Max Merlich and Junior, Tevis 2009

Ever since we were pulled in 2007 this ride has haunted me. It was my own fault that time, I had under elyted Junior and he had gotten a big charley horse cramp at 64 miles. Since then I have learned that he needs a lot more under heavy work in hot conditions. While I am thinking about it I will say he used 16 doses of 2 oz. each to get thru the ride this time and I think that was about right for him and the conditions. I also used quite a bit of probiotics out on the trail which seemed to keep his appetite on pretty well during times in the past where I would expect him to be pretty picky.

He had done two 75’s, a two day 100 and the Sunriver 100 in prep for Tevis. He then had three weeks off after which he was rode fairly hard on July 4th in the mountains for a day and then lightly two other days on the holiday. The following weekend Lisa, Darlene, Mona and I did the 26 mile loop up at Herman Creek in the Gorge and that was the last time I was on him. He had another 3 weeks of rest and high living and his ribs had long since disappeared again.

Lisa and Darlene and I hauled down on Thursday, leaving at 3am and getting into Robie around 5pm with a few stops. He made the trip well and we only had three hours of heat over 90 degrees. At Robie it had thunderstormed hard and it was cool and damp, very nice. The next day we vetted and packed, our crew chief Jane Switzer showed up as well as Lisa’s sister Lynne, Karen, her daughter Laura and Sarah, all friends of Jane’s. We made plans and visited old friends and went to bed early. From the PNW there was Ernie Schrader, Cassandra Berbube, Sue Walz, Nance Worman, Merri Melde, Laura Yost, Chandler Yost, Kara Yost, Danny Grant, Kim Hoffmarks, myself and Karen Ellis. Out of the 12, we had a 75% completion rate, considerably better than the average.

The start was 2 pens and the mule and I were in pen 2. I think pen 2 was let go early as we were led down the road and smacked into pen one who had not been let go yet, it was only 5:05 am. So….. we all stood in the road into Robie at the start, which fortunately is 2 track dirt, and waited 10 min. Amazingly it was orderly where I was and I think I actually got out before some people in pen 1. Then we went. I remember how jacked the mule was in 2007, it had taken 2 people to hold him to get on but this year he had his game face on and was pretty calm. By the 8 mile mark at the 89 crossing it was still orderly and then we were around the hill above Squaw Ski Area and on the ski slopes. The sun was up and it was a beautiful day. The climb over Squaw is like 3000 foot elevation and it seemed to go pretty fast. We jog trotted most of it and soon were thru High Camp and into the Granite Chief. The trail was in very good condition here and the bogs were minimal. The views were fantastic, the mule was very strong and the day held promise. I rode with Laura Hayes for a while and with Melissa Margetts on her paso and we had a fine time. We were into Red Star slightly ahead of our schedule and I noticed Junior was getting beat up from the crupper already from all the downhill trotting. If you don’t trot it you won’t make it on time but it is the only ride I have ever trotted such rocky downhills. You just have to grit your teeth and hope for the best. Junior is pretty good at picking footing and it seemed today he was at his best. I had him padded on all 4 and for that I was glad. We vetted fast, ate some and were off for Robinson. We made good time there as most of it is good trail and two track. Here I was lucky, I got off on an uphill to give him probiotics before we got in and then I tailed a bit up the road. I discovered he had a golf ball size rock wedged in on top of his pad in the rear but it back in rear of the shoe and digging on his heel bulb. He would have been sore soon but it must have just happened.

Into Robinson we came and it was a zoo as usual. My crew was great and we got him untacked and let him roll, vet thru and eat. Jane had found a great place and Laura and Sarah held food for Junior who was eating well. Lisa and Lynne had not been there that long, they had taken the truck to the fairgrounds while Jane had left from her home in Auburn very early. It was a good hold, the crew replentished my drinks, I changed girths as my new one was scuffing his elbow again, Darlene and I vet wrapped his crupper in the outcheck line and put Preparation H on his croup rubs. He had a good exit CRI and we were off out into the old Star Burn where there were no trees and it was getting hot.

Here I met up with Clydea who was on her own after her husband Jim had to call it a day. I also rode with Skip Kemerer and a fellow named Arnie who rode a black Arab and could run well on the ground. We were soon off the burn but this section is steady downhill and rocky and hot. We came into Dusty Corners and were glad for the water and the drinks and fruit. It was not a vet check and Arnie and I were out of there fast. The next section is out past Pucker Point and in some real nice timber in the shade on single track and is one of my favorite sections. It is fast and cooler and good footing. We trotted around Pucker Point and back into the hot sun and on into Last Chance. This is aptly named as it will be quite a while before you get to another check. Junior pulsed and vetted good and we took an extra few min to let him eat as they had mash as well as hay. They have great volunteers on this ride and they made sure we had food and all our drink bottles filled, I had six of them. 

