tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23336837809960229622024-03-24T00:10:17.423-07:00NH TrailVetsWe are 3 New Hampshire veterinarians who enjoy adventure racing together and with family and friends NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-12172384700858146432023-10-07T12:11:00.003-07:002023-10-07T17:49:41.375-07:00USARA National Championship, 9/15/2023, Jeffersonville, VT<p>When we got word last year that USARA Nationals were nearby this year, we knew we had to get there somehow. The race was being held in the gorgeous northern Green Mountains of Vermont and organized by our long time friends Green Mountain Adventure Racing Association (GMARA). The open registration portion of the race sold out almost immediately, but we were thankfully able to wriggle our way in off of the waitlist, after a few tense weeks of waiting.</p><p>The race was based out of Smugglers' Notch Ski Resort, which is where we would be finishing. We spent the night before the race there, after dropping off our bikes and getting some rudimentary instructions for the next morning (we would be getting up at 4:30 AM so that we could be bussed to the unknown start location)</p><p>After getting our gear in order, we turned in for a night of truncated sleep and were boarded on the buses by 7:00. We had gotten the maps at 5:30, so we now had a good idea of what the next 30 hours were going to look like. We were told that it was a BIG course with LOTS of elevation and to choose wisely how much of the course we were going to take on, so that we did not risk missing a mid-race time cutoff or finishing over time (3:00 PM tomorrow).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSvQpKpud0CxnmQp6Tjv1dJS7PdIpa1bYku04RJMTYj5Gf-yVKWktVhXG-UybqWnVngstAEmGIqnP6kCISmXw-ptYDJDqnB1y2edl6qK3ZgHRqbj3Ha80Ycibw5VXgVsjJi5I1RlthcKPMgjioiZsOfnKgba7bxLp0a9CFMpFY4XjfH31h7XxlkdsdIg/s8192/285A4991%20(1).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="8192" data-original-width="5464" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifSvQpKpud0CxnmQp6Tjv1dJS7PdIpa1bYku04RJMTYj5Gf-yVKWktVhXG-UybqWnVngstAEmGIqnP6kCISmXw-ptYDJDqnB1y2edl6qK3ZgHRqbj3Ha80Ycibw5VXgVsjJi5I1RlthcKPMgjioiZsOfnKgba7bxLp0a9CFMpFY4XjfH31h7XxlkdsdIg/w266-h400/285A4991%20(1).jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>We hopped off the buses onto an old logging road with a charismatic red sugar shack, a bit south of the town of Hardwick. Here we would begin the first leg of the race: an off-trail orienteering loop to find 10 checkpoints (CPs) in the surrounding woods.</p><p>After a sweet Rib Mtn. rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, we were off, trotting down a short stretch of dirt road before disappearing into the thick woods. We spent the next 3 hours or so finding these points while ascending, descending and getting a bit wet. The navigation here was fairly straightforward. We found them all without major issue. We lost a couple minutes finding the correct logging trail at CP9 and we should have grabbed CP5 on the way to CP2 (instead of after). CP10, which we initially whiffed on (that's a knoll?) was an easy grab on the way back to where we began, and where our bikes awaited us.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpgc9xEFXtqOzcNd6YhTOA5LEUfa3zjg6sNw0V_hzrvRfn1dbq7bS8LX0ryY-4Q1ya9hk7aKP7yrB8-Ge8uPu1MRmSr1E6gfYYWwTDhUtBgpe-J5BtgcMeLqWJ7y3PKfmEVBVao9Mc_P4r5ptrQi2jo0TR1EYsy-h69iu1caNbpy5PK1aIFqyrQYfTpQ/s3024/IMG_5572.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="2777" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFpgc9xEFXtqOzcNd6YhTOA5LEUfa3zjg6sNw0V_hzrvRfn1dbq7bS8LX0ryY-4Q1ya9hk7aKP7yrB8-Ge8uPu1MRmSr1E6gfYYWwTDhUtBgpe-J5BtgcMeLqWJ7y3PKfmEVBVao9Mc_P4r5ptrQi2jo0TR1EYsy-h69iu1caNbpy5PK1aIFqyrQYfTpQ/s320/IMG_5572.jpg" width="294" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>We spent the next 3 hours riding on smooth pavement, smooth dirt, un-smooth dirt and some really rough stuff which was beyond anyone's ability or desire to ride - necessitating a lengthy hike-a-bike or two. There was lots of mud too. After this, we cruised on roads toward the canoe put-in on the Lamoille River. We stopped at a convenience store along the way for some drinks and shared a ham & swiss sub.</p><p>At the canoe put-in, we had access to our staged gear/supplies. This included an improvised middle seat (short milk crate plus Crazy Creek seat) that we squeezed into our little 2-man canoe, along with 3 backpacks and our bulky paddle bag. We had to tote all of this during a 1/2 km portage to get to the put-in from the TA and there were 2 other lengthy portages downriver. Luckily, the race organizers let us know this (a week) before the race, so we were able to source a small set of portage wheels. This meant that we did not have to laboriously heft all this stuff, but rather roll it along the roads. We still had to to maneuver rough trails by hand, but having the portage wheels really eased things. At the beginning of the second portage, we had to lift the canoe up an 8 foot bank to reach the road. Nick and I carried some stuff up first and turned around to see Rob, in beast mode, singlehandedly throwing the boat atop the slope. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuTctp-_ZpcLlapRjKUfxIFFlAVZgXCkxI4FrEA0Lgn6rEI_iywNnm6mWlG9xOrJtMTJcNhddtOI6dGURpYBV8lZGsTg40fBl-p3XeEbyxq8goV2sdNYPDP9jEMqmcw_BdS30zOQiaRsA5LS5Jga2L10GrC6zUitfGm3yKTCytcVgEd6NuqO6irT2SNU/s4032/IMG_4632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuTctp-_ZpcLlapRjKUfxIFFlAVZgXCkxI4FrEA0Lgn6rEI_iywNnm6mWlG9xOrJtMTJcNhddtOI6dGURpYBV8lZGsTg40fBl-p3XeEbyxq8goV2sdNYPDP9jEMqmcw_BdS30zOQiaRsA5LS5Jga2L10GrC6zUitfGm3yKTCytcVgEd6NuqO6irT2SNU/w640-h480/IMG_4632.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>We covered about 25 miles on the river, including two portages (around rapids). This took approximately 5 hours. For us, paddling tends to gets pretty old after the 3-hour mark. This was no exception but there was a lot to like about the leg - a nice, flowing, winding river with some interesting turns and light rapids, good temperatures and pretty nice scenery. The sun set about 30 minutes before we exited the river and so we paddled the last, seemingly never-ending, portion in increasing darkness.</p><p>We got to the TA and we were very cold and wet, especially Nick, and quickly put on as many dry layers as we had prior to eating and packing up food and and water (this was the last time we would have access to our gear). Rick of team Chaos Required made our day by dropping off some leftover warm jalapeno poppers and chicken tenders (from a nearby store, which we would soon also visit for coffee and food).</p><p>A lot of teams came off the river right after us, but, despite a fairly long TA and visit to the store, we left the TA ahead of them, riding on some river trails and up a hill toward a trail system where we'd find the next 2 CPs. About halfway up this hill, we hear Nick yell an expletive. That rarely means anything good.</p><p>"I left the tracker at the TA." </p><p>Since the tracker is mandatory gear, we definitely had to turn around and fetch it. Nick felt bad about this, obviously, but it could have easily been any one of us. I've forgotten my camera on my PFD at the end of many a paddle section. I forgot to even bring it to this race at all (hence the dearth of photos).</p><p>Ultimately, it took less than 30 minutes to get back to where we had been when we turned around. But...as I noted above, there was a big pack of teams right behind us. They all passed us as we were riding back to the TA, which was definitely frustrating.</p><p>We re-climbed the hill and headed into the trail system which held the next 2 CPs. There were a lot of teams here sliding around on the peanut-buttery wet trails. One funny moment occurred when I hadn't noticed Nick punching a trailside CP and Rob was confused why, afterward, I kept directing us back toward it rather than onward to the next target.</p><p>We soon descended onto the singletrack Brewer trail, which roughly paralleled the Brewster River, leading us back toward Smuggler's Notch resort. This part was...interesting. It consisted of fairly flat and rideable trails interrupted by ridiculously steep and unwieldy hike-a-bike sections which crossed river tributaries/reentrants. Consequently these trails were pretty slow going, but we passed through them and found the needed connections and CPs without much issue. We then emerged onto paved road (briefly) before returning to dirt trails on the wide bike/hike trails of Smuggler's Notch Resort. Here, we navigated accurately to 4 of the 6 available CPs, which were located on doubletrack and singletrack. We spent much of the time here riding near or with team Electric Mayhem. </p><p>Here we decided, for the first time in the race, to skip some checkpoints - there were 2 more distant CPs which would require additional ascending. We had had some delays and there was plenty of race to bite off, as needed, in subsequent stages. </p><p>Next we sped downhill out of the resort toward our next target. We had covered about 17 miles on this leg, mostly on trails. It was a little after midnight. Our next job was to bike up toward the lofty heights of Smugglers' Notch toward the next TA, which was about 1/3 of the way up the climb.</p><p>During the climb, I was closely watching the map, the terrain and my compass. The TA was not on the road and I was worried it might not be obvious from the road. We were following Electric Mayhem up the climb and Nick had started to gap us all, cruising up the hill with his excellent bike strength. We passed a few side roads which seemed like they could lead to the TA, but I wasn't 100% sure. Electric Mayhem was just cruising along like we weren't anywhere close. Very soon after, the road changed direction and then I was convinced that we had passed the turnoff. I stopped and expressed my concerns to the other team and Rob but by this point Nick had blithely ridden ahead out of eyeshot and earshot. I rode up the road aways but still no sign of Nick, so I went back to where the others were waiting and we sat there, chilling on the roadside for 10 minutes or so, until Nick returned to us and we could backtrack to the TA.</p><p>Here, at TA 4, we had a lovely surprise - pancakes, sausage and maple syrup shooters, courtesy of the VT Board of Tourism. These were delicious and definitely bumped the team morale up a couple notches. This TA was manned (is "personed" more inclusive?) by veteran AR volunteer couple Scott and Marlana, with whom I had spent several volunteer days during Untamed NE 2014, with my son Reed. We had seen them countless times since, volunteering at various races throughout the Northeast.</p><p>Here we got ready for a night trekking leg. There were 8 possible CPs here. We hatched a conservative plan of only getting 3 of them. The thinking was that we were not going to come close to clearing this epic course and that we should focus on making all the time cutoffs. From what we had learned, the final trek leg was really big and we could use that to burn through any excess time which we had, after skipping these points. Off-trail trekking at night (i.e., here) is not typically where one can accumulate a bunch of easy CPs in a short period of time.</p><p>We found our 3 flags without much delay here. We (like a lot of teams I saw) went down a too-early reentrant to get to CP33 but we quickly corrected. We scooped up the next 2 without issue and then attempted to beeline uphill back to the TA. I led us a little off-target (too far left) which cost a couple minutes. We were trekking with the Nicki-led Rootstock team here.</p><p>Now it was back on bikes to climb over the notch, followed by a lengthy road descent in the wee hours of the AM to reach TA 6. This was a trekking leg with 9 available CPs mapped on 3 maps of 3 CPs each. The wrinkle here was that you could split the team up and work simultaneously - a potentially big time saver. The CPs here were also fairly close together - a good chance to scoop up some easier points.</p><p>We each grabbed a map and set off. My intent was to grab the most difficult map but, in retrospect, it was not. I was back in just under an hour. Rob returned after another 20 mins and Nick after another 20 mins. One of Nick's target CPs (C3) had given him some trouble. I grabbed his map to run off and find it quickly while he transitioned, but, attacking from the main trail, the terrain did not line up at all with the map. I was almost immediately lost and decided to just return to the TA emptyhanded, after wasting 20 minutes. Despite this minor setback, we had gained 8 CPs in about 2 hours - not bad.</p><p>As we headed back onto the local roads on bike, the sun was finally starting to brighten the eastern sky. This is always a welcome change in an overnight race, nudging your brain into a happier, more alert place. The next, penultimate leg was a long bike leg. There was an embedded optional trail section with a couple CPs which involved a lot of climbing and trails of unknown quality. We had already elected to bypass this and focus on getting to big final trek. So, we rode the scenic, hilly backroads of VT for the next 2 to 2.5 hours, slowly covering about 16 miles. I love AR sections where you can bike-tour the area on rural roads. They are typically comfortable and low-stress, compared to, say, trying to navigate off-trail in the dark.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wvxW0kgCBP0p2pZIlXQJsIPnZO7pdGrP4yo5PztZ_KYNq7Ql5sSPoexNNQjEt9VfslX5B0EgGiBOqbDer8n6-72TETNLcVUcw1gm7Mkrakj1NsZCBjS95wIUvjPCDfK_05r8E4JPUUBA2rhT8tOad_xmr0TYwCBF_CVucn8gTQugx7Iyd8lzWHwC94c/s5984/285A6505.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5038" data-original-width="5984" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wvxW0kgCBP0p2pZIlXQJsIPnZO7pdGrP4yo5PztZ_KYNq7Ql5sSPoexNNQjEt9VfslX5B0EgGiBOqbDer8n6-72TETNLcVUcw1gm7Mkrakj1NsZCBjS95wIUvjPCDfK_05r8E4JPUUBA2rhT8tOad_xmr0TYwCBF_CVucn8gTQugx7Iyd8lzWHwC94c/w400-h336/285A6505.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>We rolled into the final TA right at the 24-hour mark - 9:00 AM. This gave us 6 hours to complete the final trek - a big, off-trail hike over a ridge of the Green Mountains which would lead us to the finish line, back at Smugglers' Notch Resort. At this point, our friend and race maestro Chris Yager gave us the advice that we should probably focus on getting the 3 mandatory CPs for the leg, and not so much on the optionals, as time was starting to run a little short. He also reiterated that, as a local team, we needed to "Represent!" </p><p>With this in mind, I hatched a route plan to reach the first CP (nearby) and subsequently to surmount the ridge and approach the 2 other mandatory CPs near the top. We would pass near some optionals along the way, and so we hoped to grab those, if we could without spending too much extra time.</p><p>After the short on-trail section to the first mandatory CP, we were off into the woods again. We would parallel a deep gorge uphill, reach a predetermined elevation and then strike due north, over a small saddle. This all went according to plan. It was tough climb at times but we made steady progress. At the top of the saddle we made a short brushy side jaunt to get optional CP40. This was followed by a brushy descent, which soon flattened out into brushy level ground. We would pass close to optional CP44, so we were keeping an eye out for the small stream it would be on; we found this without too much trouble. </p><p>We were feeling really good at this point - we had found the first mandatory CP and scored 2 optionals and we had only used up 2 of our 6 hours. We were nearing the top of the ridge and still had 4 hours left to get to finish line - solid.</p><p>We continued on our compass bearing to where the Long Trail traversed a soft ridge and where we would find the next 2 CPs - both mandatory. It took a lot longer to hit the trail than I was expecting and I was also distractedly inspecting the terrain a lot in case we stumbled across the "reentrant" which held our next target. When we finally hit the trail, therefore, I hadn't been rigorously keeping us on our bearing. We also hadn't passed the flag or any nearby teams. The terrain at the top was lumpy and didn't have any obvious features. There were also reentrants everywhere, which made the clue for this CP (47) fairly useless. We were also not allowed to hike along the trail for any significant distance.</p><p>We began to poke around in various reentrants south of the trail, finding no flag and also no evidence of recent foot traffic. Most of the teams were ahead of us on the course and this was a mandatory CP - the ground should be well-trodden around it. Eventually we ran into team BRF Barf here, who had also been looking for a while, with no success.</p><p>This went on for a disconcerting amount of time. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place; this was a mandatory CP (we would be "unofficial" if we didn't find it) but, on the other hand, the race time clock was ticking away - we definitely didn't want to go overtime futilely searching for the CP.</p><p>After about 50 minutes and no good leads, we had arrived at the conclusion that we needed to move on and hustle to the finish without having found this CP. Before we departed I decided to pay closer attention to the terrain on both sides of the trail one more time, to try to see if I could figure out where we were. Wondrously, the terrain started to line up fairly convincingly with the map, and suggested that we needed to look further east for the flag. While approaching it, we saw another team for the first time in a while, who confirmed that it was indeed right here. Whew! - A huge relief. We had burned over an hour on one CP, but if we could still get to finish line on time, we'd be good.</p><p>The next CP was close by and was an easy find (once you had found CP47). Now we had only 2 hours to cover the remainder of the course - about 5km (3mi). It seemed doable...until we started doing it. After CP48, the vegetation took a real turn for the worse - very slow and brushy with very little open terrain. The primary culprit was an old friend from many Vermont races - hobblebush. This member of the witch hazel family grows from about knee-high to shoulder-high and, at its worst, creates dense thickets of grabby, intertwined branches. This was the worst of it that I had seen. As we contoured along (bypassing a hilltop optional CP) west toward the finish, we were nearly constantly fighting through some level of hobblebush thicket. This plus the uneven terrain was really slowing our progress. I knew that we were averaging less than 2 mph - not necessarily fast enough to finish on time. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_T6s5HaixhL4CnyaKj1NHXgUCJbF-T8qAqJEtkKMUPrycwohvutzqzlExfUqHGfpEaaGgHxLXMqOolhQJSXTWdsisWorxKgMr2vOVtpQK6s-kYszM4vUS8UiPsqX0PsSkG3h-26J56GppuAOyM6T2b5jqHhuQ28rTX0dwmfDsUcc86ISwHisNlmvZsZM" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_T6s5HaixhL4CnyaKj1NHXgUCJbF-T8qAqJEtkKMUPrycwohvutzqzlExfUqHGfpEaaGgHxLXMqOolhQJSXTWdsisWorxKgMr2vOVtpQK6s-kYszM4vUS8UiPsqX0PsSkG3h-26J56GppuAOyM6T2b5jqHhuQ28rTX0dwmfDsUcc86ISwHisNlmvZsZM=w640-h360" width="640" /></a></div><br />As we continued grinding (now uphill) through this slow terrain, I was keeping an eye on the map and realized that we were pointing ourselves directly at an optional CP (50). While our focus at this point was simply finishing on time, we would certainly not pass up a free CP along the way. After a quick punch of this knoll-top CP, we reassessed. We were on track and knew exactly where we were (thanks to the fortuitous CP) but we had averaged just over 1 mph to get here - there were 2 miles left to cover and only 68 minutes of race clock left.<p></p><p>We quickly pointed ourselves downhill, continuing west, and discovered that, miraculously, the hobblebush and all other significant underbrush had virtually disappeared! We began eagerly running downhill though the open woods. I kept expecting the underbrush to reappear, but after several more minutes of running downhill, it hadn't. I knew now that we would make it.</p><p>As a bonus, as we were zooming west through the woods, there was a flag just ahead of us to the left (CP52). Another lucky score! We encountered team Strong Machine in the woods here, briefly, and continued west until we started to hit the resort trails, on which we trotted easily downhill to cover the last mile. </p><p>Because of the unexpected massive improvement in ground speed, we actually hit the finish line with 25 minutes to spare. In retrospect, we could have gone after another CP or two (as Strong Machine had, we found out later) but after stressing so hard about just finishing on time for the last 3 hours, the thought never crossed our minds.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FvTkkSdtFGBwNYle6odTA95BGxmf6ZnbnZykv-tZd3-xOwtTvaQXW9myy9ZJt5OLp_A-tkxFC8VDyogaO5GI1j3QQMepUghdySql2yIwUEr7g-jZ3wXqkgq4GTll-R4ECiEFwh86G0tSbKcUgwQnvJaa7isV0Aje9WwQjddbr-TeaUPqWcv7SeVvGFQ/s8192/285A7934.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5464" data-original-width="8192" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5FvTkkSdtFGBwNYle6odTA95BGxmf6ZnbnZykv-tZd3-xOwtTvaQXW9myy9ZJt5OLp_A-tkxFC8VDyogaO5GI1j3QQMepUghdySql2yIwUEr7g-jZ3wXqkgq4GTll-R4ECiEFwh86G0tSbKcUgwQnvJaa7isV0Aje9WwQjddbr-TeaUPqWcv7SeVvGFQ/w640-h426/285A7934.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>At the finish line, we were greeted by the GMARA crew and volunteers, feeling fulfilled with our race and so pleased to sit down with a beer for a minute and take our shoes off. We chatted with the other teams about their races and enjoyed not racing. We then headed inside for a satisfying meal and the awards announcements. Amazingly, 3 teams had cleared the entire course. We ended up 28th out of 60 teams - a satisfactory result. In all, we covered about 110 miles and climbed nearly 14000 ft, over 30 hours of racing.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidL_DgKLcK1BqDUYdn1pnC_jQC6d0pNwt3A1aHKl44br07f7wEVAX8PHKH7v-niJiHb03F-E644LLfbizOz6t_unfz8wilDnAfmJ-XNJR2mJ28lAwZaTZ4gWv-baJRI4380sCi_RBUyX2WuNJL0Sw9PS26xOPieCz-q79TVsy26tlhg7KSrK_xxWxxyNI/s8192/285A7937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5464" data-original-width="8192" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidL_DgKLcK1BqDUYdn1pnC_jQC6d0pNwt3A1aHKl44br07f7wEVAX8PHKH7v-niJiHb03F-E644LLfbizOz6t_unfz8wilDnAfmJ-XNJR2mJ28lAwZaTZ4gWv-baJRI4380sCi_RBUyX2WuNJL0Sw9PS26xOPieCz-q79TVsy26tlhg7KSrK_xxWxxyNI/w640-h426/285A7937.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>The competition at this race was really stiff - definitely the toughest field of participants we had encountered. There were many teams who regularly win 24-hour races who finished well off the podium. The mid-pack was also stacked with quality teams young and old. It was nice to see so many women at the race - definitely a rising demographic in AR thanks to the inclusive efforts of many race directors and officials.</p><p>This was a really tough, big course. Three off-trail treks, including the epic finale, a sizeable physical paddle, and the punishing bike terrain really combined to make a wonderful beast of a proving ground for all of us - perfect for a national championship. Hats off to GMARA and USARA for making it happen.</p><p>All race photos courtesy of USARA.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-41132278894427475842023-08-22T16:01:00.000-07:002023-08-22T16:01:54.138-07:00NYARA The Longest Day, Warren, PA, 8/12/23<p> With Reed being a busy guy this summer, working and becoming Wilderness EMT-certified, this event was our only chance to race together this summer. So, we undertook the 9-hour drive to the western PA/NY border to brave The Longest Day. This would be my 6th The Longest Day and Reed's second.</p><p>This year, we were based out of Warren, PA, nicely situated in the northern Allegheny mountains. We checked in, got our maps, turned in our bikes, gear bin and paddle bag and then headed out to Bent Run Brewery for a couple hours of eating and route planning while enjoying the nice outdoor brewery atmosphere in (for now) nice summer evening weather.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCmoBdtQBlxarWmesB9VaiTovwArc_LAP4fkts5INQBHgO8ZioPZjpsZlOclSBqaQu4ybyrMC_zj8hC3gSkC_BrgSn4Kdt3KBr7s_p0mWu4yMrSQytTUcsgGLnJGdGKNe4Ns7FsdKK4Yv4ZmhDO0pXog8XzpFHJgKU6GQYpFRjMeu_S80-eCWndwP2NE/s3595/IMG_4403.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2735" data-original-width="3595" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCmoBdtQBlxarWmesB9VaiTovwArc_LAP4fkts5INQBHgO8ZioPZjpsZlOclSBqaQu4ybyrMC_zj8hC3gSkC_BrgSn4Kdt3KBr7s_p0mWu4yMrSQytTUcsgGLnJGdGKNe4Ns7FsdKK4Yv4ZmhDO0pXog8XzpFHJgKU6GQYpFRjMeu_S80-eCWndwP2NE/w640-h486/IMG_4403.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>The race start was <u>early</u>. We would have a pre-race meeting and board buses at 5:00 AM. Like most racers (and race staff) that I spoke to, this meant that the night before this 26-hour race promised little quality sleep. For me, it's tough to sleep after having seen the race maps/route. My brain wants to keep returning to strategic minutia instead of staying asleep. </p><p>We were, uncharacteristically, able to each grab a little nap on the (school) bus, which is notoriously difficult. Then we unloaded at Holiday Valley ski area in Ellitcottville, PA for the race start. We began at 7:15 AM and would finish no later than 9:00 AM the next day. The first (prologue) stage was to hike to the top of the ski area, on ski slopes and trails, while grabbing 2 CPs and gaining 650 ft. No major nav here. There was the usual thing of many teams starting at an unsustainable initial pace (jogging uphill); we were happy to slide to the back of the pack and "race our race". We made the unpopular decision do do this 2.25 mile trek in our bike shoes. We both have comfy hikeable bike shoes and, by doing this, we wouldn't have to carry wet damp trek shoes for the next bike leg (up to 40 miles). We did not see any other team adopting this strategy but felt that we had made the right decision.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Gm8RqhWH9Y7vJ-W7xg4g9AiIE-DlvEAR2jcy4h_6vUVaX9P1MQcxnYdipz9SLNDv56o_LFdioFxDG9t5Y8_bT5TSLsxNXE0JvVEEXmY1EQT1wGp3n2pKwEi6QpSWDFiUk2Fb6yfI4GCoTVUeXYm18nfLIeA6kw3-DvfPGk8o1ABzDmQJR4gDseYzyAQ/s1920/P8120001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1818" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Gm8RqhWH9Y7vJ-W7xg4g9AiIE-DlvEAR2jcy4h_6vUVaX9P1MQcxnYdipz9SLNDv56o_LFdioFxDG9t5Y8_bT5TSLsxNXE0JvVEEXmY1EQT1wGp3n2pKwEi6QpSWDFiUk2Fb6yfI4GCoTVUeXYm18nfLIeA6kw3-DvfPGk8o1ABzDmQJR4gDseYzyAQ/s320/P8120001.JPG" width="303" /></a></div><p>At the TA, we quickly switched to bike mode (just put the maps on the bike board and donned helmets) and set off onto the first, and longest, bike leg on the trails and forest roads at the top of the ski area. I immediately made a slight but highly consequential nav error and started off on what seemed to the right road, heading in the right direction, but quickly things were not lining up on the map and we consequently spent the next 40 minutes riding around trying to find out where we were. Once we were "found" again, we were able to start finding the trail CPs. We found one after some nice flowy trail riding and headed to the next. On the way, I had an abrupt crash on the classic front-tire-on-wet-diagonal-root, which immediately slammed me to the ground. No worse for the wear, we continued on to our next target. Here, I left the trail too early and sent us on foot, without the map (total rookie move) to a local high point where I expected to find the CP. After not finding it, I directed us back to the approximate location where we had left our bikes and eventually hit a trail, which I misidentified and sent us on a rambling 45 minute trail trek to eventually find our bikes and, shortly thereafter, the CP we were aiming for an hour earlier. Gah.</p><p>After this ignominious start, I directed us, more accurately on the trails to find the next 4 CPs without issue. The trails thus far had been pretty fun, smooth and flowy, but soon, continuing down Porcupine trail, they became more bony and with many sections which were best hike-a-biked. At the end of Porcupine, we were face with a big uphill hike-a-bike section on "Growler", part of which we had to reclimb because of bad Dad nav. That's when I heard a call from Reed, behind me "Dad! my pedal fell off!" Hmm. Okay, no worries, we'll just screw it back tight onto the crank arm, right? Examining Reed's bike, however, we found that the clip-in part of the pedal had fallen off of the axle, spewing grease and ball bearings onto the ground - not a field repair. By loosely sticking the pedal back onto the axle, however, we could continue. In fact, we were able to get 4 more CPs in this manner - riding slowly and having to put Reed's pedal back on every few minutes. We switched pedals after a while so that I could take a turn with the bad bike but, by this point, the pedal had tightly seized onto the axle and no longer spun. This seemed workable at first but we soon discovered that, with the pedal rigid, it unscrewed from the crank with every bit of downward pressure. So, the entire pedal was falling off the bike every minute or so. We then hiked to the last optional CP of the section with the knowledge that there was no feasible strategy to complete this leg, which included 20 more miles of riding.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpjVFtuqCuP4tq8VsEqQPqaTbnQBjTqkTcUTPKvAuoP9BU2Guov4t2PhSInuJ6LHEJzfGUjOVeQ5_lSCKdhbs_DGzZ5ELIsTqIsc6llTIiKS5ZK_7dTt_AojtrJqfGj-9DB6SsHO15LgOu1OUYc8RAVMF5lUjb1LoWlFWMP63Pn3Njp2s3I8udRd-ves/s2560/P8120007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpjVFtuqCuP4tq8VsEqQPqaTbnQBjTqkTcUTPKvAuoP9BU2Guov4t2PhSInuJ6LHEJzfGUjOVeQ5_lSCKdhbs_DGzZ5ELIsTqIsc6llTIiKS5ZK_7dTt_AojtrJqfGj-9DB6SsHO15LgOu1OUYc8RAVMF5lUjb1LoWlFWMP63Pn3Njp2s3I8udRd-ves/w640-h480/P8120007.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mid-race, a good time to work on your single-leg pedaling drills.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>As luck would have it, we were above 2000ft at this point and therefore had enough cell reception to call race HQ and report our misfortune. Vice race director Aaron was able to come and pick us us, transport us to the next CP, and also loan us a pedal. This way we could continue through the race and experience nearly the whole course. Having skipped about 20 miles of this bike leg, however, we were an "unofficial" team and would be racing solely for "fun".</p><p>Arriving at TA2 by car, we quickly installed the loaner pedal and got ready to paddle on the scenic Allegheny Reservoir. The first part of this was quite pleasant - partly cloudy and nice to be seated in a canoe. During the last 2/3 of this leg however, we observed storm clouds approaching and soon found ourselves in monsoon-like downpours and accompanying high winds. The former were more of a nuisance but the wind raised a substantial chop on the water, eventually enough so that little waves would break over the bow and dump a little water into the boat. It was also, of course, a headwind, which slowed progress immensely. Many teams pulled their boats off the water to wait out the storm but we just plodded along, weathering 2 separate downpours. At one of the CPs, we stopped on shore to dump several gallons of water of water out of the boat. The last raging downpour coincided with our arrival at the takeout (TA3), so we had to transition in the rain - never a joy. In all we paddled 8 miles on this leg, picking up 2 of the 3 available CPs. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXU31w2GQcheUVfrOPTc-r5L7AIJRecNxhT1HpOxSW4pyLcb7FMCo6uX-6iI0r9JSxqUXihGt0wuUdgshQqWolUPifN7PpoePpHZNMvBXJ1AIzrZTt_7J7kUj3mNZro6r6F4RMFBKYE3-FT8SrMQO-F_Ii94fW7Iu0MKz55vTxEYgqvbMRa21xPGwXds/s2460/P8120008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1748" data-original-width="2460" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLXU31w2GQcheUVfrOPTc-r5L7AIJRecNxhT1HpOxSW4pyLcb7FMCo6uX-6iI0r9JSxqUXihGt0wuUdgshQqWolUPifN7PpoePpHZNMvBXJ1AIzrZTt_7J7kUj3mNZro6r6F4RMFBKYE3-FT8SrMQO-F_Ii94fW7Iu0MKz55vTxEYgqvbMRa21xPGwXds/w640-h454/P8120008.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mid-downpour, pre-waves</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This TA (paddle -> trek) was our last chance to see our gear, so we loaded up food to last the rest of the race and refilled our water reservoirs. As we left the TA, the rain was basically finished. We walked on the road for a few minutes and then on a trail and then headed off-trail. </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkf6xFDPL52ulKfXxlIg7Fua2VEZHhSynUulcNKTIZxQ9QZoswUmDhWvwaLOkteE9WZxDVs2FD_G3CPP4KsPPyqROU2fgMHvEyq14e8rp8t-z1T3uuv3mxOfY8tuRMIt6SX1r_b0SGYcXa9kXZMERh35mWvSpev3feqonx4Feu30zHCyte59VHNRaHbYk/s2560/P8120013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkf6xFDPL52ulKfXxlIg7Fua2VEZHhSynUulcNKTIZxQ9QZoswUmDhWvwaLOkteE9WZxDVs2FD_G3CPP4KsPPyqROU2fgMHvEyq14e8rp8t-z1T3uuv3mxOfY8tuRMIt6SX1r_b0SGYcXa9kXZMERh35mWvSpev3feqonx4Feu30zHCyte59VHNRaHbYk/w640-h480/P8120013.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skies clearing (temporarily) leaving TA3</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We had made a conservative decision to go for only 2 optional CPs on the leg, which were more-or-less on the way to the mandatory CP for this leg. This was a cool area for off trail exploration, but, unless you were a team planning on clearing the course, it was not an efficient place to spend time because the CPs were few and far between. Other legs of the race featured more densely-placed CPs, and so, if you wanted the most payoff for your time, this was not the place, sadly. Navigating to our first CP, we had some difficulty, as my compass bearing and my intuition were in conflict with one another. We were climbing too slowly and walking too far but I kept telling myself "trust the compass". Well, eventually it became obvious that trusting the compass was leading us astray and, after a few minutes of map scrutiny, we discovered that we had overshot the CP by quite a distance. After correcting, we found the terrain to match up nicely with the map and after 30 minutes of bonus bushwhacking, we were at the CP. From here it was not too difficult to find the next CP, before eventually reaching some trail, on which we would spend the rest of the leg. Anytime you're off trail in the PA/NY area, you worry about encountering vast evil stands of mountain laurel but we found none here. The forest was pretty open and although brushy saplings and deadfall slowed you a bit, there was no thorny or stiff underbrush. We enjoyed the off-trail travel. The trail hiking was straightforward - just keep trudging. A soaking downpour arrived and continued for 30 mins or so, further muddying the trail and generally adding to the sloggy-soggy vibe of the final trek. We covered almost 10 miles here and picked up 3 total CPs before arriving at TA4 around midnight.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIZ-YECKpEYzm3pSPg5-dxxdthwQMR-jtPaSzYWMphcZ_Lf7byQ3qgS5aPHVwzudtw7JbXMwKy8jkn2MlzkMayouLa4D9PPggNNQGcxQ8N0KByTfiOlTfgJAQahmitiPIptSrEiqIgyUf49lcnW3lgAw_5a-gIOc9JZqwaJZX9uj_XokbH14x4dhoxTA/s2084/P8120015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2084" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmIZ-YECKpEYzm3pSPg5-dxxdthwQMR-jtPaSzYWMphcZ_Lf7byQ3qgS5aPHVwzudtw7JbXMwKy8jkn2MlzkMayouLa4D9PPggNNQGcxQ8N0KByTfiOlTfgJAQahmitiPIptSrEiqIgyUf49lcnW3lgAw_5a-gIOc9JZqwaJZX9uj_XokbH14x4dhoxTA/s320/P8120015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p>At the TA we were in for a real treat - the RDs and volunteers had set up an awesome rest stop inside the back of a rental truck. We we could sit (ahhhh) out of the rain (ahhh) and enjoy a fresh hot snack of taco toppings spooned into a Fritos bag (ahh yeah). It was a unexpected moment of comfort and a serious morale boost.</p><p>Soon enough, we had finished our snack, transitioned, and it was time head back out into the wet night for some more AR. The first part of this would be a speedy descent on road, so we clothed our wet bodies as best as we could (i.e., put on a windbreaker) and headed down. After a few miles of this, we reached a section which RD John Courain warned us pre-race "sucks so bad". This consisted of a rudimentary skinny trail through chest high weeds/bushes in muddy terrain which went on for about 1.5 miles. At this point, the RDs had placed pink flagging tape to show us the "best" way through this tangle. This was monumentally helpful. After following several sets of flagging, we were led to a low-elevation CP. After this, the flagging stopped and our job was to steeply gain 600 feet elevation in a roughly southern direction and hope to find one of the hilltop roads which were on the map. There were some historic trails/roads? marked on the map that could theoretically be used to get there but it was difficult to match the overgrown terrain with anything that could be considered a "road/trail". Luckily there were tracks ahead of us through the weeds - either made by teams ahead of us or the RDs. These roughly followed what seemed to be an old road grade, which was somewhat encouraging. There was really no option other than following these tracks at this point. The main issue, however, was not the blind navigation (which was quite concerning) but that the steepness of the terrain necessitated a wet hike-a-bike for the entire duration. Even when the terrain flattened out enough to possibly ride, there were enough fallen trees to prevent it. This sweaty uphill slog took a full hour, while only covering a little more than a mile of horizontal distance.</p><p>At the end, the trail finally flattened out for good on a recognizable plateau feature, but by this point we had lost our enthusiasm for this race. There were several teams together at this point and we worked together to figure out how to complete the final connection to the road system that lie ahead. This was thankfully downhill and we soon punched into an odd labyrinthine forest road system.</p><p>Almost immediately after entering this road system we discovered it purpose.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipTT8lhNu5ARCcSdrD1aCIrK0IiLzYJLWFyBTEmXt2l4bO92IBdGFd0y9uYhQbufdXuRC4hgT0cc3FYCCEkieNzFMPMArqpCFT46xz5hgbnWoFijcFDVhdOGF5Cn5tebq8e86ZJ2JF05fDzj74kBLcmAuOKofQ2lI8a-LOD_3H3F37AYZXBrEIvSPPrw/s2560/P8130022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgipTT8lhNu5ARCcSdrD1aCIrK0IiLzYJLWFyBTEmXt2l4bO92IBdGFd0y9uYhQbufdXuRC4hgT0cc3FYCCEkieNzFMPMArqpCFT46xz5hgbnWoFijcFDVhdOGF5Cn5tebq8e86ZJ2JF05fDzj74kBLcmAuOKofQ2lI8a-LOD_3H3F37AYZXBrEIvSPPrw/w640-h480/P8130022.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>We encountered several oil wells and oil tank installations and there was a frequent odor of oil in the forest air. It was interesting and a little eerie riding through the silent, unlit woods among this unusual machinery.</p><p>These roads were well-mapped and after a few turns we were back on public roads. We had been racing for 19 hours at this point; it was about 4:30 AM. Here again, we needed to descend speedily on pavement to our next destination. Strangely, there was almost no uphill riding on this race. We gained almost all of our elevation on foot and via hike-a-bike.</p><p>The next destination was Jake's Rocks, a nest of trails designed for mountain biking. These were initially fun trails and we picked up the initial CP while riding generally level and flowy trails. Soon, however, in order to get the next mandatory CP, we needed to ascend 550 ft on these trails. We were able to ride a few short switchbacked sections but the trail got rockier and steeper as we went along. So, again, we found ourselves undertaking a long arduous hike-a-bike.</p><p>At the top, we punched the CP and headed on forest roads to the next section. I'm sure there would have been some better trail riding experiences to be had in here while going after some optional CPs but, at this point, we just wanted to be done with this leg of the race.