Brothers Campfire Completing The 35 mile Berengar/Overton Trail

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Hello Friends! 

Yesterday, walked 35 miles on the Berengar/Overton Trail.

Before I tell you about it, I would like to thank my Beloved for organizing the placement of liquid refreshments along the road.

A liquid refreshment on the road.

https://www.outtherecolorado.com/news/he-was-going-for-the-kill-shot-woman-recalls-terrifying-encounter-on-hike-in-colorado/article_4a475f32-ebb9-11ea-8607-77687fe5 would also like to thank the legendary mountain marathoner Shawn Erchinger for providing me much needed mentoring to complete the goal! 

Gear for the trip

In addition, I could not have done it without all of the phone calls, texts and overall encouragement from you, my family and friends! 

Thank you, Family and Friends!

Thank you! 

The story…

The day prior to the hike I went heavy on heavily salted carbs and drank a lot of fluids. (With salt! ) 

Then I drank a lot of water with potassium salt.

Now, I am harping a lot about salt. There is a reason for this. When you sweat, you lose salts. When you start running low, your body will tell you and you will not function well. These salts among others are known as electrolytes.

Here’s what Mental Floss has to say about Gatorade, an electrolyte drink. 10 Thirst Quenching Facts About Gatorade

Salt has been important throughout history. There is thought that the Romans were paid in salt. In fact, some say the word salary is derived from the word sal, or salt.

While the scholar in their comfy chair complete with armrest and snack debris may ask,”Is the Etymology Of Salt A Myth?“,

I know from the hard experience of dehydration and heat exhaustion that the Romans needed a lot of salt to work as effectively as they did at conquering the neighbors. To walk 20 miles a day full ruck and construct a fort every night demanded it.

A disgruntled Roman soldier keeping his thought to himself (Until Now)

Anyways, I went to bed at around 2200 hours and I couldn’t sleep, so the day began at 0214  in the morning with a handful of chocolate chips, a cup of coffee and a quart of water with Morton’s Lite Salt. Talk about an epic breakfast! 

After a drop off at 0325 hours by the Brother’s Campfire Crew, I was on my way.

The wind blew stoutly in my face from Mile 1 to 3. The air quality was poor and smelled like wood smoke. It was actually difficult to breath and maintain a good walking pace.

Around mile 4 my stomach began working the coffee through. This was necessary, but a little uncomfortable, and finding the appropriate place to rid myself of unnecessary weight was a little difficult.

I am not trying to be gross, but an important and largely unspoken part of travel is using the restroom. (or an open field of cactus for that matter) 

Nope… Not Even Close

After I buried my concerns in a shallow grave, calmness returned to my interior and miles 5 through 17 went well. 

There is little shade on the Berengar/Overton so I took long breaks at every tree I could get under. 

As mentioned above , I had to keep my eyes open for red flags on the side of the road that marked where a Powerade was.

I found them all! Even in the Dark!

Miles 18 through 20 were meh and I was fairly certain I depleted a good portion of my glycogen store and was starting to burn fat. 

Now this is all great, but as far as I know, the use of fat as a fuel uses a lot of oxygen and this energy changover reduced my speed greatly. 

Yummy!

Mens Journal had a great read on this bro science if you are interested. 

Miles 21 through 32 involved frequent breaks and me telling myself to put one foot in front of the other. This is where the kind words and encouraging really helped!

Aside from some quick spurts of energy from the sugar in the Powerade or the snacks Shawn provided, my pace dropped significantly.

Am I gonna make it?

Mile 33 I ran out of water. I had consumed approximately 8 liters of power aid and 2 liters of water. That is somewhere in the ballpark of 2.6 US gallons.

Fortunately, The Brother’s Campfire Crew dropped by to check on me and gave me a large monster drink. I thanked them and they went on their way. Because it is carbonated, I carefully sipped on it so I would not throw up. 

I could almost feel the sugar surge through my veins as I consumed the unhealthy nectar.

Thanks for the unhealthy nectar!

Miles 34 and 35 were sheer agony. My legs were on fire and I had to will them ahead. 

In the end, I completed the trail and rested at a bus stop bench. It was a bittersweet rest as I tried to let some of the pain subside. 