We left at the trot and caught Clydea where it starts into the American. I got off here and led down to the swinging bridge and was glad for the company. The bridge was swinging and bucking and I wish I had ridden across, I hear happy feet behind me and I thought the mule might make a run for it but he did not. There is a great water stop 200 feet across the bridge and we all cooled off and filled our bottles. I tailed out of there and things were going fine, it was hot but not as hot as 2007 and I was able to stay off him all the way up. However our peaceful march was broken by a big crash and screams shortly after and as I came around a switchback a horse had gone off the next one and was crashing into the ravine at the bottom. I was sure somebody had been hurt badly and I made up my mind that if they were my day was probably over. You just can’t leave somebody in a place like that hurt. As it turned out it was Skip Kemerer’s horse that was over the side and Skip was clamoring down to the horse when I came around the tree. He had been leading her and she slipped and went down and Clydea, who saw the beginning of the accident, said the horse became tangled in the rein loop and then panicked and went over. The horse was dead, Skip was okay and his daughter Ashley was very upset, it had been her screaming. Clydea and I headed for the top to get help and two other ladies stayed to get Ashley back on her horse and on up the trail. Skip was insisting she go and it was probably the best thing. It was it was not all that bad of a place where the accident occurred, it was not a cliff, just steep slide rock. But once the horse was over and sliding down they are big and heavy and he hit the bottom hard. We were met by officials coming down out of Devils Thumb as Clydea outdistanced us on the hill and got word of the wreck. 

We did not spend any time at Devils Thumb as the gate and go Deadwood was only a mile up the trail. Here we got through quickly and it was a pretty sober crowd. We had only come 5 miles since Last Chance but it was a 2200 foot hole to go in and out of and we had one just like it coming up in Eldorado Creek. It is actually 6 miles and not quite as steep. When we got in the descent I got off and ran and led most of the way down. At the bridge there were a couple of great fellows who were bucketing water up out of the creek, no easy feat. The commented that most horses would not drink there but the mule drank a bucket. He had also drank out of a couple of nice cisterns on the way down that had been made out of trickles. I left out of the bottom and soon got off to tail. I was passed by two guys who were real runners running uphill with their horses following. We had a nice pace going out but we were overtaken by anxious riders who thought they were behind time and had to pass. This was a problem but we got it done in shifts eventually. They thought there was a cutoff at Michigan Bluff at 6:15 pm but it was just a suggested time. The cutoff was at the next gate and go Chicken Hawk and that was at 7:30 pm. We had a pace that was about an hour ahead of that. 

We got up into Michigan and had a drink, talked to Julie Suhr and trotted off to Chicken Hawk a couple miles up ahead. I got off and tailed up into the VC and Junior was 48 and sound. It was interesting that half the riders that had passed us on the climb were being told to re-present when they got their horses down. I left in front of most of them and was soon off leading down Volcano Canyon. It was only 800 feet deep or so and has a nice creek in the bottom where Junior and I enjoyed a cool drink and bath. It was getting on towards evening but it was still pretty hot. I tailed him out and soon we were on the road into Foresthill and I was met by Lisa with some alfalfa which we ate on the fly. There was a big and boisterous crowd on the road and it was strange to get a reception like this at an endurance ride. It was kind of embarrassing. Our in time was 7:44 after we walked him up the half mile into the VC. He was still up but came down quickly after we got him unloaded and watered down. Darlene trotted him out nicely and he passed and Jane and the crew had a nice spot picked out for us. Laura and Sarah held different foods for Junior and he ate steadily but he also had the stares. I think I had them too. At this point of the ride, 68 miles, I would equate it to some other 100’s I have done in effort to go the entire 100 miles. However the worst climbs and descents were behind us, our time was not bad, and we prepared for the night ahead. The crew put on his glowsticks, I got my night helmet and we were out of there at 8:44. Darlene has taught me to leave vet checks at the trot or canter and we left at a good trot. 

The trail goes right down the street through Foresthill and there were lots of fans and well wishers. I think there were two bars that had spilled out on the street and the patrons appeared to have been there a long time. I heard cheers for the mule and went into the dark canyon trail with a smile, just the mule and I. I expected a 4 hour trip on the 17 miles to Francisco’s but I was hoping for a little faster. It wasn’t. The Yost girls passed me two thirds of the way but they had stronger horses and we could not stay with them. It was very dark in the timber and brush but moonlight on the open areas. You could see the river sparkling in the moonlight right under your left stirrup a thousand feet below if you cared to look as well. I got some vertigo because I have trouble telling up hill from down at night. Junior was not wanting to trot uphill anymore but we were trotting all the flats and downhills. The moonlight would shine on the cutbank above the trail and it kept appearing to me that the trail went uphill. I expected him to break his trot and walk but he would turn left downhill and speed up. It felt exactly to me like he had decided to commit hari-kari and dive over the cliff. In actuality he was only following the trail which did not climb as I thought it would in my mind, but turned left and descended into the dark. This was repeated over and over on that trek. It was complicated by the fact that he was tiring and wanted to break gait a lot. I finally would turn on my headlamp and ride with it on for a while. This did not seem to bother him but it tended to give me more vertigo. In the end I just turned it off and we went. 

