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A few weeks ago The Sheet highlighted ultrarunners Jenn Shelton and Ryan Ghelfi as they geared up for an attempt to run the John Muir Trail in record time (click here for previous article).

Shelton and Ghelfi have said it’s likely they’ll make another attempt next summer.

(Photo: Geisel)

Shelton, already a star in the world of ultrarunning, which typically involves 50-mile routes on varying terrain, and Ghelfi are sort of birds of a feather when it comes to a shared pragmatic viewpoint on running and competition. Both have run marathons, but are also interested in pushing boundaries and exploring other avenues within the genre.

The two have been training and gearing up for the 219-mile trek, and last weekend ran the Chart House/Footloose 5K/10K, even though the two acknowledged that road racing isn’t their focus at the moment. “I like switching it up,” Ghelfi said. “Jenn said she wanted to do the Muir and I didn’t even think about it. I was in.”

Shelton added that the JMT has been a preoccupation for her especially. “I tried to do it last year, and didn’t make it,” she explained. “My partner [runner Connie Gardner] was fabulous, but she was puking by hour four … NOT the way you want to start!”

She and Ghelfi, both Ashland, Ore., residents at the moment, haven’t even known each other that long, only having just met at a Sacramento road marathon last year. Originally from Redding, Calif., Ghelfi was a high school runner, whose parents also ran, but didn’t get addicted until college. “I was a college runner, and we had strict rules, and were sort of contained in our own college bubbles,” recalled Ghelfi, 23. “You build aspirations in college; in high school, most of the time you don’t really get it yet.” A Mt. Shasta trail guide, these days Ghelfi said he’s better at road racing, but really likes trails.

Shelton, 28, hails from Virginia, and prior to setting records in several of the most demanding American ultramarathons, attended the University of North Carolina, where she also played on the rugby team. In 2006, she gained more notariety traveling with Scott Jurek, Christopher McDougall and several other ultrarunners in McDougall’s well-known book on the sport, “Born to Run.”

She says that she finds marathons more challenging to run than ultramarathons, but still runs them, qualifying this year for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. “I was psyched to do it, even though I didn’t have a chance in hell,” she quipped. She holds the record for the fastest female 100-mile trail race. “I’m not a snob … I like all kinds of running.”

Ultramarathon is still in its infancy, according to Shelton. “There’s no real, hard training ethic yet,” she said. “As soon as you prove something, someone does something else that works.”

As for their run on the JMT, Ghelfi thinks that type of run is even more undefined. “No one knows how to train for 220 miles,” he stated. “I don’t think anyone cares,” Shelton added with a laugh.

Still, both say they’d rather run the JMT than any other event they can think of. “Running on a hot road in the middle of summer isn’t logical,” Shelton said. “Running the ridgeline in the prettiest part of the Eastern Sierra, that’s rad.”

Will they set any records? “Maybe … it would be nice to hold a record, even if it gets broken later, which it probably will,” acknowledged Ghelfi, who at one time held the record for the run up Yosemite’s Half Dome. “If we can advance some knowledge and influence training, that would be aweseome.”

The pair plan to run the 219 miles ideally in 72 hours (3 days) or less. The record so far: 3 days, 7 hours. Shelton has her sights on the women’s record, which is 3 days, 23 hours and was previously the overall record. “It started out at about 7 days, so it’s come a long way,” she noted.

“With trails, you don’t have race fees and you set your own calendar,” Ghefli explained, adding that getting a permit for Mt. Whitney (the run’s starting point) is a requirement. “We’re not doing it on a full moon, but at least we’re not doing during my [colorful expletive] period,” Shelton joked.

They’ll have support teams at about five different points along the way, and Ghelfi said water bottles will likely have to be refilled at least 100 times.

The two estimate they’ll make that goal if they average 3 miles per hour consistently, with only minimal time to rest, and about 1 hour of sleep each day. “In ultra it’s called RFP: relentless forward progress,” Shelton related. They will also rely on their team chemistry for emotional support during the highs and lows they expect during the run. “Alone, there’s a lot of temptation to quit, so having a partner is a plus,” Shelton indicated. “If you’re bitter or frustrated, leave it on the trail.”