</p><p>After a few miles of flat forest roads, we reached the final TA. Here there were 5 optional checkpoints to be had on foot, if time/desire permitted. At the TA here and at the prior (TA4), we noticed a more-than-usual amount of carnage for a 24-hour race: racers dropping out, racers camping out at TAs and, here, multiple teams sleeping roadside just a few hours from the end of the race. We weren't judging. Heck, we had skipped 20 miles of the first bike and were feeling pretty spent nonetheless. It definitely wasn't the longest or climbiest race but it was taking it's toll for sure. Whatever it was: storms, mud, bad pre-race sleep, soul-sucking hike-a-bikes or other hardships, the racers were definitely feeling it.</p><p>Here we elected to find a single optional CP on this leg, I think it was CP28. We hiked out to it's approximate location and, immediately, the small nearby road was not corresponding to the map (at least to my sleepy pre-dawn brain) and I was not sure where exactly to point us as we looked for a "Waterfall". With all the recent rain, any waterfall should be really gushing, and so we were seeking with our ears as much as our eyes. We found several small falls but nothing substantial, while my altimeter told me that we had already gone far enough. I really didn't have the mental energy to figure it all out and re-attack, so after 20-30 minutes of fruitless bushwhacking in moderately technical terrain, I called off the search and directed us out of the woods back to the TA.</p><p>We said goodbye to TA boss Jason and biked off to the finish line in Warren, 10 miles away. This was easy nav once I we realized that a road called FR160 was not the same as an adjacent road called F160. Reed and I rode side-by-side trying to keep each other awake. We each blearily saw lots of hallucinated bears in the trees flying by us. We were revived quite a bit when daylight finally conquered the fog of dawn, and rode to the finish line without further issue.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiqG2tUwLcwF_SBoDWpE8hMIF-yJpGiReI9TJDzR-6bmukfncYdaTFiEdkrWDkYvLhvNUeH6yhwA7jkhLYoK1vUpizmCgD9IJJaPijis5ayxo1v52t6sx8jj1fbEXZ-Y2EFfqafLN-uqQRIdsSjm-rj_FyhvLkoTINLvPJq6ypC7nAQJP8SAkQWvQF8I/s804/IMG_4408.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="804" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRiqG2tUwLcwF_SBoDWpE8hMIF-yJpGiReI9TJDzR-6bmukfncYdaTFiEdkrWDkYvLhvNUeH6yhwA7jkhLYoK1vUpizmCgD9IJJaPijis5ayxo1v52t6sx8jj1fbEXZ-Y2EFfqafLN-uqQRIdsSjm-rj_FyhvLkoTINLvPJq6ypC7nAQJP8SAkQWvQF8I/s320/IMG_4408.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>It was really nice to be done. It was not a highly successful race but we were proud to have completed a version of the course, albeit unofficially. Discounting the car ride, we covered about 80 miles while climbing about 9000 feet and felt satisfied with the results of our trip.</p><p>We would love to thank the NYARA team (Courain branch) and all of the volunteers and sponsors who helped make this happen. It will certainly be a long-lasting memory for this father and son team.</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCG6XOw-dRKY6YnriVdv-hkBMxEIQR5NsY-kR_x8IgkiyXLVU5lmjU9txq5LddvaM9HWOYz2zWzEf-KKaS4vdgtweKXG4ckiELDDmCQs4ypwSb7rLHiFId9VIRvZ4sa5DnhoFCBqowdY1SmJjbCpa_kseOHkikTQqh8MbUup5eTpkMA6z089gM_drOTN0/s3345/IMG_4406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2025" data-original-width="3345" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCG6XOw-dRKY6YnriVdv-hkBMxEIQR5NsY-kR_x8IgkiyXLVU5lmjU9txq5LddvaM9HWOYz2zWzEf-KKaS4vdgtweKXG4ckiELDDmCQs4ypwSb7rLHiFId9VIRvZ4sa5DnhoFCBqowdY1SmJjbCpa_kseOHkikTQqh8MbUup5eTpkMA6z089gM_drOTN0/w640-h388/IMG_4406.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deposit in calorie bank on the trip home, Bath, NY.</td></tr></tbody></table>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-61231999767983276012023-07-31T17:44:00.015-07:002023-08-07T11:52:48.223-07:00Maine Summer Adventure Race; Brunswick, ME 7/22/23<p> This year's edition of the Strong Machine's MSAR was based out of a fresh new location, in the historic coastal town of Brunswick. The coolest part of this race was that we would be racing with original teammate Nick for the first time since the 2019 MSAR, as our original 3-man unit (Est. 2009). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatXvRkNPfhgyZTth5-zVuSYv39Jq1HUhhSuhrEa-rJ_5Q0tbwLT67EXE3MZcb01G_RhIoxDTe7Tpgo1BIsPxqtwqagTaMebij1tUGRC7QZtoszyEPGif7EUvN2CGPmNDhrsQqDFnDnTTqykW2OWqr3OjtrdFq5v-eYysouuRATczu3X6Z_KW3AbN-9u4/s2048/IMG_4339.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhatXvRkNPfhgyZTth5-zVuSYv39Jq1HUhhSuhrEa-rJ_5Q0tbwLT67EXE3MZcb01G_RhIoxDTe7Tpgo1BIsPxqtwqagTaMebij1tUGRC7QZtoszyEPGif7EUvN2CGPmNDhrsQqDFnDnTTqykW2OWqr3OjtrdFq5v-eYysouuRATczu3X6Z_KW3AbN-9u4/w640-h426/IMG_4339.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>Pre-race, we picked up our maps and had about 2 hours to finish gearing up, map our initial legs and stuff a few more calories in the tank. It seemed like a lot of time, and it was, but we did not let that stop us from spending the last 10 minutes in the usual chaotic frenzy.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrpgZHVUHBOLfrqdU9IJ74c4U4KOkWOe771tKkvTdE1q7tZWj1QBm54pRNXdEeioFhLALVFkkh0ZpUcMv9BYE-DgtqDi57aUig72r4NjZUH_C2IztILQ0W9QmbnVP-twQHBpgM3Sx0bKXPp-DR8AcPfN1TORJ_K4mP5tciDghAEQtHVs6OM5OlxHmj9E/s1280/IMG_4315.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrpgZHVUHBOLfrqdU9IJ74c4U4KOkWOe771tKkvTdE1q7tZWj1QBm54pRNXdEeioFhLALVFkkh0ZpUcMv9BYE-DgtqDi57aUig72r4NjZUH_C2IztILQ0W9QmbnVP-twQHBpgM3Sx0bKXPp-DR8AcPfN1TORJ_K4mP5tciDghAEQtHVs6OM5OlxHmj9E/w400-h268/IMG_4315.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tailgate mapping session</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>The prologue of this race, we then found out, was going to be a written quiz on topographic features. We needed to ace the test before we could begin the race proper. This went pretty well - after a quick correction of the quiz, we were off on bikes, 6 minutes earlier that the loser quiz-failer teams.</p><p>Race weather was much sunnier overall than predicted, but it was never excessively hot or extremely humid - it could have been much worse, given the jungle-like weather of the early summer so far.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERkdnTh6dNELpsyNnVXtqrQ5eEP7uNLX-XPauyMcmN097dYwIAc8jvJZGzEfIkG1Ouwadmp0cNQ4UNo_hgfhPFb7A0tiFPApY4sqsb8Igz2kZxpo0GQbLSvsptqAYfx34_hI8SbkQEdG3JBeOAx5DiOjf0fO21xZ9EEnvgJtj93SjrIsAtqsfRyDqXYs/s2048/Asset0027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERkdnTh6dNELpsyNnVXtqrQ5eEP7uNLX-XPauyMcmN097dYwIAc8jvJZGzEfIkG1Ouwadmp0cNQ4UNo_hgfhPFb7A0tiFPApY4sqsb8Igz2kZxpo0GQbLSvsptqAYfx34_hI8SbkQEdG3JBeOAx5DiOjf0fO21xZ9EEnvgJtj93SjrIsAtqsfRyDqXYs/s320/Asset0027.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />We biked briefly on local roads to a Line-O on the local Neptune Woods trails. You just had to follow a course through the trails, marked on your map, and encounter the 4 unmapped CPs. This was fun and easy. The trails were smooth and dry and the CPs were obvious if you were on the right course.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTB7pgic05IsBJCdbIR5XXtylLFDyttnYhr416ZuNUdFhyWsQASHVf05NrJlDZAdj2O70uBdVlECga5tx8tbZMs0bgaQYtqV9mHuEJD4wC60djOUAdSTVjaFPrPj0xD5HObQdG0Z1fMGZdm4W2B-3SMd6A2Y9YhRx6mCfIIjjKb9zgnbpcU9L4Zk9eLU/s1042/IMG_4296.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1042" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTB7pgic05IsBJCdbIR5XXtylLFDyttnYhr416ZuNUdFhyWsQASHVf05NrJlDZAdj2O70uBdVlECga5tx8tbZMs0bgaQYtqV9mHuEJD4wC60djOUAdSTVjaFPrPj0xD5HObQdG0Z1fMGZdm4W2B-3SMd6A2Y9YhRx6mCfIIjjKb9zgnbpcU9L4Zk9eLU/w640-h556/IMG_4296.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Next, we spent a little longer riding roads around the Brunswick Air Force base to reach the trails of the Kate Furbish Preserve. Here we dropped bikes and spent an hour or so finding 10 CPs in the woods. We had no real problems here apart from wet feet and a few mosquito bites. We trotted back to the bikes at TA1 and sped off toward the next leg - paddling in the tidal Androscoggin River.</p><p>After logging more miles on road and smooth trails, with no major delays, we reached the put-in (TA2). At this point we were about 24 miles and 3.5 hours into the race.</p><p>Here we were reunited with our gear bin (food, fresh gear, sunblock) and we carried our 2 kayaks to the boat ramp on the Andro. There were 7 paddle CPs available. 2 of them were located together, quite a distance downriver. We had calculated that it would take 1.5-2 hours to get these 2 CPs and had previously decided that they were not worth it. You would only go for them if you were confident of clearing the rest of the course and we decided we weren't. Since the first legs of the race had gone so smoothly, we were second-guessing this a bit as we started the paddle. However, we soon realized that we did not even have the map for those 2 CPs with us in the boats, so it was pointless to debate. It ended up being the correct decision.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhax28_6VmqN2utyPbYWMA0EZGJro2LW-yWuEzHFTdKG2bny5CA58GFdiXzuUm-7MJiaYbwhT6Dr0ARrhqhxihy5-xfmEU_qTEB1wIZ6VptqvGv86MWXu6OSe8xLoVokolQNgAaSIrX8SMNEfo5keqCL2TnYYaNW-buDB-x73v94tMCYM2didsRPJCtk3Q/s2048/Asset0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhax28_6VmqN2utyPbYWMA0EZGJro2LW-yWuEzHFTdKG2bny5CA58GFdiXzuUm-7MJiaYbwhT6Dr0ARrhqhxihy5-xfmEU_qTEB1wIZ6VptqvGv86MWXu6OSe8xLoVokolQNgAaSIrX8SMNEfo5keqCL2TnYYaNW-buDB-x73v94tMCYM2didsRPJCtk3Q/w400-h266/Asset0020.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>We enjoyed the paddle. With no competition nearby, we just clicked into a solid paddling rhythm and found the 5 island CPs without issue, while taking some time to eat and drink. It was a little sunny and uncomfortably warm but there were a few breezes (and hat dips) that helped. It was nice to hit the turnaround point of this roughly out-and-back journey and have the benefit of a substantial current for the last couple miles. We covered about 8 miles in about 2.5 hours.</p><p>Back at the TA, it was time to switch back into bike mode for a long (20 mile) ride to Popham Beach State Park on generally scenic rural coastal roads. There were lots of rolling hills and historic residences to add variety. The non-rural exception was a quick trip through the busier port town of Bath, early in the leg. We were with several other teams for a few miles after Bath, but soon outpaced them and got to pedal by ourselves for most of the trip, until catching solo Tom Martin near the end of the leg. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkiI5e5xXFihdBEV4V2u0P2xyHFnVqvUk0OpS7F3ke3JKcf2VCUuIGYJ3Ik3b6RHoLkriG3mlo-o1PE1SM8xa91xmJSA6oyRPY0k_3IcYMCGNBmMOe96R2J8t1wpWncDrTDBnhMmvukIjoeTyE2rJ6guqO5eAVODncU1eKYjGl0sFcCz_NL6kC29wf-hg/s1280/IMG_4306.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkiI5e5xXFihdBEV4V2u0P2xyHFnVqvUk0OpS7F3ke3JKcf2VCUuIGYJ3Ik3b6RHoLkriG3mlo-o1PE1SM8xa91xmJSA6oyRPY0k_3IcYMCGNBmMOe96R2J8t1wpWncDrTDBnhMmvukIjoeTyE2rJ6guqO5eAVODncU1eKYjGl0sFcCz_NL6kC29wf-hg/w640-h428/IMG_4306.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick leading the train out of Bath</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Sunset (and the accompanying mosquitoes) was looming as we transitioned at Popham into trek mode for a beachy and historic circumnavigation of the Popham peninsula. One cool feature of this section was that there was a CP on an offshore island which was accessible only during a 4-hour period at low tide. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxqwc4EFKjfLNPEqTZvN2yB7fymj5DMWqkIZSrI7mlmwVUfXLWmM9s8OtwXIR7ECcX9EGXG7GZq_tbBTnjFURCcK_yfRBeL9l6i1anQr3YAg7c8xlvY5EHIrHblEBYhcSPkwK0tuUANCTzUeRoWBRp5YwFPu59lR6e5mPR0Mqpui_IHEXZDc93mkE4a8/s1280/IMG_4302.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1174" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxqwc4EFKjfLNPEqTZvN2yB7fymj5DMWqkIZSrI7mlmwVUfXLWmM9s8OtwXIR7ECcX9EGXG7GZq_tbBTnjFURCcK_yfRBeL9l6i1anQr3YAg7c8xlvY5EHIrHblEBYhcSPkwK0tuUANCTzUeRoWBRp5YwFPu59lR6e5mPR0Mqpui_IHEXZDc93mkE4a8/s320/IMG_4302.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Island CP</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>Our arrival coincided with the beginning of that 4-hour window, so we grabbed that one first. We then continued walking along the scenic and expansive beach for 2 miles to pick up another shore CP before heading to a cluster of CPs that were within various historic forts/bunkers on the northern end of the peninsula (adding about 3 more miles). The last part of this was wooded and pretty full of mosquitoes. This left us a bit concerned about bug pressure for the many hours of woodland trekking that lay ahead of us tonight.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTF3SWH4rjWsLnI1s-ZiFIYwcBHCpGctRY2SLCI33_33tEJcRyGJf_UvtlwdHVbWbeOPaFdIpMG7S_EA4-LBSu2NHtXFCea2mnYjvQyu5M2mcMkFAHui2my5T8hLTYGHdFbPsDzYQ6asR5ETavVijFIBtQBCUZiCOZIP3nLqwmQ07GOquUCHg-xulsiQ/s1332/IMG_4331.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1183" data-original-width="1332" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTF3SWH4rjWsLnI1s-ZiFIYwcBHCpGctRY2SLCI33_33tEJcRyGJf_UvtlwdHVbWbeOPaFdIpMG7S_EA4-LBSu2NHtXFCea2mnYjvQyu5M2mcMkFAHui2my5T8hLTYGHdFbPsDzYQ6asR5ETavVijFIBtQBCUZiCOZIP3nLqwmQ07GOquUCHg-xulsiQ/w640-h568/IMG_4331.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>During this beachy section, we made the decision to maintain a fast hike, even though some teams around us were shuffling/jogging and outpacing us. The race was only about 40% over at this point and, none of us being big runners, we wanted to make sure we had legs to last to the end, even if it cost us 10-15 minutes in the short term.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XdS5EKHyBm03W3SS9NoEvKFgIqiYTdUI8NPSDpeEIvzla2_Wdd_h8rM4pDLsISD5id21zg0LBG16wpBJrqVUV0CW7mv7LeHzLJxmjPuWlvTZZpFi4Qi7gRxUCm5XHl1hD1lo333XbSedksxL-0A_P4PItTTH0cDuv89jzmmazoTHiiRIuFLgx4R6p1I/s2048/Asset0014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3XdS5EKHyBm03W3SS9NoEvKFgIqiYTdUI8NPSDpeEIvzla2_Wdd_h8rM4pDLsISD5id21zg0LBG16wpBJrqVUV0CW7mv7LeHzLJxmjPuWlvTZZpFi4Qi7gRxUCm5XHl1hD1lo333XbSedksxL-0A_P4PItTTH0cDuv89jzmmazoTHiiRIuFLgx4R6p1I/w640-h426/Asset0014.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">After switching back to bike mode, the next leg consisted of another meandering road ride through the scenic mid-coast. These were really quite pleasant sections of this race. We spent much of this leg riding along with eventual race winners from Wisconsin, Rib Mountain Racing. </span></div><p>We needed to find a couple CPs along the way; the coolest was a CP hosted by Maine Oyster Company. We had been forewarned about this CP, which would require each team to shuck and eat an oyster before continuing. Since Rob and Nick both do surgery, it was decided that my hands were least valuable and therefore I would be doing the shucking. It was trickier than it looked in the video tutorial but after a couple minutes, the oyster was open and I was happy to slurp it down (plus a bonus, professionally-shucked oyster). Its always a treat to get fresh food during a race.</p><p>Then it was back out onto the roads toward the trek. The only wrinkle here was that we accidentally overshot CP 42 and, by the time we realized it, we were quite a bit past it. So we decided to skip that one and use the saved time for the rest of the race (a long trek leg and a long bike leg remained).</p><p>When we arrived at the start of the night trek it was about 11:00 PM, a bit past the halfway mark in the race. We took a few minutes to change into dry shoes, get water and eat a few bites of much-appreciated food provided by the RDs (ramen and sandwich wraps).</p><p>In this night trekking section, there were up to 16 CPs to be found, on and off trail. The trails were of varying levels of quality/visibility, leading to some question as to which were on the map. I hatched a route plan which would direct us to 9 of the CPs and skip over the 7 which were on the other side of a paralleling highway and river. In retrospect, I should have been more aggressive here but I knew there were a lot of bike CPs waiting for us after this (which I wanted to get all of) and I played it conservatively (spoiler: we finished 1.5 hours early). Night navigation is no guarantee and 9 CPs and 10 miles of trekking could take us more time than budgeted. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">All in all, though, we did well on this section and found our 9 CPs without a lot of delay. We had several 10 minute snafus but never got too far off course. We moved well and were able to eat and drink a little in the small hours of the race - notoriously the worst period for maintaining mental focus and staying positive.</span></div><p>The best surprise during the leg was the near-total absence of bugs! After the wet, warm and humid summer we've had, we came into the race armed with multiple DEET options, adhesive deer fly patches and even full face/torso bug mesh jackets. We didn't need any of it for this section. We hadn't experienced any significant bugs apart from the dusk trek on Popham Beach. We were incredibly thankful for this unexpected level of Maine Summer comfort. </p><p>As the trek and associated nav went fairly well, we got back to the TA at about 4:00 AM. So we had 6 hours remaining to complete the final bike leg to the finish. We saw that the leg was composed of a lot of road miles plus 2 embedded singletrack sections. After taking time to attire ourselves appropriately and grab some food/drink to go, we were off on the quiet local roads.</p><p>We covered 25 miles during this leg. The road miles were pleasant and straightforward. When we hit the first singletrack area, the Lily Pond trails, we were met with a sloppy rutted uphill muddy ATV track just after dawn. Ugh. Things improved a bit after this rough start; the trails were wet, rocky and rooty for sure but it was doable. Our main problem was not the trail conditions but staying in touch with the map - there were lots of confusing trail junctions and we found at least one inaccuracy. We ended up spending a lot of time with veteran family racers Scrambled Legs and Aching (including their 2 badass kids) and working through this dilemma with them. </p><p>We eventually escaped by just riding singletrack until we found something that we could sort of locate on the map and then just work in the general direction we wanted until we were sure of our location. Once we found ourselves on the map, we made quick work of the CPs in here and were soon back on smooth roads. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQUs-mFXOp2T8AVr7JI0MZZaMgH_TLz4sfZVZAkZkTXRdlipmGcqiBcYPGsV0DFZkf0inNsr_vuUYFaYiA64MsWNk0jL9EtlTG4szyqyASPTeORulgsuETpcwhueCIghCpaI14ym4qzdd0nUxSPcFk0C8SDbOwoJQCjY0lEuDUz0-lqKLcgae8OMFxKg/s1280/IMG_4300.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="884" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQUs-mFXOp2T8AVr7JI0MZZaMgH_TLz4sfZVZAkZkTXRdlipmGcqiBcYPGsV0DFZkf0inNsr_vuUYFaYiA64MsWNk0jL9EtlTG4szyqyASPTeORulgsuETpcwhueCIghCpaI14ym4qzdd0nUxSPcFk0C8SDbOwoJQCjY0lEuDUz0-lqKLcgae8OMFxKg/s320/IMG_4300.jpg" width="221" /></a></div><p>The next singletrack section (the Kate Furbish trails again) was much more user friendly. Rob directed us efficiently through the 3 CPs here and then we drilled it to the finish line around 8:30.</p><p>We had efficiently covered 111 miles and found every CP we looked for (58 total) without much trouble. We ended up in 7th place overall out of 39 teams, first in the men's division. </p><p>I think this was my favorite MSAR (I've done all 6 previous editions). The coastal routes, the beach trek, the oysters, etc. kept reminding you that you were in Maine, rather than some random patch of forest. We'd like to give a huge thanks to the Kate and Cliff and the rest of the Strong Machine crew that made this happen, as well as the race sponsors and volunteers. We're so thankful that people choose to arrange these things in their spare time. We'll be back for sure.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-8459636216128825142022-08-16T17:46:00.007-07:002022-08-18T07:30:49.298-07:00The Bitter Pill, 8/13/22, Waterbury VT<p> The final race on the docket for summer 2022 was the beloved 12 hour Bitter Pill. This was my 6th Bitter Pill and 14th GMARA race. You can always count on GMARA for a quality race, and this would prove to be no exception.</p><p>After notching two 24-hour races earlier this summer/spring, the 12-hour duration of this race was going to be a nice way to round out the season for me and Reed. It was also in Vermont, which typically features some really scenic terrain, well-suited for AR.</p><p>We checked into the RV we had rented on Airbnb, located just a few minutes from the race start. Here we found a very Vermonty scene, complete with cute goats and chickens in the yard. We then grabbed dinner at Zachary's Pizza (a pre-race tradition for me), readied some gear and set a 4:10 AM alarm (ouch).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-CykFPE8K47gt97r-av0abW9cccH3WqON1HOzcSncVfAQcj72ShLrINtg6ZExczoD5JGJOK65TJCaNDYodOy38XvzAGOwJRW_oR7vCH1ZkL7f_FuyDcRynCXZ8E3JqATUEbvxbwpPEHXbH0yExCtXg-xhq1spP0ra2UZ_6QI0HFHHrENqrb7AUrS/s2016/IMG_1781.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw-CykFPE8K47gt97r-av0abW9cccH3WqON1HOzcSncVfAQcj72ShLrINtg6ZExczoD5JGJOK65TJCaNDYodOy38XvzAGOwJRW_oR7vCH1ZkL7f_FuyDcRynCXZ8E3JqATUEbvxbwpPEHXbH0yExCtXg-xhq1spP0ra2UZ_6QI0HFHHrENqrb7AUrS/w640-h480/IMG_1781.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffWWHi1K6WL_zL39QiWKzGFfmrolENRC7W3687-l75mAJU6kLeXC53PeYvxwfW-Ts86uJF4r60CRU4Fm-Kqox9XxtyYW-sx3DbC7_H33gp266fYMJuQLjxxCfTKCNSzehexC9CD7e1nSbIKbNhPEf51hDQScBizP5AgTnaLTnc-uV1TU5sdUb5BJa/s2016/IMG_1778.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffWWHi1K6WL_zL39QiWKzGFfmrolENRC7W3687-l75mAJU6kLeXC53PeYvxwfW-Ts86uJF4r60CRU4Fm-Kqox9XxtyYW-sx3DbC7_H33gp266fYMJuQLjxxCfTKCNSzehexC9CD7e1nSbIKbNhPEf51hDQScBizP5AgTnaLTnc-uV1TU5sdUb5BJa/w640-h480/IMG_1778.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of leftover pizza to pack for race day fuel.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Race HQ was once again Blush Hill Country Club (same as 2019), a very suitable spot. We got a quick pre-race info session and soon headed out on bikes. Soon we were onto trail, paved roads and lovely Vermont gravel as we headed to the first cluster of CPs, covering about 8 miles with some decent elevation gain.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ52IQrLfBSp4bTY79I-V2Kra518DPUuvkdUo8Xir3hbNtQyaPz3RfUI4hxf_HIAV7NJn7M0Pq8xEJLfIeNfdJburarFI6IDDE4GXGvy7KyhM6wHokZoqxL5e7cBvQ51af9CHlz70eH5_eWDr60tiIrLXtoiKY6sh6A2aZ2E43kKrI15Ova0wuvhuV/s2220/P8130037.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="2220" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ52IQrLfBSp4bTY79I-V2Kra518DPUuvkdUo8Xir3hbNtQyaPz3RfUI4hxf_HIAV7NJn7M0Pq8xEJLfIeNfdJburarFI6IDDE4GXGvy7KyhM6wHokZoqxL5e7cBvQ51af9CHlz70eH5_eWDr60tiIrLXtoiKY6sh6A2aZ2E43kKrI15Ova0wuvhuV/w640-h420/P8130037.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Around dawn. Green mountains above valley fog.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Here on the Waterworks trails, we could find up to 7 CPs and a higher altitude bonus CP either on foot or on bike. Given the steepness of the terrain and fairly tight clustering of the CPs, we elected to get them on foot. We had trouble finding one marshside CP but otherwise found all of these pretty handily in about an hour and 45 mins. The weather was cool but there was a little humidity and we were definitely sweating after the big ascent to the bonus CP at 1650 ft elevation.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifATSeNTO2cQzbWQ010Of6ThXHlJvgfouYlxwsnfMORj3rc7o3r43pN02eeu23WV96NFLngXgvxDeAoziFIQbUR1DxRF2xfn3nDNgVvUwHeLzU--1LNUKtMKhW_Z0QqeQqyRb2Ri7Jq0Emus4k67JkUKnIl7yCCvQQgcu7EmonLcYVCCN6PJkFg4o_/s1766/DSC_2863.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="1766" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifATSeNTO2cQzbWQ010Of6ThXHlJvgfouYlxwsnfMORj3rc7o3r43pN02eeu23WV96NFLngXgvxDeAoziFIQbUR1DxRF2xfn3nDNgVvUwHeLzU--1LNUKtMKhW_Z0QqeQqyRb2Ri7Jq0Emus4k67JkUKnIl7yCCvQQgcu7EmonLcYVCCN6PJkFg4o_/w640-h554/DSC_2863.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TA scene. GMARA photo</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We then departed on bikes toward the "big trek", picking up 3 CPs along the way and covering about 8 miles in about an hour. We rode along Little River and entered Mt Mansfield State Forest, ascending on some gravel. We made a side trip to CP Y on the banks of the river, necessitating a steep descent and climb on foot before reaching the next TA where we would begin the big trek. At the TA, race staff had some mini cupcakes and fresh water waiting for us, which we took advantage of.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gZUbYKmZFyqHxaxxIFJ35H-7YL9_2B9GZr6gA4Z2DRW_8dUFpHnBuob9qxlI4iIyS9uVglfPBBiXzV8WOVhE21XAvLfyTvvcZvrS70CIQr9fjduNnBoVaGV4k8peZx8H3OkFTbd3npWguW-PHwM0_z8HpRfGUOTSfjcR10Ty6eiU9EdKktQQOu2C/s2560/P8130041.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gZUbYKmZFyqHxaxxIFJ35H-7YL9_2B9GZr6gA4Z2DRW_8dUFpHnBuob9qxlI4iIyS9uVglfPBBiXzV8WOVhE21XAvLfyTvvcZvrS70CIQr9fjduNnBoVaGV4k8peZx8H3OkFTbd3npWguW-PHwM0_z8HpRfGUOTSfjcR10Ty6eiU9EdKktQQOu2C/w640-h480/P8130041.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed enjoying the Vermont scenery as we ride toward Little River valley.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The big trek offered up a total of 12 possible CPs including 3 higher altitude bonus CPs. These were found in the trailless forested hills above us. We converted into trek mode and set out. After the first 3 CPs, we were averaging 18 minutes per CP and I was hopeful of clearing the section before the recommended time to leave, 12:30. However the next target, CP 16, dashed these hopes. The clue for the CP was "base of cliff". To our displeasure, as we arrived in the area of the CP, we found the area to be covered in lengthy multi-layered sections of cliffs. We searched dozens of cliff bases to no avail as the time ticked away. The difficulty imposed by the unhelpful nature of the clue was compounded by my error. I had us looking about 100ft too high (using the altimeter) after an overly hasty look at the map. I didn't realize this until we had already been searching for 20-30 minutes. After descending slightly, however, we were still unable to find the correct cliff among the many. I reluctantly called off the search and we headed east to the next CP. On the way, we ran into another team searching for CP16. While we were chatting, one of them glanced uphill and...there was the flag 50 feet above us. We happily clambered up to take advantage of this (off) trail magic.</p><p>Having one hour left before the recommended departure time, we decided to only attack 3 more CPs in this section. We nailed the next one in stride however, and so we decided to tack on one more target. We went on to find the next 3 with ease and actually arrived at the TA with some time to spare before 12:30.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCP5cyBbF0Lx6LAEh7XyT2Hy3IW89Xe76HkAGiyWC0BTK5kUJd8Zs_IdZR9X9cq5a3iuN0upZKNgBqk3AfugUnA6C83gP7E-n7HhSlKEkWP2jPoVBcYXvLZnIYkApYN9J1kjN9zZxeQlpDZ2M81i7UD9dCZURbYKrrHNp-LdWYzkuyFA9tiduDoxP/s2560/P8130042.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipCP5cyBbF0Lx6LAEh7XyT2Hy3IW89Xe76HkAGiyWC0BTK5kUJd8Zs_IdZR9X9cq5a3iuN0upZKNgBqk3AfugUnA6C83gP7E-n7HhSlKEkWP2jPoVBcYXvLZnIYkApYN9J1kjN9zZxeQlpDZ2M81i7UD9dCZURbYKrrHNp-LdWYzkuyFA9tiduDoxP/w640-h480/P8130042.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>We quickly ate, refilled water, refolded the map and converted to bike mode for the next section - a 13 mile ride, mostly on park roads/trail to the paddle at Waterbury Reservoir/Little River State Park.</p><p>The first part of this ride was the subject of much conversation after the race: gaining 900 ft of elevation over only 3.3 miles - ouch. Its not the Alpe d'Huez but on mountain bikes and with a fully loaded backpack, it was a bit of a chore. Reed was stalwart and we made it to the top of the climb without dismounting. After we hit this point, the ride quickly changed from arduous to exhilarating, as the smooth trail descended gently for miles. Following this, we reached Little River State Park and were treated to a bermed, flowy descent to the reservoir. This was as good as adventure racing singletrack gets. </p><p>Spirits were high, therefore, when we reached the penultimate TA to begin the paddle. They were then dampened a bit when we discovered that our next task was to carry a weighty tandem kayak from the TA up and over the height of the dam. Since we were carrying our bike helmets at this point, I determined that our best option for carrying the boat was on the top of our heads. Reed was/is a little dubious about this but it worked well enough.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8sFHz26CGAeoFFD0ijpRa900WqzTtV45pH39LZmVr9UEqE6NQ4r1CK7ZY8MXgh-om83OMpjN1VwvP8IvWt3Z-VhF6BQ3ZJGWSYOME1PwfmNP3WgD7F2WEkNYkL1XsAWc9iNqsp6XBWg9A8lruxbOSGKleK_pv4v6WJxggour3SKfHCHgQP1L-2JF/s1751/DSC_3094.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1632" data-original-width="1751" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8sFHz26CGAeoFFD0ijpRa900WqzTtV45pH39LZmVr9UEqE6NQ4r1CK7ZY8MXgh-om83OMpjN1VwvP8IvWt3Z-VhF6BQ3ZJGWSYOME1PwfmNP3WgD7F2WEkNYkL1XsAWc9iNqsp6XBWg9A8lruxbOSGKleK_pv4v6WJxggour3SKfHCHgQP1L-2JF/w640-h596/DSC_3094.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GMARA photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiNTOFSdYDRw7Jy4icOXNzQl9e54UXH-jyvCYbFgv8OEwZSaGc5O8zC6JhkMlzpuUOWIV3vhfUG_Bgip5vR3Bzo_9NAFl-YeVufB9Hq5_TNvkMHvWF7CHSOZOdLBspMvUS18xFJ4biZkTNYlxXyI07EykLnUrUrMeVyOWg7R6BT7yvx48rhBF42lz/s1733/DSC_3099.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="1733" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJiNTOFSdYDRw7Jy4icOXNzQl9e54UXH-jyvCYbFgv8OEwZSaGc5O8zC6JhkMlzpuUOWIV3vhfUG_Bgip5vR3Bzo_9NAFl-YeVufB9Hq5_TNvkMHvWF7CHSOZOdLBspMvUS18xFJ4biZkTNYlxXyI07EykLnUrUrMeVyOWg7R6BT7yvx48rhBF42lz/w640-h512/DSC_3099.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GMARA photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This turned out to be one of the most pleasant paddle legs we've ever done - comfy boat, placid water, cool temps and nice scenery. We made quick work of the first 3 CPs and so, as on the big trek, I elected to squeeze in one more CP than initially planned. This gave us 6 total for the leg (including CP X). After a less strenuous, mostly downhill kayak portage, we were back at the final TA and headed straight out to the final trek. This was a mostly uphill one hour trip through woods and neighborhoods, returning to race HQ at Blush Hill, *almost* without issue. There was a minor (maybe major) panic attack when I went to fish out the passport from the leg of my bike shorts and found nothing. A deeper search under the bike shorts and all available pockets also yielded nothing - oh crap, did we just do all this for nothing? Finally I found it - during the trek it had migrated to a very different part of the bike shorts on the back of my upper leg. Thinking ahead to the scene of me extracting this wet rag (we couldn't resist a quick dip at the end of the paddle) from underneath my shorts and handing it to a friendly race staff member at the finish line, I considerately hand-carried for the end of the trek, allowing it to at least air dry along the way.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIpyyS8cL3a2aPqe0dpqf91Kqie3zpIYd8Kjty2GgOT5tfEcb5ZQseTfwxOeB5JtcblgjNZ4yi29kxCNJZgJwtcLbQ3sp8IT5YT3vnBo05RLUTlO03hZ4Yorg4O0bM2sCl3BixhxELgiavpCKg5ma22FFrko2tT1_FajpLlYB0V9P-C2wrGaq8sTx/s2175/JNB_1229.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2175" data-original-width="1645" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjIpyyS8cL3a2aPqe0dpqf91Kqie3zpIYd8Kjty2GgOT5tfEcb5ZQseTfwxOeB5JtcblgjNZ4yi29kxCNJZgJwtcLbQ3sp8IT5YT3vnBo05RLUTlO03hZ4Yorg4O0bM2sCl3BixhxELgiavpCKg5ma22FFrko2tT1_FajpLlYB0V9P-C2wrGaq8sTx/w485-h640/JNB_1229.jpg" width="485" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GMARA photo</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>At the finish line we dropped our wet gear, changed into dry clothes and quickly sought liquid refreshment - sodas and a Little Sip of Sunshine IPA. We chatted with some familiar faces and new acquaintances and ate the satisfying buffet prepared by Blush Hill CC.</div><div><br /></div><div>After all was said and done, we finished 7th overall - very solid. The top performance of the day went to our friends Glen and Scott of Strong Machine AR.</div><div><br /></div><div>As always, we would love to thank the always dependable GMARA team, the lovely volunteers and race sponsors, as well as the folks at Blush Hill Country Club. We will certainly be back for future editions.</div>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-71682793198318731632022-07-22T18:40:00.003-07:002022-07-23T08:01:51.035-07:00Maine Summer Adventure Race 7/16/2022, New Gloucester, ME<p> Not wanting to break my streak of attending every edition of MSAR so far, this race, only 1.5 hours from home, was a obvious addition to the race schedule. Back when MSAR was a little baby 8-hour race, it was Reed's first AR, at age 14. I guess they've grown together (to 24 hours and 19.5 years, respectively). Pam (wife) and Eliza (daughter) were doing the 3-hour version of the race. </p><p>I always watch the weather forecast for these summer races with trepidation. Adventure racing is tough enough without the added unpleasantness of hot weather. <u><a href="http://nhtrailvets.blogspot.com/2021/08/maine-summer-adventure-race-new.html">Last year</a></u> we had some nice rain to keep us cool. This year we would have no such luck. Temps would be warm to hot, with some humidity, but, thankfully not nearly the heat wave that would ensue the following week. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDS_DEE941ZXI9eiJZ86jLeztU-8AUUkaJef7-ZTrTMJ4B_iRtaTzSXLpwe83uIpoRJ0gOXT1YNazj0r3YNXHBN07sBU7nBjZ1VcD3c9YegEMTc7buKBbK-uymKoIkkrxlsFeb7Db0cqYFgZKlDMAXhvTN4xNKpIxfTZUTJzzbqJZrp-p1i-2L_jEW/s1280/IMG_1723.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1223" data-original-width="1280" height="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDS_DEE941ZXI9eiJZ86jLeztU-8AUUkaJef7-ZTrTMJ4B_iRtaTzSXLpwe83uIpoRJ0gOXT1YNazj0r3YNXHBN07sBU7nBjZ1VcD3c9YegEMTc7buKBbK-uymKoIkkrxlsFeb7Db0cqYFgZKlDMAXhvTN4xNKpIxfTZUTJzzbqJZrp-p1i-2L_jEW/w640-h612/IMG_1723.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-race meeting ALL PHOTOS BY RANDY ERICKSEN</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We began with an orienteering prologue on foot around the agricultural and wooded outskirts of the Pineland Farms campus, which was a great way to spread out the teams. You could receive up to 2 CPs of credit for spelling up to 2 words out of a possible list (each CP was assigned a letter). After checking the map, we decided to spell KAYAK and FAST, meaning that we needed to find CPs K, A, Y, F, S and T. It seemed like a lot of the other teams had this same idea. </p><p>As we set off, I waved to Pam and Eliza and distractedly stepped into a soggy roadside swale, soaking my shoe/sock. The weird thing is: that was the only time Reed or I got wet feet for the entire race! Including the paddle! Unheard of!</p><p>We grabbed the first 2 without issue (apart from a minor encounter with stinging nettle) and headed off to seemingly straightforward CP F. I got mixed up with a parallel bridge feature and began to look too early in the wrong place. Eventually I found it by re-attacking using the posted trail maps but I wasted a lot of time on this fairly minor task. I bobbled a couple other of the points on this leg as well, so we were one of the last teams done with the prologue - no big deal, still plenty of race left!</p><p>We next headed out on bikes for a western road ride approaching several lakes. After 8 or 9 miles we hit CP1 at the base of Sabbathday Lake. In my hasty pre-race mapping, I mistook this for a lake quite a bit further away, where we needed to turn north. So, after punching, I directed us on a U-turn to head north. After a few miles, I didn't like how the road wasn't matching my expectations and stopped to check on things, only to discover my error. I corrected this by turning us back around and then hurriedly blowing by the correct road. After 30 bonus minutes of riding including 3 U-turns, I had us back on track and headed toward the actual lake of interest, Crescent Lake, which we reached after another 9 miles.</p><p>Just east of the lake, we stopped at the Raymond Community Forest. Here we could split up to each get 2 CPs (2 on foot, 2 on bike). Reed picked the trek, so I did the bike. I had to find 2 CPs near 2 connected trail loops. I found them fairly easily, biking along with a member of a French-speaking team. The technical rocky terrain made it hard to keep an eye on map and compass but it was doable. I finished before Reed had come back from the trek, so I walked our bikes over to where he would be finishing and had 5 minutes to sit and scope out the upcoming maps. Reed had adeptly found the 2 trek CPs and we were quickly off to nearby TA1.</p><p>Our smooth handling of this split-up section had us back among other teams but still pretty far behind in the race. So, when we reached TA1 to begin the kayak section, all of the good boats were gone. We were stuck with 10' beach rental bathtub style kayaks, while nearly everyone else had scored a sleek sea kayak. Ugh. We also had to each paddle in a one-man kayak (rather than a tandem) and, oh yeah, the stiff headwind blowing at us. There were 7 possible CPs to obtain from the Crescent Lake/Panther Pond kayak. One was about 3km away, there were another three which were another 2-3 km away and then there were 3 even more distant points. Taking our slow boats into account and doing some quick math, it didn't make a ton of sense to go after any of these CPs - we would be lucky to get 4 CPs in 3 hours. My plan to get us back in the race was to spend as much time as possible grabbing CPs on the final trek, Morgan Meadow. However, with this being the only chance to get off of our feet for the race and in the spirit of upholding the tradition of the 3 primary AR disciplines, we set off anyway.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt4yBzXVaf8zl5BP-sq3dJjZs-mDEou47mnT_GnOZ75yePrB8uHSviNSY1d2nD9q66WjjVo3m3GPLCHnP6vGeoiy7Dkhbzubgd7nL6tgBKcHm570L4rWBzQVGTDd1jEcm3Ktx3CPPuOpn6NVgYeSGgNrOWb4AfZvraKy3_DLL9TaeQKWLcRbXOM9K/s1280/IMG_1722.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1280" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt4yBzXVaf8zl5BP-sq3dJjZs-mDEou47mnT_GnOZ75yePrB8uHSviNSY1d2nD9q66WjjVo3m3GPLCHnP6vGeoiy7Dkhbzubgd7nL6tgBKcHm570L4rWBzQVGTDd1jEcm3Ktx3CPPuOpn6NVgYeSGgNrOWb4AfZvraKy3_DLL9TaeQKWLcRbXOM9K/w400-h268/IMG_1722.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>The paddle was as expected, sort of a grind/slog. The lazy river section between the two lakes was cool. We had already paddled it, funnily, a few years ago on a family vacation, staying at the very same Crescent Lake. We found the 4 CPs easily but it took about 3.5 hours. We had a strong tailwind for the return trip, which helped, but we were very ready to be done with this stage.</p><p>We gobbled food, refilled water, fiddled with maps and set off again for the bike leg which was dubbed "the adventure bike" by a smirking RD Kate at the pre-race meeting. Based on this description we weren't sure how much of this bike to bite off. I was trying to strategically skip parts of the course in order the spend time where I had deemed the most CP-lucrative stage (Morgan Meadow trek), so I had us short-cut the first 1/3 of the adventure bike on paved road. However, I had hatched a sneaky, clever plan to make a quick side trip and steal 2 of the CPs from that skipped portion, the closely spaced CPs 16 and 17. We would drop bikes at the base of the hill they were on (Quaker Hill), scurry up, punch the 2 CPs and resume the rest of the adventure bike. Atop Quaker Hill, we allowed ourselves 30 seconds to sit on a bench and enjoy a lovely western view. Apparently, my plan here was not all that sneaky or clever because, while snatching these CPs, we crossed paths with a bunch of other teams with the same idea. Okay fine.