We were caught by some ladies with a few miles to go into Francisco’s and followed them on in. Lots more people were catching up to us. We climbed up to Franciso’s, hoping for provisions and rest were met by lots of great volunteers. Junior pulsed high so we elected to untack him. Then he wandered off and peed and his heart came down and vetted through fine. Here is where Ernie was pulled, I saw him trot out Spot and that was that Spot was lame. I was sorry to see that as he is such a fantastic horse and has had such a great season. Junior ate mash and alfalfa while I tacked him up, we got full bottles and I left with Bruce Weary on a TW horse. Three miles to the river and somehow I let the people ahead of me get out of sight so we got to cross the river by ourselves. It was lit up like a 747 runway in a big curve to the other side with glow sticks in milk jugs and the mule thought it was a trap to kill him. He went but he did not go easy, the water was on my boots and seemed to be flowing pretty well. He got a bath on the final few yards with the sponge and we were back on the trail. Next was a stop with a tank full of water and alfalfa where we probably wasted too much time.

On into Lower Quarry which was lit up like a prison and somebody yelled if you are not out of here in 10 min you are pulled. This created panic as there were a LOT of people in there. It was also not correct as the cutoff time for there was more like 30 min. I was praying he was down and I would not have to pull tack and since we had walked in he was. The vet made me trot twice, the second time one vet ran behind him to look, this I had never seen. The vets had a conversation, one said LF, one said RR then they looked at each other and said he was the soundest one they had seen in a while and told me to go. It took two people to drag him off alfalfa but we did sadly and I got on him and Cassandra and I trotted on. 

You are at the Hwy 49 Crossing fast and then up over the hump and down to No Hands bridge. We passed people on the bridge but from there to the finish, about 4 miles, it is all uphill. Junior was done trotting uphill but I calculated we still had a margin to make the cutoff mostly at the walk. I told him if he got us up there on time I would never bring him back to this ride. However soon all the people we passed in the VC were upon us and some were insistent that we let them pass. There were no places to pass for a while and the angst was rising from behind. I think there were 8 or 10 back there who wanted by. Then Junior had to drink at a little cistern and that did not help settle those who wanted by. Several folks behind me were saying we were fine for time but one or two were not buying it. Anyway I found a spot, on the outside which was a mistake and let them by. It was not a good spot and I was not comfortable in any way with it but they all got by. The last one or two were a surprise to me and we hooked legs and for a short moment I thought Junior and I were going to join those in the over the side club. However we did not and we continued on at the walk up the hill. 

My gps wore out the second set of batteries and my watch light quit about the same time. I was beginning to thing they were right, we were going to be late when we hit Robie Point. A nice fellow there tending water said we had 25 min of trail and 45 min of time and I was very glad to hear that news. He also mentioned that some of it was trottable. We soon caught up to Cassandra and I told her to go on and hurry, I would be along. Not long after I heard cheering and I knew we were going to make it. You cannot see the end until you are right there as you are climbing. Then we were at the finish, Lisa was there and my crew was there. It was 4:59 and we had made it with 16 min to spare. It took him ten min to pulse down to 68 and he trotted out sound and we were done. However we had to tack up and make a victory lap which was being touted as mandatory. All I can say about that is it was not an awe inspiring performance. 

It was getting light and we had covered 100 miles, 19000 feet of climb and 22000 feet of descent in just under 24 hours. 170 or so started, 87 finished and we were 79th. The winners had 6 hours on us but only 25 finishers came in before 3am. About half came in between 4am and the 515 cutoff. Like I said, we were lucky and did not have any delays and Junior was well rested and had a good day. Still at the end he was rode as hard as I ever intend to ride him just to make the time cutoff. I knew he would have to give it all and have good luck to get it done. Whether he gave it all or not is a moot point as I suspect a mule will always hold something back, that is the reason he would not trot uphill anymore. It was the first time in 3000 race miles, which he passed going up over Squaw earlier in the ride, where he had absolutely refused to trot uphill and I was mindful of that. There have been plenty of times where he thought trotting uphill was a poor idea and I have walked most of those grades, especially late on a hard ride but this is the first time where he refused. I am ashamed to say I asked him more than once and in more than one way but he has forgiven me for it and I am NOT taking him back to Tevis again. I might take another horse or mule some day but not him. He has paid his dues.

The whole experience of Tevis has been amazing. It is intense from the box to the wire and I will never forget it. The trail is the most challenging I have ever been on when you look at the whole length of it, the tremendous verticals and the amount of rock. You have to ride as fast as you can to get it done but you have to ride smart to conserve energy as well. You have to bring a tough animal that can trot downhill on rocks and stay sound and you have to be a little lucky along the way as the completion rate remains at 50% every year. You have to have a good support crew and I certainly did as well as all the help and advice I got from Darlene and encouragement from my endurance friends and family. I was thinking of all the junkies out there watching their computers in the middle of the night wondering who was still going. I was laughing with Nance that we were going when Day one of Pink Flamingo started in Idaho and we were still going when Day two of Pink Flamingo started. We decided they were all wimps for taking a night off to sleep! I thank them all, all the officials who put the ride on and hundreds of volunteers. I never saw one in a bad mood all day and that was pretty cool. I got to ride with some great people and made some new friends. Now Junior is back in his pasture with Dunne, resting up and living the high life again. He does not appear worse for the wear but he is going to get some well-earned time off.

Max