What are their strengths?

“I’m great at climbing,” Ghelfi opined.

“I’ll be holding up the bus on that part, but I can’t run slow; I’ll have to work on pacing myself,” Shelton confessed. What’s their biggest challenge? “Not getting hurt,” according to Ghelfi and Shelton. “That’s a deal breaker.”

Shelton and Ghelfi plan to start on Aug. 14. Follow their progress via tweets from Shelton on Twitter @SheltonJenn.

Now through October, hikers and backpackers entering the Ansel Adams Wilderness on the Rush Creek Trail will encounter construction activities at Agnew Dam. The lake will be partially drained throughout this time to allow Southern California Edison access to the dam to perform repairs that will extend the life of the dam. The work will include the installation of a liner on the upstream face of the dam.

Hikers and backpackers on the Rush Creek Trail will also encounter low reservoir levels in Gem and Waugh Lakes. Gem and Waugh Lakes will be partially drained to allow Southern California Edison to perform engineering studies on the dams.

Precautions are taken during these activities to protect Inyo National Forest and Ansel Adams Wilderness resources. The Rush Creek Trail will remain open and will not be affected by this work. To assure your safety when in the area, please stay clear of all construction activities. Agnew, Gem, and Waugh Lakes are operated by Southern California Edison under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service, Inyo National Forest (INF), and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. -Press Release 

Mono County Assistant Planner Heather deBethizy and Community Development Director Scott Burns presented an ambitious vision for a 350-mile Eastern Sierra Regional Trail (ESRT) at Tuesday’s Mono County Tourism and Film Commission meeting in Lee Vining. DeBethizy and Burns offered this trail system concept as a potential project for the Commission to champion, and were met with a mostly positive reception.

According to the ESRT Draft, “the goals for this elaborate trail system are to link communities together and to showcase the county’s unique cultural, geographic, and geologic features.” The non-motorized trail system would begin at Topaz Lake to the north and end in Round Valley to the south. It would combine 179 miles of “Historic” and 170 miles of “Community” trails to create the approximately 350-mile system. The Historic Trail would “feature points of interest pertaining to eras of settlement and mining,” while the Community Trail would create “a more direct connection between Eastern Sierra communities.”

The two trails would meet at Bridgeport, Mammoth, and Crowley Lake Dam, providing smaller recreational loops within the larger system. DeBethizy and Burns anticipated a range of users from hikers, equestrians and bikers, to cross-country skiers and snowshoers. A signage system would help users determine which trail sections might best meet their needs.

The trail concept originates from a 2002 draft document, prepared by then-University of Wisconsin grad student Dan Patterson, who was interning for the County at the time. The document was previously reviewed by the Board of Supervisors, and recently dusted off by the County’s Planning Department.

However, the proposed project faces several key challenges. The first: currently the conceptual trail crosses through land shared by many public entities, including the California Department of Fish and Game, Inyo National Forest, Toiyable National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management, and Water Districts, as well as privately owned parcels. “One of the biggest challenges will be trying to coordinate with all of the different land owners,” deBethizy said.

Another challenge she identified is “making sure we’re creating the ESRT in an environmentally sensitive way.” The proposed system would use established trails as much as possible to minimize impact, and the County would file all the necessary environmental documents, potentially including both CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act).

Given its scope, the project’s final challenge will be funding. “This is not an inexpensive project at all,” said Commission Danna Stroud. Commissioner Dan Lyster likened the project to the Hoover Dam and Digital 395 in scale. “But this isn’t as quote ‘urgent’ as Digital 395,” he added, “so it might not get the same impetus behind it.”

DeBethizy explained that the proposed project is in such an early conceptual stage that it isn’t actively seeking funding yet. She did speculate that the project could gain funding through the Corridor Management Plan (CMP), which is part of a larger effort to acquire a National Scenic Byway Designation for U.S. 395.

According to County Economic Development Manager Alicia Vennos, the CMP “is a written document that specifies the actions, operational practices, and strategies to maintain the archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and intrinsic qualities of our byway.” Should the ESRT be listed as a CMP action item, it would qualify for what Vennos characterized as “an incredible amount of funding” from the National Scenic Byway Designation.