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkALfPgekeiXAaXldKRYazA9fEqEBhdBpKrimZ45ZKuFwcB3TgsPGrpjnWqRKGS5fCf3QDHEUoZSH6oYzJZopu2d32KGqWr7YWkSJaZeHGCKtAOlzLVNsk6fYMCFNiRW6yO9Jx3cZVWcEYrOGLD4SsIfINNbxRQ1sIdECcCdhuwPp2gjYwOV4j0H1/s959/IMG_1718.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="959" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkALfPgekeiXAaXldKRYazA9fEqEBhdBpKrimZ45ZKuFwcB3TgsPGrpjnWqRKGS5fCf3QDHEUoZSH6oYzJZopu2d32KGqWr7YWkSJaZeHGCKtAOlzLVNsk6fYMCFNiRW6yO9Jx3cZVWcEYrOGLD4SsIfINNbxRQ1sIdECcCdhuwPp2gjYwOV4j0H1/w640-h428/IMG_1718.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Anyway, soon we were back on the trail with our bikes, riding ATV/doubletrack stuff that was not bad except for a few sections of loose baby heads. CPs 18, 19 and 20 came quickly and we were pumped to continue this CP-rich bike section - there we 6 more possible CPs to attack in the upcoming trail network. As we approached them, however, our hopes for a speedy sweep of these CPs began to dim. The speedy packed dirt we had been on had abruptly turned into long stretches of deep, dry fine sand. Riding on this varied from slow/laborious to impossible. As the sandy surface continued to predominate in this region, any hope of regaining terra firma in this area evaporated. Based on this new info, we decided on a smaller loop which would give us 3 of the 6 CPs and reduce our time in the sandbox. We got these without too much trouble (one wrong turn) and found a few of the trails to be actually moderately fast where the sand had been dispersed by motorized vehicle use.</p><p>Now well past sunset, we left the trail system and rode a few miles on roads. We passed Dadmun Dr., which was funny because Mun is nickname for Reed in our family. Dadmun seemed like a good team name, and, obviously, the universe was totally cheering us on by delivering this road sign to our reality. Entering a busier road, we made a quick stop at a surprisingly busy gas station mart and split a Mountain Dew. We ran into race photographer Randy Ericksen and another team here and chatted briefly before continuing down busy Rt. 11 and then even busier Rt. 302 into Naples, Maine. It was almost 11 PM by now and there was a steady steam of traffic whizzing by us (a recurring theme). We hadn't realized that this relatively rural part of Maine had such a bumping nightlife, but apparently on summer Saturday nights it does. As we rode down 302 toward Naples, we passed full restaurants, bars and live music. But, we soon turned onto a side street and resumed the familiar AR experience of riding through peoples' dark, quiet rural neighborhoods in the middle of the night.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HbbDl_Yr2JM6RqTv4Ybt_ByvifJGE0kzX4uPLtfEDNTgAK2XbmXbOrSWhYGqRmPaLkuDr2kUcVYSNk61bjw-goUlFRezyVfW9wIvwW1503L0Ro9MdAI1OTdgh3AkFl4cORibaDNY4hkYkWIG96Sb0hX46oeTeA6ApaAjOQOeEgXEVSBluhszXr-i/s1280/IMG_1717.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1245" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HbbDl_Yr2JM6RqTv4Ybt_ByvifJGE0kzX4uPLtfEDNTgAK2XbmXbOrSWhYGqRmPaLkuDr2kUcVYSNk61bjw-goUlFRezyVfW9wIvwW1503L0Ro9MdAI1OTdgh3AkFl4cORibaDNY4hkYkWIG96Sb0hX46oeTeA6ApaAjOQOeEgXEVSBluhszXr-i/w622-h640/IMG_1717.jpg" width="622" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain Dew exuding its natural bioluminescence</td></tr></tbody></table><p>We needed to cover another 6-7 hilly bike miles to reach the next section at TA2 in Tiger Hill Community Forest. Pavement became dirt became rough trail as we made our way there, picking up one CP along the way (28). As we neared the TA, we began to see the headlamps of teams out on the trek. One of whom (Girls Will Survive) kindly directed us to the TA location. Based on my map analysis, this was not the place to quickly scoop up a bunch of CPs and I had considered skipping it entirely and biking straight to Morgan Meadow. Reed was experiencing a lot of bike saddle chafing at this point, however, and he could really use a break from the bike, so we decided to head out on a hilly loop (lollipop actually) that would give us 4 CPs. </p><p>We picked up CP33 in an old family cemetery and then continued uphill to 1100 ft to nab hilltop CP34, before using trail and an off-trail ridge traverse to get CP36. We then turned around back the way we came, to work toward off-trail CP35. On the map, this seemed like a simple trail hike followed by an off-trail stream descent. As we approached the expected intersection with our next trail, however, the correlation between the trails we were seeing and trails that were mapped started to unravel. We tried a few trails, hoping they'd eventually turn to the desired direction but they never did. We went back and forth over the same trail half a dozen times but our trail never appeared. This was very frustrating because I actually had a good idea where we were but just couldn't click with the next move. I spent way too much time trying to figure this out instead of doing what we eventually did - just bushwhack to the CP. This wasted an hour of precious clock. So by the time we returned to the TA, we had spent 4 hours getting 4 CPs - not a disaster but definitely not an optimal way to move ahead in the race.</p><p>Upon our return to the TA, someone (Starker White, I believe) cooked me up a Cup O'Noodles and I (belatedly) remembered that we had a stick of Body Glide in the gear bin, and that this was our last access to to the gear bin. So, Reed generously applied the lube before we headed off on bikes again, which provided a bit of relief for the 34 miles of bike riding which still lay ahead.</p><p>As day gradually broke, we headed west, back in the rough direction which we had come from, finally on the return loop of the course. This consisted of 2 road bike rides interrupted by the Morgan Meadow trek which I have been referencing. This really would have been a good spot to scoop up a bunch of CPs if we had several hours to spare there, but, as it turned out, we had only one hour. So we hurriedly transitioned to trek mode, grabbed the map and headed out to get 3 checkpoints that were close to the TA. We did this without much difficulty. For the last one, a ways off the trail, I was bushwhacking to/from it in a somewhat maniacal manner, which is how I sometimes get at the end of a race when I'm panicking about going overtime (unreasonably panicking in this case). This was followed by another quick transition to bike mode and we headed off, along with several other teams, for the 10 mile ride back to Pineland Farms. Although it was only 10 miles, I wanted to allow 1.5 hours for this in case the one remaining CP gave us any trouble or a bike problem arose (my rear tire had refused to stay above 10 psi for the whole race). This leg included a lot of downhill, the one (easy) CP and one tough climb that we finally surrendered to and hike-a-biked the final bit.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNhwaYOJmfSxcO2DSI0_yHrZTXinzakbP9lhw_oAKFPGdaiboVdTqsVNpy4zm5dBiLzxYfhSI2qIyP3MIo5ek0nAMrv4nZM0I6PXW3_-ZI4Bxc24qcT52_mNGOytszwdbHtGw8_4tciCWfvQyP1017NCpqksJ1K9MQsC_1hhQ_1CTQzzBVG_v9wMR/s1133/IMG_1719.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="935" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNhwaYOJmfSxcO2DSI0_yHrZTXinzakbP9lhw_oAKFPGdaiboVdTqsVNpy4zm5dBiLzxYfhSI2qIyP3MIo5ek0nAMrv4nZM0I6PXW3_-ZI4Bxc24qcT52_mNGOytszwdbHtGw8_4tciCWfvQyP1017NCpqksJ1K9MQsC_1hhQ_1CTQzzBVG_v9wMR/s320/IMG_1719.jpg" width="264" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Neither of us had eaten much over the last 4 hours of the race because we were hot, dehydrated and, though we had food left, we had no food that we desired or thought we could really stomach. Along the way, we each took a couple forced bites of a fried potato-beef ball (aka a Puerto Rican arancino) but couldn't manage any more than that and threw it in the bushes. It seems Reed has inherited my inability to eat during the last hour of a race. So...we were incredibly hungry during the last bike. We were so happy to finally be done and so eager to get our blood glucose back into the normal, non-starvation range. Luckily there were plenty of ways to do that in the Pineland Farms café. Then we crashed for a quick nap, caught the end of the awards and headed back home.</p><p>As always, thanks so much to Cliff and Kate, the volunteers, sponsors and other racers. This is a weird, wonderful thing we do together and I'm thankful that you all are there to make it possible.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQpKHVcEz8vhA7Wck-faa9q8t5N4MIN8phZYWvGzmFjMiI2eU2u1ZYLu_-CcwqAaK4HiStbkIipd45GGWI5pjZy_Xb98G1llqiNQi3kv0BBzWUtaYYQIJtziNOF1XkfXnSeWWPJV_QNMWrmQYxomMghignidomqn29A-LwGH1Dk-W4I_zFy9MJ7LB/s960/IMG_1716.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="960" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQpKHVcEz8vhA7Wck-faa9q8t5N4MIN8phZYWvGzmFjMiI2eU2u1ZYLu_-CcwqAaK4HiStbkIipd45GGWI5pjZy_Xb98G1llqiNQi3kv0BBzWUtaYYQIJtziNOF1XkfXnSeWWPJV_QNMWrmQYxomMghignidomqn29A-LwGH1Dk-W4I_zFy9MJ7LB/w640-h448/IMG_1716.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-85261180176339987902022-05-19T16:27:00.005-07:002022-05-21T11:30:41.186-07:00NYARA The Longest Day, Southern Catskill Mountains, NY 5/14/22<p>We got an email 2 months out from this race stating that the initial course in Connecticut had to be scrapped because of logging and permitting issues. Race organizers NYARA informed us that they were moving the race to their home terrain of the Catskill mountains of NY. I have nothing against Connecticut. We had a very nice edition of The Longest Day there in 2016. But, having done a few great NYARA races (if you include 2012 Nationals) in the greater Catskills area, I was not unhappy about this change in venue. The only downside was the short deadline for NYARA RDs Aaron and Austin to engineer a fully-fledged course for us. SPOILER ALERT: They succeeded.</p><p>Reed has been working his way up to bigger and bigger races, from his 8-hour debut at age 13 to last year, when he did his first 24 hour race at age 18. This season (to his dad's great happiness) he signed on to do two 24 hour races plus a 12-hour. This would be the first of those.</p><p>We drove the 4.5 hours to Pine Hill, NY, the location of race HQ, Belleayre ski mountain. I like the relaxed, rural feel of this area with its Woodstockian eclectic streak visible in the vintage tiny towns dotting the valleys. We checked into the cozy Wheelhouse Inn (which would soon fill with other racers), fiddled with some gear, grabbed a great dinner at Peekamoose Tavern and hit the sack early to be ready for the unfortunate 5:00 AM alarm. This race didn't start until 9:00 but there were the usual pre-race logistics plus a 1.5 hr bus ride to the race start in New Paltz. The bus ride was notable for the fact that our (funny and likeable) bus driver played The Black Crowes the whole way. In case you're wondering, 1.5 hours of the Black Crowes means all of their hits twice plus plenty of deep cuts. I think I am all set with the Black Crowes for a couple decades now.</p><p>Okay, okay, the race. </p><p>We had been informed weeks ago that the first stage would be the packraft stage. We now knew that this would consist of a 1-mile trek on a jogging trail and road to a put-in on the bank of the Wallkill River. The water looked to be completely still but, based on our speed, it was nudging us steadily downstream. There were no CPs on the paddle. It was just a morning trudge up to TA1. As misfortune would have it, our cool spring weather in the northeast decided to become Florida weather just in time for this race, and we would suffer a bit extra on account of this heat and humidity throughout most of the race. </p><p>Since there was no strategizing of land vs water CPs and there was easy vehicle access to the put-in and take-out locations, there was no reason for us to be in slow, uncomfortable packrafts for this leg. With the abbreviated window for planning race logistics, though, I'm sure the BYOB approach really streamlined things for our RDs and allowed them to concentrate their efforts on other race elements. I think packrafts can be cool when employed in an "organic" way in AR (i.e., on vehicle-inaccessible backcountry water) but I am worried that this trend could become the new AR default boat in order to avoid the logistical headaches of sourcing and moving canoes/kayaks. Incorporating packrafts may also help keep registration fees down by shifting boat costs from the race organization to the racers but, personally, I would rather pay more and comfortably paddle a canoe/kayak unless cool backcountry water locations favor packrafting.</p><p>Okay, okay, back to the race.</p><p>We grabbed our bikes here at TA1 after 8.5 miles on the river. We finished about mid-pack, moving up maybe 10 spots during the paddle and being passed by 2 or 3 teams in faster craft (any inflatable was allowed). Our bikes were inside a cute covered bridge. We transitioned quicky and were soon off on the bike leg, happy to be out of the rafts. We followed easy roads and rail trails for 12 miles until we got to a point where we had to decide whether to do a long bike around a hilly area or try to finagle a bikewhack short cut by connecting dead end roads. We chose the latter and soon found ourselves on a tough long road climb on Eagle's Nest Rd. A local stopped to make sure we knew "there's only private property up there." and soon after that team Erect came zooming down the hill reporting that it was all NO TRESPASSING signs up on top. After these interactions, we sadly gave up on our short cut and cruised back down the needless ascent. Feeling beat, we began the long way around, eventually arriving at Bluestone Wild Forest trails after another 10 miles and some decent climbing/descending. Almost every roadside wooded area we passed along the way was posted with NO TRESSPASSING signs. I thought New Hampshire was bad about this, but this area was the most aggressively posted area I've ever seen. Why so many Americans won't allow people to walk through their remote forest land is a mystery to me.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-w-aqvIMCS8oj0WEqfVIjdeu9zmZTxkr1MwuEoQssOIGyinpeDST3awQ9143l9YJ5onFZdtFjRkbIGAY6AzerLwjdzcUHpOLU4t869NZ3dbIvF9o5FIV4wZLAUIfpfZd3y8gpTuJbEMqd4i4NBT_K1fd79XCctQa5C2k4tvcJ4MvVXNSDhVP8B4b/s2351/P5140010_1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1764" data-original-width="2351" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-w-aqvIMCS8oj0WEqfVIjdeu9zmZTxkr1MwuEoQssOIGyinpeDST3awQ9143l9YJ5onFZdtFjRkbIGAY6AzerLwjdzcUHpOLU4t869NZ3dbIvF9o5FIV4wZLAUIfpfZd3y8gpTuJbEMqd4i4NBT_K1fd79XCctQa5C2k4tvcJ4MvVXNSDhVP8B4b/w640-h480/P5140010_1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice view from rail trail bridge</td></tr></tbody></table><p>At the trail system, which held some really nice singletrack, we had 3 mandatory CPs and up to 6 optional CPs available. 2 of the optionals were near the mandatories, so I elected to just grab those 5 total CPs and move on to the rest of the race, leaving the 4 more distant optionals behind. It really seemed like there was a LOT of race left after this bike leg and I wanted to make sure we had time for the whole course. </p><p>After continuously sweating profusely, we finished the trail riding dehydrated and out of water. Leaving the forest, we had to cross Route 28, and I was hopeful that there would be a place to grab drinks there. Luck had it that that there was a trashy convenience store/smoke shop there where we eagerly glugged some gatorades, refilled water and ate bananas.</p><p>With the fear of a terminal bonk behind us, we followed a few roads to the Ashokan rail trail. We spent about 10 easy but speedy miles on the pleasant well-maintained rail trail before riding a couple road miles to TA2 - the end of the "big bike" and beginning of the "big trek." Our little buttcracks were feeling quite tender after 44 sweaty miles on our bike saddles, as tends to happen.</p><p>After skipping the bike trail CPs, we were one of the first teams to reach TA2. We were greeted by the whole RD crew and had another chance to fill up water - which we again had depleted. The cutoff to continue from here onto the big trek was 7:30 PM, we were here at 5:30, so I liked our chances to finish the full course, barring any major problems. Other than saddle sores and being constantly somewhat dehydrated, we were doing okay physically to begin this beast of a trek.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HQPGJTqH1Yjy33DCfNt6qzot5RQ_O4aefdLykuFPKxjCN7QRTrGrkKarpwDmNkFa0i8SnuProRJCRk1TgGG0LSTpN4mjDY3ODoh1lsbYscmvTeKoQbQG1TJH4LKKwkrdL0lh-4SsosyF9bburyOIYW_Wf5TwTD2482Vr4pFRR9VCN1JgTySomm8w/s6000/DSC_0342.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HQPGJTqH1Yjy33DCfNt6qzot5RQ_O4aefdLykuFPKxjCN7QRTrGrkKarpwDmNkFa0i8SnuProRJCRk1TgGG0LSTpN4mjDY3ODoh1lsbYscmvTeKoQbQG1TJH4LKKwkrdL0lh-4SsosyF9bburyOIYW_Wf5TwTD2482Vr4pFRR9VCN1JgTySomm8w/w640-h426/DSC_0342.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raiding the gear bin at TA2 for food for the big trek Photo: NYARA</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The trek was unquestionably the crux of the race, encompassing 12 miles of Catskill mountains with 5k+ feet of climbing. The first couple miles were the harshest - straight uphill and off trail. This was also the biggest navigational challenge - hours off trail before and after sunset. As we ascended and sweated, we would encounter little sections of old road and trail that we could follow for short periods before they diverged from our desired compass bearing. We needed to climb about 800 ft like this before reaching the first CP. We had begun to pass through patches of mountain laurel as we neared the CP. Mountain laurel strikes fear into the heart of anyone who's had to torturously push through it. When we got to the CP, we sadly found it to be stuck in the middle of several acres of dense chest-high laurel. We were passed here by Vert Racing, who went on to win the race in a dominant performance. From here, we laboriously worked through more laurel and dense evergreens on a ridge, to gain another 700 ft up to Samuel's Knob, as the sunlight gradually faded. From here, the challenge was to navigate in dense woods at night, stay on the ridge, and eventually work toward the location of a trail about a mile away. </p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieq4i8__shd4iYFDc6WHmb6g7Bm9VZv2tOlT5u5_7gcQaaT41PAHwuwAliSQ9l7powbT6MV35L7QcLhyyyg_MCi1S4DZSS152u9-JeRLEZkkLYV5LEU3i1RrDVCqlFzJMv7vP0q-kEfl_KCkVjFqbysewshwyBLdiUVNTG3S_1uiVnfCGBVcpoak3d/s2560/P5140017.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieq4i8__shd4iYFDc6WHmb6g7Bm9VZv2tOlT5u5_7gcQaaT41PAHwuwAliSQ9l7powbT6MV35L7QcLhyyyg_MCi1S4DZSS152u9-JeRLEZkkLYV5LEU3i1RrDVCqlFzJMv7vP0q-kEfl_KCkVjFqbysewshwyBLdiUVNTG3S_1uiVnfCGBVcpoak3d/w640-h480/P5140017.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweaty selfie after Reed noticed the nice view behind us</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oDdVKJ3K9Jsw9ttDhgElW-04lPtsP4kWCRwjQJ2UCJ6jsXI6a3yaWtM0WC6NH_uxnoBoGqh48E4IG9JvCFM5VbfSBCnhLYpcgiy6F1lgVPgz4uxdjMAsxYHwbxw9fTuA4INc2ppInLuvToONzlz596d5aetXlW6qPSgMdDD_V44saFEck3PG67S-/s2375/P5140021.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1782" data-original-width="2375" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oDdVKJ3K9Jsw9ttDhgElW-04lPtsP4kWCRwjQJ2UCJ6jsXI6a3yaWtM0WC6NH_uxnoBoGqh48E4IG9JvCFM5VbfSBCnhLYpcgiy6F1lgVPgz4uxdjMAsxYHwbxw9fTuA4INc2ppInLuvToONzlz596d5aetXlW6qPSgMdDD_V44saFEck3PG67S-/w640-h480/P5140021.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More climbing. At least it's in nice open woods here.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>As we neared the expected location of the trail, we found a well-established, well-used campsite with an official camping sign nailed to a nearby tree. Finally we had found the trail - no more bushwhacking! We cracked a celebratory Starbucks and sat on the benches around the firepit for a minute. Okay then, time to hit that trail...the...uh...the...trail. We orbited the campsite several times and found a lot of well-trodden ground but no trail. We were incredulous - this popular, signed campsite has no trail to it?? The answer to that was evidently "yes". I'm still puzzled by this.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2q5yBL5ebL-U4oK9Pjc-opkj6UlcWv_9DfzayXzBL8DScJxquRxAPrApLWzuLW50FM0TJPqhaMdWFyWzO_70VWWV1zvonORHLrgxegNoPNiJ6RugrFttVXNfY0r-SgQiVWgmcSmHg4dS-7dWVncXQ9BKpEYzHA9XCZOnHwRiHZ2eCUOYhC1n-xOJb/s2560/P5140025.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2q5yBL5ebL-U4oK9Pjc-opkj6UlcWv_9DfzayXzBL8DScJxquRxAPrApLWzuLW50FM0TJPqhaMdWFyWzO_70VWWV1zvonORHLrgxegNoPNiJ6RugrFttVXNfY0r-SgQiVWgmcSmHg4dS-7dWVncXQ9BKpEYzHA9XCZOnHwRiHZ2eCUOYhC1n-xOJb/w640-h480/P5140025.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6XWsvzHwtiPXe2Q7M5f5fktlaiArMBsTRvy1RmcB3cKOVyv5dyJ4cei-5EPd3dj0iJWztWJQJK4zNfONNOWoKxmJvI6ImmsPpnt4ia4Q-4HF0vc87bRlRoQSH6guyw9zDlRHG7sN1Ix1BBl05KX1mlb044iIquo7ZM-4Xkct6MruYrffyS2OY_jV/s1846/P5140024.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1701" data-original-width="1846" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6XWsvzHwtiPXe2Q7M5f5fktlaiArMBsTRvy1RmcB3cKOVyv5dyJ4cei-5EPd3dj0iJWztWJQJK4zNfONNOWoKxmJvI6ImmsPpnt4ia4Q-4HF0vc87bRlRoQSH6guyw9zDlRHG7sN1Ix1BBl05KX1mlb044iIquo7ZM-4Xkct6MruYrffyS2OY_jV/w400-h369/P5140024.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were lots of wildflowers around. Red trillium here.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>So...we continued bushwhacking toward the direction the trail would have to be, hoping is was a major-enough trail that we would not cross over it without noticing. A hooting barred owl led our way for a while. Fortunately, maps and compasses rarely lie, and we found the trail after another half mile or so. After 4.5 hours, we were happy to have the big bushwhack behind us. I say this because it's easier to trek on a trail and we were sick of pushing through branches, bushes and over logs and rocks at that point. The fact that this race featured navigating a big, rugged off-trail trek is AWESOME, however. You don't get that in every race, and it really adds the "Adventure" to adventure racing.</p><p>Although we were on trail now, the hard part of the trek was nowhere near over. We spent the next 5.5 hours climbing and descending 3 peaks in Catskill park, the highest being Slide Mountain at 4170 ft. We had a light rain for most of this, which was pleasant and cooling. These trails covered a large amount of technical terrain - we found ourselves scrambling, and nearly bouldering, up steep rocky inclines frequently during the ascents. The descents were no picnic either, with technical terrain really limiting the ground speed. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwfzvgntq4ioXWf_SmKmlmUsWQ2VEkruURYi47viYLTRbw5aIY5utSXvkWZoGECeky3uR8RMg5_7L3TYNO9LFm9X7SBjla2pmtLwiS7eGa2OAUcmd0DWsfe6apCi4sVwfLHfon2oUOEhqleUCoqB6morRIU7iaa3VHuURouOi-w-gM81wuV1E6rUJ/s2560/P5150028.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1920" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmwfzvgntq4ioXWf_SmKmlmUsWQ2VEkruURYi47viYLTRbw5aIY5utSXvkWZoGECeky3uR8RMg5_7L3TYNO9LFm9X7SBjla2pmtLwiS7eGa2OAUcmd0DWsfe6apCi4sVwfLHfon2oUOEhqleUCoqB6morRIU7iaa3VHuURouOi-w-gM81wuV1E6rUJ/w480-h640/P5150028.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of scrambly trail sections like this</td></tr></tbody></table><p>As we had skipped several bike orienteering points early on in order to arrive at the trek early, I was expecting some faster teams who had found those to start catching up to us during this 10 hour trek. Reed and I were moving steadily forward but, with the heat and hills, we were not going all that fast. But, we never saw another team after the first CP, and trekked alone for the remaining 8 hours. "Where were they?" I wondered. It turns out that the heat and the looming trek were causing a lot of problems behind us. Teams arrived at TA2 spent - some needed rest at the TA, some decided to drop the trek, some turned around after suffering on the initial bushwhack and some abandoned the race at this point. We finally met a couple teams at the end (TA3) including our Strong Machine friends, who had suffered some heat-related maladies.</p><p>RD Aaron prepped some ramen for the arriving teams, while we switched into bike mode for the next leg - a fairly short road section that would bring us to the final leg of race which was...a sizeable trek with lots of ascent! I had a small nav SNAFU on the bike, as we were flying so fast downhill that I lost us on the map. Soon enough though, we were back on track and rolling into TA4 to start the final trek. </p><p>It was now dawn (5:30) and we transitioned quickly back into trek mode in order to tackle our first challenge - ascending 1800 ft on trail to the next CP - yikes. Reed was finally feeling the accumulated exhaustion but we still made decent time on this slog, arriving at the high point of the trek in 90 minutes or so. This high point was labeled with a "Lookout Tower" on the map. Reed and I each convincingly "saw" a (hallucinated) tower through the trees as we approached the top, after being awake for 26 hours. At this point we had 2 hours until the race finish and just a couple downhill miles to go; we were good on time. There were a couple optional CPs available near here, so we aimed at the first of these, but it eluded me. We didn't really have the desire/energy to dig out a CP at this point so we just moved on toward the next possible CP as we neared the finish. Again, I whiffed on the CP, looking in 2 or 3 wrong locations before giving up and heading in. We had really run a nice race, being one of the minority of teams that stayed full-course and my navigation had been relatively solid. Now though, I had a bad taste in my mouth, going 0 for 2 on the final CPs. But, once we had the finish line visible as a fixed landmark, it became obvious where the last CP was and, with Reed's permission, we turned back up the hill to it. While I punched the CP, he sat down and found a deer antler. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtokr2gdzqzzFv3h4FrxBxuabBtzRfGs-Ok7ZjDvbeim6SGufVsBlGmwTxiQGPAHTauoV5Q9CtzmLJxoP_0SCkcR_FmyP-3RqCKno9N-K2ScFhHm1BebYqr799vGQIkwcGx64ZME4_1OfB0rnHP3IUYw6z1sKjsmBRxCreOEbio9Q_LsD62QjfH9b/s2560/P5150030.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="2560" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFtokr2gdzqzzFv3h4FrxBxuabBtzRfGs-Ok7ZjDvbeim6SGufVsBlGmwTxiQGPAHTauoV5Q9CtzmLJxoP_0SCkcR_FmyP-3RqCKno9N-K2ScFhHm1BebYqr799vGQIkwcGx64ZME4_1OfB0rnHP3IUYw6z1sKjsmBRxCreOEbio9Q_LsD62QjfH9b/w640-h480/P5150030.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belleayre Ski area - almost done</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The finish was just what we needed - a chair to sit in and piles of delicious warm real food. Not too shabby. Reed and I ended up second in the 2-person male division and 9th overall, which I am quite proud of.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiavAafDBhg9SdXR80-VWPoETS1OavYDwtVSOt6Ri_FIpKsa1X_I9lms2hQXyDO8sjQLBmpfkSEGHG9eAr58duRYkkBloVTkrgCrb4X0luxMVrp8PugaNCSO3U_RtcHS3h5a4wPC6LDsR2vR8YrhjcMzDM627F5X9jlnldjXqt8p9QL7_cOqqRUDB/s4000/IMG_20220515_081932427_HDR.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTiavAafDBhg9SdXR80-VWPoETS1OavYDwtVSOt6Ri_FIpKsa1X_I9lms2hQXyDO8sjQLBmpfkSEGHG9eAr58duRYkkBloVTkrgCrb4X0luxMVrp8PugaNCSO3U_RtcHS3h5a4wPC6LDsR2vR8YrhjcMzDM627F5X9jlnldjXqt8p9QL7_cOqqRUDB/s320/IMG_20220515_081932427_HDR.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>We'd like to give big "thank you!" to the NYARA team who put such a cool course together on such short notice. I must say that The Longest Day is one of the most consistently well-run and well-designed 24-hour races you will find. We will definitely be back for any future edition.</p>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-61404603823673398412021-10-14T12:24:00.005-07:002021-10-16T16:36:11.147-07:00GMARA The Hard Fall, VT Northeast Kingdom, 10/9/21<div class="separator"> First of all, I like everything about this race - in nearby Vermont, organized by GMARA and most importantly, in the FALL. Anyone who has read my race reports knows that cool weather is the best weather and that the default mid-summer timing of most ARs is a source of endless whining. Luckily a COVID cancellation of a conference freed Rob to join me. We almost roped Nick into joining last-minute but in the end, we would be a 2-man team, while Nick and spouse Alison, who have a house in Burke, played the role of super hosts. Pizza, beer, campfire conversation, scrumptious breakfast sandwiches and coffee were supplied in addition to a comfy bed, 20 minutes from the race start, which was in St. Johnsbury. Nick and Alison's daughter-in-law, Britt, would be competing as part of a 2-woman team called "24 hours? I thought you said 2-4 hours!"</div><div class="separator"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DNYSAry9VFJUMEddS5PnCT7GCqcLhdbD8CCq1aVr88ueJfnmZnLspsMNqML6JwitkTpGITrgo-XrigubAGfUDZ7UDiOQtQvb8kDZyErNwHirreBoIZImra-LFjozN1BnBiriwXsUhmQ/s2048/GMARA+Hard+Fall+2021+%2528238%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1832" data-original-width="2048" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9DNYSAry9VFJUMEddS5PnCT7GCqcLhdbD8CCq1aVr88ueJfnmZnLspsMNqML6JwitkTpGITrgo-XrigubAGfUDZ7UDiOQtQvb8kDZyErNwHirreBoIZImra-LFjozN1BnBiriwXsUhmQ/w640-h572/GMARA+Hard+Fall+2021+%2528238%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AM map sesssion. Photo: JS O'Connor</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator">We got to race check-in early (7:00) which gave us 2 hours to fuss with the maps before boarding a bus to the race start, somewhere. Once we got the maps, we found out that "somewhere" was the northern end of gorgeous Lake Willoughby, about 15 mi south of the Canadian border. Inspecting the maps and instructions, it seemed like a very ambitious course - lots of legs and terrain to cover as well as a "mystery" leg. It seemed like we would need to strategically drop some checkpoints in order to get to the finish on time (10:00 AM Sunday). This was confirmed at the pre-race powwow, where longtime GMARA spokesman Chris Yager instructed us to decide which CPs to drop in order to allow sufficient time to finish in 24 hours. All of the CPs were optional but full-course ranking required you to work through all of the legs/transition areas. Placing would be determined by number of CPs found, assuming you completed all the legs.</div><div class="separator"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBo0OTKD7zFfQFQk9gm1nH-nYN78RPrvirw8hipHQsxpvgBspb_McnCHIC544HEnpXnJXxrt1ZBaRlicKYDEoiP7MtcVdQoMG-6d9otRGFpJ-G1u3jMQ0sUmL0FmdvoEUgKQ9zIg_Sf3M/s2048/GMARA+Hard+Fall+2021+%2528132%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1675" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBo0OTKD7zFfQFQk9gm1nH-nYN78RPrvirw8hipHQsxpvgBspb_McnCHIC544HEnpXnJXxrt1ZBaRlicKYDEoiP7MtcVdQoMG-6d9otRGFpJ-G1u3jMQ0sUmL0FmdvoEUgKQ9zIg_Sf3M/w524-h640/GMARA+Hard+Fall+2021+%2528132%2529.jpg" width="524" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Race start. Photo: JS O'Connor</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator">Arriving at the lake, the first thing we noticed was the robust southern wind that we would be paddling directly into, which was raising some surface chop and small whitecaps. We threw on protective layers and hopped into our 2-person kayak, started our GPS trackers and headed out onto the water. While Rob and I were actually moving well considering the wind, our kayak was taking on a significant amount of water. Every minute or two, a little wave would break over the bow of the kayak and deposit a few cups of water onto me and into the cockpit. This was no big deal initially, but obviously, as this continued it could become quite a big deal. We found that the best way to limit this was to closely draft nearby team Rootstock Racing's canoe. This was initially easy but, as more and more water ended up in our boat, it became more difficult and then impossible. About 2/3 of the way across, we needed to head to shore and dump out water. After this we resumed our previously good speed. We heard that several teams behind us required assistance on the lake, including a capsizing - quite an intimidating start to the race. I was a little bummed that the immediacy of the paddling situation occupied the attention we could have payed to the incredibly scenic surroundings. </div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWp9tus-mC4d4o_rhycTjObx9aiXdx1couFiaQbF2Q8Nz_Q-zqcWFG0AcIfQ7xmQozhhMk_wOHV1w-uSeBkgSa88BZPJkBoktoUGkbXbBAX7uKAmcOcc2FhvDoVOKVY8JFSL2bFxzld-A/s2048/PA090001+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWp9tus-mC4d4o_rhycTjObx9aiXdx1couFiaQbF2Q8Nz_Q-zqcWFG0AcIfQ7xmQozhhMk_wOHV1w-uSeBkgSa88BZPJkBoktoUGkbXbBAX7uKAmcOcc2FhvDoVOKVY8JFSL2bFxzld-A/w640-h480/PA090001+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>After covering about 5 miles in 1.5 hours, we were the 3rd boat out of the water. We quickly transitioned into dry shoes, ditched our paddle stuff and headed out onto the first trek section next to the lake. For this scenic and mountainous area, we had been given a map with lots of possible CPs of varying point values. To get full credit (9 CPs) you needed to accumulate 900 total points (or less if you were cutting CPs here to save time) in any combination/order you desired. I'm sure that our planned route was not the best possible but I think it was pretty good. It was fun to think it through and strategize our approach during the map session earlier this morning.</p><p>The seriousness of the topography quickly made itself known. Our second target was only about 2 cm away on the map but directly uphill. This wasn't even a particularly steep part of the map, but it was almost a scramble - dragging yourself up with saplings and employing quadrupedal traction on the steeper sections. After a couple of these sections, we were really feeling our quads and wondering how those upcoming bike climbs were going to feel after a few more hours of this</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1709" data-original-width="1611" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXT9jf2c-H-2AvCByME2bx7DmuedXRU31JyevMKFMnN4cicU-vIiT5pc1sVRHs3UErf0revXzz-tZ7k4qoWmuLU_Lgsr8mW2TdBv_yoEhyphenhyphen9qb-ay6lnmR0QOFA3rlF6RLFDYQFInYB4WU/w604-h640/PA090003.JPG" width="604" /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>We gradually worked our way through 900 points of CPs here, which meant finding all but 3 or 4 of them. I navigated well during this section, with only minor delays and getting lucky at times. The off-trail travel was variable: we worked through nice open hardwoods as well as some post-logging brushy crap, cumbersome sidehilling over deadfall, and butt-sliding down the steepest stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYQVUedwqBK_8q1DddUCxJ9FBUhHol-OBYjvw31oWifIVfqjjP6OcWN8HL3Y6-MVJbWNLS8fxsV0AvwsgITBsll8D9M__aCBTCe84WENOeUqfJMUAXBg-A5iiZmiV3tSeNjcA4HLdIhk/s1923/PA090006+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1909" data-original-width="1923" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYQVUedwqBK_8q1DddUCxJ9FBUhHol-OBYjvw31oWifIVfqjjP6OcWN8HL3Y6-MVJbWNLS8fxsV0AvwsgITBsll8D9M__aCBTCe84WENOeUqfJMUAXBg-A5iiZmiV3tSeNjcA4HLdIhk/w640-h636/PA090006+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>We punched the last CP at a waterfall, above, and bushwhacked to the TA2. We had cleared the maximal 900 points from this section, which equated to 9 CPs, while covering 10 miles and a couple thousand feet of elevation change. </div><div><br /></div><div>Although it was October and it was Northern Vermont, it wasn't all that cool (temperature) for the trek. Rob and I had both blown through our water reservoirs in a couple hours and were feeling a bit parched to begin leg 3 which was a road ride to the Mystery leg. During this 10-mile stretch on gravel and pavement with plenty of hills, we kept our eyes open for an available homeowner. We finally encountered one near the end who, as they usually are, was more than happy to let us tap a few liters of water from his spigot and chat about what we were doing.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we neared the end of the bike route in rolling rural terrain in Sutton, VT, Rob correctly guessed what the Mystery leg was going to be...a corn maze! This was a clever and fun idea to incorporate into a race, plus, it provided a nice change of pace because you couldn't move very fast while navigating the tight mazes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Upon arrival here at TA3, we learned that we would be navigating 3 mazes for a total of 8 CPs. The first was a small maze on bike with one unmapped CP. The other 2 were much larger and very detailed, the aerial view of each depicting an impressive design. You only knew the location of the next CP, which was revealed on a map at the preceding CP. The bike maze was more challenging in that you could not really travel at bike speed while keeping track of all the intricate turns and intersections. The foot maze, while challenging, was easier in this regard.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hT8rUopKO5jNlpGpEPa89xp6KxfLz9gBuMJPKEI_6DhX1KUjE5n1Fa22VQbbqAwDuxr742QP13ekkzl-W-ud78uebwo1LTdaBe1IobgtQADE3iQsT-NKKpHIaI6hzDY5a9ei9qauzN4/s2048/PA090007.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9hT8rUopKO5jNlpGpEPa89xp6KxfLz9gBuMJPKEI_6DhX1KUjE5n1Fa22VQbbqAwDuxr742QP13ekkzl-W-ud78uebwo1LTdaBe1IobgtQADE3iQsT-NKKpHIaI6hzDY5a9ei9qauzN4/w640-h480/PA090007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>Night had fully set in by the time we completed the 3 mazes and their embedded CPs, so we took some time before leaving the TA on bike to rig our lighting, add a little clothing (which I regretted as soon as we hit the first hill) and scarf down some food. Being this late in the season and this far North, the race would include at least 12 hours of full darkness - we had lots of backup batteries.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3icFHhUM-cS8bMtJtF9cZqw135RPZHUiEKC9YSaynklwjGPWkX4EZbPH4s-x8lfd6c8wD18Hhz2Ykz9_zXpoNNHwd8ukxvldiftEi5Xk8KXBgIS6XhmI_hQ8wArr3yxQon6r7K5yBgZw/s2048/29ED2B13-AFB5-414D-91FB-721EF8AE2518.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1622" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3icFHhUM-cS8bMtJtF9cZqw135RPZHUiEKC9YSaynklwjGPWkX4EZbPH4s-x8lfd6c8wD18Hhz2Ykz9_zXpoNNHwd8ukxvldiftEi5Xk8KXBgIS6XhmI_hQ8wArr3yxQon6r7K5yBgZw/w506-h640/29ED2B13-AFB5-414D-91FB-721EF8AE2518.jpg" width="506" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-corn maze, pre-Kingdom Trails Photo: GMARA</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Now our task was to bike toward the beloved Kingdom Trails, with whom RD Tom Martin had scored a permission. We knew we would spend most of the night on and around them - cool. We rode several miles to our first trail and began a mostly singletrack leg which would cover about 22 miles over 5-6 hours. During our time here, we needed to find the CPs which had been marked on the topo maps by figuring out which trails they were on, on the trail map. This is an exercise we had lots of experience with from prior GMARA races. Despite having a detailed trail map and the fact that the trail intersections were generally well-marked, it did take a bit of periodic double-checking to stay 'found'. Rob's bike nav kept us on track, with only a few minor delays here and there. We encountered 2 longer delays, one at CP 13, where the clue read "Pine tree at edge of marsh." As you see in the photo below, it is on a spruce tree. This was a bit misleading because there were quite a few actual pine trees in the area, which we spent a lot of time inspecting for the flag. It was also not exactly on the edge of the marsh, so a lot of teams were having delays here.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-9l0U0o_DTJspUiCJXiNucMMG2qDca8UeyM9CreED90Ht253AUCcp57pdWR8wK-T7WVJJWK4_aMJ7QSPhFu3AM1J0bzQzvBtovh0i5XfgYtr7ght9ubE28g-ExOQhCASpUDhr1J17OY/s1924/PA090008.