Running the White Rim-Day 1...Mineral Bottom to Potato Bottom...

Ah the joys of being fresh and rested at the start of an adventure! 
Our White Rim run was made possible, and more fun, by the loving help and support of Mom and Dad and our dear friends, Marc and Judi.
We left Moab, not so bright and early, on Wednesday morning, all piled into Judi's Jeep and Dad's trusty old truck, and headed out to Mineral Bottom to start our trip.

In the back seat of Judi's Jeep!

Hal and I have both mountain biked the White Rim multiple times, going the opposite direction, but this was our first time running it, and doing it counter-clockwise.
Our goal for the first day was Potato Bottom, where our first campsite was. It was 14 miles away, with about 1,800 ft. of elevation gain. Dad made our run start 'official' by waving an orange trash bag that we found in the parking lot!

Official start!

Our run began by descending the Mineral Bottom switchbacks, which was a nice easy way to begin. The route was mostly flat and rolling, with a big climb up Hardscrabble Hill about 2 miles from
camp.

Stopping to admire all the desert wildflowers!

We took a lunch break at Fort Bottom and added in a 4 mile side hike with Mom and Dad and Marc just to make sure we were getting enough miles in-ha!

A much needed lunch break!



Oh, did I mention the wind?! Dear god, it was as if someone had set the world's most powerful fan on high, and then pointed it directly at us, all day...

 

Everyone hiding from the wind!



We arrived at camp roughly 5 hours and 17.8 miles after we started (including the side hike), in good spirits and feeling strong! Too bad we ran the downhills so fast, as we knew we'd be paying for our indiscretions the next day...

 

Hal looking strong...

 

We had such a fun first day, minus the gale-force winds, and it was great to get to camp and be greeted by everyone and enjoy the evening together. The wind died down at about 8pm and we were able to sit out under the desert sky and relish in the completion of our first leg of the White Rim!

 

Food supplies!



 

 P.S. All of the good pictures are courtesy of Marc Thomas, any others that are blurry and not in focus can be attributed to me and my aspiring photography skills :)