Until the National Scenic Byway Designation is granted, deBethizy said the ESRT could also be integrated into the Mono County Regional Trail Plan (RTP) as a conceptual idea, or added to the Mono County Economic Development Strategic Plan (MCEDSP), a new document that will provide a five-year economic development strategy with a focus on identifying opportunities for economic growth and sustainability and prioritizing projects for implementation in Mono County.

When it comes to winter mobility, Town lacks the will, and money, to make improvements

Winter has arrived, officially heralded in by the opening of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area last week. With upcoming snow predictions bound to ice the deal as it were. thoughts turn, as they often do this time of year, to the safety of Mammoth’s streets and the ease of getting around town during snow-filled winter months.

On Wednesday, Mammoth’s Mobility Commission held a traffic management workshop. While lightly attended (only two members of the public showed), those who did represented areas in town known to have traffic issues, especially when the snow piles up.

Gary Small, a resident of Sierra Valley Sites (one of Mammoth’s most densely populated areas with narrow streets), came forward asking for ways to make the streets in his neighborhood a little safer. According to Small there are serious traffic/pedestrian issues throughout SVS that need to be addressed. Many residents in that neighborhood walk to public transit from their homes.

The issue is not new. The problem areas in Mammoth, including SVS, Forest Trail and Main Street, have been problem areas for years.

Small, however, was shot down by the Commission, which claimed the Town had done all it could for the Sites short of investing big dollars. Recently the Town has striped center lanes on the streets and installed caution signs, it has also upped enforcement in the area. The speed limit remains at 25 miles per hour (which Small contests should be studied further) and pedestrians in the area are forced to walk in the roadway as the snow piles up and gives them no other option.

“The real problem is in winter when you lose road width because of snow storage and high berms block views,” explained Town’s Public Works Director Ray Jarvis. However, he added, the Town’s hands are a bit tied when it comes to taking any additional safety measures on these roads.

“Other than doing an edge line [the white line on the sides of roads], everything else is a big deal,” explained Jarvis. “The area needs to be looked at through a traffic engineering lens.”

Which means a costly study to determine what physical changes could be done to the roadway. Some have suggested turning some roads in Sierra Valley Sites into one-ways, or blocking some of them off from Main Street to avoid cut-through traffic, but the effects of these changes on the remaining roads in Sierra Valley Sites would have to be studied.

“You could just be moving problems over one street,” Jarvis said, who admitted the following day that while he would love to do the study, it is not a high priority.

With the Town in dire financial traits, (think airport litigation settlement) there’s not a lot of money or staff time to spare for costly traffic engineering studies so grant money would need to be found. Small, however, felt the Town should just try some things such as blocking Manzanita from Main Street without doing a study first. He pointed to this past summer’s Main Street Marketplace where portion of South Frontage Road had been blocked off without requiring a study. The Commission felt, however, that since there was still access in and around the marketplace it was a different situation.

Jarvis told The Sheet that while a traffic study is not necessarily required, reshaping or redirecting roads “will affect the neighborhood and that needs to be looked at.”

Commissioner Eric Wasserman also questioned how important traffic issues were to others in Sierra Valley Sites besides Small.

A survey asking residents to comment on these issues did not receive much response. Plus, in the recently written Neighborhood District Plan for the area, residents asked that not much be changed when it came to their streets.

“The lack of survey results speaks volumes,” Wasserman commented.

Small explained later to The Sheet that he himself had conducted the survey, but didn’t have much time to commit to it, which was why the feedback rate was low. Small agreed that the consensus in the Neighborhood District Plan was that residents in Sierra Valley Sites did not want the roads widened or sidewalks built.

“Those things would encroach on people’s properties, so in the Plan it was written that these are shared streets and we have to work off of that,” Small said. “Talk to anyone who lives here and they’ll say it’s a nightmare.”

Still, the Commission was not moved to take any action.

“We can do the edge line next summer and look for traffic study grant money,” said Commission Chair Sandy Hogan.