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1877" data-original-width="1924" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-9l0U0o_DTJspUiCJXiNucMMG2qDca8UeyM9CreED90Ht253AUCcp57pdWR8wK-T7WVJJWK4_aMJ7QSPhFu3AM1J0bzQzvBtovh0i5XfgYtr7ght9ubE28g-ExOQhCASpUDhr1J17OY/w640-h624/PA090008.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div>I have had this occur to me several times in races where the clue states "pine tree." Since a lot of people use that term to refer to any conifer, you have to try to guess at the RD's level of tree nerdiness. Our other delay was 100% on us - we were on the wrong trail bend. Kingdom trails are great, flowy and have some amazing swooping downhills. After several hours, however, our legs were starting to feel the last 12 hours of hilly racing and our caffeine levels were low. We were still moving fairly well through the course but the energy/pace was flagging as we went deeper into the leg. Fortunately Rob's nav remained solid as he successfully guided us through a trail system which contained 3 unmapped CPs.</div><div><br /></div><div>After refilling water reservoirs with some water that was most likely potable (bike wash station), we worked deeper into this leg, grabbing the last several CPs on the way to TA4. The literal high point of this section (and figurative low point) was CP25. This point was located partway up a steep, continuously uphill, unridable technical hiking trail that we would have to hike-a-bike in it's entirety. I really can't recall a more physically intense CP effort than this one. In all, this climb was about 800ft, pushing bikes, wearing backpacks and burning through our calorie, hydration, electrolyte and enthusiasm reserves. Wow, what a beast. Partway up, we realized we could have easily bypassed it and, even more frustratingly, Strong Machine told us post-race how they attacked it as a simple out-and-back, on foot, from the top.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gah. With that behind us, the rest of bike leg was easy, fast downhill on forest road, to TA4, grabbing one more CP, cliffside, before cruising into the TA. On the bike leg, we had scooped up all but 2 of the regular CPs and also skipped 2 Bonus CPs. We arrived here too late to do the nearby foot orienteering course, but that was 100% fine, as we had basically decided to cut that section - an off-trail foot-O at night was <u>not</u> our preferred method to maximize CP acquisition efficiency. </div><div><br /></div><div>At this TA we had our only access to our gear bins, so we restocked food and water, switched maps, tried some Good-2-Go Cuban rice and headed back up the dirt road. This was followed by a zooming descent on similar roads, before reaching some paved roads that would take us to TA5 after only 7 miles or so. Here we would be reunited with our boats for a paddle down the Passumsic River. It was about 4:00 AM.</div><div><br /></div><div>The beginning of the paddle was a bit chaotic. There were several teams very close to us in the water and water levels were low. This necessitated periodic exits to pull the kayak along the gravelly bottom to deeper waters. In less than an hour, however, we were in deeper, slowly moving water and had paddled free of the crowds, by headlamp. Within the first few miles, we faced 2 portages around dams. Both of these, but particularly the second which contained an unwelcome little hill, required substantial effort. There were many fallen trees on the portage trails, as well, which added to the general unwieldiness of the endeavor. It seemed like these portages were weighing on a lot of tired teams, as dawn broke on the river. I think we passed 5 teams during the first portage.</div><div><br /></div><div>With daylight brightening the air, we were feeling quite a bit rejuvenated, compared to the dark bike leg. A riverside CP which required a chilling shallow river wade spurred us to a warming brisk paddle afterward. We kept at this pace, making great time down the river and enjoying the waterfowl and other morning scenery.</div><div><br /></div><div>When we arrived at the third portage, we noticed the large bike-carrying rental trucks were parked nearby and then we noticed the race directors approaching us as we exited the river with our kayak.</div><div>They had made the decision to allow teams to bike from here to the end-of-paddle TA rather than paddle an additional 6 miles to it, in order to speed up the course. We were allowed to continue down the river and complete the full race course but we would not be ranked above teams that chose to bike. Hmm. We were moving well and feeling good on the paddle and had enough time left but, heck, if we could bike to the end without penalty, we surely would. This would allow us a shot at the 3 trek CPs near the finish. Post race, though, I question this decision by the RDs. All teams had been warned, in no uncertain terms, about the length of the course and the need to skip stuff early in order to finish on time. The blame for any lateness in that situation should lie completely on the racers' shoulders. Based on the state of the race at the time of the decision, it seems like 1/3 - 1/2 of teams had a good chance to finish on time, so I don't understand the need to intervene. </div><div><br /></div><div>I really hate to critique the way races are run because I am so thankful that anyone goes through the immense personal effort of organizing ARs. I understand that the RDs are operating on limited information and limited sleep, and that the best possible decision is not always possible, when made on the fly during evolving race conditions. It's very easy, with the luxury of hindsight and unlimited time to analyze all of the factors, to lob a criticism. I definitely would have rather run the course as it was originally intended, but it was still an awesome course.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, back to the race.</div><div>Since we were the first team to be pulled off the river, all of the bikes were not yet unloaded, so we and race staff unloaded some more until we found ours, buried in the second truck. Soon we were off toward TA6, which was a few hills and miles away on the backroads north of St. Johnsbury (the straight shot, Rte. 5, was off limits.)</div><div><br /></div><div>We arrived in town and hustled to the final TA to grab the last 3 CPs available before the nearby race finish. We had less than 2 hours to transition twice, do the trek, and bike to the finish. After a quick switch to trek mode, we set off for the 3 trek CPs. We found the first without too much delay and then headed up a large hill to find the next. There were several teams around and more arriving continuously, as we all converged on the end of the course. We attacked the off-trail CP too early and got off to a bad start. This was followed by a few more poor attempts, while watching the teams in the area and hearing the clock in our heads. I was not mentally in good place to competently navigate us and we ended up wandering around the area of the 2nd CP for quite a while but not finding it. With one hour to go, we made the decision to just bail on this section and truck it in. This required a downhill run back to TA which ended up being very brief and left me wishing we had spent more time up in the woods, digging out CPs. Oh well. We rode strongly to finish line, after a backtrack at the bridge to avoid Rte. 5, and rolled in with 30 minutes left on the clock.</div><div><br /></div><div>Strong Machine won the race, with a really impressive race plan, navigation and speed. At the award breakfast, we were surprised to be announced as the winners of the 2-person male division, because we had assumed NYARA's Courain Bros. had outraced us. This actually turned out to be true - oops. I think we finished 5th or 6th overall - final results are still pending. We had a nice breakfast provided by GMARA, chatting with the other racers. We were happy with our race, all told, and felt that the course design and local autumnal terrain were especially great. We are hopeful that this great new fall race becomes a regular thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Huge thanks to the immense efforts of race creator Tom Martin and the typically stellar team of GMARA organizers and volunteers. We appreciate all that you do!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-33071582361361749622021-08-02T20:05:00.026-07:002021-08-03T14:05:43.423-07:00Maine Summer Adventure Race, New Gloucester 7/16/21<p> Reed was willing to double his previous max effort and try out a 24 hour race this year, so we signed up for the Maine Summer AR. Pam and Eliza would run the 3 hour. Rob joined forces with Untamed NE. As last year, the race was HQ'd out of the well-suited Outdoor Center at Pineland Farms.</p><p>Reed and I drove up that morning - race start wasn't until 10:00 AM and only 1.5 hours from home. We got there at 8:30 but were one of the last teams to arrive and I felt hurried to get us all ready to go; the maps got a very cursory perusal as prep time quickly elapsed in stressful fashion.</p><p>Quick editorial: I love the 10:00 start time for a 24 hour race. I understand that race day logistics limit RDs' leeway in race start/finish times but having to wake up at 4 or 5 AM to begin a 24 hour race already at a sleep deficit is no fun. I say this as a person who suffers the effects of sleep deprivation much less than the average person. Getting a normal night of sleep before this race was great. Thank you Strong Machine!</p><p>The race began with a prologue on bike. We sent one teammate (Reed) ahead and then I had to use a map and then find a map (mem-O style) to find the teammate. The last MSAR (2019) featured a prologue in which each team member did their own mini orienteering leg. This really split everyone up nicely and there was little follow-the-leader to begin the race. Much of this year's prologue felt like a bike race - packed together with a bunch of other racers and hard to stay together, pass anyone or navigate independently on the Pineland Farms trails. We picked up the first CPs of the prologue (A through D) with one minor nav mishap. Then I directed us out of the trail system and onto the roads, past race HQ and blazing downhill toward CP1.</p><p>Hmm, where is everyone? We were all swarming around the trails together and now me and Reed are alone. I look down at my bike map board at my detail map containing prologue points A-D. I have a vague memory of hearing/reading? something about CPs E or G? I pull over and find the map which contains the full prologue, points A-G, uphill from our current location. Ugh. I'm really killing it here as our team captain - 2 nav errors in the first hour of the race. </p><p>We grind up the big hill we just descended to enter a trail system, grab the next CP (E) and head toward F. I take us on one wrong turn but soon we're on track to F on some pretty cool bike trails. The trails become a tangle of unmapped intersecting trails, I make my best guess as to the route and we never encounter F. I decide to leave it behind and move on to G. We bike through there on some mostly rideable stuff including:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBWSgAdyDUVWJR02pO1vVOPzUcR7raIuO8A9rfmFR8KaxfX2w-79o5jHlWMfcdAeJjfSQ5dUyxBCDm1TCVh7I51UqE8CdrVbqOWWA7192bxGfz6a7CFlTvfOXvlGWcTECww1LmQnHDws/s2048/P7170037.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhBWSgAdyDUVWJR02pO1vVOPzUcR7raIuO8A9rfmFR8KaxfX2w-79o5jHlWMfcdAeJjfSQ5dUyxBCDm1TCVh7I51UqE8CdrVbqOWWA7192bxGfz6a7CFlTvfOXvlGWcTECww1LmQnHDws/w640-h480/P7170037.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...some piney duff</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7xnQmdAUOsskXWTxliaJQYx8k-lXOisEdbKNLhuoScf0PJlYpjE3DWpSMXK0CLHcu5TTIuGDEVvWN8p-vMuh_sEDUDNa8XKdKvNKkP3_Nu49gg2KnU1eJNO2W86jOB_CaEPRckcBl4I/s2048/P7170039.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7xnQmdAUOsskXWTxliaJQYx8k-lXOisEdbKNLhuoScf0PJlYpjE3DWpSMXK0CLHcu5TTIuGDEVvWN8p-vMuh_sEDUDNa8XKdKvNKkP3_Nu49gg2KnU1eJNO2W86jOB_CaEPRckcBl4I/w640-h480/P7170039.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and dewy hayfields</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>and then punch out onto pavement for the next bit of riding. We grabbed a few straightforward CPs en route to Range Pond State Park.</p><p>Signing up to race in July, I had some trepidation about heat and bug-related stressors. Reed and I are both fairly (highly for me) heat intolerant. It had been humid but not hot, so far. We were definitely warm and sweaty on the initial bike leg but not too bad considering it was mid-summer. It had been 90F the prior day, so we weren't complaining.</p><p>After arriving at TA at the Pond, we encountered our gear bins and a "mini AR" (short bike, trek-swim and paddle of 4 CPs each). We could choose the order. The decision was bike first or bike last, so we would only have to change shoes once; we chose bike last. First we set out on the trek-swim.</p><p>We easily grabbed the first trek CP and headed to the next 2. The obvious features petered out as we approached these and I did a poor job of keeping us on track. Consequently, finding the next CP (9) took too long, including an intentional interception of the backstop (a road) and re-attacking. The next 2 were fairly easily found and then came the swim! I always appreciate a swim during a race. I had one pair of webbed neoprene swim gloves from the old editions of GMARA's Bitter Pill when it included a swim stage. We each donned one glove and set out to a CP on a buoy as a rain shower stippled the water.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmhlV0brfTJcCwgqOORgOpUUZyHN8rJKu0RaBXRxO0br_JQp1sJoQIMOW0sHNe4gwOFbiSwxqCHQjR5_LKY17IV2aqK0fL4-i-xy6r42L2e5y9-YqYc-Daabc_S9IFDAIfKVIieXL79I/s2048/P7170045.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmhlV0brfTJcCwgqOORgOpUUZyHN8rJKu0RaBXRxO0br_JQp1sJoQIMOW0sHNe4gwOFbiSwxqCHQjR5_LKY17IV2aqK0fL4-i-xy6r42L2e5y9-YqYc-Daabc_S9IFDAIfKVIieXL79I/w640-h480/P7170045.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">being careful not to drop my camera here in the middle of the pond</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Next we tackled the kayak. This was a fairly straightforward flatwater (pond) paddle. One interesting moment was when we had to hit a CP on the top of an island hill. To speed up our transit to the next CP, I dropped Reed off at the edge of the island and paddled around to pick him up on the other side. When I paddled around however, there was no "other side." Vegetation had filled in the "water" shown on the map. Luckily Reed quickly discovered this and found me without issue.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh-mqzUggozoQAuf4QdQZe57FoVhLrz_G7YEMwJovOd5dbxCz6fNXZwYnv9r5TkAOpKSf94Fhh_STD30CoXJOqf56oPLSskVJUKHb7BHVY-OE_xhcuKp_D3b4L5NQ4QJK22Yqo5rLOTE/s2048/P7170050+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEh-mqzUggozoQAuf4QdQZe57FoVhLrz_G7YEMwJovOd5dbxCz6fNXZwYnv9r5TkAOpKSf94Fhh_STD30CoXJOqf56oPLSskVJUKHb7BHVY-OE_xhcuKp_D3b4L5NQ4QJK22Yqo5rLOTE/w640-h480/P7170050+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p>Following this we made our final transition at TA1, to bike mode, and headed to the nearby trail system. These trails were not too technical and pretty fun however the recent shower wetted the ample roots which crisscrossed them, making it a bit slick, so we had to be more careful (slow). We found these CPs fairly quickly, but guessed wrong for CP 15, tackling the outer loop of Rock Rings trail first (the CP was unmapped on the inner loop)</p><p>When we were done with these trails, we checked in to TA1 for the last time. We grabbed some food and our trekking shoes from the gear bin and departed on bikes for stage 3 of the race (the 3 disciplines at Range Pond were considered to be one stage - the mini-AR). This stage would involve a road ride to the Mt. Apatite bike trail system near Minot, Maine. On the way, we passed a general/country store. We weren't sure we had enough food remaining for the race (I'm not used to budgeting for an 18-year old's appetite) so we stopped in. We were a little disappointed to see that they primarily sold what we already had - convenience store fare - but we did score a couple homemade muffins and a their last donut. As we were leaving, we hear the guy behind us in line (who had been talking our ears off) order "a couple cheeseburgers" at the counter. What!? We very nearly went back in but, in the interest of time, gobbled the donut, stashed the muffins and rode on.</p><p>The Mount Apatite trails were nice - pretty flowy and more rocks than wet roots, so we could move a little faster. There was an easy way to grab 4 of the 6 CPs here plus a 5th from the road on the way out. We were near the back of the race and needed to streamline our approach in order to be sure that we had time to complete the longest stage of the race, still ahead of us, the trek-packraft. </p><p>On this section there was a neat CP in the bottom of a quarried pit which required a scramble, which was fun. As we worked through the trails here, night fell and bike lights came on. We had run into another father-sons team a few times in this race, composed of long time GMARA RD Chris Yager and his boys, also doing their first 24 hour race. We finished up this leg alongside them and would repeatedly tackle parts of the course with these guys for the rest of the race. The enthusiasm level of these kids was really impressive. We were able to find most of these trail CPs in the daylight but the last one (20?) in the dark, on twisty, slow, incompletely mapped trails, took up quite a bit of time. Without the "You are Here" maps scattered around the trails, we might have spent the night in there.</p><p>We wrapped up this leg on the road, having covered 15 miles on the stage. We ended at TA2, the start/end of a trek/orienteering section (Stage 4) at Lost Valley Ski Area. At the TA, after contributing the recommended donation, we had access to cooler of drinks - nice. We opened them to find that the selection was 95% Monster Energy. Not being "energy drink" aficionados, we were a little leery but figured we'd each slam one before heading out into the many hours of night racing which awaited us. But, then I noticed that each drink contained 160mg of caffeine - whoa (plus other ingredients of unknown effect) and figured that might not be wise for Reed - a non-coffee-drinker. So we split one and headed out onto the course.</p><p>Our chosen attack was to crank directly up the ski hill and then get the 2 CPs which were up on the ridge there. After a slow but fairly brief grind to the top followed by ridge traversing, we grabbed the first CP without much issue and then doubled back for the second. The clue was "re-entrant" and we had been warned that the reentrants might be subtle in the dark. This one took a while, but I eventually figured out where we were, after overshooting it. There were a few teams around including one whose strategy for finding the CP was to stand on the trail and watch my headlamp as we searched and then ask "Was it down there?" This happens occasionally in AR and puts you in the annoying position of either being a dick or giving away the fruit of your labor/skill. I have been that team many times before: demoralized, tired and wasting time wandering around the woods at night, hoping to glom onto someone else's success. It's an unavoidable part of AR, but the direct ask from someone who has not contributed to the search is always unwelcome.</p><p>Following this we cruised downhill to our next target. We decided to drop 2 CPs here in order to position ourselves to finish on time. This last CP (25) looked pretty simple on paper. I think it was pretty simple, off paper, as well but I butchered it. I just couldn't make my brain fit with the map. I still don't understand what happened but eventually we stumbled across it after 30 minutes of wandering back and forth on trail, off trail and in creeks. Reed dutifully followed as I incompetently dragged us around and drained our morale bar. After working though a patch of knee-high weeds he asked: "Uhh, Dad, what does stinging nettle feel like?"</p><p>We marched back to the TA, leaving 2 of the 5 CPs behind but using up plenty of time - not a high point. From here we transitioned back to bike mode to begin a night time bike stage (stage 5). The first part of this was a linear road that turned into an easy rail trail. There were 2 CPs to get from the rail trail. The first was super simple, the second (CP 29) located at the ruins of a long gone hotel which once overlooked Lake Auburn, looked fairly easy, not far from the rail trail. It ended up being a bit tricky though. The main wrinkle was that the CP was mapped on the outside of a trail loop/jughandle but in reality, the existing trail extended further north and the CP was actually now on the inside of the trail loop. There was a historical placard and map which indicated this difference, which I eventually found. The problem was that I was again having trouble syncing my mental map with the trail I was riding. There were a lot of back-of-the-pack racers around in this area and they were all looking for the CP in the wrong area (outside of the trail loop). Although I was convinced that they were off track, my inability to mentally sync the terrain was sapping my confidence and preventing me from making the move, away from everyone, to where I thought it would be. When I suggested it, Reed responded dubiously: "You mean up there, where no one is?" It took talking through it with our GMARA friends before we built enough of a consensus to head in the correct direction. Very soon, we were in the ruins, which were kind of cool-creepy in the dark forest and no one around.</p><p>The next task was to continue biking, on road primarily, to arrive at the trek-packraft section. There was a route choice here - a shorter hilly route or a longer flatter route along the banks of the lake. I directed us onto the latter, which was pretty easy and, I believe, the correct choice. We covered another ~ 13 mi on this bike leg.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKQKMWrOgVwNPfjo5dbnFwcnicJe6Mij9LejSHpMBYInT03RS4VoEk2yDVTAjAEQelh9qu5VqCqZOhCneDRbCium3cXKjypiCNEDOvgVZImAKXCdxusVJcqgNJbq4cIOsXWz8Ln1Vlxk/s762/223037642_1953398274809745_4198683948258958078_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="762" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPKQKMWrOgVwNPfjo5dbnFwcnicJe6Mij9LejSHpMBYInT03RS4VoEk2yDVTAjAEQelh9qu5VqCqZOhCneDRbCium3cXKjypiCNEDOvgVZImAKXCdxusVJcqgNJbq4cIOsXWz8Ln1Vlxk/s320/223037642_1953398274809745_4198683948258958078_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo and custom lighting by Cliff White</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>We arrived at TA3, the beginning of the packraft, leg a little after 2:00 AM. The Good To-Go (race sponsor) hot meals had all been eaten but race staff fixed us some instant hot mashed potatoes which were really tasty and appreciated. Here I was reunited with my camera, which I had left in my PFD pocket (not the first time I've done this), which explains the absence of pictures since TA1. The race notes recommended that we be rafting down the Androscoggin river by 4:00 in order to allow adequate time to finish before the 10:00 AM race end. By the time we were fed and packed with trek and raft gear, it was about 2:30. Taking into account the time to prepare the raft, etc. before entering the river, there was not much more than an hour to spend on the land CPs of this leg. The route was thusly straightforward: we would hit CP 31 in the nearby woods and then make our way to CP 30, near the bank of the river. This all went well, I felt alert, in sync with the map, and navigated to these CPs without issue. The only concern I had was wondering what the riverbank terrain would be like. Would it be suitable for a put-in? Riverbanks can be heinously choked with alders, steep or otherwise unnavigable. When we bushwhacked down to the river, after CP 30, however, we found a perfect gentle sandy beach to launch from.</p><p>In the early AM darkness, I inflated the raft while Reed assembled the paddles and attached glowsticks to our PFD and the raft (do this pre-race next time!). Looking around our put-in site, I notice this big dock spider (aka fishing spider) perched on our inflatable seat. These are the biggest spiders you will find in our area.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKSmWXagosWJCM_9ry41mDN5cZ6r0QG27olSqGWIcSuTxn8BY7XZ-3SAVN_356lOhYxdPC3ivVLO_eUtpLm3dq2_2qQoOYQMND6A3q6FbFQcYCaVcBq09jlRp1WNBpZPE79HXC5reihM/s752/dockie.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="564" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQKSmWXagosWJCM_9ry41mDN5cZ6r0QG27olSqGWIcSuTxn8BY7XZ-3SAVN_356lOhYxdPC3ivVLO_eUtpLm3dq2_2qQoOYQMND6A3q6FbFQcYCaVcBq09jlRp1WNBpZPE79HXC5reihM/s320/dockie.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dock spider photo: Spider Girl on Pinterest</td></tr></tbody></table>I shooed him away and then lost sight of him for a little while. Then we spotted him again, hanging around our stuff (they love waterside surfaces). Now, I love nature and generally don't mind spiders, but there was no way in hell I wanted that thing scuttling around our little raft for the next several hours with us. So I instructed Reed to "see if he could get rid of him" while I finished gear prep. After a raucous melee, the spider had been taken care of via 4-piece carbon wing paddle. Sorry little buddy.<div><br /></div><div>The rain had started back up while we were on the riverbank and steadily increased to a solid shower. Reed had a moment of "Wow, I didn't think that this was something that one could (should?) do", paddling down a poorly-visualized, large river in the darkest of night, in the pouring rain, in an inflatable raft, with no one else around.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was at least one nearby island CP that was gettable on our way south, but we didn't spend the time to try to find that. Just managing the river, in the dark, in the rain was plenty. We spotted a nocturnal beaver, who smacked his tail at us, and a couple ghostly herons on the bank. We sang a few Creedence Clearwater Revival songs to resist the night's gloom.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixaRny-LGjcwepYnsnZgfTeJ5tl7duwOcRul6IAXWubA5Yv-xbBk72KWlN0_Vn5g96fbHohojKt5WNo0Gw3IDeSyW5vbt_TBqHNNdKLxj9UW36uNhggvVBm3tRJdODyLnWv0JUyVBIZg/s2048/P7180051.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgixaRny-LGjcwepYnsnZgfTeJ5tl7duwOcRul6IAXWubA5Yv-xbBk72KWlN0_Vn5g96fbHohojKt5WNo0Gw3IDeSyW5vbt_TBqHNNdKLxj9UW36uNhggvVBm3tRJdODyLnWv0JUyVBIZg/w640-h480/P7180051.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snug in the packraft</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfmIO2Y_cydSYyMAb1vUFcsE7pedyZf-xDWkb8ebo_rPxJgqOS8mqKqlBOFSsfdcqw3x4WhpkpMnGFesdsUX6pBb6Lrkhz3a0atKPQtHPyTHwIyfHOi9U-Stywu1F178az6LjK7_ghCo/s2048/P7180053.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1597" data-original-width="2048" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfmIO2Y_cydSYyMAb1vUFcsE7pedyZf-xDWkb8ebo_rPxJgqOS8mqKqlBOFSsfdcqw3x4WhpkpMnGFesdsUX6pBb6Lrkhz3a0atKPQtHPyTHwIyfHOi9U-Stywu1F178az6LjK7_ghCo/w640-h500/P7180053.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post dawn river view. I was really impressed by the waterproofness of these paper maps. I hardly used a map case the entire race. Here I just suctioned it to the wet raft, which held it perfectly.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>We had been aiming toward a set of flashing lights on the left bank which we presumed was the location of the take-out to portage around the first dam. We caught up to another team, as day dawned and we arrived at the portage with them. After a luxurious-seeming portage (each at the end of an empty 9# packraft!) we were back in the river. We had arranged a fairly comfy seating/paddling position, not an easy thing in a 2-person packraft. A bit later, we hit a 2nd dam portage, this one a bit longer. We had a couple hundred feet of class II rapids here, which was fun, before the river flattened out again. Following this, we grabbed a CP in a right bank inlet, with Strong Machine and a couple other teams, and finally paddled in to the take-out in Auburn, ME, the site of TA4. We had paddled about 7 miles in 3.3 hours - oof.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our bikes had been moved ahead to this location for the final leg - a road bike back to Pineland Farms. Rain continued to fall on us as we transitioned in the urban Auburn setting around 7:30 AM. Reed was shivering from the paddle, so he put on all the clothes he had. I was still doing okay in my short sleeve bike kit and oddly stayed so despite the increasing amounts of cool rain. I got the maps together and examined the route for the first time. It was going to be a lengthy (23 mile) road ride with several easy-seeming roadside CPs to keep us on track.</div><div><br /></div><div>We set off and began working from CP to CP. There isn't too much to report. It was just a multi-hour bike slog through heavy rain. I tend to enjoy these type of conditions, though Reed was getting hungry and tired. His only comment about tiredness was during this leg: "Can you talk to me? I'm falling asleep on my bike." He really did an impressive job on this tough leg. In preparation for the race he had logged a lot of bike hours, including plenty of hill repeats on our road, and it definitely showed; we had passed the 100 mile mark for the race and he was still going strong.</div><div><br /></div><div>At one of the roadside CPs, I went to retrieve the passport and found that my zipped shoulder pocket was unzipped and the passport was gone...That sinking panicked feeling... It could be anywhere over the last 5 miles of rainy road. "Is it in the other pocket" asked Reed. "No, its been in this pocket the whole -". Oh, okay, there it is, in that other pocket. Whew, what a relief. It's tough to get through 24 hours of racing without at least one lost passport freakout.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the large amount of water on the road, being sprayed by our bike tires, and large amount of water in the air, it was a tough to remain visual during the multiple speedy descents. You could either open you eyes and kinda see through stinging rain spray or you could close them (not the safest way to ride a bike).</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkLbKL47i6Rlo8iOD1263G8E6gTk6MNNcQrMX7e1JEaj-1e1rfA5qD0ulgTXISRvrou0asRiWXnLH7sy5pgnYd0BLXlZ6wCWjAyXVgSOeAsgDuLVIKwIu9pzVmeWRAfayNhjwH920zVo/s1467/217712660_1950848091731430_2328892466895587287_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1467" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimkLbKL47i6Rlo8iOD1263G8E6gTk6MNNcQrMX7e1JEaj-1e1rfA5qD0ulgTXISRvrou0asRiWXnLH7sy5pgnYd0BLXlZ6wCWjAyXVgSOeAsgDuLVIKwIu9pzVmeWRAfayNhjwH920zVo/w640-h490/217712660_1950848091731430_2328892466895587287_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Randy Erickson</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>We rolled into the finish line right on time - about 15 minutes before the 24-hour mark. We succeeded in finishing the race - our goal. Our slow and steady pace, strategic selection of optional points and usually good enough navigation got Reed through his first 24 with a little energy to spare and having had a better-than-miserable experience. Following an aggressive assault on the breakfast buffet, we got to experience the comparative bliss of just sitting in a car with dry clothes on. Its tough to get that feeling outside of AR.</div><div><br /></div><div>A huge thanks is owed to Kate, Cliff and all the MSAR volunteers. It was a great race. I have not missed any edition of this race and I'm sure I'll be back to keep the streak alive in '22. </div><div><div><br /></div><div><div><p><br /></p></div></div></div>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-18823809046004688732021-06-03T15:28:00.028-07:002021-06-11T13:06:02.425-07:00Two Rivers Adventure Race, 36 hr, Morris PA, 5/29/21<p> With COVID wiping out most of the races for 2020, this was our first big race since 2019. It would also be our longest to date. We had an idea of the type of terrain that <a href="https://www.rootstockracing.org/">Rootstock Racing</a> had in store for us, having raced in this area for the 2019 2RAR (report <a href="http://nhtrailvets.blogspot.com/2019/05/rootstock-racing-2-rivers-adventure.html">here</a>). Steep hills and rushing creeks and rivers would make up the majority of the backcountry. The one race condition that was unknown was the weather. Memorial Day could bring anything from summer heat (please no) to prolonged cool and wet spring conditions. As race day approached, I was very excited to see that we would be blessed with the latter.</p><p>Temps would range from 40-58F with scattered rain. This may sound dismal to most folks but compared to the possibility of dealing with the massive efflux of fluids and electrolytes on a warm race day, cold and wet would be just fine. There are more ways to manage too cold than too hot.</p><p>On Friday we checked into our rental cabin in Morris and spent the evening planning gear logistics for the morning. We got a decent night of sleep before waking at 5:00 to load the cars, shove food and coffee into ourselves, drop the bikes on the course, and drive to the race start in remote Masten, PA. All went according to plan and we were ready and waiting for the race start at 8:00.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDFd32bNIALj_c2w-Blrtq3Yiiknkkc9oQxha6T2bxijSskvZLnAwoztJkskKUm5jmHOFWtJlKy7NjwuTfECgd33ixloGfEeTnlfhHMh2uVZDfiAEMF4eBxor794sH_UtMcfJC8w1bT0/s2048/Two+Rivers+2021+%252858%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDFd32bNIALj_c2w-Blrtq3Yiiknkkc9oQxha6T2bxijSskvZLnAwoztJkskKUm5jmHOFWtJlKy7NjwuTfECgd33ixloGfEeTnlfhHMh2uVZDfiAEMF4eBxor794sH_UtMcfJC8w1bT0/w640-h426/Two+Rivers+2021+%252858%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgz8AE1yejtUtKYhBKLK5ANQml_kUUqL_YXNw4IkemplrP5eH_LVsni9OLY4BKDqP8rSAGmoMm1270eD0JQPs9ThBk6VsYDkJBCyfBXPf-HsYuTlw45e9JI_8T5NO6AC0qzPfiNEQG2FU/s1567/Two+Rivers+2021+%2528100%2529.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1567" data-original-width="1337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgz8AE1yejtUtKYhBKLK5ANQml_kUUqL_YXNw4IkemplrP5eH_LVsni9OLY4BKDqP8rSAGmoMm1270eD0JQPs9ThBk6VsYDkJBCyfBXPf-HsYuTlw45e9JI_8T5NO6AC0qzPfiNEQG2FU/s320/Two+Rivers+2021+%2528100%2529.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prolog jogue</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Leg 1 of the race would be preceded by a quick prologue on foot - finding 3 simple, nearby flags in the Masten Campground area. The intent was to spread the teams out a little so that it wasn't follow-the-leader conga line to begin leg 1. It was a bit too short and easy to accomplish much, but it helped some. It was interesting to see some teams sprinting around at 5k pace to begin this 36 hour race.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">So far, we had only received the map for Leg 1. This would be a unique one. It was primarily a river leg...but on foot. The mandatory and (unmapped!) optional checkpoints (CPs) were placed to keep you in, or on the banks of, the river. The river was Rock Run, which cut a gorgeous ravine through the woods, over cascades, falls and rock ledges. The recent rains filled it with ample swift, cold water that we would repeatedly ford (and fall into at least once).</span></div><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQS9VEn6Zf84koW58vDcNy74s756eG01yF4gIjXQJp8uUrKdOqwIaiylk8tKOJ8ZFSqQ_Q2peDJTfKoB7c0JjNLhc0avRza84W2mJGiOwrAPRUhxMsYbxvrfmc7aWduHDmd4WmlAbJBs/s2048/P5290004.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1677" data-original-width="2048" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWQS9VEn6Zf84koW58vDcNy74s756eG01yF4gIjXQJp8uUrKdOqwIaiylk8tKOJ8ZFSqQ_Q2peDJTfKoB7c0JjNLhc0avRza84W2mJGiOwrAPRUhxMsYbxvrfmc7aWduHDmd4WmlAbJBs/w640-h524/P5290004.JPG" title="Typical Rock Run scene. Note little orange flag (CP) in center" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical Rock Run scene. Note little orange flag (CP) in center, over the falls.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Between the mandatory and optional CPs, we found all 16 points in the scenic river gorge. The usual procedure was to hike as fast as possible along the river edge/bank until it became a rock wall, then ford the river and continue this procedure on the opposite bank. Because there were unmapped CPs in the ravine, you could not stray far from the river course or you might not see one of them. Rob was blazing down the river in this section, finding every CP, and it was all I could do to keep him in sight while navigating the slippery, uneven terrain. We met and passed a few teams on this section. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7B3Nkj6zeEriaT40AKKTHrex7sgEBIKYtk6fwEbWhJyj5ECx4tCGflDAZqzTngk1xsiN7oAHx3sNFer3USUeWMLtzR6QWPkBofsju9S34GKQN15G7BFolpK631B_0sJA__VwkwmkNosw/s2048/P5290009.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7B3Nkj6zeEriaT40AKKTHrex7sgEBIKYtk6fwEbWhJyj5ECx4tCGflDAZqzTngk1xsiN7oAHx3sNFer3USUeWMLtzR6QWPkBofsju9S34GKQN15G7BFolpK631B_0sJA__VwkwmkNosw/s320/P5290009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Finally we found the last river CP and climbed out of the gorge and shuffled the rest of the leg on roads. Pre-race, I was wondering if the number of CPs to find, combined with the very technical terrain would put us behind time estimates. Instead, we finished the leg quite a bit faster than expected, averaging a surprising 2 mph over these 12 miles.</p><p>The downside was (at least for me), that your legs took a bit of a beating moving quickly through this atypical landscape. Feeling discomfort in both knees, with possibly 30 hours of race left was disconcerting.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJS_nAabPjHkDDN3k8OeRucmfxeHsQ_LL9tUFkEfgw0ffd16QbzRjSniVPqy472gon3PKbRseyD5PpUQ6v-b2jqlKwHejE5xSY4H8A-9HcAU9lEEe3P93GSVE5MTgWbHfziLq9PCjLkY/s1246/IMG_7295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1246" data-original-width="904" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJS_nAabPjHkDDN3k8OeRucmfxeHsQ_LL9tUFkEfgw0ffd16QbzRjSniVPqy472gon3PKbRseyD5PpUQ6v-b2jqlKwHejE5xSY4H8A-9HcAU9lEEe3P93GSVE5MTgWbHfziLq9PCjLkY/w464-h640/IMG_7295.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob bagging a riverbank CP</td></tr></tbody></table><p> rolled into TA1, in Ralston, at the 6.5 hour mark. Here we received the rest of the maps for the race and switched over to bike mode. Coming in wet off Leg 1 (the result of an accidental full-body immersion) and stopping our forward progress, I was soon shivering and needed to start riding before we had time to map/plan our entire route for this second leg. Leg 2 was the longest bike leg. Their estimates were 37 miles and 7ish hours. This slow pace suggested that we would be facing big hills, technical terrain or tricky navigation. It turned out to be little of all of those.</p><p>After a few flat miles of pavement, we began a ~1000ft climb on quiet gravel and paved roads. Any lingering chill from the TA burned off quickly during the ascent. This would be a recurring theme for the whole race: get cold in TA (and some downhills) and sweat on the ascents. We modulated this by donning/removing hats/buffs and un/zipping our top layers. I wore the same clothes for the whole race: two 1/2 zip Smartwool baselayers under a weatherproof shell, and tights and undies on bottom. The only changes were to throw on bike bibs for the bike legs and changing into dry shoes/socks/gloves when possible.</p><p>We picked up a couple easy CPs along the way, climbed and descended some more and headed toward the town of Blossberg. A short detour into town would be our only chance to grab food from a store. Rob and I decided that a cup of gas station coffee and a snack was worth the side trip. Since it was a Subway-equipped gas mart, it had a sit down area. We each had 2 cups of coffee and a bit of food. "A bit" in Rob's case was 3 slices of pizza. