Memories of the Nevada 10-In-10 challenge

The newspaper headline on page one on Aug. 15, 2002 said it all:
“They made it!”
Yes, they did! And, they did it in record-setting style.
Four athletes, who are personal friends of Elaine and I, completed 10 very physically and mentally-demanding challenges in a period of 10 grueling days, way back in 2002.
I know because we were there for each and every one of those 10 memorable days that resulted in the very first Nevada 10-in-10 Challenge going into the Nevada record book.
Those four were Karl Horeis, Jeremy Evans, Rick Gunn and K. M. Cannon.
Three of the four (Horeis, Evans and Gunn) worked for the local newspaper, which sponsored the very unique and first-time event, while Cannon was a former employee of that newspaper.
Their 10 challenges consisted of the following physical activities:

Challenges No. 1 and No. 2:
Hike and mountain bike for 165 miles on a combination of the Tahoe Rim Trail and the Flume Trail around Lake Tahoe on Aug. 5-8.
Challenge No. 3:
Sandboard off Sand Mountain just east of Fallon on Aug. 9.
Challenge No. 4:
Off-road boarding on the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach on Aug. 9.
Challenge No. 5:
Mountain bike for 24 miles on the “Bloody Shins Trail” at Winnemucca on Aug. 10.
Challenge No. 6:
Hike for 40 miles on the Ruby Crest Trail of the Ruby Mountains just out of Elko on Aug. 11.
Note: This was the one challenge that most people (including me) thought would be impossible to accomplish within the allotted time.
Challenge No. 7:
Climb Wheeler Peak (11,063’) in Great Basin National Park in Eastern Nevada near the Utah stateline on Aug. 12.
Challenge No. 8:
Rock climb in Red Rock Canyon just west of Las Vegas on Aug. 13.
Challenge No. 9:
Sandboard off the Armagosa Big Dune near Lathrop Wells, between Las Vegas and Beatty on Aug. 14.
Challenge No. 10:
Climb Boundary Peak (13, 130’), the highest peak in the State of Nevada, near the Nevada-California stateline between Montgomery Pass and Bishop, Calif. on Aug. 15.

Elaine and I:
Elaine and I were on the 10-day trip as the support team to the four athletes.
I was on the trip as the designated driver of the rented motorhome as we drove a total of 2,175.3 miles around Nevada.
Elaine was the one who planned, purchased, prepared and cooked all of the meals in the motorhome and who also served as the ex-officio “Mother Hen” who worried each and every day about the four athletes.
Our memories:
Here are some of the indelible memories permanently etched into our memory banks from that unforgettable trip:
Elaine and I created a trip tradition of the two of us greeting each of the four athletes at the end of each day, regardless of the time or location, with a congratulatory huge smile, a “High Five” and a big glass of cold, fruit juice.

Day No. 1:
Driving the motorhome from Carson City to the west side of Tahoe through the four-lane, bumper-to-bumper traffic at South Shore and up the very steep, narrow and winding highway at Emerald Bay.
Remembering the big smiles, shouts of joy and “High Fives,” all around, when the “Fab Four” finished at about 5 p.m. at Barker Pass.

Day No. 2:
Waking up at midnight in the Mt. Rose Campground in the pitch darkness of the motorhome and seeing a shadowy figure standing inside the doorway and moaning. It was Gunn, the first to arrive from that day’s torturous, 18-hour, 57-mile trek.
Then, watching a totally exhausted Cannon fall asleep while holding his plate of food in one hand and a glass of fruit juice in the other.
Staring in awe at Evans’ badly blistered toes.
Having Horeis tell us about swimming in Middle Velma Lake.

Day No. 3:
Meeting the four athletes at Horeis and Evans’ home at the top of Kingsbury Grade at the end of that day’s long trek from Mt. Rose.
Then, after much-anticipated hot showers for everyone, barbecuing New York steaks while enjoying a fabulous view of Lake Tahoe from their deck.

Day No. 4:
Missing contact with the four at lunchtime. They were to be at Big Meadow Campground on the Luther Pass Highway at 10-11 a.m. We waited until 2 p.m. and then, not knowing where they were, drove to the Sno-Park parking area at Echo Summit to wait for the end of that particular leg.
We later found out that they had arrived at the Campground about 15 minutes after we left.
The four arriving at Echo Summit with arms interlocked in celebration of completing that day.
Then, the long, tiring drive in the night from Echo Lake to Sand Mountain near Fallon to spend the night.

Day No. 5:
Watching and video taping the four of them, sandboarding off Sand Mountain, just after sunrise.
Amazingly, Cannon did a 360 degree turn on his run down the mountain!
Driving to Gerlach.
Eating a huge lunch of Raviolis at Bruno’s.
Watching them drive off from the motorhome into the Black Rock Desert to skateboard behind Jeff Munson’s vehicle.
Driving from Gerlach to Winnemucca.
Staying in a fabulous RV park that had hot showers and a swimming pool!

