The Pursuit of Endurance by Jennifer Pharr Davis

Author:Jennifer Pharr Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2018-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

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In 2001, three years after his first record attempt, Andrew returned to the trail to challenge Pete’s record. He was still self-funded through his job at Outback, he was still working toward a degree, he was still married, although this year he decided that no women—wives or girlfriends—were allowed to be a part of the crew during the record attempt. “It was a boys’ trip,” he said. “I didn’t want any distractions.” He needed to concentrate.

The fastest known time was three and a half days shorter than it had been on Andrew’s first attempt and his run would be more challenging because of it. But when he got on the trail in Georgia that May, he was sure that he would set the record.

This time he didn’t get stuck in the mud; he made it through thirteen states and arrived at the base of the Presidential Range in New Hampshire on July 2, right on schedule. Then he started climbing up the slopes of Mount Washington with his crew chief and best friend, J.B.

The wind picked up, the clouds rolled in, and the temperature dropped precipitously. When Andrew and J.B. left the tree line, the weather transitioned from uncomfortable to life threatening. By the time they reached the rock-strewn ridgeline, fragile alpine plants were coated in several inches of rime ice and a smattering of hoar frost was lining their nostrils, lips, and eyelids. The wind was so strong that when they looked up to discern the course of the trail, their eyes filled with tears and their vision was blurred. It took every ounce of energy and resolve to force one foot ahead of the other.

When they reached the sanctuary of an Appalachian Mountain Club hut one and a half miles below the summit of Mount Washington, Andrew wasn’t thinking about the record; he was thinking about how lucky they were to be alive. As he was sitting in the dining area at Lake of the Clouds Hut, trying to warm up with a lukewarm cup of coffee, a report came from the summit that wind speeds had reached eighty miles per hour and the wind chill had come in at negative twenty-one.

Andrew stood up and walked over to the coffee pot for a refill. His second AT record attempt was over. He would leave the hut and head home as soon as the weather allowed it. But you can’t loiter at Lake of the Clouds for free—not even in a winter storm. So, adding insult to injury, Andrew agreed to a work-for-stay arrangement.

He spent the first few hours after his failed record attempt up to his elbows in dish soap, with J.B. by his side, scrubbing pots and pans for the privilege of taking a nap in the dank basement.

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