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghL8uzsc48YPD6rqsKqrqs6F2wASLIfjyKs3Fhy_qM_ggbYxqh8dJtt148_4WBsQ5dwY4GvMMrQkhn7JCsF77CrKBNkj403kr5Ap2GCgJOUfs41kOwYelJi9Rr81VmkSLAfh0taPTHtyI/s2048/P5290011.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghL8uzsc48YPD6rqsKqrqs6F2wASLIfjyKs3Fhy_qM_ggbYxqh8dJtt148_4WBsQ5dwY4GvMMrQkhn7JCsF77CrKBNkj403kr5Ap2GCgJOUfs41kOwYelJi9Rr81VmkSLAfh0taPTHtyI/s320/P5290011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />We also took advantage of this warm dry space to pull out the maps and have a strategy and map markup session. After a half hour or so, we climbed back onto our bikes and scooted out of town just ahead of the annual Coal Days Parade. <p></p><p>With the morale status bar back near full, we did a little more road riding to reach a network of trails on mixed use land north of Arnot. We met up with a few more teams here including our fellow New Englanders of Strong Machine. We were happy to team up with these guys for the bulk of the bike-O here and on the ride to TA 2, navving and chatting together to good effect.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JcC0fotxhCteSTzwR90QH61LRvxMVXkBqIatVIDLVVxscLV7pCe4gm168_2EoM4P20Y3WLk-54ataMjuObgN_zXdqhj4W5LVgVOwtOPEnQQlLlfnaQUcOCXv4SrQDNZJF1RjNfUL5L0/s2048/Two+Rivers+2021+%2528294%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1519" data-original-width="2048" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JcC0fotxhCteSTzwR90QH61LRvxMVXkBqIatVIDLVVxscLV7pCe4gm168_2EoM4P20Y3WLk-54ataMjuObgN_zXdqhj4W5LVgVOwtOPEnQQlLlfnaQUcOCXv4SrQDNZJF1RjNfUL5L0/w640-h474/Two+Rivers+2021+%2528294%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TA 2 arrival</td></tr></tbody></table><p>TA 2 was the start of the big night trek - the navigational crux of the race. This patch of the Tioga State Forest held 1 mandatory CP and up to 23 optional CPs. This was the main leg where teams who were navigating well and moving fast could pick up extra CPs and climb in the rankings. We started by mopping up some easier, closely spaced CPs in the central part of the course, mostly around really nice waterfalls and streams. Then we began attacking the more peripheral points in a counterclockwise fashion. 2 issues arose at this point:</p><p>1) The night before we left, Rob found out that the battery of our trusty altimeter watch was dead. It's one of those old school watches that you take to a jeweler to get a new battery. Rob watched some videos and fiddled with it a little but it still was not functional. So, while driving to PA, he used Siri to get in touch with the helpful proprietor of a mall-based jeweler in NY. This was not far from our driving route, so he headed there and in short order the guy had the watch up and running. Once we started to actually use it, however, it became obvious that the altimeter was nowhere close to functional (Yes, we know they work on barometric pressure and that the weather was bad. It wasn't that).</p><p>2) I had folded the map in the map case in such a way as to cover up 4 distant eastern CPs. By the time we realized that those were actually there, we had crossed all the way over to the west side of the course and were pretty much stuck on that side of the map unless we wanted to majorly backtrack. This cost us at least one quick CP (AA).</p><p>Despite these factors, we were actually nabbing these things in pretty short order. On our way west, we hit CPs S, R and Q without much issue and headed to P, in a big marsh about 1 km away. As we approached it in the early AM hours, Rob's typically brisk ground speed began to flag and soon I was in the unusual position of pulling the train through the woods while Rob descended into a sad bonky place of GI distress. He spotted a fawn in the marsh-side grass and then mom nearby, and then took a few minutes of rest while I fetched the surprisingly distant CP in this marsh that stretched the better part of a km. After a little more down time, Rob was back on his feet and gradually regained an adequate level of mojo. This was not a turning point, however, because next we encountered our first big nav problem. Despite knowing exactly where we were, setting a compass bearing and following it closely, we never hit our next target (CP O) which looked to be in broad, shallow reentrant. We wandered around left and right, trying to identify this terrain feature but we never could, using up time and draining the morale bar. </p><p>Looking back at our GPS, post race, both times we set a bearing on Rob's compass, we ended up on a course about 20 degrees left of our target. So, I think it was a compass problem but who knows; even with a good compass, tired night nav can always go South (insert cheesy joke here).</p><p>At this point we were at some poorly-defined point in the woods and needed to get found and resume our previously effective racing. I directed us toward a trail that we were sure to hit if we were anywhere near where we should be. This worked and soon we were southbound on a fast trail. We didn't really know which trail we were on but then we spotted and shamelessly followed a 2-man team to checkpoint FF on trail. Then we decided to bushwhack west for a km to a trail that would serve as our attack point for 2 or 3 more CPs. We hiked west for a long time, then some more, then more. No trail. I recalled the well known fact that you almost always haven't gone far enough when you're trekking at night and we continued, finally finding a trail. This trail degraded to a moat, started meandering in a wrong direction and eventually disappeared. It hadn't been the right trail. Now, after following this unmapped trail, our location was again non definitively known.</p><p>At this point, since leaving P, we had found one CP in 2 hours, mostly while practicing the morale-depleting activity of low-confidence bushwhacking. We could certainly keep grinding out here but there we no more easy "honey-holes" of CPs left and it would take a bit of time to even determine exactly where we were. I wasn't navigating well, we weren't moving well, so we made the decision to call it a leg and head back to TA rather than risk wasting more time doing this. A big trek leg still lay ahead of us, during Leg 5, in daylight, where our time would be better spent.</p><p>I pointed us in the rough direction of the TA (which ended up being luckily on target), and we descended to and forded Babb Creek to get there. On the way, Rob spotted a big blond porcupine in a short tree. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlxOqljZVSu3vbfExSmCWXHLmb8Wc1oZ-vgSUn-XVkPdYLoh6e-dznwJ-KyqHd_RcR4GQ-JAQsRH3mzgxZRAUdnlo4-Zz6Fu8htMAdc4dix4NZbUGhQb10jMS1vBT1rUQiXsHmISLi_0/s2048/P5300013.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlxOqljZVSu3vbfExSmCWXHLmb8Wc1oZ-vgSUn-XVkPdYLoh6e-dznwJ-KyqHd_RcR4GQ-JAQsRH3mzgxZRAUdnlo4-Zz6Fu8htMAdc4dix4NZbUGhQb10jMS1vBT1rUQiXsHmISLi_0/w400-h300/P5300013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />I'm not sure whether these light-colored porcupines are a PA thing or whether he was an anomaly. By the time I had fumbled my camera out, it was much higher up the tree, resulting in this stunning wildlife photo (look out JS O'Connor!):<p></p><p>While hatching our bail-out plan for this leg, we also decided to use a lucky secret weapon that Rootstock had unwittingly given us.</p><p>While spending a little sleepless time Friday night, it occurred to me that the race info we had just received stated that we would ride through Morris during bike Leg 4. Morris is tiny and our cabin was in Morris. So....our cabin would be within a minute, two max, of the race course. If we rode through at the right time, it would be a great place to grab a quick power nap. We had left the key under the mat just in case this strategy worked out.</p><p>It was now about 4 AM and Morris was a speedy, level to downhill ride from our current location in TA 3. The timing would be perfect. Within an hour of leaving TA, we had the coffee maker set, a 30 minute alarm set and had fallen instantly asleep on our beds.</p><p>By the time we rode back out to finish Leg 4, dawn had broken, coffee had been gulped and the morale status bar was topped off - woo!</p><p>We finished up the rest of this leg, which was really just a way of getting us to the beginning of packraft Leg 5. This involved a surprising amount of elevation gain for the short distances which we were covering. The big hurdle was a steep 500 ft climb. We were sad when Rob realized, inspecting the bike maps on the board, that we would be tackling that same climb on our way to the finish line during Leg 6. One thing that I have found to be true is that Rootstock races do not tend to let up, you will not find many gimmes. A CP that looks to be just off the trail will be 50ft down a technical ravine, a final 10 mile bike leg on road will steeply gain 900ft, and so on.</p><p>We reached TA4, the beginning of the packraft, early Sunday morning. This would entail a long hike, mainly on trail, carrying packrafts and paddle gear, followed by a float down Pine Creek, back to this same location. When we got to the TA, energy and morale were high. We began to look through the pile of paddle gear bags and bins which had been trucked here for us to resupply. Our box was not initially apparent and after a thorough inspection by us and the helpful volunteers Kate and Joel here, it was confirmed to be absent. After some discussion, we came to the conclusion that it must have been swept up with the paddle gear from the preceding 15-hour race. This meant that it was sitting at the finish line, a 20+ minute drive from here. Joel took off to fetch it for us and we camped out at the TA in our bike stuff, gradually cooling off while biting midges nibbled our faces. After an hour (which was naturally subtracted from our race time), Joel returned with our gear and we made quick work of packing up our rafts and paddle stuff, eating/drinking quickly and setting off in trek mode.</p><p>There were a few optional CPs to try for on this leg but they were distant and off-trail. Tackling the full on-trail trek and adjacent CPs was going to be lengthy (11 miles on Western Rim Trail) and plenty for us. We took the quickest route to begin, back along the rail trail we'd arrived on. Starting the trek, with heavy pack on, I was really feeling the knee pain which had begun during Leg 1. I fished out my ibuprofen stash to find that there was only one 200mg tablet left. I resignedly took this and we continued trekking down the rail trail. A km or so down the trail, I looked down on and saw two Advil tablets sitting there on the ground - thanks to whatever NSAID fairy dropped those for me!</p><p>This leg was pretty tough, honestly. Heavy packs, fatigued/injured legs and a lot of distance and elevation to cover. There were 6 CPs to get on the trek, spaced pretty far apart. One (PP) required a sketchy heroic ravine descent to Bohen falls by Rob. The rest were less harrowing but the miles were taking a toll and we really couldn't wait to sit our butts in those packrafts.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96uAp3-iBVH4iLhVVS2TtXMp2nn_M8fulAFaNRQbsynoDFd0KyLXXxnjoCeDdsebb6kjksi_jyLgHlrkSH_cEEt2mdPIocJy-GI9bznBEekAq7qDhZzo7zR4nfwgvL1LQPCAnHdv46TY/s2048/P5300015.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96uAp3-iBVH4iLhVVS2TtXMp2nn_M8fulAFaNRQbsynoDFd0KyLXXxnjoCeDdsebb6kjksi_jyLgHlrkSH_cEEt2mdPIocJy-GI9bznBEekAq7qDhZzo7zR4nfwgvL1LQPCAnHdv46TY/w640-h480/P5300015.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Rim Trail. This is how I like my mountain laurel: with a nice trail through it.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>We trekked chunks of this leg with the A. Courains and a 3-man team whose name I didn't catch. After about 4.5 hours, we reached the endpoint of the trek where we would descend steeply to Pine Creek. RD Brent had warned us about this sketchy descent of a rocky streambed. He mentioned that we might bail and turn back after seeing it and that we should be wearing our helmets to be safe. He also mentioned a possible alternative, which was to descend not the stream itself, but the steep spur that formed the northern wall of its ravine. He hadn't tried it but it had seemed doable to him, from the bottom. We chose this route and it was really not bad at all. We passed 3-5 teams here who were approaching the descent or slowly making their way down the stream. Thanks Brent for the intel!</p><p>Rob ferreted out CP NN at the bottom (not a gimme!), we inflated our boats and settled into the packraft. Although the water level was such that the ride was a bit scratchy at times, this part of the race was such a nice break. We really didn't "race" it. A lot of the time we just floated downstream, enjoying the scenery and watching the many birds inhabiting the riparian habitat and chowing mayflies. I decided that the best way to describe it was being in a "bird aquarium". Rob suggested "outdoor open aviary" in response, which was laughably inaccurate.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj427GOeekNZKkNkyyqXJNGvEZEgKtAgAFiZZqEXuy-7Sg31Yir0y6SrFNMG2NkiSXSMtP1w4XWYu_jNYMqAhWuoCFKMqb-5xSqD6W32_KUD0sy4A2IOz0g_xU4mutYco9B-iPUDsqj6tE/s2048/P5300031.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj427GOeekNZKkNkyyqXJNGvEZEgKtAgAFiZZqEXuy-7Sg31Yir0y6SrFNMG2NkiSXSMtP1w4XWYu_jNYMqAhWuoCFKMqb-5xSqD6W32_KUD0sy4A2IOz0g_xU4mutYco9B-iPUDsqj6tE/w640-h480/P5300031.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzXeKJSbWuHgTmBIWy0HOat9aswBvxwoBwfMrXEFvWZ-QN2rHRaGYa3eUnfhfjXaGNRF5vNZ2xxrX2y9ugfyIkny9oZKGBc53YdJaJa9-b9Q0CxkOU_wzDSmpQu_YHAQmr1cddrD5Fhs/s1236/P5300025.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1236" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyzXeKJSbWuHgTmBIWy0HOat9aswBvxwoBwfMrXEFvWZ-QN2rHRaGYa3eUnfhfjXaGNRF5vNZ2xxrX2y9ugfyIkny9oZKGBc53YdJaJa9-b9Q0CxkOU_wzDSmpQu_YHAQmr1cddrD5Fhs/w640-h552/P5300025.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Mergansers shooting some sick class I rapids.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HqSArFi16UKV4CTxsHFkgPUUEET-cCuZrmwkIbAbI8iqBm7zqh1-qoLdkidedIEEFrkjTJoENYmmMAymOR12EJl54w0L6JsuGKzk8Xcs89mnG2lgHSYvF5_mS-HeyM44lt74g_G7v-o/s2048/P5300024.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1535" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HqSArFi16UKV4CTxsHFkgPUUEET-cCuZrmwkIbAbI8iqBm7zqh1-qoLdkidedIEEFrkjTJoENYmmMAymOR12EJl54w0L6JsuGKzk8Xcs89mnG2lgHSYvF5_mS-HeyM44lt74g_G7v-o/w640-h480/P5300024.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>2.5 hours later we were back at the TA. Along the way we had picked up 3 CPs. Wow, did those legs feel bad standing up from the raft to punch a CP and at the TA. I weakly hobbled into the TA where we stowed our paddle stuff, ate and drank, and geared up for a short but (as we knew) steep, uphill bike to the finish. Bike is our strongest discipline and this was really not bad. Though now raining a bit, we had the impetus of the looming finish line and some more scenic rural roads to propel us along. We spun into the finish line at about 5:30 PM. What a relief to be done. Because of the paddle-bag time credit, we could have raced until 9:00 PM without penalty. In reality though, we (particularly me) were trekked out. My knees were an Advil-resistant wreck at this point. We had cleared the bike sections and the raft. The only points we skipped were optional trek points. We had logged ~18 hours of tough trekking and I could not have wisely done any more than that.</p><p>Our effort was good enough for 7th place overall among the 42 teams in the 36-hour race. We were very satisfied with that.</p><p>As previously, Rootstock masterfully created a cruel beauty of a course in the Endless Mountains of PA. Course design and race day logistics were super solid. This was a one of the best races we've done. We give a huge thanks to them and the team of volunteers who tirelessly work to make it all possible.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-67066241734864164852020-10-22T10:05:00.001-07:002020-10-22T11:46:17.078-07:00Wildlands Adventure Challenge, Orland, ME, 10/11/20<p> 2020 was/is obviously a year of new challenges for everyone. In the AR world, it was a year of race cancellations and postponements. A scarce inconvenience certainly, compared to the effects of the pandemic on many people, but so it is that the most recent entry on this blog was also the Wildlands Adventure Challenge, one year ago.</p><p>Using some creative ways to prevent the gathering of people, facemask requirements, no-touch checkpoints and other accommodations to minimize or eliminate the possibility of unintentionally staging a super-spreader event, the good folks at <a href="https://www.strongmachinear.com/">Strong Machine AR</a> were actually able to responsibly get a race on the books in 2020.</p><p>Demand for race entry was so great, they ran the same race on back-to-back days (Saturday and Sunday). This can be attributed to the eagerness of any adventure racer in the region to do an <i>actual </i>race in 2020, and may also reflect a new interest in AR stemming from the recent resurrection of the Eco-Challenge TV show. The original Eco in the 90's and 00's was a huge reason many of us started AR in the US. Hopefully the modest success of The World's Toughest Race will have a similar effect on a new generation of racers.</p><p>Whether due to Kate and Cliff's already established success in attracting new racers or because of the show, there were a lot of new racers, particularly women out on the course. This was great to see. In addition to running the race twice, they were also running a beginners' 3-hour race concurrent with the usual 8-hour affair, both days. My son, Reed (17), and I would be doing the 8-hour race, while my wife and 10-year old daughter were debuting as the <b><span style="color: #de0788;">NH Trailettes</span></b> in the 3-hour race!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36CmTVmy9OS-khrDaBYQH5bvfSu5hZUXts97EvZ-rXxDxiJ9PvFeLsazjVqgYyqv4KMNpPvuHGBXPb5i1K7_xiOzn1479aI-f_40e8BoxEYyyYCEJOr8eUG8FTNyfr7NRRZ1hWO_4nlY/s940/IMG_5821.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="940" height="568" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36CmTVmy9OS-khrDaBYQH5bvfSu5hZUXts97EvZ-rXxDxiJ9PvFeLsazjVqgYyqv4KMNpPvuHGBXPb5i1K7_xiOzn1479aI-f_40e8BoxEYyyYCEJOr8eUG8FTNyfr7NRRZ1hWO_4nlY/w640-h568/IMG_5821.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQUm4xUiAUvQV3dHSaOadBLOzGNEeXsSbxJFMDYMY-TQNDDiqL2PXfHAyEgPIKh2FdLJU8RZYltSiSIH9Dj0gxccCOHLnjShkEWhyphenhyphenfTxursJkyybXDTX_QhA98wNlgO4GiZsxM8jDE2Q/s684/IMG_5818.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="684" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQUm4xUiAUvQV3dHSaOadBLOzGNEeXsSbxJFMDYMY-TQNDDiqL2PXfHAyEgPIKh2FdLJU8RZYltSiSIH9Dj0gxccCOHLnjShkEWhyphenhyphenfTxursJkyybXDTX_QhA98wNlgO4GiZsxM8jDE2Q/w640-h558/IMG_5818.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;">We checked in to race HQ (Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery) just after dawn, and received our (staggered) start time. We learned that the first leg of the race would be a short Score-O in the forest and trails in the vicinity. Teams had to decide how to most quickly accumulate 24 points out of the variously-valued checkpoints nearby. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We selected a route that involved minimal elevation gain but a little bit of fine navigation. Our first target, a 4-pointer, took a bit more time than expected because when we arrived, we saw it about 30 feet below us, down an extremely steep ravine wall. Tumbling into a gully was not how we wished to begin the next 8 hours of racing, so we worked our way around to a more manageable area to descend to the CP. The other CPs in this section were less dramatic. The plotting of the trails on the trail brochure was not highly accurate, leading to a few delays but overall, we moved well enough through this first section, finishing in 51 minutes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We then scurried down to the edge of Alamoosook Lake to begin the lake kayak. I was hoping we'd be in a tandem kayak, faster than a single and a good way to equalize team paddling speed, but the 2-man teams received 2 single kayaks. Fortunately they were pretty nice kayaks (not sit-on-tops). There were 5 possible CPs on the lake. 3 were relatively close by and 2 of them would be take a little more time to reach. This was an obvious place where the 2 types of teams would diverge. Those gunning for the podium should grab all 5, while the rest should grab the 3 and move on to the next legs. We were surely in the latter group. Reed paddled his boat well and we scooped up the 3 shoreline CPs without incident, traveling in a pod with several other teams. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Although not nearly as windy as was experienced by Saturday's racers, there was still a stiff breeze out there, raising a little chop on the lake. The autumnal views from the paddle were really splendid; at one point a bald eagle soared high overhead on a nice tailwind.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After only 46 minutes, we were back on land and gearing up for a bike ride. Because of the no-touch CPs and favorable exit/entry techniques, we had retained dry feet during the paddle - unheard of! Between this and the drought forest conditions to follow, we actually enjoyed dry feet for about 80% of the race.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiJ4EBBsJNWEcbbpJsIvVy9jBAKuar1QQw46MlowWlBA4scI_uNOXs6xLhKK1vV-VfMODz5Euc5BY8FGfagTtoiIn8LdZSolupPHt-CQaZGWEseD0U6_aK9kkj3RLeB1QycP_4AVO5Ho/s1280/IMG_5908.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiJ4EBBsJNWEcbbpJsIvVy9jBAKuar1QQw46MlowWlBA4scI_uNOXs6xLhKK1vV-VfMODz5Euc5BY8FGfagTtoiIn8LdZSolupPHt-CQaZGWEseD0U6_aK9kkj3RLeB1QycP_4AVO5Ho/w640-h480/IMG_5908.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Drone's eye view of the area around race HQ. <i>JS O'Connor photo</i><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Our bike ride would take us on dirt and paved roads from the hatchery to the heart of the nearby Hothole Valley Parcel. On the way we would pick up 2 fairly easy CPs in areas familiar from last year's race. We completed this ride in 72 minutes, arriving at TA3, to begin the trekking section of the race.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At the TA, we quickly changed out of bike shoes and readied some food to eat during our initial hike. It's often challenging to eat while you're riding and especially while kayaking. Trekking usually allows you to consistently use both hands to feed yourself and is a good time to tank up on calories. As we approached the first target, we hurriedly plowed through some Pringles and Fritos. The first CP was easily found after a 10 minute hike. The next would require a substantial ascent, to a small mountaintop, off-trail, primarily through a young beech forest.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It was at the time that I began to notice how great the weather was. Here I was, cranking up this hill, and, sweating certainly, yet somehow, not uncomfortable and not seriously dehydrating myself, wow! The temps in the 50's and steady breezes were providing a perfect environment for the effort level we were putting out. We never became too hot or cold at any time during this trek - a rare comfort bonus which I did not fail to mention and enjoy throughout the race. I'm sure Reed got tired of my repeated weather-related exclamations. Between the weather, interesting off-trail terrain, and the fall foliage, this was one of my favorite treks ever.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQSqNJ-tGiey4Yc2LCWqbfbuvwyIBJ_Vr5APItXWDxenMC-L13FWKbpfz4_gs1NyxNW7_stGjLguOtQV5rp0XEYiI03ikePwRsiyPBG_2X0KsA-8BgUiA_8bWL_UJKxtzRz4jhRrx6lI/s1544/IMG_5806.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1544" data-original-width="1160" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQSqNJ-tGiey4Yc2LCWqbfbuvwyIBJ_Vr5APItXWDxenMC-L13FWKbpfz4_gs1NyxNW7_stGjLguOtQV5rp0XEYiI03ikePwRsiyPBG_2X0KsA-8BgUiA_8bWL_UJKxtzRz4jhRrx6lI/w480-h640/IMG_5806.jpg" title="The lichen-encrusted summit near CP 11" width="480" /></a></div>The lichen-encrusted summit near CP 10<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After this summit CP, our next target was...another summit CP. As expected, this would necessitate a substantial descent and ascent. This part of the forest was not too bad for off-trail travel, better than average, except for being pelted by whippy beech branches.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjYT8VhejQd9lDJNpq3PWUWFQypRY6jP_FIcBfyd1fdbgMWXieHCXs3SxhhhblvWIzdVrYGmWoin8j-tEXd4HFCVPH5wDKF0jdv0oWd0c53yC-Z9KMRuGmpWRM-ndno3zYw3UOq538Uk/s1872/IMG_5810.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1404" data-original-width="1872" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfjYT8VhejQd9lDJNpq3PWUWFQypRY6jP_FIcBfyd1fdbgMWXieHCXs3SxhhhblvWIzdVrYGmWoin8j-tEXd4HFCVPH5wDKF0jdv0oWd0c53yC-Z9KMRuGmpWRM-ndno3zYw3UOq538Uk/w640-h480/IMG_5810.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Awesome view from CP 11. Hothole Pond is below us.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Then we needed to descend to the mouth of Hothole Pond, to find CP 12. The bushwhacking in this part was a little more slow and technical, with lots of boulders/erratics on the face of the mountain, some down trees and lots of brushy blueberries to wade through. CP 12 was an easy find on the bank of the pond and then it was time to bushwhack up the back of Great Pond Mountain to find a CP in a reentrant (stream gully). I had a little navigator's self-doubt here, thinking that I hadn't "aimed off" accurately enough because as we ascended, at length, the reentrant became less and less a reentrant (as they tend to do). But, soon enough, there was that lovely flag, after ascending just a little bit more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At the beginning of the trek, we had been moving really well and clicking through the CPs faster than anticipated, leading us to wonder if we could clear, or nearly clear this section. The bushwhacking had become quite a bit slower for the last 2 CPs, however, and we were no longer maintaining that favorable pace. Therefore, we decided to not go after CP15 after all; we'd just head back to the trails, do an out-and back grab of 14 and then pick up one more close CP on the way back to the TA, which would give us plenty of time to bike back to the finish at race HQ.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We fell in with a couple other teams on the way to 14 on the Birding Trail with the clue listed as "Edge of Marsh." Once the trail petered out and a marsh appeared to our right, we followed behind the train of racers to the marsh. We poked around this wet slow terrain for a little while and came to the eventual realization that this wasn't a train of racers on a well-worn track to a CP, it was just a bunch of people milling around. I had been taking a bit of a break from navigating and ill-advisedly assumed the teams ahead were on track. Standing in the marsh and looking seriously, this time, at the map, it was clear that this was not where we were going to find the CP. A little stress began to creep in at this time. We had a little time to find some more trek CPs before we <i>really </i>needed to get back to the TA, but not much, and now we had wasted a lot of it. I really did not want to go over the 8-hour time limit. Through the slow terrain of the marsh-side peninsula, I led us on a southward trek. The map suggested that the CP would be at the tip of the peninsula on the "Edge of Marsh." After many more minutes of grinding through this terrain, I was losing hope. I felt we had gone too far and I gave us a 5-more-minutes turnaround cutoff. Soon, though, the end of the peninsula emerged and, to my immense relief, a flag hung there. Whew. We copied down the code word and had just started back north when I had a thought and went back to check the CP number attached to the flag. This was 15, not 14. Ohhhkayyyy. So...some more studying of the map and recalibrating to our new known location, and we were off to the <i>actual</i> location of CP 14, which we found right where it should be from the map. Weird how that happens sometimes.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We had spend a lot of time working around this area and hadn't left ourselves much time for the bike back BUT now we had 2 CPs to show for it - a lucky payoff for our efforts. Team morale status bar refilled to the top. We jogged and hiked back to the TA, grabbing a quick out-and-back on-trail CP along the way. We had bagged all but one CP on the trek leg in a bit under 4 hours - solid.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We transitioned quickly back into bike mode. We had one hour to make the ride back. That trip, on the way here, had taken 72 minutes. On the return trip, however, we would have more downhill and would not have to stop for any side trips to CPs. After a lengthy dirt road climb, we had an opportunity to take a shot at one more CP (21). We probably, but not definitely, had enough time. We discussed it for a minute before deciding to play it safe and enjoy a stress-free ride into the finish.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvC73vUKeAuWwupXnqGeZiukc94jDMK_V9TjUYtbYgzxHD2L4Km6ROM7Lm3E4zgIFBsZ4dy86ZzfCEXkmkXyx27kiAK45DMiPi-VmVUpePa3knz3K38C5GuLFmZJrWuh1zWhwKiO4TZg/s706/IMG_5824.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="706" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvC73vUKeAuWwupXnqGeZiukc94jDMK_V9TjUYtbYgzxHD2L4Km6ROM7Lm3E4zgIFBsZ4dy86ZzfCEXkmkXyx27kiAK45DMiPi-VmVUpePa3knz3K38C5GuLFmZJrWuh1zWhwKiO4TZg/w640-h598/IMG_5824.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRjXPY0qPLiNnDiEeKTFAMTKxV7U182RTqTeOShg-QQdDqQBnak7zFw8Xcz9Gr-y0gdW4OxDcXaG0fO89CYHL3Por_oKZdV4tGPNikKsl-KRGeTPRy0ovfjW0CMAP86sv6CAw5uM8PhI/s730/IMG_5823.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="730" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRjXPY0qPLiNnDiEeKTFAMTKxV7U182RTqTeOShg-QQdDqQBnak7zFw8Xcz9Gr-y0gdW4OxDcXaG0fO89CYHL3Por_oKZdV4tGPNikKsl-KRGeTPRy0ovfjW0CMAP86sv6CAw5uM8PhI/w640-h602/IMG_5823.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">At the finish line we spent a couple minutes chatting with overall winners Untamed New England (including team members Rob and Dave who were on our winning squad last year as well). We reunited with Pam and Eliza, who had a fun and successful 3-hour race, trekking, kayaking, navigating and finishing in the top 50% of teams in their first AR.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We enjoyed socially distanced tasty burritos and beer with a few friends lakeside before heading out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We would sincerely like to thank Kate and Cliff White of SMAR for their tremendous efforts is organizing these races under the conditions imposed by COVID-19. The entire family had a great experience and can't wait to return for more outdoor fun in 2021!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8Qy5Wa2mFqz5yqNn5q16t7YPf4dHskA7iU43MkiaAOJKluzVRNL9UPwLG42BEcwzd_6K5Lc9bBDsrQz_zTXH-5JUlMp3cs_oYOL-4xBdqO3oiReaBwJ5EHPqrSrOw2mEv7LoMLpMCzc/s960/IMG_5907.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8Qy5Wa2mFqz5yqNn5q16t7YPf4dHskA7iU43MkiaAOJKluzVRNL9UPwLG42BEcwzd_6K5Lc9bBDsrQz_zTXH-5JUlMp3cs_oYOL-4xBdqO3oiReaBwJ5EHPqrSrOw2mEv7LoMLpMCzc/w640-h480/IMG_5907.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-21298154517457651382019-10-20T14:12:00.001-07:002019-10-21T12:36:13.432-07:00Wildlands Adventure Challenge, 10/12/19, Orland, ME<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Like many parts of the country, fall is the best season in New England, especially for adventure racing. It is cooler, drier, the leaves are beautiful and the bugs are minimal. I'll gripe to anyone about the fact that most ARs are during the worst (for me) time of the year - summer, and that no one seems to take advantage of the PERFECT time of year for a race - fall. In Maine you also have Sundays free from hunting - this can be of concern in fall, since we often share the same lands.</div>
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So, I could not pass up this little gem of a race, put on by our friends Kate and Cliff White of Strong Machine. I roped in reliable teammate Rob and, in the last couple days before the race, the legendary Dave Lamb agreed to join us. This was a mostly welcome addition. Dave would add a top level of navigation and bottomless well of race experience. The only downside, for me, is that Dave's "out-of-shape" (which he claimed to be) is equivalent to my "peak fitness" and I was sure not in peak fitness at the moment. But, I said to myself: "It's only eight hours." I also invoked this thought when planning food, water, clothing, etc. It probably seems like I'm setting up dramatic irony here but, ultimately, it was only 8 hours and things pretty much worked out fine.</div>
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Rob and I drove up the night before the race, about a 3 hour trip. We stopped in Belfast and scored some delicious authentic Napolitano pizza at an unassuming spot named "Meanwhile In Belfast." We snagged a hotel in Bucksport and, in the morning, headed to the race site - Great Pond Mountain after dropping our bikes in the Hothole land parcel.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BaRQS55GWnB_-uNEHznxSYbWy7m5oFMIjeGbO7iAfAQbHNXe6WUG4oL9VdZXl_Z8SM2b1nDrgOM2pNQiIsoi36EyerXKvUji_tHiDjy9rz8pHuaWlbPY0jTEHUMionmnHovMSqF2VnY/s1600/IMG_3349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BaRQS55GWnB_-uNEHznxSYbWy7m5oFMIjeGbO7iAfAQbHNXe6WUG4oL9VdZXl_Z8SM2b1nDrgOM2pNQiIsoi36EyerXKvUji_tHiDjy9rz8pHuaWlbPY0jTEHUMionmnHovMSqF2VnY/s640/IMG_3349.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate talking us through the race format. Photo: Strong Machine</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATfIFppkUMYc1msgn9OBS4hrO_Frarzm2-atX0JZCIDrueD3bF2LwgOZEC2IxFAjvDqAKIr4wPgcNIN7_Gs7wWa8kyvD8lbluhTEJsMSzL7-U7AIJbXZV_FveHE7JZNHt1QTgiXUDYYo/s1600/IMG_3350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgATfIFppkUMYc1msgn9OBS4hrO_Frarzm2-atX0JZCIDrueD3bF2LwgOZEC2IxFAjvDqAKIr4wPgcNIN7_Gs7wWa8kyvD8lbluhTEJsMSzL7-U7AIJbXZV_FveHE7JZNHt1QTgiXUDYYo/s640/IMG_3350.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayaks staged for the first leg, on Alamoosook Lake. Photo: Strong Machine</td></tr>
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After a quick race briefing and mapping session, we were off in our kayaks for the first leg. Since Dave was the best paddler among us, we put him in the single; Rob and I grabbed a tandem. Before the race we had been discussing how all of us have a habit of making a nav screwup in the first hour of the race. Saying this out loud, however, did not result in any kind of protective reverse-jinx.</div>
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Our first CP target was an island slightly South of due West, according to the map, and so that's where we headed, despite the majority of the field heading to the obvious island you could see from the put-in. We booked it far south of their (obviously wrong) tack for about 10 minutes, expecting, at any minute for this island to emerge from the background shoreline in front of us, and at times, convincing ourselves that it had. Well, it never actually did. Dave then noted that our bearing had actually been slightly South of Southwest, and we had been, basically, paddling <i>away</i> from all the CPs for the last 10 minutes. If there was any silver lining here, there were a couple other teams 'in the same boat' nearby. I'm not sure whether they had made a similar directional error, or whether they were just so convinced by our confident power move away from the pack. At this point we made a near U-turn and headed to where CP1 <i>actually</i> was (the obvious island). After this, nav on the paddle was simple and we scooped up the next points without issue. The paddle was basically an out-and-back route in a narrow waterway. To get the final, northernmost, CP would add 3km paddle - 30 minutes in good conditions. We kicked it around for a minute and then decided to go for it. Then we saw the increasing amount of weeds in the water and then we saw someone on their way to that CP out of their boat pulling through shallows. Then we reversed our decision and boogied back to the TA, grabbing one more CP that we had left for the return trip. At this point we were 5-10 minutes behind international team Monkeys Throwing Darts, who we had <a href="http://nhtrailvets.blogspot.com/2016/08/race-phantom-24-hr-race-spednic-lake.html">previously raced closely against</a>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSj8e7ochF8_E-XvoLdAZVCjHElA1Id47SHzqY1eNPzsk26c_POsFUXqa-srQdVfZDPAWjwBnBGSjRIom91_lucUlSAcKkHHAhG26PJLeRjvwSo3fMagAwRydWLzVzlXJYfta1zkY8HpI/s1600/IMG_3348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSj8e7ochF8_E-XvoLdAZVCjHElA1Id47SHzqY1eNPzsk26c_POsFUXqa-srQdVfZDPAWjwBnBGSjRIom91_lucUlSAcKkHHAhG26PJLeRjvwSo3fMagAwRydWLzVzlXJYfta1zkY8HpI/s640/IMG_3348.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing up the paddle leg. Dave keeping up in his single-engine vessel. Photo: Strong Machine</td></tr>
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With the wasted paddle time in mind, we transitioned quickly to trek/run mode and set a serious pace. This began with jogging on dirt roads and gradually involved more and more bushwhacking in moderately dense woods. We clicked through the CPs without any major issue, but we weren't catching many of the teams that we knew were in front of us. The terrain was fairly hilly/rugged but the real climbing began when we hit the base of Great Pond Mountain, the top of which held 2 CPs. The terrain opened up to bedrock, moss, and lichen for this on-trail ascent. Although it was mid-October in Maine, it wasn't that cool of a day and I was sweating profusely while getting dropped (not for the last time) by Dave and Rob on the climb.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyvxjt3ktT9aBBx7kC7kg-71yG8ftB_esgJunllSuOF3lmVFzJXx96i5ONDPvVynKS3deZBHnXz4QjnqNmR9R8pWlt7zA0BiHNwP1CBDR3DCXsrvAx9pZtvHbxbQ5oUuU85V1WjSaz9Y/s1600/IMG_3330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyvxjt3ktT9aBBx7kC7kg-71yG8ftB_esgJunllSuOF3lmVFzJXx96i5ONDPvVynKS3deZBHnXz4QjnqNmR9R8pWlt7zA0BiHNwP1CBDR3DCXsrvAx9pZtvHbxbQ5oUuU85V1WjSaz9Y/s640/IMG_3330.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bedrock, lichen and moss, as described, en route to Great Pond Mtn. summit.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Between CPs on Great Pond Mtn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbfOhLx3BOUuNQYLPpvwWx62Wq-1XjbeHeQyMwTtnQl8zyr9vNLvT0Q2eKpuUrPanHrzv53Hu6ozoCGIXsmFVu9R96E7Vzixy09-233NtikxSI-oMzzYNoK9JMBJQuOMz39VnkdOyBl9A/s1600/IMG_3336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1433" data-original-width="1600" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbfOhLx3BOUuNQYLPpvwWx62Wq-1XjbeHeQyMwTtnQl8zyr9vNLvT0Q2eKpuUrPanHrzv53Hu6ozoCGIXsmFVu9R96E7Vzixy09-233NtikxSI-oMzzYNoK9JMBJQuOMz39VnkdOyBl9A/s640/IMG_3336.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team photo at GPM vista. Wicked fall cullah!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJLaXwZvM0_wXUX-sH4-e0Plozr7tETQi-zkLLd2GpRc9rslfi6KoGmcZFh9pMMU1QSBbCU-PBb768arJLA2kEBeuApm7RJIS_wloMJoYBh0Pch9B1uQ7ocWCwJei3dGoCNV3VPiQOTw/s1600/IMG_3339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1486" data-original-width="1600" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJLaXwZvM0_wXUX-sH4-e0Plozr7tETQi-zkLLd2GpRc9rslfi6KoGmcZFh9pMMU1QSBbCU-PBb768arJLA2kEBeuApm7RJIS_wloMJoYBh0Pch9B1uQ7ocWCwJei3dGoCNV3VPiQOTw/s640/IMG_3339.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was pretty up there. Nice race location.</td></tr>
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Really, the navigational crux of the race was working your way, off trail, from this summit to the next CP and nearby TA2, which were over a mile away through the woods. We had decided before the race, to head east along the ridge-like face of the mountain and then descend less steep terrain rather than dropping right off the southern face of the summit. Again, we engaged a quick bushwhacking pace and made good time through the woods. Looking back at our route, we were right on track, and soon we picked up the trail we were aiming for and quickly nabbed the last trek CP en route to TA2 (where we had dropped our bikes earlier that morning).<br />
