AdventureCORPS Presents
The 2005 Kiehl's Badwater Ultramarathon Webcast

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Into the Night

Tracy Fawns

Do I ever miss Oregon! Sitting at Panamint Springs last night for a quick dinner before moving on to catch some sleep and talk to a few more racers, I could not believe that it could still be 105 degrees at 9:30 at night!

Panamint Springs, settled at the bottom of Townes Pass, is a very unique little town. With generator electricity, no landline phones, and no conveniences of a regular town, the people here really must want to live here in this heat to put up with these inconveniences. Hats off to the folks in Panamint Springs, who served up a spectacular dinner with only two employees; they served all of the staff and more than a few crewmembers and did so with a great attitude and a lot of fun. Normally closing at 10:00 pm, then agreed to stay open until midnight so others on the course would have a chance to grab something to eat. A big 'thank you' to these folks!!!

After Panamint Springs, the course begins climbing again with a 3,000 feet elevation gain in the next 18 miles. The good news is that the heat drastically declines and had dropped down to the high 70s by around 11:00 pm last night. I can only hope that those temperatures will grace the tired and sun-beaten runners and their dedicated crews by the time they reach that spot in the course.

Further up the course, lays the town of Lone Pine, the race headquarters until the end of the race. Settled right at the foothills of Mt. Whitney, the town has all of the amenities of a larger town, which will be a great treat for the tired crews and racers as they approach town. There is ice, gas, grocery stores, a nice selection of hotels, and beautiful views. This is definitely a nice place to end a race of this magnitude!