Hello, Marchers!

The 2016 March is now over! We did it! All 8 of us!

Hahaha, yeah, we only had 8 marchers (and two lovely MaST members). But there is a sort of poetic symmetry to this number. 8 is the number of original marchers on the first March in 1999. Additionally, we had a classmate of those original 8 marchers show up for the first time this year. Lastly, the high temperature was almost exactly the same as that march 17 years past. In a certain sense, it seems we are returning to the mean.

In other words, eight is great. We had one team (just like last year). We got to democratically elect the new Premiere. We also were all able to finish within an hour and a half of each other. We all got to have lunch together at Eagle Rock and the banquet was well attended; we had 8 previous Marchers (and that Chancellor of Banquets) in attendance. There’s that number again! For the banquet, we returned to our old haunt King’s Mongolian BBQ. But with a final count of 14 people at the banquet, I am reminded why we moved on from that venue.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. It really is amazing how much easier the March is when it is not 107°F. The funny part was that the Valley side was much cooler than the ocean side for some reason. The last hills did give us some punishment, but since we were still in good form from the opening half of the March, it wasn’t really a problem.

The theme was followed by a few marchers. I dressed as the Man With No Name. One marcher had a shirt and backpack dedicated to Blazing Saddles (RIP in Peace Gene Wilder). And one marcher had a space cowboy outfit planned for last year, but couldn’t make it! This year, the costume debuted and still worked with the theme!

There are two new achievements! Take 6 pictures of Pokémon on the trail and do the March with a medical implant. Yes, Pokemon were found all up and down Topanga State Park. Not to mention, actual animal sightings included a snake’s “footprints” and a little baby horny toad.

All in all, we had one of the more enjoyable Death Marches in recent memory. I’d like to thank everyone for coming out and look forward to the Seasonals coming up! I have held off on assigning seasons as the new Premiere does not live in Southern California. But stay tuned, info will be coming soon.

One more thing! Next year’s theme is The Cold War. Oh man, we are going to have fun with that one.

Until Death, We March,
Your Grand Marshal

Once upon a time, there was a path. This was a dusty path, but not too unkept. This path was wide at parts and fairly well maintained. But as the years went by, the surrounding vegetation began to grow upon the edges. This made the path ever so slightly narrow and more difficult to pass, but it also defined the edges and kept people on course.

This path, my friends, is the Death March.

Welcome to the State of the March. I am your Host and Grand Marshal, Antipope Jesse I, Grand Marshal and Herald of the Death March, Ranger of Dai Gurren Dan, Protector of Japan, Transubstantiator, Flagbearer, o.g.

This year was different than every other year. Why? Two reasons. First, this was the hottest Death March ever. Yes, the official recorded high at Van Nuys Airport (which is my basis for measuring the temperature of the March) was 98 degrees. The last two years both tied the hottest as 97. While, subjectively, I did not feel like it was too hot, the data doesn’t lie.

Or does it? [displayname name=”Bamboo Dong”] mentioned that our methodology might have some issues, so I’ve decided we will have to do some monitoring live on the March next year. For now, I will go with our baseline.

But how were we okay, despite the record temperatures? This brings me to the second difference this year: we shrunk. Seriously. For the last two years in a row, we have lost more than 10 people as compared to the previous year.

That being said, we had PLENTY of Ride Corps members. More than 50% drove. This is about the same as recent years, but it is still a good thing. Also, there were only 7 new marchers. That’s really not that many (21% to be exact). That means that there were 4 people who had experience on the Death March for every 1 n00b. That is unprecidented.

Those are the main two differences. But there were two other things that really stuck out in my mind after this March. One good and one bad(ish).

One) More people helped! We had a Timekeeping Corps of 5 people! And they bought things for the marchers to nom on when they got to the beach. This is epic. I am so impressed with the fact that there are so many people interested in greeting the marchers at the end. The timekeeping went smoothly, AND many prople waited at the tent for their team members who lagged behind. Unbelievable. In recent memory, I have never had a march where I didn’t feel guilty when I arrived at the beach. This year, my team captain was chilling and calm, despite waiting for an hour or more.

Two) More people failed. Yes, we had six people who started and did not complete the march. I expect this with beginners. And yes, two of the new people did not finish. But a full four marchers who knew totally well what they were getting into did not make it. Why? The reason I call this development bad-ish is because many of them knew they weren’t going to finish. My Dad planned only on doing half, and so left a car at the midpoint. Therefore, he was able to take some other people back at that point. This isn’t a bad thing. People knowing their limits is more than I can hope for. So really, I’m not that upset about this new variation.

