In this issue:

1. Bell Ridge Trail work completed

2. 2010 “The Traverse” event update

3. 100K and a 100 mile foot race on the Trabuco ranger District this weekend, December 12th and 13th

1. BELL RIDGE TRAIL WORK COMPLETED

From Back Country Trail Director Ned Reynolds:

Thanks to all 27 people who showed up Saturday for the Bell Ridge trail work.

We met @ 7am @ the end of Trabuco and our shuttle drivers took us to the top of Trabuco via the Ortega. We had a group photo & quick meeting to discuss our goals then we hiked over to the top of Bell and worked down to Trabuco via Yaeger Mesa trail. With the large turnout of Volunteers and lighter workload we were done and back @ the bottom of Trabuco @ 12:30-1pm. Our shuttle drivers were due to pick us up @ 2pm. Mark C showed up early and we crammed everyone in 3 vehicles. Some of the guys rode in the back of a truck calling themselves Dogs. We rolled down the road and they appeared to relish their new found status as they positively barked like dogs @ people on the road. They did Jake & Clyde proud (my two Labs). After getting back to the cars and letting the dogs out we went to Rose Drive cantina and had a great lunch.

Inspirational moment of the day: When Erik and Deb came in and joined us for Lunch. Erik looks 200% better w/o the IVs and tubes coming out of him.
Runner up to that moment was: Calvin (no last name needed), just before our meeting and group photo Calvin trotted up Trabuco ready to rock after running to the top. Classic Calvin.

Funniest moment: Pete Allen saying he thought we should only get x½ volunteer hours, (instead of the x1.5 hours) for the light work load. I agreed with Pete and he looked at me incredulously but we’ll stick with the 1.5x hours as planned.

If you attended lunch then you received 12 hours.

See you all in January for a hike up Holy Jim for some earthwork on the upper part of lower Holy Jim and some more rose-cantina fellowship.

2. 2010 “THE TRAVERSE” EVENT UPDATE

We have 19 spots left in the “The Traverse” event.

The Traverse will be a fundraiser for the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund. The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund honors the bravery and dedication exhibited by Americans in our Armed Forces who have sacrificed life or limb defending our country by providing educational scholarships to their children.

Event Date: Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Event Start: 7:00 AM

Starting Location: Black Star Canyon Road Finish Location: Trabuco Creek Road and Trabuco Canyon Road Post-event staging area: O’Neill Regional Park

40+/- miles, 8,000+/- feet elevation gain

Registration for “The Traverse” will open up this Sunday, November 1st at 12:01 a.m.

We expect this event to sell out so if you are committed to participating sign up quickly.

The race will have Intermediate, Expert and Pro classes with the Pro class men and women racing for finishing cash. Pro-Open payout will be based on participation with the minimum payout being $300 for first, $200 for second and $100 for third.

There must be a minimum of 5 participants in each age group or the age group will be combined with another age group. Pro Women will be combined with Pro Men if we do not get a minimum of 5 participants in their class.

PARTICIPATION IS LIMITED TO 175

PRO OPEN ($95)

EXPERT ($70)
18 to 30
31 to 45
46 to 59
60 +

INTERMEDIATE ($70)
18 to 30
31 to 45
46 to 59
60 +

The event fee includes awards for top finishers, finishing ribbon for all participants, t-shirt and food catered by El Pollo Loco.

The links to register via active.com will be activated at the time mentioned on the event web page at:

http://www.warriorssociety.org/events/traverse_general_info.html

Registration for the 2010 Toad Festival to benefit “Operation Mend” will open up on December 1st.

3. 100K AND A 100 MILE FOOT RACE ON THE TRABUCO RANGER DISTRICT THIS WEEKEND, DECEMBER 12TH AND 13TH

There will be a 100K and a 100 mile foot race on the Trabuco ranger District on December 12 (and 13). The race is limited to 150 runners and is sold out. The race Director is preregistering folks at Hell’s Kitchen on Friday so as to reduce the human traffic down around the starting line on Saturday morning. Saturday morning, at the Blue Jay Camp ground, they start cooking pancakes and serving coffee around 5:00am. The kitchen will be open for the duration of the race.

A team will be on the mountain all day Friday constructing shelters and leaving about 50 gallons of water at each aid station, installing heaters, and hooking up cook stoves. Another team will be out prior to the race start hanging glo-sticks, erecting signs, and verifying the trail markings are intact. And about forty of them will be taking turns at aid stations on Saturday and Sunday.

The race is a figure eight course that starts and finishes at Blue Jay Campground. The camp is 22 miles east of San Juan Capistrano, Ca. and 5 miles north of the Ortega Highway (RTE74). The race has over 48,000′ of elevation change (24K Up and 24K down) and is considered by many as one of the toughest trail 100 Mile Races in the Country.

The first nine mile loop to the parking lot near the Candy Store starts and ends in Lower Blue Jay. This portion of the course is single track with a few rocky stretches. The runners must be self sufficient on this loop (no aid stations). The 2nd leg of the race follows the Main Divide from Blue Jay to the summit of Santiago Peak. Note: Trabuco and Holy Jim Trails will not be included in this year’s race. Then the race continues to Maple Springs and Silverado motorway and the Main Divide back to Blue jay CG. The 100 Mile Course continues out of Blue Jay Campground and returns to the Main Divide road with a turnaround at the top Maple Springs Aid station. Pacers will be allowed for the final 38 miles.
The aid stations will be manned in shifts and there will be a nine passenger 4X4 shuttle taking people to their posts.

There are two cutoffs… The 4:00 PM Saturday is at Silverado (mile 38) which is 10 hours into the race… this gives the 100k runners another ten hours to finish their race within the 20 hour time limit. The first 100 mile finishers will come in between 10 PM and Midnight but the remainder of the field will be spread out for another 10 to 16 hours.
The 6:00 PM Sunday is the 36 hour time limit at Blue Jay for the 100 Mile race.
Because there is a simultaneous 100k and 100 mile race, and because there will be volunteers on the course from early Saturday to the evening on Sunday we will not be real strict on the 100k 20 hour limit (I suspect there will only be one or two 100k runners out on the course after 16 hours). I also anticipate about half of the 100 mile field will call it quits in Blue Jay at mile 62. That will leave us with about 25-35 runners on the Mountain on Sunday…

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Virgil W. Mink, Special Use Administrator
Trabuco Ranger District, Cleveland National Forest
1147 East 6th Street
Corona, CA 92879-1616
(951) 736 1811 ext. 3277
fax (951) 736 3002
vmink@fs.fed.us
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Shimano is the Major Component Sponsor of the Warrior’s Society

Rock N Road Bike Shops, El Pollo Loco and Switchback Cyclery are Major Sponsors of the Warrior’s Society

Epic Performance is the official hydration drink of the Warrior’s Society

Hammer Nutrition is the official Nutrition bar and gel of the Warrior’s Society

The Warrior’s Society is a Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC) affiliated organization

The Warrior’s Society is a Tax Exempt Organization under 501 (c) 4 of the IRS Code

“Far better it is to dare mighty dreams, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take the ranks with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in that gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat!”

Theodore Roosevelt

www.warriorssociety.org