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We had really hustled through the trek and made no appreciable nav mistakes, however, when we got to the TA, we discovered that Monkeys had been equally successful and still had several minutes on us to begin the final leg, the bike.<br />
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Another fast TA and then we were off. Most of the riding was on gravel roads - passenger vehicle grade as well as rougher decomissioned logging roads. The rest was on a couple stretches of singletrack and summit trails with bare granite surfaces. One limitation for riding this area was the absence of many loops, so there were many out-and-back CPs to obtain (see GPS track). Everyone was feeling the earlier running in their legs, especially me, on the frequent climbs, but we just kept grinding away. Several times during the bike, we crossed paths with Monkeys, always just a few minutes ahead of us. We could not seem to close on them. After essentially exhausting the rideable terrain of the Wildlands parcel, we were spit out onto Rt. 1 for a speedy trip back toward the start/finish, grabbing a CP along the way, with a slight bobble and another encounter with Monkeys, still a few minutes ahead!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHU6DuBJ6KdQLuJGYXbur9_JBWt1dJAKlNoXSNl4t2g30glp7hNFphQtE3u__Vjzh8YhU9B-fahBf33Yw9o2rScDzWGAthe3aCPNjKH_8X-d8dUyNz14Twl59rSy-8TdcSQKmhyphenhyphenhaW4U/s1600/IMG_3444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="715" data-original-width="750" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHU6DuBJ6KdQLuJGYXbur9_JBWt1dJAKlNoXSNl4t2g30glp7hNFphQtE3u__Vjzh8YhU9B-fahBf33Yw9o2rScDzWGAthe3aCPNjKH_8X-d8dUyNz14Twl59rSy-8TdcSQKmhyphenhyphenhaW4U/s400/IMG_3444.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The last task was to ride a newly NEMBA-installed downhill trail near the finish. This would obviously be preceded by some kind of substantial climb. We had another nav bobble here and then we hit the uphill to the trail - a hike-a-bike that was really kicking me and Rob in the crotch at this point. We finally hit the top of the trails, rode the thing (pretty cool) and sped into the finish. Monkeys were already there chilling, so we knew we had earned a hard-fought second place.<br />
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After handing in our final passport, we were joking that we should go back and get that paddle CP we skipped. The volunteer said "Yeah that's what those guys said too: that they should go back and get CP 19."<br />
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"Wait, they skipped 19?" (19 was a bike CP)<br />
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"Yeah, I think they said 19."<br />
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"You heard them say they skipped 19?"<br />
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"I think so..."<br />
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At this point, Rob sees the passports sticking out of the guy's pocket, grabs them and verifies that yes, Monkeys Throwing Darts skipped CP 19. Oh, cool. I guess we won, then.<br />
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The awards get-together was a nice chance to chat with all the other racers. Strong Machine had done a great job attracting a bunch of brand-new and newish racers to this event, which was awesome to see, and to meet some of them. Dinner was pizza and a local session IPA - what's better than that after a race?<br />
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This was another outstanding event conceived and executed by New England's AR power couple and EcoChallenge survivors, Kate and Cliff White. We look forward to racing with them again!</div>
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<br />NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-57898571664998762782019-10-18T12:22:00.000-07:002019-10-19T06:58:41.952-07:00GMARA Bitter Pill, 12 hour AR, 8/10/19, Waterbury, VTThis year's 12-hour race with Reed (hopefully a continuing tradition) was one of our first and still favorite races, the Bitter Pill. This would be my 5th BP and Reed's 1st. This year's version was in Waterbury, VT, home and outdoor playground of this year's course designer, Ross LiebLappen. Rob was tapped to join the GOALS team with Glen Lewis and Nicky Driscoll.<br />
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Per BP usual, we set a pre-dawn alarm in the hotel room. Well before this, however, around 2:00 AM, I was awakened by Reed rustling about in the room. "Dad, I didn't bring any contacts." Hmm. And no back-up glasses either, Hmm. So, we fished his old contacts out of the bathroom trashcan, rehydrated them in tap water and popped them back in. After a few anxious, stingy, blurry minutes and one re-do, the contacts were working fine and we were back in bed for a couple more minutes of sleep before the alarm.</div>
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Once we arrived at race HQ (Blush Hill Country Club), we learned that we would be starting on bikes from here, followed by a long trek, then a short road ride, then a paddle, followed by a short trek back to here. There was a time cutoff at 3:00 to start the paddle. Since the final race cutoff was 5:30 PM, this led me to believe, without verifying this on the maps, that the paddle must be quite short. </div>
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At 5:30 AM, we were off, zooming downhill on our bikes, which was a little chilly, but relief (?) would soon be on the way when we entered the Perry Hill trail system and encountered a flowy, bermed-out downhill section...that we would be ascending. With all concerns of coldness behind us, we spent several hours on the trails here, finding a number of on-trail checkpoints. Reminiscent of the Frigid Infliction, the CPs were marked on a topo map that did not have most of the trails, so you had to nav it up a bit to determine which trail you should be on to find the CP. We did pretty well here; Reed rode pretty well on the trails which transitioned from smooth dirt and pine needles to increasing amounts of wet, protruding roots as we passed deeper into the forest. The only significant nav snafu was that I totally forgot about one of the CPs (realizing it only when when the final detailed results were posted days later). Once we left the techy trails, we were treated to a wide mowed grass trail which was mostly smooth and downhill - nice. We rode the last half of the bike with the 2 teams composed of the <a href="https://filthycleanliving.blogspot.com/2019/08/scrambled-legs-and-aching-and-dainty_12.html">Koenig family</a>. It was nice to chat with them and see their kids kicking butt out there.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the flowy, grassy, latter section of the bike</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed showing off the old "raspberry branch sawing into the elbow-pit" AR bike injury.</td></tr>
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Once we left the grass, we rode shortly on pavement and gravel before reaching a unique feature of the race. The historic road grade which led from our current location (n the Middlesex Notch) to the start of the trek, had long ago been submerged by busy beavers and was now a saturated marsh. There was no feasible ride-around, so it was a 1-mile hike-a-bike through the wetland involving lots of frogs, ankle- to thigh-deep water, surprise holes, and, during an ill-advised CP approach, a short swim. Although this may seem sucky on paper, we actually enjoyed this cool, scenic and downright funny section. Afterward we agreed it was our favorite part of the race.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep.</td></tr>
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After we cleared this section, we had reached TA1, where the trek began. It was a well-sited and laid out trek. About 50% on/off trail, hilly and with some very pretty spots. After testing the course, GMARA had deemed a few of the trek CPs worth 2 points, a smart decision which added a little more strategic planning and fairness. Overall, we did okay on this section, my nav was far from perfect but we snagged a respectable amount of points here. The only problem was that it had taken a long time to get them, so we had to turn on the hustle on our descent to TA2 (same place as TA1), keeping the looming time cutoffs in mind.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out of the marsh and laying out a plan of attack for the trek. Photo: GMARA</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We met some fellow granite-staters who supplied this shot from the scenic summit of Chase Mtn.</td></tr>
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We hurried through TA2 and jumped back on the bikes in order to get to the paddle in time. We were riding from a "notch" to a "river" and therefore I was expecting a speedy downhill zoom, however there were a couple tough climbs mixed in which slowed the progress. Still, though we reached the river, site of TA3, at about 2:40 - a decent cushion before the cutoff. This fact led me (who, again had not looked ahead on the maps) to conclude that we would be able to finish the race on time, as long as we didn't have a significant screw-up. We flew through the TA and were on the river, kayaking in our bike shoes and helmets, in about 5 minutes. Once we got going, I thought I would take a minute and see what this paddle was all about. I think I laughed out loud when I discovered its length: over 8 miles. The trek afterward was short but mostly uphill and involved some navigation. There was no possibility of finishing on time.<br />
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So, with this in mind, we did not go crazy and bomb past all the CPs in an effort to make the final cutoff, we stopped and got every paddle CP while moving purposefully down the river. During this, we had seen a few dark clouds approach from the West but then veer off and spare us a cold soak. Finally though, in the last mile, one of the storms bulls-eyed us. Reed didn't like it. See video below.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzk0XT--R8bF11JfVn3JVK21WB7xz97HjWIjUzI2ugoyGsNKOaxSrhdMcqQbaAKFqCdLwSqZxlkrQkWOUKWhQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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Fighting through the rain and new headwind, we eventually made it to the tributary which held the takeout. We didn't have to go far up the tributary (Little River) but its swift current against us was a challenge to fight. Finally, cold and a little beaten up, we made it to the takeout and daunting uphill portage to the TA.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun little trail to carry a kayak up.</td></tr>
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After laboriusly depositing the canoe at TA4, we took a minute to layer up and grab food for the trek. I think there were 3 or 4 CPs on the trek, but we were already over time at this point, so the plan was just to traverse the area as quickly as possible and not get concerned about finding flags. As we ascended the gravel road to begin the trek, a big group, 4 or 5 teams together, come jogging <i>down</i> the road, telling us that this definitely isn't the way and that they were all going to find some other way back. I rechecked the map, determined that this <i>must</i> be the way and respectfully ignored their advice. Soon we were on the correct trails, as confirmed by Ross, who we met in the woods, and making steady progress to the finish. Reed even spotted a flag which we stumbled across on the way!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jogging it in. Photo: GMARA</td></tr>
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In the end, we had a great day out in the woods and waters of Waterbury and Middlesex. I thought the course layout, terrain, level of nav difficulty and balance of disciplines were spot-on. Our friends Strong Machine edged GOALS in the end for an impressive win.</div>
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A super shout out (do only old people say that now?), as always, to the GMARA family and network of volunteers and sponsors who keep this race going. We'll be back!</div>
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NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-89616687392269686642019-06-25T19:21:00.000-07:002019-06-26T10:21:02.229-07:00Maine Summer Adventure Race, New Gloucester ME, 6/22/19Our friends Kate and Cliff White, the nucleus of Strong Machine Adventure Racing, have grown this race from an 8 hour affair in 2016 to a full 24 hours of coastal Maine exploration. Last year's 24 hour version saw Rob and Mason turn in a decent but ultimately lackluster result, beset by heat, exhaustion and, at times, an insect horde. Looking to add a new element to the team this year, we convinced Pennsylvanian Glen Lewis to join forces with us. We knew Glen from many prior races in the northeast and were sure he'd make a great addition. As luck would have it, Nick was willing and available to join as well, as a late addition. Hopefully he'd be willing to sandbag it a little on bike legs so the rest of us could keep up.<br />
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We debated about how to format our 4-man squad. Should we race as two 2-man teams, stay together, and reap the benefits of 2 sets of maps and a navigational consensus? This has been a moderately controversial but generally accepted tactic in AR over recent years. As the race date approached, however, we learned that 2-man teams would paddle in 2 single kayaks while 4-man teams would paddle in 2 tandem kayaks. Tandem kayaks are faster (with 2 human engines) and a longer boat would be more suited for the ocean paddling planned for us. So, after a few texts, we opted to race as one 4-man team.<br />
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The race was HQ'd at the Pineland Farms campus in New Gloucester, Maine. Plenty of close parking, room to gear up and work on the maps, and a pleasant store-cafe interior made this a comfortable base of operations. We learned that this year's course would take us from our current inland location through the trails and roads of Bradbury Mtn SP, North Yarmouth, Falmouth and Portland before heading back north and ending back up at Pineland Farms. Our approach to Portland, the midpoint of the race, would be via the Presumpscot River, followed by as much Casco Bay paddling as we dared take on.<br />
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The weather was sunny, breezy to windy, warm but not excessively hot, with medium humidity: no complaints here. As a result of our cool, rainy spring, the deer flies were not out yet and mosquito pressure was mild. The ticks were very bad but they are the least irritating of these 3 defenders of the northern woods.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parking lot gear up, pre-race. "Whatchu lookin' at?"</td></tr>
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The race began with foot navigation at Pineland Farms using legitimate orienteering maps. As a team of 4, we would have to complete 4 short O courses. We were allowed to split up, so we each grabbed a map and set off on our individual tasks at 8:05 AM. My course was moderately difficult, but after 2 miles and ~40 minutes of bushwhacking and running, I was back at HQ and we could begin the big bike leg.<br />
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This leg would be predominantly off-road riding, including a lot of singletrack. We started off downhill on some pretty cool trails in West Pownal, which led to a long stretch on soggy powerline trails, picking up a few on-trail CPs along the way. Following this, we made our way through the Mt. Tryon area to the somewhat rideable backside of Bradbury Mountain State Park, eventually reaching the Bradbury Mtn summit vista. At multiple times during the day, but most obviously at Bradbury, we'd see the wind raise a big hazy cloud of pollen off the trees.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singletrack CP scene. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glen's thrilled to join the team! Just look at that genuine smile.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bradbury Mtn summit vista</td></tr>
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Then it was off to the lower, eastern part of Bradbury for a bunch more singletrack riding, with Glen accurately guiding us through the trail network. We were often crossing paths and bantering with the Rootstock Racing team in this section. Eventually we emerged back onto road in Pownal and then into a long trail network toward Falmouth. Along the way, we hit up a friendly homeowner for a water refill at the hose. I was impressed by the amount of (mostly) rideable trail in the area and the race organizers' nifty linking of it. In the NH seacoast, there is some trail riding but it's typically knotted in small islands of undeveloped land, whereas here, you could really cover distance in a point-to-point fashion. The downside of this section, due to the rainy spring, was the frequency of muddy/boggy sections which kept interrupting the flow of the trails. There is also the fact that, despite being fun, technical singletrack just takes a lot more of a toll on you physically than, say, riding dirt roads. After many more miles of trail riding and many more CPs, we popped out of the woods in Falmouth for a short ride to the kayak put-in at TA2 on the Presumpscot River. We had covered about 31 miles on the leg in a little over 5 hours and were just behind the race-leading Rootstock team.<br />
<br />
After getting geared up to kayak the river and ocean and after strategizing our approach to the section, we lowered the boats into the Presumpscot. We had received a few, somewhat conflicting reports about this section. There were 2 issues here. 1) It was a windy day, especially on the coast and therefore the Bay was pretty rough and maybe not suitable for the inexperienced. 2) The course was running just a titch slow and there was a lot of paddling to do in the Bay, if you were so inclined. Going after all the CPs on the islands in the Bay would likely take too long and prevent you from finishing the end of the course, where the CPs were more densely placed. So how much of the paddle should you tackle? Strategic decisions like this often decide the outcome of a race and are what make AR more fun and interesting compared to the more popular, marked-course endurance events (ultramarathons, Iron men, etc.).<br />
<br />
Ultimately we decided to postpone the decision until we got to the first CP, no too far from the mouth of the river, in a more sheltered part of the Bay, after reassessing time/speed and water conditions. The initial mile on the paddle was a ridiculous exercise in incompetent steering, at least by me. The kayak spun like a top in the river current unless you were active working the rudder. Without the rudder deployed, our boat tracked like a kiddie pool. We soon worked through this issue after portaging laboriously around the Presumpscot Falls and adjusting the foot pegs. We sped down the river, with the current and a strong tailwind, past groups of local folks enjoying the good weather. After 6 miles, we were out of the river mouth and grabbing the first paddle CP, under the bridge to Mackworth Island.<br />
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Looking out into Casco Bay, there was some chop and whitecaps but it didn't look that dangerous. We decided to head out to one of the islands (Fort Gorges) which had 2 CPs, to get the most bang for our buck (more literally, the most CPs for our time). We would have a cranking tailwind for the 2-mile trip to the Fort and an equivalent headwind for the 1-mile trip to the TA on shore in Portland.<br />
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As we expected, the water was rougher than it looked from afar, I'd estimate up to 2-3 foot chop, but mostly in the 1-2 feet range. We vigilantly tried to stay perpendicular to the waves, and were mostly successful other a couple cold ocean splashes. With baseline adrenaline levels high, we reached the beach of the Fort's island and pulled ashore.<br />
<br />
I had actually paddled to <a href="http://www.portlandlandmarks.org/fort-gorges">Fort Gorges</a> before, with my wife on a guided anniversary outing a couple years ago. It's a cool spot - a big granite fortress in the middle of the Bay overgrown with wall-top vegetation. Completed in 1864, it was never used because forts basically became obsolete with the development of exploding (i.e., fort-breaking) artillery around this time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside view of Fort Gorges</td></tr>
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We climbed in cool granite darkness up to the top of the east and west ramparts of the Fort and punched both flags before returning to the kayaks. Heading back out onto the windy, choppy Bay was a little intimidating, especially when Glen and I took 2 tries to enter the water, after being knocked sideways by the surf on our initial attempt. Once we got going, it really wasn't bad. We kept the bow pointed into the oncoming waves and after 10 minutes or so the wind had diminished significantly. We paddled fairly easily back to the take-out on East End Beach, the site of TA3.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSdnLpp8MqIjbU8cwTjJfhpwF9kpNW9IPb49yKtNB4PL5FvSgH0YOGY-fmLm13bp7b4czQcrlp-1Z3IuNJyDMCIbbjVvJjwt3au5erbukusL5V7w-P-coRlfbSRxDT9Omvjj28e6iVlU/s1600/P6220034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1332" data-original-width="1600" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSdnLpp8MqIjbU8cwTjJfhpwF9kpNW9IPb49yKtNB4PL5FvSgH0YOGY-fmLm13bp7b4czQcrlp-1Z3IuNJyDMCIbbjVvJjwt3au5erbukusL5V7w-P-coRlfbSRxDT9Omvjj28e6iVlU/s640/P6220034.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team photo at TA3 by Kate White</td></tr>
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After chatting with Kate and volunteer Tom Rycroft and switching out of paddle gear, we were off onto the next leg - finding several Q&A checkpoints in downtown Portland. As Portland is the best city around for eating, drinking and all around coolness (sorry Boston), it was a little sad to cruise past all the inviting spots in town on a lovely Saturday evening as we made quick work of this pleasant and interesting leg. We love being in the forest but variety is nice too - good race design.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDW2nuXKChoQsxMy2QVMf9OOUUmxg58pjIT3cFmm1o-UtkjVaMEcGxZWgMjcqO3kAwEBBc8MhCsY3ungtADJLIDF6yAcyj3bdNN6ylWvQuStoqmBEFabxPq7vZ738eAzp84TEB-1N6pA/s1600/P6220036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1408" data-original-width="1600" height="562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDW2nuXKChoQsxMy2QVMf9OOUUmxg58pjIT3cFmm1o-UtkjVaMEcGxZWgMjcqO3kAwEBBc8MhCsY3ungtADJLIDF6yAcyj3bdNN6ylWvQuStoqmBEFabxPq7vZ738eAzp84TEB-1N6pA/s640/P6220036.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portland urban trek, 'scuse me, pardon me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKcXZJZL_siCRkO5DB_xRoDmIrd_yGenjVwXoWJhDqcOLw0WA4oBLePbTlM902fYnQWMjoj5WXGpbujP4PJVXCd4CLL1k6k1b_JtGqXzdqvL9pWnlo7JHmFt5NdwWCQkzTcNvpF4aaS8/s1600/P6220038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1232" data-original-width="1600" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFKcXZJZL_siCRkO5DB_xRoDmIrd_yGenjVwXoWJhDqcOLw0WA4oBLePbTlM902fYnQWMjoj5WXGpbujP4PJVXCd4CLL1k6k1b_JtGqXzdqvL9pWnlo7JHmFt5NdwWCQkzTcNvpF4aaS8/s640/P6220038.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More urban trekking scenes nearing Western Promenade of Portland</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOabzUgAdFTjWYV9bctkQIIN8N_65zEdBlK6ICbrVck0BhSIxuM2bAHIOQRKxyb6EPrRsmheWWxBqcNIQ-6skD4AWaM0o7v3oG09AWWvE65-KS3kP8f4Os9nuceFrGHqtOVRUcN2c8_o/s1600/P6220040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOabzUgAdFTjWYV9bctkQIIN8N_65zEdBlK6ICbrVck0BhSIxuM2bAHIOQRKxyb6EPrRsmheWWxBqcNIQ-6skD4AWaM0o7v3oG09AWWvE65-KS3kP8f4Os9nuceFrGHqtOVRUcN2c8_o/s640/P6220040.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peaceful urban shortcut</td></tr>
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Soon we were checking into TA4, under the far side of the Casco Bay Bridge, to pick up our bikes and pedal along the South Portland water's edge out of town as the sun set. We were the first team out of the TA. Rootstock had decided to stay out on the paddle to get more CPs. Therefore if they could clear the rest of the course before time expired, there would be no way we could win, having fewer CPs. All we could do was keep grinding and hope they had a major mistake - not likely.<br />
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This was a pleasant ride: non-technical flat trails, scenic and cool evening weather. We cruised past shore, salt marsh, railways and patchy forest before emerging onto pavement on the periphery of the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_V4ua1uPZ2p2e8qfMl7BJWYPshGONnRMjfb4XD2Q9RJ8VuT0yuwfZpD6lnxkQX1_k31ZweqinJzuPouQMHIJOM2hYFZOu4mc-y02rjueUO3tbLvbPGVxMvyBVoGnC48sYus1_cdojFaQ/s1600/P6220048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1259" data-original-width="1600" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_V4ua1uPZ2p2e8qfMl7BJWYPshGONnRMjfb4XD2Q9RJ8VuT0yuwfZpD6lnxkQX1_k31ZweqinJzuPouQMHIJOM2hYFZOu4mc-y02rjueUO3tbLvbPGVxMvyBVoGnC48sYus1_cdojFaQ/s640/P6220048.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pleasant ride out of town</td></tr>
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We continued north out of town without issue, stopping briefly to refuel at a second rate convenience store. After about 10 miles of easy road night riding on roads, we reached the Blackstrap trail system in North Yarmouth. Race staff passed us a couple miles before we got to the TA, so fortunately it was staffed on arrival. We quickly switched to trek mode for a lengthy forest night nav adventure on, and sometimes, off trail, gathering 14 CPs over about 11 miles and 6 hours. The forest in this area varied from pretty easy and open to brushy and marshy. We only saw one other team out there - Naughty by Nature, a husband and wife team on their first AR, for 24 hours - impressive. Glen's solid nav kept us on track the majority of the time and we emerged tired but successful into TA6 at 4:30 AM, still at the front of the race.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUerEH5906B2UAWY8JV7forxZ8jpsKFOV9-tDtcgMRU1rv8RIW6pYr8EEvH-C1hXcs1d7lgr-VJ4pS4aDhaZTwpgDRoCs0tu_eAVtxZrW24kcUWgVSfxMUueeoFgH3ZCkc0cv1qtCPvI/s1600/P6230050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1043" data-original-width="1105" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglUerEH5906B2UAWY8JV7forxZ8jpsKFOV9-tDtcgMRU1rv8RIW6pYr8EEvH-C1hXcs1d7lgr-VJ4pS4aDhaZTwpgDRoCs0tu_eAVtxZrW24kcUWgVSfxMUueeoFgH3ZCkc0cv1qtCPvI/s640/P6230050.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nocturnal forest friend - flying squirrel</td></tr>
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We transitioned quickly back to the bike for a road ride back to Pineland Farms about 20 km away. This started off well enough, but about halfway there, we had a mismatch of mapped roads and actual roads which sent us on a non-optimal route. After puzzling out our unexpected location, our best course of action was to ride back through the previously-visited Knight's Pond trail area. Once through, we were back on easy roads to HQ and the final TA in early morning sun. The final stage was more Pineland orienteering - with a new twist. There was a 4 CP bike-O map and a 4 CP foot-O map. To get credit for any CP (say, CP A on the bike-O map) you had to also find the corresponding one on the other map (CP A on foot-O map), i.e., you could only get them in pairs. We had a little over 2 hours to get this done, before the 8:05 AM time cutoff. We knocked out the 4 bike CPs in about 45 minutes but the distances, slower terrain and trickier nav of the foot-O map was taking substantially longer. By the time we had found our 3rd foot CP, we only had 15 minutes left and had to bust it to the finish line, arriving with only 2 minutes to spare.<br />
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24 hour races are tough, but I was feeling especially spent at the end of this one. Not sure if this was a result of the lengthy singletrack sections, the fact that Glen's more efficient nav resulted in more constant movement or some other factor but I was super ready to done. After getting changed (ahhh...flip flops) and checking into our cars, we were provided a filling tasty breakfast by the Pineland Farms cafe and enjoyed some seated time, chatting with other racers and race staff. We were only bested by the combined forces of Rootstock and our buddy Dave Lamb and were happy to receive our divisional award.<br />
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This was a terrific, varied and interesting course designed by the Whites. A huge thanks to them and the volunteers and sponsors for making this race happens. We'll certainly be back.<br />
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<br />NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-5925983639821298862019-05-28T18:36:00.000-07:002019-05-31T19:19:18.865-07:00Rootstock Racing 2 Rivers Adventure Race, Forksville, PA, 5/18/2019<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">25 hours into this race,
we were looking at a possible podium finish, 2 hours later, we rolled over the
finish line... into 18th place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">2 years ago Mason and
son Reed made the trip south to do Rootstock's 2 Rivers Adventure Race. That
edition was a 12-hour, peri-urban affair. For this year, the race location had
been moved to the sparsely populated rugged forests of northern Pennsylvania and
the duration had been cranked up to 27 hours. Our team this year would be Mason
and Rob. We drove 7 hours to Forksville, PA and checked into the comfy Millview
Mountain Motel, up the road from the race start at the Forksville fairgrounds.
After scoring some filling grub and a couple PA brews at the Forksville Inn and
Tavern, we readied gear and set a 4:45 AM alarm for Saturday morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">After dropping off our
bikes and shortly after receiving the maps, the race began at 7:00 with a 16
mile canoe trip down the busy Loyalsock Creek in 50 degree sunny morning
weather. The creek could be considered a small river, at least now, in spring,
with creek waters zipping along, losing 200 feet of elevation over our 16 mile
trip. Class I and II rapids were the norm during the paddle, separated by
stretches of flatter water. Maintaining the canoe in the preferred
right-side-up orientation was frequently challenged but we managed to
successfully navigate everything the Creek threw at us with luck and a modicum
of skillful route choice. Other teams were less lucky, with many flips, swamps
and several canoes rendered unusable by rushing waters and rocks. One canoe was
even pinned irretrievably underwater despite salvage attempts via winch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />We had a blast on the
creek, enjoying the speedy waters, scenic surrounding highlands, sunshine
and abundant waterfowl. We found the checkpoints without trouble and rolled into
the first TA in 3rd place.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<td style="padding: 3.0pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Morning
fog over a calm section of the Loyalsock Creek<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9vQhEBwdHhhmAqUQi4lqlEN5nhI0oijZAz643yxEuI0z6DCnPVXI1L1HHLpk3YloqiHwO9PMiantMpzO_1BRqt2SRCSqn_AcxZLzdQD7ogkHTJpfYc-4JiXvEFdetRChQN40wOipaJw/s1600/61435036_2276574256003307_1086369259778473984_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="838" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9vQhEBwdHhhmAqUQi4lqlEN5nhI0oijZAz643yxEuI0z6DCnPVXI1L1HHLpk3YloqiHwO9PMiantMpzO_1BRqt2SRCSqn_AcxZLzdQD7ogkHTJpfYc-4JiXvEFdetRChQN40wOipaJw/s640/61435036_2276574256003307_1086369259778473984_o.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A less calm section Photo: JS O'Connor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmt8sXcD0wZ-IOysuYiWGgOe027KEkB0dFcOumb8tlcUmJqX4vg_X0Si4qAaGaSORBkmaOeo76hTcOKTCfr5GLnR8DDhQN4bab-IV87liom4sVvgDPzyK4Bx1_qVhGpTnhpb537iOtE8A/s1600/61821854_2276572879336778_7290814943257952256_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmt8sXcD0wZ-IOysuYiWGgOe027KEkB0dFcOumb8tlcUmJqX4vg_X0Si4qAaGaSORBkmaOeo76hTcOKTCfr5GLnR8DDhQN4bab-IV87liom4sVvgDPzyK4Bx1_qVhGpTnhpb537iOtE8A/s640/61821854_2276572879336778_7290814943257952256_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Action shot of Mason getting soaked as the bow submerges in the rapids. This happened quite a few times. Thankfully a bailer was mandatory gear for this section. Photo: JS O'Connor</td></tr>
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<td style="padding: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKoo1d6FDVIi7bMDs5BghfnyQDoWVX_YWeGbSJrADn3AWU9C7egSE4ZJ-Ibc1mm1ccqQ7dH6qFAysoEdi91LUSvI2MwaP4i07vuRtQtetpPZ2KEIpB70A88Mx_F6lD5g8VzkewkcMPmk/s1600/P5180011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="1600" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKoo1d6FDVIi7bMDs5BghfnyQDoWVX_YWeGbSJrADn3AWU9C7egSE4ZJ-Ibc1mm1ccqQ7dH6qFAysoEdi91LUSvI2MwaP4i07vuRtQtetpPZ2KEIpB70A88Mx_F6lD5g8VzkewkcMPmk/s640/P5180011.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">TA
1 breakfast food<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
</td>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Following this TA was a
bike leg. Course designer Brent Freedland let us know that the optional
checkpoints for this leg were likely to involve confusing, technical navigation
and that it might be wise to pass up these in lieu of more favorable challenges
later in the race. We, like most of the teams, took this advice. The resultant
ride was a 40 minute cruise to the next TA in the Loyalsock State Forest where
we would begin the long day trek. After snagging the first couple easier CPs on
scenic waterfalls (plenty of rushing water in the woods around here) we moved
on to the trickier CPs. We had the good fortune of falling in with Cliff and
Kate of Strong Machine AR through this stretch, chatting as we worked through a
couple CPs. Afterward, Rob and I set off to grab the next 3 CPs with only
moderate delays before what amounted to a 5k road run to High Knob, a scenic
overlook in the western part of the park. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFpe4J5PtYBi6sCRi-C14Qw216R7c5F9xT0MYf6x9A76chIkmtJiGx-QssCG0HdKa5u3cp25CeDwV9lxO-ytKjaOD0bzlzBz9H4UGF5MUc7EnxEI9FAcJKjmoSM6PLvm1ikTHTdIe7Fg/s1600/P5180014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFpe4J5PtYBi6sCRi-C14Qw216R7c5F9xT0MYf6x9A76chIkmtJiGx-QssCG0HdKa5u3cp25CeDwV9lxO-ytKjaOD0bzlzBz9H4UGF5MUc7EnxEI9FAcJKjmoSM6PLvm1ikTHTdIe7Fg/s640/P5180014.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<td style="padding: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Waterfalls
aplenty on this course<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
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</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgur_fRxw8Jyt18nLn2xgybasG2Hvi-Z3LivNhHbCNDwl8UfU9XNBk71ggOotLu_wKzPCPJZdwP5cDoQpOWWRcxuNOS7hb_bLajrVb3nlWipU_Ojs-dwnuMlrEXZRMgeuQwvg9XA9SFCY8/s1600/P5180016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgur_fRxw8Jyt18nLn2xgybasG2Hvi-Z3LivNhHbCNDwl8UfU9XNBk71ggOotLu_wKzPCPJZdwP5cDoQpOWWRcxuNOS7hb_bLajrVb3nlWipU_Ojs-dwnuMlrEXZRMgeuQwvg9XA9SFCY8/s640/P5180016.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Ascending
Nettle Ridge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKm1HiUhiGuKMkq7zeUS_3ryBNm3UwyV60RWPrj8zQ74iBt27ToJdpGrM-fPr_BTaNkmizbhcuSJ_4wKeHYzUHmg0F3enMtJzcITJbQpaJogNvOzsmuSk6tvRuXFbAxiY7RiUXd-qfUU/s1600/P5180017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKm1HiUhiGuKMkq7zeUS_3ryBNm3UwyV60RWPrj8zQ74iBt27ToJdpGrM-fPr_BTaNkmizbhcuSJ_4wKeHYzUHmg0F3enMtJzcITJbQpaJogNvOzsmuSk6tvRuXFbAxiY7RiUXd-qfUU/s640/P5180017.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Taking
advantage of the High Knob vista to score a stellar selfie.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Descending steeply off
the knob, we accurately picked off one more CP before heading off toward a
seemingly straightforward feature which was about a 1 km bushwhack away on the
edge of an overgrown marsh. Despite navigating to the correct place and
actively searching around for over 90 minutes, no flag for CP E was found and
we had to give up and move on. "Moving on" in this case was a 25
minute bushwhack through fairly dense mountain laurel thicket. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxr4mAc5_WIAwPfPYmq6O3N_DYmCCJ1PO6ww2FBdcXq-jeCsaG-nCSlj0c0uCLRv0rAS1xU7yDiq0JJgeA8Zxerfy715wivGze9Ppib_HJcK3YixK4T48Fn4DzUzBl9sc6x1QMx3AG4X8/s1600/image006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="617" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxr4mAc5_WIAwPfPYmq6O3N_DYmCCJ1PO6ww2FBdcXq-jeCsaG-nCSlj0c0uCLRv0rAS1xU7yDiq0JJgeA8Zxerfy715wivGze9Ppib_HJcK3YixK4T48Fn4DzUzBl9sc6x1QMx3AG4X8/s400/image006.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Our
GPS track as we tried to find CP E (blue star as indicated by Brent, post
race). This is crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We successfully located
the next CP on the other side of the mountain laurel, on a scenic rocky spur before
descending steeply on rocky terrain for a laborious return to the TA at the end
of this leg. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fKUW2-71ZM8YsmKKhlz-8dRwr5HtUB9j2DSwGYFvhWFPOTUAhmJ8sxSXNSOWz8JCuVAslkV79-WbQqleD1AhWWwCzdciyAcIbb49XSehjOUyMPVvTixsjpGsHSNrVnEBrSrWPjjco8U/s1600/IMG_0818.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fKUW2-71ZM8YsmKKhlz-8dRwr5HtUB9j2DSwGYFvhWFPOTUAhmJ8sxSXNSOWz8JCuVAslkV79-WbQqleD1AhWWwCzdciyAcIbb49XSehjOUyMPVvTixsjpGsHSNrVnEBrSrWPjjco8U/s640/IMG_0818.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Scenic
rocky spur<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We had traveled about 16
miles in a little under 7 hours and found 9 out of a maximum 10 CPs. Relatively
successful, yes, but the frustration at CP E, and slow terrain afterward had us
in a bit of a funk as we entered the TA. Our moods were soon buoyed however by
a sliced watermelon provided at the TA (pretty much the most delicious thing to
eat/drink during a race) a water refill at the creek and getting off our feet
for the first time in a while as we switched into bike mode.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This bike leg would take
us primarily on dirt roads through the bucolic forested local terrain, as we
picked up a few easier CPs along the way. The first major task on the bike was
a steep road grade, possibly private (we honestly couldn't tell) that gained us
about 700 ft of elevation over only a mile (did I mention it was steep?). After
this we pretty much cruised easily on more level roads, had one more big climb
(500 ft) and had a few long, fast descents. We spent a lot of this leg chatting
alongside the Mercators team, who we've raced against many times over the
years. While covering 36 miles, this leg was pleasant and straightforward, and
we rolled into the next TA at dusk with plenty of gas in the tank to begin the
2nd half of the race. RD Brent was serving up hot grilled cheese at the TA
which was worth its weight in gold at this point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">At this TA, in McIntyre
Wild Area, we would begin a night trekking loop with nine CPs available. None
of the CPs were on a trail and many were well removed from easy navigation
features. Compounding the technical nature of this task was darkness.