Eagle Rock and the Hub were their usual grandness. Despite trying harder than last year, we did not make it to Eagle Rock until after 12noon. I was shocked. I have no explanation for why it normally only takes one and a half hours, but his year it took two and a half hours. But, in the end, the racers weren’t in any huge rush and calmly waited for the start signal. The only real problem at Eagle Rock was that not very many people brought any alcohol. Seriously folks, bring a couple tall boys. You will be loved if you do.

After that march, we had a great banquet at MacLeod Ale. While the food truck never showed, we had no problem ordering some food. We also had a sort of by-constitutional crisis when a fast group of mostly newbies claimed to have been faster than the fastest recorded team. In the end, I judged that since the fastest “team” did not realize they were a team at the ocean, there is no reason they should receive the dog tag. However, the team that realizes that they were a team because they 1) marched together; and 2) drove back together, was the “real” fastest team. Therefore, they get to decide next year’s theme. I await with bated breath. While I was proud of the compromise, both teams were left somewhat disappointed.

The last thing that I am a little sad about is the exchange of money. I am the worse offender, soliciting money for both Tommy’s Burgers as well as the domain name. I wish I could implement a gift culture, but it is hard to tell people to bring stuff for other people. At least the Timekeeping Corps were on the ball.

Whatever the case, I still enjoyed the march. I mean, I always do. Really, this video sums up my experience. I hope it sums up yours as well.

Man, another Death March, come and gone like the dust in the wind.

This year was an interesting year. Why? Things went according to plan and we shrunk.

Yes, this was the first Death March since 2004 that we had less marchers than the previous year. I’m fine with that. In fact, one of the lessons I had this year is that even if things go completely according to plan, it doesn’t mean it will be a spectacular event. In fact, it will probably be pretty similar to how it always is.

Another thread of thought that strikes me this year is that of Tradition. There is definitely something comforting about tradition. The knowledge that despite the millions of ways life has changed over these 15 Death Marches, the Death March marches on. That being said, we had a very interesting make up of marchers. I’m concerned about how few women were on the march. We also had some exuberant first timers. One team was unconnected to any previous marchers and found out about the march from Twitter! And most of the folks from the team that brought us the ABC theme won again and have given us “Papal History” as a theme for next year. Love it.

Speaking of the theme, I thought this would be the theme that would turn the whole march to cosplay. So I was a little bit disappointed that one two folks were in full costume. But there were lots of capes and masks and superhero t-shirts, so how sad can I be? This is also entirely typical. Some of us like to dress up, some don’t. I’m okay with that too.

Some more info about this year! We tied hottest Death March ever. This is now a 3 way tie. And boy was it a scorcher. Down by the beach, this gorgeous, creamy marine layer beckoned us on, but by the time anyone arrived at the ocean, it was gone. The sea breeze seemed to lose out to an off shore flow for the majority of the hike. Hydration levels seemed to be pretty stable. People took their time at Musch Camp and refilled their water. It was funny, however, that there was a big sign that said, “No water at Musch Camp” right at the campground. I was dying. I ran out of water at Eagle Rock. But once I realized the water was flowing, I gave myself probably 30 minutes of just solid drinking. This and a refilled hydropack let me finish up without any issue.

I waited too long to write this. All my memories are jumbled. I brought my son this year along with my father. 3 generations on one march. (I should note my mother rocks the Death March nearly every year, and we now have an achievement for bringing your mother!) My son and father only did the first half (getting picked up at Trippet Ranch). One is 4 years old and one is recovering from heart surgery. As the youngest marcher, my 4 year old was also the slowest. This established early on that I would be doing the new Punishment Rear Guard. I must also admit that it will likely be my last as well. Rear Guard, as noble as it may be, is really tough. Towards the end I caught up to the Twitter folks and showed them the way. I caught up to some members of Team USA who were feeling ill. And we finished slowly and together. I’m glad I did it, but it also meant I missed the celebration at the ocean.

We had some folks going for major achievements this year. One of my favorite memories is coming upon the Stromatolites and everyone stopping to take pictures with them. Tom (I’m guessing, because I thought he had the spray chalk) wrote “they made our air” next to them. Mike started going on about blue green algae and them Bamboo started in about how some were nitrogen fixing. I love this group.

Eagle Rock went well. I was worried about showing up too late, but no one was itching to start the race yet. So there was time to have a beer and a burger and enjoy. And as the race began, someone began playing the Eye of the Tiger!!! Brilliant.

The banquet was good, but as is the trend, we had less people show up. I’m not sure what went wrong. Were people not properly informed? The cake was delicious and fun was had making doughnut burgers.

So in the end, no matter how much the event may shrink or lose its shine, there something enjoyable about it. And if we can survive the pain of the march itself, I imagine we can survive any pain of losing popularity.

We will march on.