We all made it to CP7 and decided to retire due to the dangerous conditions. The rain made it too treacherous by Saturday evening. BT Japan & KVH teams made it safely if not exhausted to CP7. Better luck next year??
I hated the mud slides down to CP5 & CP7. This year, I was slightly better prepared; no twisted ankles. Next time, I’ll have better gear. No more Dallas Stars jersey or cheap rain coat. Learned a lot more about managing my health in the mountains.
Only problem was me. All my gear was soaked from head to toe. Water-logged and freezing, I got a bit of hypothermia. My feet have huge blisters that slowed me & team down. Running the course on less than 1 hour sleep also didn’t help. I ended up in the hospital on a saline drip and hot water balloons under my arms. My legs were too sore to move… The nurses had to help me change clothes. But I was stabilized within a couple of hours and released.
Limped back home and took some pain killers chased by generous amounts of whiskey. ;-) I did a lot better this year. Only I was defeated by the weather and poor gear. I’m just crazy enough to tackle that damn course one more time. I WILL conquer it!

A special THANKS goes to the support group and team members. Especially to Yukiko, Tong, and Tom for helping me finally reach CP7! Without all of your help, I doubt this would have been as safe an adventure as it was.

THANK YOU ALL!!