Navigating in the woods at night is notoriously tricky, distances and terrain
features become difficult to judge. We also knew, from knowing Brent's style
and inspecting the maps, that there would be several very challenging flags out
there. We could get the CPs in any order. We began with a pretty easy find
across the rushing Rock Run. Following this was a hilltop CP which looked to be
in a poorly defined "saddle" - a lower corridor between 2 soft peaks.
We found it, in a very WELL-defined saddle, but it took almost 2 hours. The
next 3 were on creeks and not too tricky but took some time covering distance
and descending technical terrain. We then cranked steeply uphill to another
pretty easy flag before setting off over several km on a plateau for the next
CP, T. The map showed a stream leading right to the target but as we feared might
happen, the stream broke up and essentially vanished far before we got there.
We used some other features, reattacking and eventually finding it after
spending a chunk of time. 40 minutes of trekking, with more technical steep
descent, and we were back at the TA, 21 hours into the race (4:00 AM).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 9.5pt;">Patch
of Lady Slipper on night trek, with artsy headlamp vignetting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The final stage would be
a bike back to the Forksville fairgrounds, where we had started. We had been
told it would take a minimum of around 3 hours to complete this leg. But, for
the willing and able, there were up to 5 optional CPs to be gained. Leaving the
TA around 4:30 gave us 5.5 hours until the finish time cutoff and we were keen
to scoop up as many of those CPs as we had time for. Although were technically
on "roads" for the first 40% of this leg, they were more like
neglected road grades that hadn't seen a large vehicle or chainsaw in many
years. So, the surface was soft, there were lots of fallen trees and
face-high saplings/branches and generally uphill. Consequently, it was 90+
minutes to cover the first 5 miles of the leg, with no nav problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">One moment of comic
relief: As we near the end of this slow bike section, the "road"
intersects a 10-foot deer fence. We had been through a couple deer fences on
the first trek and were familiar with the little hatch you swing open to pass
through. This one did not seem to have a hatch, though. We checked a couple
padlocks on it but, no dice. After a minute of befuddlement, Rob climbs to the
top, straddles it and I hand up our bikes which he deposits on the other side
before hopping down. Once down, he places a hand on the fence and a large, standard
door-size panel swings easily open and I walk on through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Shortly, we were on
pavement and zooming downhill and cruising flats, followed by some easy dirt
road terrain to pick up CPs U and V with no difficulty. We still had 3 hours
until the finish and things were looking promising to clear the bike leg. So we
continued on rural roads and then easy forest roads to grab CP W on Bearwallow
Pond. Now we had a little over 2 hours to pick up the final CPs and cruise to
the finish. Given the easy terrain and easily found CPs thus far on the leg,
this seemed very possible. We hadn't seen any teams around in a couple hours
and felt like we were making a strong move to finish the race. 10 minutes later
we arrived at the "trail" system where the final 2 CPs on the leg
were located. Pace slowed immediately because of the unmaintained nature of
these road grades and the non-straightforward trail layout relative to what was
mapped. We were still feeling pretty good though as we dropped into a stream
gully where we expected to descend to CP X at a waterfall. This is when the
wheels started to come off. We were obviously tired and thus not navigating at
a high level. We were also hurrying a bit because of the clock ticking in our
heads. There was also a point of confusion in that there was more water on the
ground than the maps suggested. The stream valley we were in had a rushing,
significant flow and lots of small/medium waterfalls. It seemed like we had to
be in the main stream valley rather than where we actually were - an upstream
reentrant without even a blue line mapped at its bottom. Then I sighted a trail
feature which exactly matched one near the CP and thought I knew exactly where
we were. This was upstream from a confluence which I mistook for a very
topographically similar one downstream, cementing my incorrect conviction
about where we were. From this point on, we never actually knew where we were and
spent too much time incredulously finding zero CPs, hiking rocky stream gullies
in bike shoes and dragging our bikes through the steep woods. Because we were
incorrect about our location, the bailout haul-ass-to-the-finish option was
also seriously delayed. Thus, when we emerged onto a road and began riding full
speed toward our best guess of the direction of the finish, we were probably
out of time to make the 10:00 AM time cutoff. On our Hail Mary all-out ride
back, Rob's derailleur decided to suddenly start rubbing on the spokes, stopped
tensioning the chain and began dropping the chain every couple minutes. At this
point it was obvious that we would be over time. Our hope of a good race finish
was officially gone. We rolled into the finish line as race awards were
commencing, 19 minutes overtime, hemorrhaging CPs by the minute as a penalty
for our lateness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Despite the poor
official final ranking, we felt pretty good with how we raced. Only 3 teams
found more CPs. We learned some lessons about end-of-race management, and like all races, logged some navigation and strategy
experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We loved this area for
AR - rugged, forested, sparsely peopled. The designed course was also a hit -
tougher nav than we usually see (not necessarily a bad thing), featured some cool terrain and was very
well-organized overall. Rootstock definitely know what they are doing, we'll be
looking forward to our next race with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-46002828630492689162018-09-05T18:46:00.002-07:002018-09-18T12:16:21.765-07:00The Longest Day, NYARA, Windham NY 9/1/18Rob and Mason finished off summer with a Labor Day weekend trip to the scenic low-key resorty town of Windham in the Catskill Mtns of NY. This area is a great fit with AR: rugged country with a pretty sparse population and some mountain biking infrastructure in place that the organizers would make use of later in the race.<br />
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We started off at the Windham VFW to begin a 10 AM Saturday to 10 AM Sunday race. We were bused off to the race start in Nickerson Park Campground, where we began by sloshing around in and eventually swimming our way through Schoharie Creek (really a river) for the first 3 checkpoints (CPs). This included scooting along a submerged riverside ledge and then swimming around a bend in the river. Since being overheated is my baseline for most races, I usually enjoy these adventure swims and this was no exception. The only problem was that the "waterproof" map case took on a pint of water during the swim which made the paper maps/instructions tough to manage for the rest of the race.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rqMeEUpW4M24j76XocN8LFdZBowtjBkZlJKIpUo9oC9UlFlnoUJbcHh064lSPcGVyHVTOk7x2u97cmmIqvQX4VNmb3YsfhUT9K9o0j7fB5JJS1L6M04IphVM8u5gAj_E1Tidc7q-Rus/s1600/44672457732_aa80c757f2_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="427" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rqMeEUpW4M24j76XocN8LFdZBowtjBkZlJKIpUo9oC9UlFlnoUJbcHh064lSPcGVyHVTOk7x2u97cmmIqvQX4VNmb3YsfhUT9K9o0j7fB5JJS1L6M04IphVM8u5gAj_E1Tidc7q-Rus/s640/44672457732_aa80c757f2_z.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The agony!</td></tr>
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After returning to land, we embarked on a shortish (3-4 mi) orienteering leg through ruggedly sloped Mine Kill State Park. I screwed up finding the first of these CPs, but this turned out to be our only substantial navigation problem of the entire race, which was really fortunate for us.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOCRFmxnqFDw1RpIEEaF34XENR-HoMDY4WbeFqNxr3nNyVKTepJSA-XhDwLT12r6891pUOkv8NrsMWUqEoWVy74E7gV_QVvPKJ4VxRQgHoqZP-0dzMIhdEyLWoJjRa0ya1B8MNLsBWuY/s1600/23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOCRFmxnqFDw1RpIEEaF34XENR-HoMDY4WbeFqNxr3nNyVKTepJSA-XhDwLT12r6891pUOkv8NrsMWUqEoWVy74E7gV_QVvPKJ4VxRQgHoqZP-0dzMIhdEyLWoJjRa0ya1B8MNLsBWuY/s640/23.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo : NYARA</td></tr>
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Next we hopped on our bikes and did a shortish bike-O through the Park before busting out onto roads toward the paddle leg. The course organizers estimated a staggering total elevation gain of around 15,000 ft for this race. Our GPS tracking was a little erroneous so I can't verify this but it probably wasn't too far off. Except for a few sections, it seemed like you were usually ascending or descending something significant.</div>
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We paddled on Schoharie Reservoir for about 8 miles, finding the 5 CPs on this scenic body of water. It is a protected reservoir so it is minimally developed. Apparently NYARA co-RD Eric had a heck of a time jumping through bureaucratic hoops to make this happen for us. It was a nice place to paddle, with the mountains as a backdrop for several scenic waterfalls, as well as a nice eagle sighting. The yellow sit-on-top-with-no-backrest kayaks have long been a staple of The Longest Day paddle sections. They are pretty much the least comfortable watercraft you will find.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penetrating the logjam was an interesting exercise</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breathtaking shot of Bald Eagle</td></tr>
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Although the paddle was a nice break for the legs, after 2 hours or so, we were ready to be done with these boats, and it was back on bikes on quiet country roads for about 12 mi. The rural scenery on the ride from Gilboa through Conesville was like a trip inside a time capsule. Most of the farms, homes and open lands wouldn't have looked much different if you ridden through 40 or 50 years ago; a sort of unintentional historical preservation which can only occur in the absence of an economic incentive to make subdivisions and erect Cumberland Farmses. I liked it. Shortly, however, this reverie was terminated by a big (500 ft) hot, depleting bike climb up to TA4 where we would begin the monster trek.</div>
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By far the biggest leg of the race, the monster trek was, for us, an 18 mile, 10 hour hike on and around The Long Path - a length of mostly secluded singletrack trail through the forested mountains of the area. Although the trail skirts many of the mountains along the way, the RDs made sure to remedy that by placing hilltop CPs off-trail as needed, resulting in 10 or so major ascents for the leg. Except for a couple hours, this trek occupied the entire night portion of the race. The woods were fairly open and breezy and temps weren't too bad, making this leg quite tolerable despite the length (and heights). We raced well through the night with no major issues. We were alone for the majority of the time with the exception of trekking with Team NYARA-Breakaway for a mile or so and few brief encounters with other folks. Finding and including a big trek like this, in the northeast, in a 24 hour race, was a major strong point of the race course.<br />
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We strode into TA6, in Elm Ridge forest, the site of a nice network of MTB trails, to begin the final bike leg. This was around 4:00 AM. We had until 10:00 AM to make it to the finish line. We had to figure out a route to hit as many CPs as possible in Elm Ridge while still leaving time to ride to back to Windham and make it up and over Cave Mtn before rolling in to the finish line at the VFW. After cramming some fluids, caffeine and calories into our protesting stomachs, we were off. The leg started inauspiciously by me leaving the passport (where we mark all our CP punches) at the TA, costing a little time. Then we were onto the trails. They varied from annoying baby-head fields to rad bermed-out downhill rippers. We were slowed down a little by fatigue and a minor nav mixup but we made it through this section relatively successfully, if on fumes. It was nice to be on full suspension for this bike leg, as even the flowier stuff was chock full o' rocks.<br />
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After a short road ride down and UPhill, we arrived at the backside of Cave Mtn. The course finale was a World Cup downhill bike course at Windham Bike Park, on the flip side of the Mtn. As one would expect, ripping downhill from the top of Cave Mtn required that we first ascend it. Our provided route for this was a grass and dirt strip that went directly 1000 vertical ft up the mountain over only 1.5 miles (i.e., steep). We rode a couple short sections but this climb was basically a 30 minute hike-a-bike. The suckiness of this section was unmitigated by anything other than the almost laughable level of suckiness of this section. We put our noses to the grindstone, eventually passed a couple teams, and went up and over the summit around 9:00 - plenty of time to finish.<br />
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Although rocketing downward on a professionally built DH course is not in the wheelhouse of most adventure racers, us included, we managed a speedy but safe-enough descent through the park and rolled into the VFW with time to spare.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: North Atlantic Dirt</td></tr>
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After the race, we were met with more hospitality from the race crew, volunteers and VFW members, the latter preparing and serving a satisfying breakfast buffet. We came in 7th overall out of 37(?) teams and felt very good about our performance.<br />
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This was an amazingly laid out course in a great area for racing with tight race-day organization. We loved this race and give huge kudos to our RD/RO team of Aaron Courain and Eric Caravella, as well as the rest of the race crew, volunteers, VFW and sponsors - thank you!</div>
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NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-16082970728142694202018-06-19T18:56:00.001-07:002018-06-19T20:18:17.790-07:00Maine Summer Adventure Race 24 hr, Strong Machine Adventure RacingThis was my 3rd trip north to do the Maine Summer Adventure race organized by our friends at <a href="https://strongmachine.weebly.com/">Strong Machine</a>. The 2016 version was an 8-hour race that Mason did with son, Reed. The 2017 offering was a 10-hour affair we returned for. This year's 24-hour race, like the others, was based out of <a href="https://www.midcoastconservancy.org/preserve/hidden-valley-nature-center/">Hidden Valley Nature Center</a> in Jefferson, ME and featured a Rob and Mason 2-man team. Rob had just come down with a cold but was going to tough it out.<br />
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I suffer like a dog (where does that saying come from?) in hot, humid weather so I had been anxiously watching the forecast leading up to the race. It initially looked pretty good but the forecast temps kept creeping up over the course of the week, with some increasing humidity, as I assumed it would. We had just come off a week-long stretch of crisp dry weather and cool clear nights, but I should know that race days will never fall on those kind of days.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much suffering...</td></tr>
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We began at 10:00 AM with a foot navigation stage at HVNC. There were 5 mapped checkpoints (CPs) plus 3 more whose location was revealed on a small map at one of the 5 CPs (which one?) You could get the 5 CPs in any order, which was a great way to spread the teams out. We started clicking through the CPs and found the 1st map at the 2nd CP, which sent us off to the 3 unrevealed CPs. Unfortunately one of these flags was in the wrong place which led to a big logjam, as teams rolled into the mapped location and fruitlessly searched the area. This was unfortunate but did provide an informal multi-team powwow in the woods. After reaching a consensus that the CP was not there, we gradually dispersed and moved on to the rest of the CPs, which we found without much trouble.<br />
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This trekking loop ended back at the HVNC. Concerningly, I had gone through > 1L of water on this 7.5 mi trek despite cooler morning temps. We refilled some water and headed out on the first bike leg which took us on trails out of HVNC and north onto some Maine back roads 17.5 mi to another trekking loop in the Southern Garcelon. This was a large patch of forest featuring typical New England fare of marshes, little hills and rocky doubletrack trails (ATV/snowmobile - type). After transitioning back to foot mode we headed out. We got off to a pretty solid start, checking off the first 7 CPs over the course of 5 miles of on- and off-trail hiking/jogging.<br />
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At this point, it was late afternoon and temps were maxed out. There was also the issue of bugs. The ticks and deer flies were very bad. However, the mosquito situation made the ticks and deer flies seem like a minor annoyance, especially as dusk approached. This was a close second to the worst bugs we've experienced (<a href="http://nhtrailvets.blogspot.com/2017/08/8517-race-phantom-24hr-new-brunswick-ca.html">the worst</a>). As we approached our 7th CP of this leg, which was on the edge of a pond (thank you Strong Machine!), I was craving a quick dip in the water and a water bladder refill. This was a scenic spot and gave us a nice quick respite from the tough conditions which had been provided by nature.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wellman Pond. An oasis in a hot mosquito hellhole.</td></tr>
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Sadly, this was a race and it was quickly time to leave the pond and get some more CPs in the woods, as there were 14 total on this leg. We left this CP with Joe Brautigam and trekked together for a bit before Mason unwisely decided that we should deviate from Joe's route to the next CP. I'll just summarize the rest of this leg: 2 hr 45 min, hundreds of mosquito bites, heavy losses of fluids and electrolytes, 6 miles of trekking/fleeing, and...1 checkpoint found. It was one of those legs that make me wonder why I do this and also puts me in recovery mode (body and morale) for hours afterward.<br />
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Following this, I was really looking forward to getting back on the bikes, where there aren't any mosquitoes. We soon passed the 2-man GOALS team who were roadside having tire/tube sidewall issues, and donated a tube to their cause. The bike leg took us back to small roads and was nice for a while but, having run out of water hours ago and eating minimally, I was soon falling off Rob's mercifully conservative pace and getting dropped on every hill. We kept our eyes open and soon spied a couple guys outside at a house who hospitably obliged water bladder refills at the hose. After the usual "what exactly is it that are you doing" conversation we were back on quiet roads and, soon, onto some snowmobile-type trails to get 3 on-trail CPs through unremarkable terrain. Wildlife sighting: Rob flushing a roadside hawk with chipmunk in talons; it couldn't outrun Rob's bike so it had to drop the chipmunk, who scurried away.<br />
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Next was another short road ride into the state capital Augusta, which is actually a fairly small town. Despite the recent water refill, I was still in bonk mode and urgently directed us to a McDonalds just off the route where we sacrificed some time to get some additional hydration and substantial calories. Side note: sometime during the last 12-15 years, McDonalds milkshakes became sickly sweet - we had to throw it away.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking rough pre-calorie rally.</td></tr>
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After a solid hill climb up through residential Augusta, we arrived at the Bond Brook park. There is a knot of twisty rocky singletrack here. There was an enduro race at the park earlier that day (it was 10 PM now). There was supposed to be a taped-off race course with 4 obvious (and therefore unmapped) CPs to find along the way, which sounds fun. Unfortunately, when we got there, the tape had been taken down, it was full dark and we were having trouble determining our location on the convoluted park trail map. We kept re-riding sections and accidentally exiting the trail system into neighboring areas. After 45 minutes of noodling around we hadn't found any CPs but had found the bottom of the hill that led to the park (again). Even though getting at least 2 of the 4 CPs was "mandatory" for final ranking, we decided to cut our losses and move on to the next section.<br />
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We whipped downhill to the river and then onto the Kennebec rail trail for some speedy southern riding, picking up a couple CPs on the way to the next TA. We visited a couple nice-looking riverside towns, including Hallowell, which had a hopping bar scene happening on a warm Saturday midnight and then into Gardiner, where we left our bikes for a quick 5CP urban-O on foot around the sleeping town. This included an interesting rail trestle bridge crossing (inactive, so no Stand By Me moments).<br />
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Following the town-O, we boarded canoes for an 11-mile paddle down the flat Kennebec River in the middle of the night. With the McDonalds, pleasant town-O and cool nighttime temps, I was feeling good again and generally enjoyed the calm quiet paddle. Quiet, that is, except for the occasional giant splash from jumping Atlantic Sturgeon (<a href="https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/fishmigration/handouts/handout_atlantic_sturgeon.pdf">fun facts here)</a>. We passed a number of teams along the way and hit the 2 CPs along the way without issue. As we neared the take-out TA site in Richmond, a lovely sunrise was in full effect, reflecting orange, yellows and purples off the placid river.<br />
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After a riverside check-in in Richmond, we paddled 2 minutes out to Swan Island, an ~ 1x4 mile island in the Kennebec. There were about 20 CPs to be found here. The island was forested but had seen extensive logging recently and also had a lot of scratchy invasive undergrowth. Fortunately the bugs were only at the "annoying" level in the early morning hours. We had to closely watch our time on the island because there was still a 15 mile ride to finish that we needed to allow for. We did fairly well here, grabbing another 7 CPs before running back to the canoe. Wildlife sighting: fawn scooting across the trail in front of us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High tide at CP 34</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Early morning beaver pond<br />
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After the quick canoe trip back to shore, we were back on bikes to the finish line, finding 2 easy CPs over the 1:15 trip to the finish line, with plenty of time to spare.<br />
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The food at the finish line was fantastic: blueberry pancakes, local maple syrup, sausages and fresh fruit hit the spot. The top finish went to the surging Rootstock Racing team, with Untamed New England as a close second. We did not have a good race, but are certainly grateful for the work put in by the organizers and volunteers. I'm sure we'll be back.</div>
NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-53435462304167349942018-05-15T05:05:00.001-07:002018-05-17T17:52:42.644-07:00Sylvan 12-hour Adventure Race, Nockamixon-Tohickon PAMason and son Reed headed down to PA on a family road trip. We were racing the new offering from <a href="http://rootstockracing.org/">Rootstock</a> - the 12 hour Sylvan Adventure race. On the drive in we were enjoying the historic pastoral and natural beauty of the region. Lengthy showers the night before the race guaranteed a pretty soaked course but race day would be mostly rain-free and comfy temps.<br />
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After a bus ride to the southern tip of Lake Nockamixon, we began with a short trail running prologue, finding 3 nearby checkpoints while navigating solo. Reed had no problem on his CP and we quickly geared up for the first proper leg of the race. This leg consisted of finding CPs in a wooded, loosely residential area and around some trails adjacent to Tohickon Creek. Between some questionable nav techniques employed by Dad and a preponderance of slow thorny underbrush, we did not get off to a stellar start. The nav got a bit easier at the end of the leg and we checked off the last 5 CPs without any significant delays, en route to TA1.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard won verdant CP3 which we gained via the difficult southern traverse - 400m of brushy thorny undergrowth.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed punching in a cute CP location. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed displaying his freakishly large left hand. Mandated photo credit: Cliff White</td></tr>
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We rolled into the TA feeling good and ready for some thorn-free paddling. This was not exactly the case however, as the canoe paddle of Lake Nockamixon incorporated many inland CPs which you accessed from the shore. Teams could split up here and strategize a way to quickly obtain the dispersed CPs, but on a team of 2 the options were pretty limited. I was also not relishing the idea of explaining my plan to leave our son out alone on the lake, while I ran around in the woods, to Mom afterward; this would clearly fail the "Tabloid Headline Test" of responsible parenting, should anything go amiss.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steep put-in. Trying not to run Reed over with the boat. Credit: JS O'Connor Photography</td></tr>
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After a little tentative probing of the shores, we quickly got our lake-nav mojo working and started picking off shoreline CPs. We then crossed over to the other side of the lake, navved perfectly to another CP before heading off to the "Ladies Room" CP. This CP, which could have been a cinch if you approached from the S/SW, became a huge time-suck as we backtracked on muddy trail and fought our way through the brush and copious poison ivy around an abandoned building of some kind; laboriously exploring every outbuilding except the Ladies Room. By the time we located it and punched the CP, I looked at my watch and saw that we would have to go full-gas to the next TA to make the 3:00 PM cutoff. After some inspired paddling, it became clear we would not make the cutoff, so we grabbed a final mandatory CP and arrived 13 minutes late to the canoe take-out. The penalty for missing the cutoff was that we would be ranked behind all of the other teams that made the cutoff, which happened to be all of the other teams. Not a big deal to us, as our final ranking is not a matter of high concern; we were just happy that we could continue on and finish the course.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quick inland run for a CP while Reed checks his delts.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Son's scenic slippery surface scramble</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed culverteering</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Primo trail conditions around the "Ladies Room"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inviting "Ladies Room"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Definitely not making that time cutoff. Credit: JS O'Connor Photography</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">TA activities Credit: JS O'Connor Photography</td></tr>
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At this point I left my camera in the pouch of my PFD, so there are no more pics of the course.<br />
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We left the TA on bikes and entered the Nockamixon MTB trail system which was amazing. Though muddy, the trails were fast flowy and smooth (i.e., not New England) with multiple groomed pump track sections. We had a lot of fun in here, logging 7 miles of buttery singletrack and finding plenty of CPs along the way. Following this was a 9-mile road ride including pretty historic bucolic riverside dirt and paved roads and easyish nav before emerging back in the Tohickon area for the final leg.<br />
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Arriving at the final TA, we had 1 hr 45mins to spend before the 8:00 PM finish time. We used this time to hustle along the trails and forests of Tohickon Valley Park, efficiently finding another 6 CPs. Reed was especially impressive here, after 11 hours of racing, keeping up with my strenuous last-hour pace and driving the decision to grab the last 1 or 2 CPs rather than playing it safe and heading in with a time cushion.<br />
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We had a great day out on the course, exploring this prickly yet scenic area of Pennsylvania. Thanks to Rootstock for again providing a great racing experience for me and Reed. They get extra kudos for providing really nice race shirts and and excellent social media race coverage for family and friends.NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-10223350306937933932018-03-08T07:23:00.000-08:002018-03-08T08:53:31.324-08:00Frigid Infliction, Bolton Valley, Vermont, 3/2/2018After missing the 2017 version, we were excited to return to Bolton Valley for another Frigid Infliction organized by the reliable <a href="http://www.gmara.org/">GMARA</a>. The new format is basically a 2-sport <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogaining">ROGAINE</a> (snowshoeing and XC skiing) which requires a minimum amount of each discipline but leaves the rest of the decision-making (route/order, modality) to the team. This has 2 advantages: 1) Emphasizing smart route choice; and 2) minimizing the inherent problem of follow-the-leader's tracks to the CP. There were 21 1-point CPs and 6 trickier 3-point CPs.<br />
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Although snowfall had been minimal, the area received 3-6 additional inches within a few days of the race, making for quite good ski conditions. Weather was mild and consistent in the 25-35 F range and mostly cloudy.<br />
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We began at 7:00 on snowshoes for a long loop that would encompass most of the western CPs. We had some early trouble as we attempted to follow scenic Joiner Brook downstream to connect 2 streamside CPs. A steep gorge just upstream of our target led to some sketchy route choices, extremely slow travel and a damaged snowshoe (Rob) which soon came completely apart.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of many Joiner Brook crossings. We managed to keep dry feet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entering the sketchy part of the gorge</td></tr>
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After this, we progressed steadily through the CPs, with only a few minor delays and one more significant delay. The significant delay was at bonus (3 point) CP E. This was one of 3 CPs that cost us a bunch of time, along with CP3 and CP5 (on the subsequent ski leg). All were in steep brushy terrain; the steepness, minimal snow cover and areas of iced-over slopes really delayed us as we tried to search out the flag in our low-traction XC ski boots, often while carrying skis and poles. Leaving the microspikes behind was a big mistake - exacerbating the effects of the steep, icy surfaces we frequently encountered.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFsKao7dhplAPRPzF3khl_zL-Iq_ePhgeoW83bA0S0jRLLvxuTZ4OuZfomvqFmA1p-zwG2GCCcky2_lu0s0qvGEp6sAQ7zhyphenhyphenwAD_17wixQtLauZs-4GSjvYKfbV3garybQ3wIgODanrY/s1600/P3030052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheFsKao7dhplAPRPzF3khl_zL-Iq_ePhgeoW83bA0S0jRLLvxuTZ4OuZfomvqFmA1p-zwG2GCCcky2_lu0s0qvGEp6sAQ7zhyphenhyphenwAD_17wixQtLauZs-4GSjvYKfbV3garybQ3wIgODanrY/s640/P3030052.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice-encrusted ascent to BP D</td></tr>
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The snowshoe leg took longer than expected and, as we were finishing up, we had to concern ourselves with the amount of time remaining. We next needed to complete an XC ski loop which included at least 5 CPs. To be safe, we skipped one of our snowshoe CPs and scooted down to race HQ, picking up a final easy, on-trail CP along the way. We also visited a fun bonus CP, a high-wire ropes course element which gave us each a couple minutes to rest and eat and a quick 30' belayed descent back to the ground.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnqo9-9lwo2dbjFFofPF2FtZTMcVCoZGYSdN58k87HmHAOLo6nD4Q48fpQXaIiJXOLEE3ZTCSkgtqnKAOn_7wAn5HnAtHdr1jlVJcQZ1BoHfn3VKsgRV2cMjtwPVwp59JQIbObd5py_E/s1600/DSC_1505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1060" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnqo9-9lwo2dbjFFofPF2FtZTMcVCoZGYSdN58k87HmHAOLo6nD4Q48fpQXaIiJXOLEE3ZTCSkgtqnKAOn_7wAn5HnAtHdr1jlVJcQZ1BoHfn3VKsgRV2cMjtwPVwp59JQIbObd5py_E/s640/DSC_1505.jpg" width="422" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ladies and gentlemen, Race Director Mr. Shawn Freebern on belay!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjub9CC9OKsESFX4L98rGen3CAdDa8DFlQ_07zQ8gksMJj30-q2SAWBPvJitNqK1S0KMQOUnT7bObLNctkQw4QOZbCBf6mpJMh6qOb3j5g3FJ2tQzqGixXprqQGF0Ar82SllxkESh_NhnM/s1600/P3030053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjub9CC9OKsESFX4L98rGen3CAdDa8DFlQ_07zQ8gksMJj30-q2SAWBPvJitNqK1S0KMQOUnT7bObLNctkQw4QOZbCBf6mpJMh6qOb3j5g3FJ2tQzqGixXprqQGF0Ar82SllxkESh_NhnM/s640/P3030053.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steep, dense, slippery terrain typical of the 3 CPs that gave us trouble. Also, the flags were less than conspicuously hung, as seen above (but we found them, dammit)</td></tr>
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Our XC leg was blemished by the aforementioned CPs 3 and 5, but the actual skiing parts were pretty fun and not too extreme in terms of undesired downhill velocity. We finished the loop with 20 minutes to spare, giving us time to grab one more point near the finish line - an easy, on-trail 10 minute round-tripper. We finished with about 8 minutes left until the 8-hour time cutoff.<br />
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In the end, we covered 14+ miles, about 4700 ft of elevation gain and bagged a total of 29 points. We had a fairly good showing; the 3 very prolonged CP searches being our downfall. The upside is that all 3 were eventually found. The worst thing in AR is taking forever searching for a CP and never finding it (at least, that's what I've been told). Casualties included Rob's unusable snowshoe (he one-shoed most of the first leg) as well as 2 broken ski poles (Rob, Mase). After the race, we rehydrated with free beer and cheap coffee, interrupted by filling up on tasty catered dinner, before the 3 hour drive home.<br />
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Thanks as always to our friends at GMARA, the volunteers and the race sponsors. We'll be back for more chilly challenges next year.NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-26700413631949841272017-12-05T17:04:00.000-08:002017-12-07T08:34:07.009-08:002 Rivers Adventure Race, Wilmington DE area, 12/2/2017Doing another adventure race was Reed's preferred mode of [parentally mandated] exercise for the 2nd half of the year. Obviously, I was more than fine with this choice and began to look for a suitable event. We certainly found a good race when we chose Rootstock Racing's 2 Rivers AR as our next event. There was a little uncertainty about what I was dragging my 14-year old into for 12 hours in December: would it be 35 and sleeting? 55 and sunny? Thankfully it was much closer to the latter on race day, limiting his race-day hypothermia to a few brief periods.<br />
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I picked Reed up early from school and we drove 7 hours to our hotel the night before the race. A 4:10AM alarm woke us in time to hit Denny's before the bike drop. Despite the apparent need for a security guard stationed in the restaurant, we had a quiet meal and fueled up on cheap pancakes. On the way to the bike drop, we were treated to site of a giant orange "supermoon" moonset - wow.<br />
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At the frosty race registration (and future finish line), we geared up, got a look at the maps and huddled in the heated car as long as we could before boarding buses back to the bike drop. The finish line was situated among rolling fields and historic barns and farmhouses in a scenic highbrow (think DuPont money) agrarian landscape. The last leg of the race would be a "farmgaine' through these properties. Major kudos to race organizers Abby and Brent for securing access to this unique terrain.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Vlad Bukalo</td></tr>
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After a quick jog on frosty gravel, we were off on bikes in the White Clay Creek State Park in Newark. These trails were FUN! So flowy and smooth - what a contrast with New England. I swear there were maybe seven rocks in the whole park. Our initial plan was to skip a section of this park, but once we experienced the rad trail conditions and found the CPs coming fairly quickly, that plan changed.</div>
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Following this section we rode to the canoe put-in. This involved a 6 mile ride through a busy commercial and residential area, down to the tidal Christina River.<br />
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The river would lead us 8 miles to downtown Wilmington. It was a bit of a slog in the canoe which handled like a bathtub in the early miles as we worked against a mild current. It required near-constant corrective steering to track straight. If I looked at the map or spaced out for a couple seconds, we began to fly off left or right. Things improved a bit later in the paddle, as the tide switched. Along the way we grabbed several CPs in the reedy side channels and hunted for a specimen of wild rice, which was required for us to get credit for a CP on the leg.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New racer with an accomplished paddle</td></tr>
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We, along with several other teams, bungled the approach to the take-out, necessitating some extra canoe-wrangling in order to end up at the approved spot. By this time, the sun had ducked behind the clouds and Reed was really cold from our wet river trip. We took some extra time at the TA to get him clothed and dry, as much as possible. The race organizers had transported a small bag of our dry clothes to this point and we were glad to pull on dry socks and shoes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Vlad Bukalo</td></tr>
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We grabbed food and ate as we began the next leg, trekking along the riverwalk into Wilmington and picking up a few CPs along the way.<br />
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Once in downtown Wilmington the urban-O course really began. We found a dozen CPs in the city and recorded a clue at most of them, typically historical info found on art (statues) and architecture around town. The CPs were sited in differing parts of town, including poor residential areas, which provided an appreciated balanced tour of the city, rather than simply presenting the tourist-friendly highlights.<br />
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At one point Reed really needed to use the bathroom but the area we were in for 30+ mins was primarily small residences and the occasional tiny corner store/restaurant. We asked a few places and eventually got a yes at the Mt. Zion Miracle Station Church which was unlocked for an afternoon service. The kind folks there also invited us to come back anytime after the race and gave us a church leaflet, which we stowed in the map case. At the end of this leg, we trotted along the river in the pleasant Brandywine Park en route to the next TA under towering I-95, in the scenic peri-urban river valley.<br />
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After switching to bike mode in the waning daylight (3:30 in December), we began the 2nd bike leg, which would take us out of Wilmington toward the finish line, just across the state line in PA. I had several nav bobbles on this leg which was actually very simple; not sure what my problem was. Basically we trucked along a road and then a long linear trail into Brandywine Creek State Park as night fell and the big fat moon rose. There was a second bike trail orienteering section available here, but there were dozens of CPs to be had on the farmgaine leg, which we were most interested in, so we skipped the bike-O and headed into the fields. This was a very fun leg - working through fields, trails and patches of forest and finding antique farm structures. The highlights were Reed spotting a couple silent deer silhouetted on a nearby ridge and trekking without headlamps for a bit in the bright moonlight. The lowlights were some continued inconsistent nav and bits of bad luck and near misses. We did not end up covering that much of the farmlands, unfortunately, and time was getting tight. Throughout the race, Reed had been his usual able, agreeable race-buddy self and was fine with jogging whenever I suggested it. Because I was getting nervous about time, we jogged most of the last half hour.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK49YN_nG3qm8IX00wnK50pvMMBc2QW4mIWqeOAW4o_Z_Y7-U7iU0tjNR_xnCvSaZOeD8fG7WdpabXvO6AJe5_LK7pAjxIQLW_b-5icRS0pFhx6pWlRrL8tC8xZZBPKVYoNf_pQ9g0brs/s1600/PC020034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK49YN_nG3qm8IX00wnK50pvMMBc2QW4mIWqeOAW4o_Z_Y7-U7iU0tjNR_xnCvSaZOeD8fG7WdpabXvO6AJe5_LK7pAjxIQLW_b-5icRS0pFhx6pWlRrL8tC8xZZBPKVYoNf_pQ9g0brs/s640/PC020034.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I knew there was a ford of the Brandywine Creek near the end, which I was secretly hoping to have to do, although I wasn't sure how it would work into our route plans. As time dwindled, I got my wish - we found the site of the ford with only about 30 minutes left on the clock and there was no good route option, in the time allotted, other than to ford the creek. It wasn't bad - no more than thigh deep and not icy cold, maybe 25m across - and was a fun highlight to the leg. Once across, we waded a small creek, found our last CP, bushwhacked some odd humpy vegetation, and jogged up to the big barn to finish with ~10 minutes to spare. We covered just under 45 miles on the day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reed emerging unscathed from the deeper first part of the ford</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFsAOFp6yROcHzUUKxOSBzgo_rx-UgNMvOUdI3Qr7YDfxVjKHt3aUQYD2z5VT9-o_jfMyQwV1tajXHrc6Tsi0XsYS6W6vlRM7YswEWzmBeGFq1JVpAHllxNAn57xL0GTcGsCq3yZ1Q9RY/s1600/PC020042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFsAOFp6yROcHzUUKxOSBzgo_rx-UgNMvOUdI3Qr7YDfxVjKHt3aUQYD2z5VT9-o_jfMyQwV1tajXHrc6Tsi0XsYS6W6vlRM7YswEWzmBeGFq1JVpAHllxNAn57xL0GTcGsCq3yZ1Q9RY/s640/PC020042.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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This was a great 12 hour course - Reed's longest race so far. The varied and interesting terrain made for a great day. While the initial mountain biking was terrific, the urban-O and farmgaine, not typical AR activities, were equally enjoyed. Thanks Rootstock Racing for a great race weekend.<br />
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<br />NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-15339694345818825002017-08-09T10:47:00.001-07:002017-08-09T18:34:51.000-07:008/5/17 Race the Phantom - 24hr - New Brunswick, CA<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">Because of a conflict with work, we switched from the 40hr option to the 24hr race, which worked out fine b/c none of the other teams really wanted to do the 40 and so it was cancelled and all 8 teams were on the 24 hr course.</span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">We were running a little late for the 4:00 PM start and then -Surprise!- lost an additional hour at the US-CAN border time change. So - very hasty unorganized gear-up, facilitated by the very helpful race staff. We then learned that we would have 5 min staggered starts. We got lucky and received the last spot which gave us an additional 40 min to get ready. </span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">The race format was bike-trek-river canoe-bike. The initial bike looked like maybe a 7-8 hr thing and it was humid so we brought plenty of water.</span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">It was nice to have the last starting position and have all of the other teams in front of us. We passed the first couple on the way to CP1. From here we made the decision to do a northern 500m+ bikewhack which would save maybe 5km of riding the dirt logging roads (that's what all of the riding was on). Not a good decision. The woods up here are pretty hellish off-trail. Its all brushy and small trees (forestry land) and very slow. This alone made the bikewhack decision a bad one, but then we were lost for a long time afterward. There were all these skidder tracks of varying age and passability (none rideable) that we were confusing with logging roads and nothing seemed to line up with the map. Eventually we made our way out by going in the general direction of the nearest main road, but we had lost hours on anyone who out-and-backed it to CP1.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_JGGhRqaN7P8T4t1QJT_kn145oFOvhyphenhyphenepaH873FCF6eR7g0s5WdSZkLXoi1hyphenhyphenc_1y5Jnhh0wjNK6duPVvHslu1QfyxBZ_1awGE9Gf9ocq9F9k-EPk6-2n7OvVqyP6-hUCmvIJo3tnAY/s1600/P8050003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_JGGhRqaN7P8T4t1QJT_kn145oFOvhyphenhyphenepaH873FCF6eR7g0s5WdSZkLXoi1hyphenhyphenc_1y5Jnhh0wjNK6duPVvHslu1QfyxBZ_1awGE9Gf9ocq9F9k-EPk6-2n7OvVqyP6-hUCmvIJo3tnAY/s640/P8050003.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">So many sweet route options to choose from</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgo2LMyiSOI0upfYLPMif-wf_y2Q8Mi_LX2YdtbP1pOuZuO45rV4nwDz7soIdelaccTegftHDFjQ966aR1P1CWiYuNKSjwisUCL-RPYgf3imJKvfy4OoTl3vzOgoSen5M1XC8ZOWkmxo/s1600/P8050006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgo2LMyiSOI0upfYLPMif-wf_y2Q8Mi_LX2YdtbP1pOuZuO45rV4nwDz7soIdelaccTegftHDFjQ966aR1P1CWiYuNKSjwisUCL-RPYgf3imJKvfy4OoTl3vzOgoSen5M1XC8ZOWkmxo/s640/P8050006.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">"That swarm of swamp hornets ahead, maybe they're not the kind that stings"</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBPoTD_I2wimcurd0Y7uVqVjGZuFtb28oSr2xx57uJ3cEyJZVBF7QxnVRlEJgChWU6Id0ODk0ArXzE3cVL43bAZhH1nZGqSYgBqBSpm3oZVWNIFb-0E4i827urklhadHhAED16sFKmOA/s1600/P8050007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBPoTD_I2wimcurd0Y7uVqVjGZuFtb28oSr2xx57uJ3cEyJZVBF7QxnVRlEJgChWU6Id0ODk0ArXzE3cVL43bAZhH1nZGqSYgBqBSpm3oZVWNIFb-0E4i827urklhadHhAED16sFKmOA/s640/P8050007.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Vain attempt at keeping feet dry</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">Once we disentangled ourselves and got back to riding the dirt roads, we did fairly well riding to and finding the other CPs on this leg (7 total plus a bonus). Our other screwups were a 200m misplot of one of the CPs (edge of map trick) which led to an hour of needless bushwhacking, and blowing by CP7 which we realized 4km later - necessitating a backtrack. By this point a downpour was in full effect; not a bad thing on this humid night. With our mistakes and the overall length of the leg (we rode 121 km), we rolled into TA1 at around 11 hours, loosely in first place.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBopvE8-nw7UGsdV9lbSrpp61zlMAkNfvnz7ryL_sVLUBhZmeFP0uHfD4-jT9-Irac5VY-kN8MurisfuwDwiH0tubAdDBKu6ITpNpfj6rd-T9Rmg5UDETn9Lwwf_MRqqGTY0e8XTCcCwA/s1600/P8050010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBopvE8-nw7UGsdV9lbSrpp61zlMAkNfvnz7ryL_sVLUBhZmeFP0uHfD4-jT9-Irac5VY-kN8MurisfuwDwiH0tubAdDBKu6ITpNpfj6rd-T9Rmg5UDETn9Lwwf_MRqqGTY0e8XTCcCwA/s640/P8050010.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Not a ton of views in this region but this hilly area was pretty scenic.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">After a long TA, it was time to head out on the trek. The RDs had laid out an ambitious trek that, because of the length of the bike, would see little use. This was a shame because there was a feast of warm food and drink waiting at a distant trek CP that no one had time to visit.</span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">There is a scoring/ranking peculiarity about RTP in which the first criterion of ranking is how long you stayed on the full course - how many CPs you get from the start without skipping one, rather than total number of CPs. This led to some convoluted thought processes about how to secure our lead for the remainder of the race. Basically, there was no guaranteed strategy for winning at this point and so best approach was just continued full gas racing for 24 hrs, prioritizing the early CPs.</span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">We found the first trek CP (8) without much trouble and headed toward CP10 which we knew from last years race, would entail some diabolical bushwhacking through evergreen thickets, raspberries and other brush.</span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">We then headed up a trail and into the most heinous cloud of deer flies and mosquitoes that any of us has experienced before. We trekked with them for the next few hours. We spent about 30 mins searching an area, verifying the plotting and reconsidering the wording of the clue for CP9, while in combat with the DEET-proof bugs, until we had to give up the search and make a long trek back to TA in order to leave time to finish the race. Since we didn't find CP9, this left us vulnerable to any team that cleared the bike leg (there were 2 or 3 other teams that did) and who were able to find CPs 8 and 9 on the trek, even if we had more total CPs. </span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">This was another long TA. We were pretty beat and dehydrated and no one had been eating well, so we needed to stop and rally for the finish, in the improving morning weather. When the staff asked if we'd like an espresso, morale definitely notched up. This leg was a canoe through the southern part of Spednic Lake and then (via portage) onto the St. Croix river. I actually enjoyed this leg. The frequent sections of mild-moderate rapids and protruding rocks kept you on alert and helped pass the time. By late morning, the humidity was also gone and we had a breezy sunny day to enjoy the pretty river. No paddle CPs.</span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">We got to the takeout with about 3 hours to complete a 30km bike leg which had 2 CPs available. We proceeded to the first CP without any major problems. The chamois region was feeling pretty bad for most of us during this ride and our legs were something less than fresh, with the big bike leg earlier and inadequate calorie intake. On the way to the CP, the RDs buzzed up behind us on dirtbikes to hand me my bike odometer which had popped off on a hill early on the leg. In this race, the race staff really take care of the racers by doing this kind of stuff whenever they get the chance. These little things really make a difference in the overall take-away feeling from the race. </span><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-family: sans-serif, helvetica; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">After the CP, we heard a loud pop and found that Nicks rear derailleur had exploded for no apparent reason. This was a little serious. We were still about 12km out from the finish line with maybe 1.5 hrs of time left. We now knew we could not go for the other CP and that we would have to make Nick's bike rideable ASAP and bust it to the finish in order to not go overtime. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">The repair job just barely did the trick, allowing Nick to pedal a bit while being towed by Rob, and me doing my best to hang on to the train. Luckily, the trail we were on was pretty fast and smooth. We had to traverse one washed out bridge section and then we were onto smooth terrain to the finish, with 13 mins to spare. Good enough for the win.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTQ2DlrcivVgKNL99mnkXfWXN34jB9ETBpHdW-4uNflcAhRxOaCO8wLODJ1qZXe-GTTtAWvAo5dToIkfStaSSGgdLYtgF9zSLifYonQrHvTaoT_jWAvCslDItqkfHCQOjdq6R1QcnOEU/s1600/P8060016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTQ2DlrcivVgKNL99mnkXfWXN34jB9ETBpHdW-4uNflcAhRxOaCO8wLODJ1qZXe-GTTtAWvAo5dToIkfStaSSGgdLYtgF9zSLifYonQrHvTaoT_jWAvCslDItqkfHCQOjdq6R1QcnOEU/s640/P8060016.JPG" width="480" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #444444; color: white;">Human and mechanical post-race carnage.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: sans-serif , "helvetica"; font-size: 13px;">We really like the Natural Selection AR folks. We're not there because we love excoriating bushwhacks, endless logging roads and hordes of bugs. The small, warm and friendly homegrown vibe is what brings us back to this race. Post race goodies hit the spot: homemade lobster rolls, mussels, corn-on-the-cob, fresh fruit and plenty more. This was followed by sitting around and swapping AR stories around a keg of Picaroon's, and then a welcome night of sleep camped out next to Spednic Lake in the cool breezy weather.</span>NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-37306095390841338462017-07-20T14:54:00.003-07:002017-09-19T12:24:40.326-07:004/21/17 Adventure Enablers Shenandoah Epic 24hr . Shenandoah region, Virginia. <br />
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4/21/17 Adventure Enablers Shenandoah Epic 24hr . Shenandoah region, Virginia<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> By Nick C</o:p></div>
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This was our first experience racing with the Adventure
Enablers. This was also the first time
we had received the order of events well prior to the race. We'd each prepared for
this race on our own and spent less time in team training compared to prior
races. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The evening before our departure, Mason put us on alert that
he was febrile and may have to bail on this race. We were confident in his sheer will to race
he would pull through. Early morning
though the bug won. We drove to his
house grabbed a gear bin, some random supplies, and began the drive to VA as a
team of 2. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The 9 hour drive from NH was easy and we avoided any major
delays due to heavy traffic by staying away from the coast. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We arrived at our hotel, checked in and proceeded to
registration. We then headed across the
street to Pave Mint for beer and food prior to the 7:30 pm race meeting. At the meeting we heard there would be 2
prologues to the race and no water would be provided to racers along the
course. Initially we thought the plan
was to receive the maps shortly prior to boarding the buses. Now we found out we could have more time with
the maps if we chose to complete a short foot orienteering section. This would take about 30-40 minutes and
involve 4 easily found flags on the trails around the DownRiver Canoe
Company. We arrived at DownRiver Canoe
Company at 7am, competed the prologue at a shuffle and had our maps before
8am. The maps came as a stapled packet
of 14, double sided, 8x11, topo maps at 1:24,0000 plus a supplemental
Bike-Orienteering map of the ATV trails in Taskers Gap.<o:p></o:p><br />
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We cut all borders off of the maps and had the time to tape
each together to give us confluent routes for measuring distance and noting
features. We didn't have our waterproof
highlighter which would have made depicting the routes easier. Not taping the maps would have been
ridiculously confusing and we felt completing the prologue was a very good
decision. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We loaded the buses and drove 30 minutes to the starting line of the race.
