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- - - - DAY 15 - MONDAY, May 12, 2008 - - - -

  Today's Distance: 42 Miles
  Today's Route: White Sulphur Springs to Townsend, MT
  Today's Weather: Snow, Sleet, Rain (what else you got?)
  Current Elevation: 3,842 Feet (1,201' Less Than Yesterday)
  Total Distance Traveled: 415 Miles
  Total Distance Remaining: 205 Miles

Paul's Thoughts For Today:

There are certain days that you just know you'll always remember. For me, today was one such day! I knew that knocking off today's 42 miles up and over the Big Belt Mountain Range from White Sulphur Springs to Townsend would be difficult... but I didn't know just how difficult it would be!

The day started pretty good with no wind and some light clouds. However, that would quickly change. By the time I had started the ascent up the Belt Mountains the clouds had gotten very thick and dark, and the wind had picked up significantly. I was about 1/2 mile from the top of the mountain range when the temperature started to drop dramatically and snow began to fly. I knew I was heading right into a snowstorm. Once on top of the Belt Mountains there is a plateau that extends for several miles at about 6,000 feet in elevation. It's pretty wide open country and the winds were blowing from the Northwest really hard. I got all of my winter gear on and visibility decreased quickly when the snow really started to blow in.

I kept pushing forward, much to the apparent surprise of some motorists who were in the area. I had several offers for rides, and a few folks looked at me as though I were insane to be pushing a jogging stroller in such conditions. I pressed on and would soon learn that the snowstorm was just the first difficult encounter I would have in my day. In all, I went through one snowstorm, two sleet storms, and four rain storms on my 42-mile trek. It was a long, cold day and as I write this I am sitting on a bed in my hotel room trying to muster the energy to get up and fill a bucket with ice and water for my feet. My thanks to the owners of the Mustang Motel for donating my room this evening. I truly appreciate their support of P.A.C.E. and what I'm trying to accomplish.

Along the way today I met a young man named Henry Wong, who is bicycling from Seattle to Boston. He was somewhat amazed at what I was doing and after a short conversation we parted ways - Henry heading east and me heading west. Also today, the two gentlemen from Canada who bought me dinner last night came riding up on their motorcycles - having brought me some hot tea and protein bars. It was a very nice gesture and the tea helped to warm me up!

Tomorrow is a 32-mile day to Helena - Montana's capital city! I will have a high speed connection tomorrow night as well (I have one tonight too!) and I'll post some new pictures and videos from tomorrow's trek. Today was my 13th day on the pavement and I've logged 415 miles. I am now two-thirds of the way across Montana with only 205 miles remaining. Generally, I'm averaging 223 miles per week when you look at the number of running days. I'm pretty pleased with that, especially considering the harsh conditions I've had. And yes... the wind was another foe today. In fact, I had a freezing rain blowing from the North for the last 10 miles of my day - which left me very cold. Upon arriving in Townsend the temperature was 40 degrees, but with the wind chill and cold rain it actually felt much colder than that. I could easily see my breath! I'm not sure what the temperature was during the snowstorm today on the Big Belt Mountain Range - but it was definitely below freezing!

I wanted to let you know that all pictures and videos for the various days have been posted to this site, so everything is current! If you've missed any days, you may want to click through the pages to see what's been happening. I've heard from several team leaders with mileage updates and will try to post a team mileage report tomorrow from Helena. There's not much left of P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 and I truly hope that those teams participating are enjoying the information provided through this web site. Hang in there for a little longer! We're getting closer to the Idaho border each day!

Here's what is left:

Tuesday, May 12: 32 Miles
Wednesday, May 14: 24 Miles
Thursday, May 15: 34 Miles
Friday, May 16: 37 Miles
Saturday, May 17: 37 Miles
Sunday, May 18: 34 Miles
Monday, May 19: 7 Miles (Finish)

Today's Montana "Did You Know?"...
Much of Montana's early history was concerned with mining, with copper, lead, zinc, silver, coal, and oil as principal products. The town of Butte is the center of the area that once supplied half of the U.S. copper. Fields of grain cover much of Montana's plains. It ranks high among the states in wheat and barley, with rye, oats, flaxseed, sugar beets, and potatoes as other important crops. Sheep and cattle raising make significant contributions to the economy.

Today's Native Americans "Did You Know?"...
In 1493, Christopher Columbus called the native people he met in North America "Indians" because he mistakenly believed he had sailed to India. Today, this term includes the aborigines of North and South America.

Today's Fitness "Did You Know?"...
Only about one-half of U.S. youth participate in vigorous physical activity. In today’s world of video games, computers and television, adolescents are becoming more sedentary. In 1999, 14% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years in the United States were overweight. This number has nearly tripled for teens in the past two decades. Type II diabetes and high blood pressure, once considered adult-onset diseases, have increased dramatically in children and teens. Overweight and obesity are closely linked to both diseases. In addition, unhealthy adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming unhealthy adults. This increases to 80% if one or more parent is considered unhealthy.

Your Turn! Share Your Thoughts With Paul...
Click here to sign the official P.A.C.E. Trek 2008 guestbook!

Thanks for stopping by this milepost update. Run back here tomorrow!

Keeping on PACE,

Along The Way...

Today I had to go over the BIG BELT MOUNTAINS. The Big Belt Mountains are located to the east of Helena, Montana, which is the state capital. They are difficult to miss as they rise abruptly up from the valley floor with a vertical rise of more than 5,000 feet in some places. The Big Belt Mountains, lying as they do to the east of the continental divide, are more arid than the mountains found just to the west on the other side of the continental divide. Instead of having thick forests over much of their sides, the Big Belt Mountains have expansive areas of open meadows, grass and exposed rock. As they are a tall mountain range, many areas of the Big Belt Mountains are also over timberline. Only one designated wilderness area, the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness that is found at the northern tip of the Big Belt Range, exists in the Big Belt Mountains. The rest of the mountain range is strictly forest service land. Numerous forest service roads enter and cross the Big Belt Mountains. The Big Belt Mountains are a popular place for locals to come out and explore the roads that traverse through these mountains. The peaks of the Big Belt Mountains are quite rounded and even gentle, in stark contrast to some of the nearby mountain ranges such as the Bridger Range and the Crazy Mountains. The only real lake fishing in the Big Belt Mountains is found near the ranges highest mountains, Mt. Baldy (9,472 feet) and Mt. Edith (9,480 feet). Several small lakes are located to the north of Mt. Edith. A trail from the nearby Duck Creek Campground reaches these small, alpine lakes. The largest lake, Edith Lake, holds decent populations of small cutthroat trout. Use of the Big Belt Mountains is relatively light. The lack of any protected wild lands, combined with the lack of alpine lakes and other attractions, tends to keep most visitors from ever seeing the Big Belt Mountains. Most of the use of the Big Belt Mountains comes in the form of off-roading, exploring the mountains forest roads and mountain biking. Horse packing is also popular due to the open nature of the mountains.

Paul's Current Position In Montana