus, there was ‘Goat Ball’, which is more commonly called ‘Buzkashi’, the national sport of Afghanistan, which was prominently featured in the timeless classic Rambo III.  ‘Buzkashi’ features two teams on horseback fighting over a headless goat carcass trying to get the headless goat carcass onto a special pile of rocks.  Imagine rugby with a dead headless goat.

Unfortunately, I got no good photographs of the actual headless goat carcass.  I promise you, it’s in there.

After someone somehow was victorious at ‘Goat Ball’ we had watermelon and some local bread and the locals went home.   This left us to finish our dinners and then lie in sun until it went down at 11:30 pm. 

Interesting fact, China has only a single time zone.  So, although it gets dark in Beijing at about 7:30 pm, the sun stays up a ‘tad’ longer the further you go west.  Imagine how the residents of Los Angeles would feel if they were on Eastern Time.  It was even more convenient getting ready in the dark every morning.