Splits

Check out my activity on AllTrails.

I was proud of myself. 35.7 miles!

Glancing at my fitbit, I was a mile and a half short. ” Unfaithful wretched clock!” I exclaimed aloud.

In my last trip it shorted me a few miles as well. 

I began walking the additional distance to appease the mechanism and any naysayer. I did not think, I just raged inside as I walked in the hopelessness of it all. 

All was well, not hopeless, the rage unnecessary. Perhaps the monster drink had unleashed a beast. I am pretty sure the sugar and caffeine had kicked in. 

I knocked the distance out like a champ and caught a ride home. 

Well, that’s my story. I appreciate those of you that travelled in my shirt pocket.

Like hydrogen, you were uplifting and helped me be explosive!

Thanks again!

Author: Benjamin

Benjamin Thiel is a community leader, urban farmer, and author of The Ongoing Tale at Brothers Campfire. He might know a guy...

89 thoughts on “Brothers Campfire Completing The 35 mile Berengar/Overton Trail”

  1. Hannah Calintina says:

    Wow!!! You did it!!!😀😀😀😀
    Awesome!!!😆

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thank you friend! I appreciate your encouragement! It was very difficult!

  2. Lookoom says:

    I feel exhausted at the end of the reading 🙂 Well done!

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thank you! I felt encouraged by everyone as I went! Have a beautiful day, Friend! Don’t be a stranger! 🤠🔥

  3. Loveblossom says:

    You did it sir.🎉🎉🎉
    It seems very tiring and hard but you are awesome. 👍👍

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thank you ma’am! It was amazing that love blossomed from every part of the globe as I walked. I was energized by all of the encouragement. You live up to your name, Friend! 🤠🔥

      1. Loveblossom says:

        You don’t need to call me ma’am. Loveblossom or Zahra is okay. 😂😇😇😇😶

          2. Benjamin says:

            We are at the end of summer. What part of India do you live?

          3. Loveblossom says:

            Heart of the India ♥️ Madhya Pradesh. Actually it’s in centre of India. So we call it ” heart of India.” 😇😇😇🙏♥️🌸

          4. Benjamin says:

            Way cool! I am kinda in the center of the US. I live in a semi arid area. What is the next holiday you have coming up?

          5. Loveblossom says:

            It means we are similar😜😜😇
            Everyday is holiday for me.
            Because of this lockdown my college is still😓😓😓😓.

          6. Benjamin says:

            Did you tell me what you were going to college for? I cannot recall.

          7. Loveblossom says:

            I am studying Arts. (Political science, sociology and hindi literature) are my major. And English, environmental science and entrepreneurship and hindi language are foundation subjects.

          8. Benjamin says:

            That’s right! You were getting me started on learning Hindi!

            Do you think the science of politics transends culture?

          9. Loveblossom says:

            Ofcourse It does. If we know about our fundamental rights, rules and regulations and everything about the constitution of our country then it will be great help to transcend ourself. Political science is a important subject for everyone. ☺️☺️😇🙏

            But actually I really don’t like this subject.💤💤 It’s good to learn theory and the history but actual politics is far from books. I don’t want myself as a law ignorant that’s why I am learning this subject. 🙂🙂

          10. Benjamin says:

            Thanks for the insight! I see it is not your favorite subject. What are you most passionate about?

          11. Loveblossom says:

            I’m passionate about sociology and languages.

            But truly I never take studies seriously. Studying is just my hobby. I find it fun. I enjoy my lectures in college I listen them carefully but reading books, it’s not my cup of tea. 😜😜😜

            But yup I am good student and I’m the students because of whom other students get scolded by teachers🤣🤣🤣🤣

          12. Benjamin says:

            Hobbies are nice. If I have the opportunity for school, it will be to make more income for my family.

            On sociology, Do you have any ideas on how society could restructure to better benefit everyone?

            On your last comment… Oh so you are a behind the scenes masterminded manipulator!

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thanks! It has been on my bucket list for a long time. If I do something similar, it will be distance covered in 24 hours or something like that. I would also like to walk a route to Trinidad, but stop and camp along the way.