“So basically we’ll wait to do something when something bad happens,” Small asked a Commission that gave no further answer.

“It’s nice to think that you can fix everything,” Jarvis concluded with The Sheet. “The things we’ve done have helped but there is no perfect arrangement.”

Forest Trail

Juliana Wright, a resident on Forest Trail, which is considered another mobility problem area in town, brought forward a petition from her neighborhood requesting that another traffic calming study be conducted. Forest Trail is often used as a cut-through for those drivers looking to avoid Main Street. However, fast speeds combine with icy winter conditions make for trouble. The Town did do a traffic calming study in recent years and the speed limit was reduced, but according to Wright, “a little more needs to be done.”

“The new snow sign at the bottom of the hill is great,” Wright said. “It might be nice to have one at the top of the hill as well.”

Mammoth has recently received grant money from the Safe Routes to School program and will be installing sidewalks on Meridian Boulevard (from Old Mammoth Road to Joaquin), Tavern Road and Sierra Nevada Road in the next two to three years.

“In the big picture, cost is the biggest issue that prohibits solving some of the problems we have,” Jarvis said. “Others are completed infrastructure and maintenance. With these grant projects were are working on adding infrastructure.”

Trail closures still being debated

It might have looked something like a summit or meeting of the minds, but user groups and the Forest Service were clearly still at odds during an Oct. 20 Mammoth Lakes Trails meeting at the Mammoth Library. Inyo National Forest Trails Coordinator Marty Hornick attempted to present an update about motorized issues, including the recent implementation of the Inyo National Forest’s Travel Management Decision (TMD), but that got derailed early on when public comment grabbed the spotlight, and refused to cede it.

The decision, which was signed in 2009 by then Inyo National Forest Supervisor Jim Upchurch, has drawn criticism from several forest road users who object to the massive amount of road closures recently put into effect.

One new revelation from Hornick addressed safety concerns regarding barricades that some user groups considered winter hazards to snowmobilers. Roads are open to non-motorized use, i.e. mountain bikes, Hornick said, and new safety measures are being implemented to lower blockade materials to no higher than 18 inches. “We’re trying to work on techniques as we go and we’re taking suggestions,” he said. ”Where we have situations such as that, where we have mountain bike use, let’s work on those. It’s critical that we get adequate disguising on some of these trails, so they will start recovering and it becomes clear that it’s not a legitimate road.”

Vertical mulching and brush installation is thought to be an alternative that would eliminate the need for any barricades on many closed trails. Hornick said roughly 2,500-2,600 sections are still to be closed, but that the INF is open to ways to improve things. “It seems like there’s never enough time to do an absolutely thorough job,” Hornick said.

Joe Parrino and James Connolly balked at what they perceive as a divide between motorized and non-motorized, and emphasized their perception that Friends of the Inyo, which was contracted by the Forest Service to help with on-the-ground implementation, used its voice to get the business of closing trails, while saying they are pro-motorized. “That’s the same as motorized users lobbying to close hiking trails,” James Connolly analogized. “I can walk through Vons, but that doesn’t make me a hiker. They can say they’re pro-motorized, but the proof is in the pudding.” Hornick countered that FOI got the contract because they had the organization to execute it.

Support from new INF Supervisor Ed Armenta was one of the few things that sat well with Parrino. “At least he’s motorized,” Parrino observed, as opposed to Upchurch, who Parrino charged wasn’t. “[Armenta’s] very interested in working with folks,” Hornick said. “He’s been riding around on rhinos and is open to ideas.”

Hornick was candid that it’s one thing to see the TMD on paper, and another to see a familiar route closed in front of you. “There are perhaps cases where we made some mistakes; it’s not necessarily perfect document,” he admitted. Hornick also defended FOI’s work, saying the group “has frankly done more to help highlight routes than all the other user groups combined. We’ve caught wrong signs and route closures, but we find out about these errors quickly and can get on it, even before the public knew it happened. People don’t know how much GPS data is going into this.”

He said that the so-called “spaghetti bowl” map layout is confusing to users, and that “there is some cleanup to do there.” Meanwhile, he called volunteer groups tearing out what the Forest Service has put in place “not productive.” That action requires money to put back what is still considered illegal, he added, and puts the USFS in a law-enforcement mode, strains relationships, and takes away from education and cooperation.