Day No. 6:
Watching the dust clouds from their four bikes as they returned from the Bloody Shins Trail.
Seeing the blood run down their legs from the deep scratches caused by the thick brush along the trail.
Driving to Elko to get maps of the Ruby Crest Trail.
Driving to a private residence near South Fork Reservoir where we spent the night parked in front of their home.

Day No. 7:
Getting up at 2:15 a.m.
Borrowing a pickup truck from our hosts and driving to Harrison Pass.
Horeis driving the truck on a progressively-worsening dirt road until he decided to turn the truck around to so I could drive it back to the motorhome. Unfortunately, it got stuck in the loose dirt just below the very narrow road.
Finally, at 6:20 a.m., the four began their 40-mile hike across the Ruby Crest, while Elaine and I hiked 4.5 miles back to the Harrison Pass Road. When we reached the road, a guardian angel by the name of Rick Fazzary of Lamoille stopped and gave us a ride back to the motorhome.
Driving back to the private home where we described the location of where the truck was stuck.
Driving to the end of the road at Lamoille Canyon to wait for the hikers.
At 9:30 p.m., seeing the tiny lights from their headlamps and then watching all four pin points of light slowly work their way down the mountainside.
When they arrived there were more High Fives and lots of blisters!
After a quick dinner, while the four of them slept, driving for seven, very long and tiring hours to get them to Great Basin National Park by 5 a.m.
It was an exhausting experience after having gotten up at 2:15 a.m. the previous morning.

Day No. 8:
Waiting for Evans to arrive back at the motorhome after they had climbed Wheeler Peak and the other three had already arrived.
When he finally arrived, 2 1/2 hours later, driving down the very steep and winding road from the Summit Trailhead to Baker.
Just out of Baker, losing the tread off of one of the inside duals. That was when we discovered the jack for the motorhome did not work!
3 1/2 hours later and after borrowing a jack, we left at 5 p.m. for Las Vegas.
Stopping in Pioche to get gas and to buy a tire to have for a spare.
Arriving in Las Vegas at 10 p.m. with the temperature at 104 degrees.

Day No. 9:
Driving to Red Rock Canyon where they rock climbed. 
When they finished, driving to Armagosa Valley, located between Las Vegas and Beatty.
While driving down a local, paved road to find the Big Dune, the motorhome overheated and stopped running.
Turning on the generator to run the air conditioner.
About 15 minutes later, the air conditioner stopped running in that God-awful, searing, 111 degree heat.
Several hours later, we got the motorhome running, drove back to S.R. 373 (the Lathrop Wells Road) where it stopped running again.
Waiting in the stifling heat alongside the road while the four took Cannon’s Jeep to sandboard off the Big Dune.
When they returned, we got the motorhome running and then drove to an overnight parking spot just off S.R. 264 (The highway to Dyer) near Boundary Peak.

Day No. 10:
Driving to a delightful location alongside Nevada S.R. 264 where there were large, shade trees and a small, crystal-clear, ice-cold stream.
That was our base camp while the four of them climbed Boundary Peak as the last of the 10 Challenges.
While waiting for them to return, we drove 12 miles into Dyer, gassed up and found the Dyer Bar where the six of us could celebrate that evening.
Returning to base camp where Elaine and I took a refreshing bath in the delightfully cold stream. It felt great!
The four arrived at about 5:30 p.m., there were the customary High Fives and some special, ice-cold beers in celebration of their accomplishment.
Then the short drive to the Dyer Bar for PARTY TIME!

Day No. 11:
Returning home with mission accomplished!
Elaine and I returned to Carson City in our car by way of Basalt, Mina, Luning, Hawthorne, Yerington, Silver Springs and Dayton.
The Fab Four returned to Kingsbury Grade in the motorhome by way of Montgomery Pass, the Benton Cut-Off, Lee Vining, Bridgeport, Topaz Lake, Gardnerville and Minden.
Then, the motorhome broke down in front of Horeis and Evans’ home, one last time, and the owner was called to come get that piece of junk.

Finally:
The Fab Four accomplished a 10-day feat that many (including me) thought to be impossible, and they are now forever in the record book.
Well done, and congratulations on the anniversary of that accomplishment.
To my knowledge, that 10-In-10 Challenge has never been repeated.
And, I hope that it remains that way: The one and only!

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your favorite pigeon that he can’t tell you where the Fab Four live today.
If he takes a deep breath and says, “Karl Horeis is in Denver Colorado, Jeremy Evans is currently in Costa Rica, Rick Gunn is in South Lake Tahoe and K. M. Cannon is in Las Vegas,” he wins this bet.

Photo:The “Fab Four,” left to right, Karl Horeis, K M Cannon, Jeremy Evans and Rick Gunn.
They had just completed a section of the Tahoe Rim Trail portion of the 2002 Nevada 10-in-10 Challenge.
Photo by Elaine Quilici

— Don Quilici is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now and www.SouthTahoeNow.com. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com