  5. Lisa at Micro of the Macro says:

    Great job! I drink a lot of salt water, even when I’m not exercising strenuously, but I use Himalayan salt. You might wanna check it out! 🌞

    1. Benjamin says:

      (Salvaged From Spam… Sorry) I am into the Himalayan and other micro nutrient containing salts. I do not use regularly to keep my blood pressure consistent.

  6. Sara says:

    Wow. What an accomplishment! Sound exhausting though. 👍
    Congrats on the extreme mileage.

  8. Ashley F Lintner says:

    Awesome job Brother

    1. Benjamin says:

      It tasted so good that it felt like I was doing something bad!

    1. Benjamin says:

      Ha ha! If I am not mistaken, you used to go by science girl, right?

        1. Benjamin says:

          Oops. My bad. I do like chemistry Mr. Dr. Universe! I do not have any formal schooling, however.

          1. dr universe says:

            haha – no problem
            Chemistry is cool – I intend to do a post on it in the near future.

          2. Benjamin says:

            Science in general is cool! What are your plans for college?

          3. dr universe says:

            no plans thus far – still in the 9th
            cross every bridge a little before it arrives – kinda clueless right now

  12. Vikas Sengar says:

    Your posts are nice. You should also visit my blog and give your important comment.

  13. Beverly says:

    You have inspired all with this accomplishment. Thank you! Congratulations to you! So happy for you and proud as welll.

  14. achme24gmailcom says:

    You’re awesome bro! Nailed it! Super cool.

  15. YouLittleCharmer says:

    Such an AMAZING achievement!!! Well done my friend!!
    It was an honour to travel in your pocket!! 👍👍🖤🖤

  16. Petra says:

    Well done! Although I wonder if your kidneys won’t be unhappy with all that salt

    1. Benjamin says:

      I think my body needed it for the time being. I do not typically eat that much and I believe I sweat a lot of it out. The internal organs likely were stressed just like the rest of me. Hiking at that intensity and distance in one day is not a commonplace event. 🤠🔥

  18. carlamilho says:

    Awesome 😁😁😁I would like to invite you to follow my blog to, thank you so much and I wish you much success

    1. Benjamin says:

      Hello Carlamilho! I will check out your blog. Haow is your day, and can I get you some cookies?

          5. carlamilho says:

            Oh it’s OK to me, but I must consume sugar because I have fault of it 😁😁😁😁😁

          6. Benjamin says:

            Ha ha! I will have to find a solution. Woot! Found some! I just have to learn how to process it!🌾

          9. carlamilho says:

            😂😂😂😂😂That’s a great job 👏👏👏👏👏😁😁😁😅

          12. Benjamin says:

            I google translated the Sherlock Holmes Post. Portuguese is spoken in South America if I am not mistaken. I was curious. I was made in Wisconsin, USA

          13. carlamilho says:

            😂😂😂I am loving talking with you, I have a big feeling that you are a very intelligent person, 😊can I ask you your name?

          14. Benjamin says:

            Friend, my name is Benjamin. I am greatful for the compliment. I will try hard to engage in an intelligent manner!.
            What season is it over there?

          15. carlamilho says:

            Oh thank you to, I am truly glad to make a new friend, I am a talking person, that is my nature but always with respect! Well here we are ending summer,today is very hot, and there?

          16. Benjamin says:

            Same. We are expecting snow, surprisingly enough. Then it is supposed to go back to warm again!

          17. carlamilho says:

            I don’t know the difference between your country and mine… Here is about 17:15 minutes… Your country is huge, Portugal is a small one

          18. Benjamin says:

            I live in Colorado, USA. Typically dry and temperate. It usually does not snow until after October 15th

          19. carlamilho says:

            And this year it will be different?
            I live around Lisbon, here it doesn’t snow

          21. carlamilho says:

            Yes but I am more a summer person because I don’t do very well with cold

  20. frederick anderson says:

    A sterling achievement! (this from someone who has never walked 35 miles in his life). I am intrigued by the handle attached to your helmet. Is it, as I strongly suspect, a modified coal bucket?

    1. Benjamin says:

      Thank you Frederick. The handle on the helmet is a free stock photo. I wish I knew!!!

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