During the next year, Hornick said the next phase would address what happens to the closed routes. Some, he described, could become part of the Mammoth trails system, horse trails, bike trails. Others could be restored, abandoned, rerouted for water, or even added back in for motorized use.

There are some weeks where so much crap bubbles to the surface that you wish you’d never succumbed to the allure of indoor plumbing.

Outhouses don’t need plungers.

Destination resorts not only require plungers, but a plumber on standby 24/7.

In the future, I believe all tax measures should start with Y. Measure Y, or Measure YYY, or Measure YAMISOGULLIBLE.

Just consider Measures R and U. That’s what Town Attorney Andrew Morris has done recently at the behest of Mammoth’s Town Council.

If you thought the money we decided to raise by taxing ourselves was sacrosanct, think again. Your intent is no match for an attorney’s creativity. Your intent cannot stop a Council which needs the money to pay off past mistakes.

As the background to a Sept. 16 memo states, “In light of the Town’s current budget difficulties, the Town Council is evaluating different funding and budget options. As part of this, some have questioned whether the Town can reduce general fund funding for projects currently receiving Measure R or Measure U funding. They question whether reducing funding or service levels would violate the requirement that Measure R and Measure U funding not ‘supplant’ existing funding.”

Now we all recall the circumstances surrounding the Measure R campaign in 2008. At the time, a key part of the debate was general tax versus special tax. Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access (MLTPA) CEO John Wentworth specifically urged that a special tax requiring a 2/3 majority be approved precisely so ravenous politicians couldn’t get their paws on it.

But as Morris states in his opinion’s analysis, “Voters cannot impair the Town Council’s authority over fiscal management.”

He adds, “Courts have held that initiatives that impose minimum spending floors impair fiscal management.”

So if we thought R would solely be used on projects over-and-above whatever we were spending on recreation at the time, forget it. Because circumstances dictate that baseline will almost certainly be reduced.

We ultimately taxed ourselves with Measures R and U to pay off the airport litigation judgment, no matter how directly or indirectly you’d like to define it.

Of course, Council was more than happy to see us innocently raise those funds in a naive belief that we were investing in ourselves. We lost the Hot Creek case before either R or U were passed. It’s interesting that no one stopped to think about the ramifications of how any and all town revenues might be in play if the airport judgment happened to stick.

The next interesting question is how the inevitable draining of Measure R will affect recreation. What Wentworth said at Wednesday’s Recreation Commission meeting is that they shouldn’t be sucked into believing that it’s either/or in regard to municipal recreation and trails. “It’s a false choice,” he said. “We’re going to figure out a way through.”

As for Measure R, he said the silver lining is this. If we had passed a general tax in 2008, recreation could’ve been conceivably completely gutted because R would’ve been routed directly to the general fund. Better to backfill recreation spending with Measure R than be faced with no money at all.

He also believes that the Town and Forest Service are on the brink of an historic partnership agreement. “I think we’re doing great stuff.”

Some doubting Thomases came out of the woodwork this week, however, notably Sandy Hogan.

The retired Assistant Forest Supervisor said of MLTPA, “It’s time to stop funding an organization that isn’t producing a lot on the ground.”

She described Wentworth as riveting and charismatic, but characterized MLTPA’s efforts as more pre-planning than planning, and thinks the Town should have gotten more for its $1.2 million funding of MLTPA over the past three years.

MLTPA’s website does list a staff totaling 15 people.

John Wentworth, however, is MLTPA’s only full-time employee.

“There are plenty of shovel-ready projects out there right now,” said Gail Lonne of the Mammoth Lakes Tennis Club. “These guys are eating up a good percentage of the [Measure R] money”

Wentworth’s short response would be that once the Trails System Master Plan is adopted in a few weeks, this will truly augur in the shovel era for the Mammoth Lakes Trail System.

Mammoth Mountain crews began cutting the ski back trail to the North Village this week. The trail will be open this winter, assuming snow; however, the trail will not have snowmaking this year.