During the ride we agreed we would gather all of CPs along the first
leg. We felt we were in good bike shape
to handle the demand of this part of the course. Bikes were staged here for us. The rain was steadily falling at this point
and the ground was turning to pure mud.
This was to be the warmest part of the day and night. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At 11:30 Mark gave the go ahead to start the
next prologue early. One member from
each team needed to complete a 1 mile trail run without backpacks in an effort
to spread the field for the mass bike start.
Rob ran this for us and returned within the top1/3 of the pack. He tossed on his bike shoes and we headed out
to CP1-6 along the Massanutten Trail.
Equal parts riding and hike-a-bike were encountered. The rain, rocks, moss, and wet roots on
trails that climbed for miles (8 miles on one alone) made us question if there
was any downhill in VA. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We collected CPs 1-6 in order and suffered only one
significant navigation error. We didn't
double check our bearing and ended up descending west rather than continuing
north. This cost us 35 minutes. We completed the first leg in 7hours
4minutes and covered 34.5miles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we arrived at TA 1 we only spent time fitting our
bikes with lights and redistributing food.
We stayed on bikes for Leg 2. We
collected CPs 7-10 and decided to leave CP 11 given trail conditions and
anticipated time commitment to get this optional point. We covered these 12 miles in 3hrs 45min. Again plenty of swamped trails, slick
conditions, hike-a-bike, and absolutely ripping descents!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We TA'd at Camp Roosevelt, changed into trail shoes /
sneakers, ate, and were drawn to the wonderfully warm fire built by the
volunteers. This was a detrimental and
healing distraction. The shivering could
not be controlled yet the warmth of the fire was a temporary relief from the
cold temps and wet conditions. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We navigated to CP 17, landed luckily at CP 13, doubled back
for CP 16, then collected 18 and 19. CP
18 was initially elusive because the reentrant split and we followed the right
fork through dense brambles and fight.
We landed on the CP because we fortunately descended along the left
fork. From here we shot a bearing to the
fire road near CP 19. We used the slight
bend in the road to shoot another bearing and find the CP along what was said
to be a ridge but seemed far less distinct.
From here we navigated directly to the TA rather than follow the
road. We covered 5.5 miles and arrived at
the TA 3 hrs later. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We got back on our bikes for Leg 4 and decided ahead of time
only to collect CP21. We did not go
after the optional points here. The time
commitment would jeopardize finishing on time.
Any additional time at the end of the race would be dedicated to the
optional points near the race finish. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This quicker out and back was a sustained climb along a well
maintained gravel road. We made very good
time on this 7.5 mile ride/0.5 mile hike to the point. Nothing too notable on this point. The interesting points (all optional) were
left out on the course. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This was our last transition at the Roosevelt Camp and our
last access to gear. This Leg 5
was a long grind along the Massanutten trail to collect CP 29. The 13 miles was shared with the Rootstock
AR team. Having the company helped
maintain focus and provided good motivation to move quickly. The uphills were hiked quickly and the downs
were shuffled. We planned 4.5 hours for
this leg and completed it in closer to 4 hours.
Few options for error were provided once up along the ridge. Trail signs
were well marked. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We arrived at the paddle slightly ahead of Rootstock only to
be passed by their 2 boats mid way along the 11 mile paddle route. We made a poor decision at the rapids and
stayed too far river right. Our goal was
to avoid dumping the canoe, but we were in retrospect overly cautious. Our far right route required exiting the
canoe and dragging it over the rocks.
The remainder of the river consisted of a gentle current with ripples of
fast current.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Exiting the canoe was slightly comical. Legs had stiffened considerably over the 3hr
15min paddle. Making our way over the
bridge was a waddle at best. The
cramping of, and chafe between, the legs slowed our movement considerably. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We decided to get a minimum of 2 for the last section,
however an error in selecting the wrong reentrant resulted in wasting time
looking for CP C. We changed course and
ascended up to A and returned to finish the race with 30 minutes to spare. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We found at this point that of the 41 teams that began the
event only 16 had finished. The harsh
weather and difficult conditions resulted in many racers either quitting early
or not finishing before the 24 hour limit.
Overall we covered nearly 85miles and 10,050 feet of elevation gain. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The post race food was excellent. The prize bags were appreciated greatly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Congratulations to all teams who completed the race. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Mason was missed during this race and we will be using our
“winnings” / discount toward a future race for next year. <o:p></o:p><br />
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NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-49183865713334085262016-08-02T21:36:00.000-07:002016-08-03T07:56:45.616-07:00Race the Phantom 24 hr race. Spednic Lake Provincial Park. July 2016We had a fun experience on our last sojourn north of the border for this race in 2013 and were keen for a return visit. The 2016 version would actually be <i>east </i>of the border; just barely east of the border at Spednic lake Provincial Park. This was a mere 5 hr drive for us. The last hour of the drive was through a very quiet and remote part of eastern Maine, which seemed promising for a race venue.<br />
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Arriving at the Park, we were greeted by <a href="http://www.naturalselectionar.com/">Natural Selection AR</a> frontman Troy Johnston and first-time course designer Mike Hutchinson. We had our choice of several sweet lakeside campsites.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmY9WsF9qUn5Kz6x5G364_OC3IOMoUW6VOBRtNu5HR0gqf4mOSL8YKTBhG8vMzs0ubzkhTQHwDMEuG1_ij4u0VMRIA9O9co-ABkzgVwXw3OzmZUpVspmWZdjTjaThV7cRE9f-DvaNs1I/s1600/IMG_1529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAmY9WsF9qUn5Kz6x5G364_OC3IOMoUW6VOBRtNu5HR0gqf4mOSL8YKTBhG8vMzs0ubzkhTQHwDMEuG1_ij4u0VMRIA9O9co-ABkzgVwXw3OzmZUpVspmWZdjTjaThV7cRE9f-DvaNs1I/s640/IMG_1529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Maine across Lake Spednic, from our campsite. Not too shabby.</td></tr>
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We arrived Friday evening. The race didn't start until 1:00 PM Saturday, so we had plenty of time to set up camp and enjoy the Park a little while slowly gearing up for the race.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhniLn81zTwqHhQxxbUAc1qFb0WEr4fXB0Z9WeMbmvZ7mdW_HwuB0jRJlq5El9JKQz9iV98tQ-H-nVdbeO9shpTa49pselCDUGKGboo43pJLNXTk4rY_UyWIe8_HkQOeZaN2k-FKOQAG_I/s1600/IMG_1516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhniLn81zTwqHhQxxbUAc1qFb0WEr4fXB0Z9WeMbmvZ7mdW_HwuB0jRJlq5El9JKQz9iV98tQ-H-nVdbeO9shpTa49pselCDUGKGboo43pJLNXTk4rY_UyWIe8_HkQOeZaN2k-FKOQAG_I/s640/IMG_1516.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We really lucked out finding <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Jennistakeout/">Jenni's</a> for dinner Friday night. The super nice ladies there consulted with us on the best choice of food to stuff in a gear box for 24 hours to eat on race day. Their recommendation was the donair, a local specialty we had not had before. They cooked us up a sample donair plate to try before committing and we were instantly sold. They even wrapped them up special for us and included a good luck note inside the bag!</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkzmRgNZEYwasMql3FZCwfH4OpWYeyF3aPj89l5eNVErezqLAfg8sKK9Wtq6aOxN7j-lB-siNZ-JFcYWIfXMEs3-4LhS6__s9RbiDRoDdwxEAFgLQl1ZmOkczamTARHjKtU7JzuXevcI/s1600/IMG_1526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwkzmRgNZEYwasMql3FZCwfH4OpWYeyF3aPj89l5eNVErezqLAfg8sKK9Wtq6aOxN7j-lB-siNZ-JFcYWIfXMEs3-4LhS6__s9RbiDRoDdwxEAFgLQl1ZmOkczamTARHjKtU7JzuXevcI/s640/IMG_1526.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Evening swim while the loons call.</td></tr>
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Rising early on Saturday, we had plenty of time to cook food, get geared up, attend the pre-race meeting, check out the race maps and plot the CPs from their UTM coordinates.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf8AR77hYi2f3v4gawmabV1NUf3WGsL1mTuCxsFLRMjxBfNOAtWOqP8J2DrJ_eOFHR35bDYcGxgSxDy0kPjEguvNwc1TH6_SwYF4tLqF_6i4QHo46prcmyxAeZs24JN4r6D74msUvxqzc/s1600/IMG_9075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf8AR77hYi2f3v4gawmabV1NUf3WGsL1mTuCxsFLRMjxBfNOAtWOqP8J2DrJ_eOFHR35bDYcGxgSxDy0kPjEguvNwc1TH6_SwYF4tLqF_6i4QHo46prcmyxAeZs24JN4r6D74msUvxqzc/s640/IMG_9075.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out the race course a couple hours before the start. Photo: NSAR</td></tr>
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The format would be bike-trek-bike-paddle-BIKE-paddle, with the first couple sections being in Spednic Lake Provincial Park and the big bike leg being east of the park in a very rural area, primarily forestry land. At the starting line we ran to our bikes to begin a 19km ride on gravel road to a more central area of the park. Race favorites Tecnu set a blistering pace to start off and several of the teams, including us, drilled this section as well, in an attempt to stay in touch with Tecnu. Consequently, most of the faster teams ended up at TA1 within a few minutes of each other. After 50 mins of high-intensity riding in the mid-day sun, I was pretty gassed by the time we reached TA1. Once there, we quickly switched to trekking gear and headed off on logging roads to the 5 CPs we would get on this section. Unlike most of the other teams, we attacked the CPs in reverse order. We shortly turned onto an overgrown forest road to approach CP5.<br />
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We jogged it when we could and hiked it through the thicker parts. My navigation was not good for this CP; we significantly overshot the departure point from the trail, where we would bushwhack down to East Brook Lake. Because of this, when we hit the lake, we had to laboriously work through the dense lakeside forest for about 0.4 mi before hitting the CP. Along the way, Nick received a half-dozen stings from some ground hornets we disturbed.<br />
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Rather than continue working through the dense woods, we decided to walk along the northern edge of the lake as we approached. I'm not sure this was any faster or less clunky (lots of slippery rocks and soft mud underfoot), but it was a lot cooler.<br />
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Soon we entered back into the woods to continue bushwhacking toward a trail on the map that approached our next target CP4. We have now done several races in rural Maine and Canada and the bushwhacking is generally pretty unpleasant. I don't know if it's because it has been logged so many times or whether it's just the latitude/ecosystem. You generally are faced with slow, brushy, scratchy vegetation and uneven footing. It really takes a toll, especially since, mosquitoes and flies can then take advantage of your slow speed. One occasional bonus in this race was the presence of rough corridors of mossy boulders which you could traverse instead of fighting branches and bushes (see video)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We navigated well to CP4 in this scenic spot - you can see the flag over Nick's left shoulder.</td></tr>
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CP 3 was an easy find near a beaver dam after running a few km on forest roads (see video)<br />
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CP2 was a farther run/hike on more dirt roads. The clue was "15m north of skidder chains". I had plotted it in a spot about 200m off the trail. We searched the bug-laden area and found no clue of its whereabouts. It also just didn't seem like any place where you would find skidder chains, and rechecking the coordinates, I found that I had misplotted it by about 400m. We quickly ran down to the correct location but still were fumbling around without success. Then, Nick and I noticed a big-ass pile of skidder chains right on the road; we had passed by them twice without noticing. Aarrggh! We finally punched the CP but not before wasting a big chunk of time. Following this, we ran more dirt road kms to an easy find of CP1 and then back to TA1/2 where we had left our bikes.<br />
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At this point, a certain heat-intolerant member of the team had been without water for a couple hours and was in a less-than-optimal place to begin the warm sunny 19km bike back to race HQ. Indefatigable Rob helped me along with some backwoods MacGyv-AR towing using a foraged root which we held onto at each end.<br />
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The ensuing paddle leg was a nice break from the heat and forest. We had a calm lake paddle, followed by a grassy winding river paddle and then a short-ish portage before hitting First Lake. There were 2 portage sections per paddle leg. Both were very awkward and frustrating, with 6-18" of water covering slick, bruising boulders and random deeper holes. We never really figured out the best way to get through these sections; the other teams we saw seemed to pass through more easily than we did.<br />
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Following this was a paddle through First lake toward on-land CP6 as the sun set. This was another frustrating time-loser characterized by very dense bushwhacking, lots of bugs, unlucky nav, unlucky interpretation of the clue and questionable accuracy of the provided CP location relative to the nearby road feature. We also spent some time not finding where we left our canoe on the bank, once we re-emerged from the thicket.<br />
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Next (after portage #2) was paddling the 3 mi length of Lake Wauklahegan under a fantastic array of stars. The night paddle experience at our previous Race the Phantom proved that glassy lake paddling under a clear starlit sky is best done without lights. Surveying for obstacles in the low light tests one's observations skills, however the lack of glare from artificial light is actually a benefit.<br />
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TA3 was probably one of the longest TAs we have ever had. We were cold, wet and hungry and because of our issues thus far, we were not doing well in the race and a little demoralized. We spent a large chunk of time changing clothes, eating our donairs (yum!) and gearing up for the long upcoming bike leg. We got to spend some time chatting and joking with TA volunteers Scott and Marlana, whom I had spent a weekend with <a href="http://nhtrailvets.blogspot.com/2014/06/volunteering-at-untamed-new-england.html">previously</a>, manning a TA at Untamed New England 2014. By the time we left, spirits were lifted and we headed off toward the town of McAdam, NB in the cooling humid night air.<br />
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I'll summarize the bike leg: 10 CPs over ~125km of dirt roads. Hills were generally mild. The CPs were a bit off the road - near lakes, in trees, on objects and not too hard to find. There was a big navigation decision to be made about halfway through. It was the classic AR bike route decision: the shorter, more technical route of unknown surface quality or the longer ride on better roads? We chose the latter and we think it was the right choice. We heard of several teams having significant problems after choosing the shorter, sketchier route. Our route added a lot more kms to the loop and also a pretty large descent/ascent into/out of the St. John river valley, but we had no delays and generally did well on this leg.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z2zeSgCr6coUmoO4NJr4tTqatttz09qOxMWmlZF3b3lKnYz516VIs8xsVWO-hgkkRytU3jojfF36z70dA99YTCBg4kfTo5mWqny4MGhHyQvYdFeguTFJucUmDJWmR90E0OU0u7wakL8/s1600/P7300012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z2zeSgCr6coUmoO4NJr4tTqatttz09qOxMWmlZF3b3lKnYz516VIs8xsVWO-hgkkRytU3jojfF36z70dA99YTCBg4kfTo5mWqny4MGhHyQvYdFeguTFJucUmDJWmR90E0OU0u7wakL8/s640/P7300012.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The big bike leg - a lotta lotta this.</td></tr>
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Troy was waiting at CP11 with baked potatoes, beans and cola - a lovely mid-night treat. As the sun rose, we made our way through tiny Canterbury and onto the flat and fast NB rail trail. We grabbed a few CPs on a moderately hilly loop off the rail trail in the early AM hours before re-joining it and heading back to McAdam.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenic spot for CP 14 just after sunrise - it was located near the far end of the water, top center. Thank you Rob!</td></tr>
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We made decent time through this leg but my bike legs had never really recovered. By the time we hit the last 10km of rail trail, my "Check Engine" light was flashing red. A final delirious push and some more MacGyv-AR towing brought this epic leg to a close at TA4, where we would paddle back to the finish line.<br />
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When we arrived at the TA, we noticed that Monkeys Throwing Darts, whom we had been chasing all night, were just leaving the TA. This time we transitioned fairly quickly and set up for a reverse of our last paddle, back to race HQ. Being 3 relatively strong racers in a canoe, we had decent horsepower and passed a couple teams along the way. We caught Monkeys at the second portage, but we were again thwarted by the awkward rocky traverse and they regained a 2 minute lead on us. We were not able to close much of this gap on the winding grassy river, but once it opened up onto Spednic Lake, we laid into a fast cadence and began gaining. This was high drama - two teams paddling for 3rd place in the last km of the race. Monkeys Throwing Darts were a team of 2 and, eventually, our extra manpower proved to be too much of an advantage. We hit the boat ramp about 30 seconds before they did, but then had to carry the canoe to the finish line. The canoe felt like it was filled with wet sand at this point, but we were able to maintain our thin lead and steal the last podium spot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gritting it out to the finish line with Monkeys Throwing Darts close on our tail. This is equivalent to a photo-finish, in a 24 hour adventure race! Photo: NSAR</td></tr>
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And then we were done, logging 130 miles in a bit under 22 hours. What a relief. We spent some time talking the race over with race staff and our fellow racers before taking some minutes to rinse off in the lake, grab a <a href="http://picaroons.ca/">Picaroon's</a> beer or two (thank you!), eat some freshly grilled goodies and catch a nap. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Tecnuadventureracing/">Tecnu</a> grabbed first place with a solid margin of victory and provided a number of the race prizes as well. We'd like to send out a great big international thanks to race directors/designers, volunteers and sponsors for making it all happen. We look forward to our next trip to the Maritimes.NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-18441554684375358052016-07-28T19:27:00.000-07:002016-08-09T17:16:26.986-07:00Maine Summer Adventure Race - 8hr. Jefferson, MEI scoped out this race early in the year as a good first race to do with my son, Reed (13). It being close (~2hr drive) and pretty short (8 hr) made it a nice intro. I dragged Reed along on rides, runs and a paddle for the months leading up to it because it's, you know, a race, after all and I knew a decent finish would be rewarding (for him, of course).<br />
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A 4:10 AM alarm gave us time to eat a quick bite and drive up to Jefferson, ME in time for the 7:00 check-in. Although a short race and in its inaugural run, there was a great turnout of teams - 25 in the 8 hr race and several more in a concurrent 3-hour race. Kate and Cliff White were directing for their AR outfit, <a href="http://strongmachine.weebly.com/">Strong Machine</a>, with the help of the staff at race HQ: <a href="http://hvnc.org/">Hidden Valley Nature Center</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpLQ8Ti_29IzqEwB30Xr7xGqBj9d75SPavIKvXp0-QlTDmvvt7Fq5-GbqZyNr3etVJzfqEIwUZ29ijbS414TSm3Q7L53gNSeBq_P27tb1YUqroySoJfodMKKpHdhmnM3-qikg9PlwR5E/s1600/0W2A1042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGpLQ8Ti_29IzqEwB30Xr7xGqBj9d75SPavIKvXp0-QlTDmvvt7Fq5-GbqZyNr3etVJzfqEIwUZ29ijbS414TSm3Q7L53gNSeBq_P27tb1YUqroySoJfodMKKpHdhmnM3-qikg9PlwR5E/s640/0W2A1042.jpg" width="462" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JS O'Connor photography</td></tr>
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The order of disciplines would be: short memory-O, road bike, lake kayak, road & trail bike, and then a final long O section at HVNC.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding on leg 2. It was a warm/hot humid day. Finding shade on country roads was helpful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paddling on pretty lake Damariscotta, leg 3. We went after 4 of the possible 8 points on this big lake, It was a really nice time out on the water with this kid.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">JS O'Connor photography</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After we decided to spend a little extra time at TA3 and take a quick dip in the lake to cool off before the hottest part of the race - the 2nd bike leg. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding one of many scenic country roads. It was good that we started off wet on this warm sunny, hilly ride.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A short singletrack section heading back into HVNC at the end of bike 2. This was kind of soft and humpy - not real easy to ride.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After finishing Bike 2, we had 2 hrs left to get as many CPs as we could off the HVNC trails. We had to swim to this one, on an island in Little Dyer Pond. I love it when you have to swim in adventure races. A nice cool-off.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trekking around on the last leg. Reed was still going strong after 7+ hrs. We jogged most of the trails we were on.</td></tr>
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The final orienteering section ran a bit slower than we thought: we only found 5 CPs in 2 hours. We jogged into the finish line with about 12 minutes to spare. This was good enough for 11th place out of 25 teams. The post-race spread was ideal: home cooked locally sourced mac-n-cheese and toppings, quinoa salads and a delicious keg of beer from <a href="http://oxbowbeer.com/">Oxbow Brewing</a>. We had an awesome time and will surely be back for any future editions of the race. Big thanks to Kate and Cliff, the folks at HVNC and all the sponsors and volunteers that made it happen.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kudos on a job well done. <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">JS O'Connor photography</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span></td></tr>
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<br />NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-86043518901159208012016-06-14T19:23:00.002-07:002016-06-15T18:38:46.290-07:00NYARA The Longest Day. 6/11/16We finally got another Longest Day after a series of bureaucratic/permitting delays. This year the race was held in western Connecticut - Bridgewater Fire Station was the race HQ. We hadn't seen much of CT other than congested highways and this was a stark difference. Although only 10-15 minutes from the interstate, this area consisted of tidy, pleasant small towns, rolling green agrarian landscapes and old roads with correspondingly old names (Judd's Mill, Battle Swamp, Hat Shop Hill). We spent a lot of time traversing these areas as we navigated to different patches of forest, where the CPs were hidden.<br />
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Compared to most other races, this one was very low-key. Because of the prior reschedulings and permitting uncertainties, it was hard to mass-market the race on short notice. It drew a fairly small crowd of racers, mostly friends and familiar faces - not a bad thing.<br />
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Race prep began early (4:30 alarm) but the race didn't start until 8:00. This allowed an unusually leisurely start to the race - no rushing around with gear/maps and plenty of time for breakfast and hanging out before we all set off.</div>
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The race was to start with a paddle-trek-paddle on the Housatonic river (more like a lake here). The provided watercraft were tandem sit-on-top kayaks (ugh). These highly uncomfortable vessels are unfortunately quite common in AR because they can be locally sourced in bulk. With 2-man kayaks and a team of 3, that leaves one boat with only one paddler, so we teamed up with the Rev3 team to split our two 3-man squads into 3 boats.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob pre-race prep.</td></tr>
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We had a short (3 km) downhill run to the kayak put-in. After boarding the boats, we headed to the first CP, to the north, then a U-turn to head back south. After 140 minutes of paddling (ugh), we reached our next stop, Upper Paugusset State Forest. Once ashore, it was a quick transition to run/trek mode to pick up 4 off-trail CPs in a counterclockwise loop that was ~6 mi in a little under 2 hrs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpUDptFAlKQY-vnXawj-Yyrdq8g3dd4yhyphenhypheng-1l8a_YS-hHyUzd6ieLhdYl4Pyhy5WIqGUyW6RqAScLm3i_WqnAYUwXUVQOHsPFGBAQdXlONRyPd43XLIQ029xCTHkjw9pHWCXpJLS09c/s1600/13435425_10207492675568350_7919597937097337872_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpUDptFAlKQY-vnXawj-Yyrdq8g3dd4yhyphenhypheng-1l8a_YS-hHyUzd6ieLhdYl4Pyhy5WIqGUyW6RqAScLm3i_WqnAYUwXUVQOHsPFGBAQdXlONRyPd43XLIQ029xCTHkjw9pHWCXpJLS09c/s640/13435425_10207492675568350_7919597937097337872_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob and Nick at CP1</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running with Rev3 on 1st trek. A coyote bolted across the trail behind me right after I took this.</td></tr>
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Soon, the comparatively comfortable trail running was over and it was time to jump back in the kayaks (ugh.) to finish the paddle: 70 more minutes. It had begun showering during the trek and once we were out on the water, the rain really unloaded on us. This wasn't really a problem though; the weather wasn't cold and visibility was not really needed for this long journey on the flat river. We paddled about 14 mi total. We were a little under 6 hours into the race by the end of the paddle.<br />
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The kayak leg finished near a spot where we had dropped our bikes and some gear early in the morning. We spent a few minutes here eating, switching a little gear and getting some drier clothes before setting off on a lengthy bike leg. The rain had stopped but humid conditions persisted for the duration of the race.<br />
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We spent the next 10 hours and 78 km on our bikes. It was about 50% trails (mostly singletrack), 30% pavement and 20% gravel/dirt roads. Points of note were:<br />
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- A sweet singletrack loop at George C Waldo State Park<br />
- Lots of scenic (and hilly) road miles traveling between various local trail systems<br />
- Plenty of trail miles featuring flowy sections, wet technical stuff, steep hike-a-bikes and exploring little-known terrain on grown-in trails.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Nick and Mr. Dave Lamb punching a scenic CP early on in the bike leg.<br />
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There were 2 major team events during the bike leg that could have ended our race. The first occurred about a third of the way through: A loud pop from Nick's bike followed by an expletive and then a bike inspection revealing a dangling rear derailleur. The bolt that attaches the derailleur hanger to the frame had sheared off. We sorted through the problem for a while and brainstormed about potential field repair techniques. On a whim, Rob threaded an old CO2 cartridge into the bolt hole and it fit perfectly. After a few adjustments, it was realigned, but the bike still wouldn't pedal. 2 chain links were bent during the bolt breakage. After fixing the chain, we were back in the game. We sat on the trail for a good 40 minutes assessing and fixing the bike but no teams caught up to us, which was encouraging. Rev3 and a solo racer (Thorin) were the only ones ahead of us. Our odds of catching them were low after this time loss but one rule in AR is that you never stop charging because you never know what will befall the teams ahead of you.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spent 40 minutes here fixing Nick's bike</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CO2 cartridge engaged; time to fix the chain</td></tr>
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Many hours later, well into the night, we were faced with big problem number 2. We had left our bikes on the trail and proceeded laboriously into some thick vegetation to find a CP at the edge of a swamp. I eventually spotted the flag and turned to notify Rob, who was carrying the passport. I noticed the pouch we had been keeping the passport in was unzipped and gaping open - uh oh. Passport gone. Race Directors are generally nice, trusting folks but they understandably want to see some kind of proof that you found the CPs, and we had just lost ours. We had been searching through thick brush for about 10 minutes to find the flag and now had to try to retrace our steps looking for a dropped passport. We searched for about 15 minutes and found nothing. We searched the trail, the bikes, other pockets/pouches/papers - nothing. We started heading back to the previous CP to search when Rob cried "Here it is!" from the edge of the woods. Wow - huge surge of relief. Saved again by perseverance and a boatload of luck.<br />
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We wrapped up the rest of the bike leg with more trail riding and a pretty long road trip in the balmy night air to the next TA. We had very little contact with other teams during the 10 hour bike, which was cool. It was a well-designed bike leg but it took a long time. All of the controls had been significantly off-trail and generally difficult to locate even with accurate navigation and map-reading. This theme continued throughout the subsequent treks and really slowed the course down. It became clear that the predicted finish times provided for the course were very underestimated and that acquiring the 22-25 CPs on the trek leg was not possible. It was now 1:00 AM, as we set off on foot for the remainder of the race to see how many more CPs we could accumulate before the 8:00 finish cut-off time.<br />
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We spent the next 4 hours trekking about 8 miles total through the wooded gentle hills surrounding the Shepaug River (including a slippery cooling shallow ford of it). Many CPs were challenging to locate and map-reading/decision-making was suffering a bit from sleepiness. This 2:00 to 5:00 AM period is the hardest stretch to maintain focus and determination in an overnight race. Also, the flags were not reflective and moisture in the air was blocking the headlamp beam, adding to delays in CP-bagging. So we weren't exactly burning up the course at this point. The last CP was at an overlook known as "The Pinnacle". Here we were treated to a wide-ranging vista in the blue pre-dawn calm, with fog filling the lowlands below us to the west.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirty tired people at the Pinnacle.</td></tr>
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We finished up this leg by heading out of this forested patch and onto a road north of Washington Depot at 5:30 AM. The next task we now realized was a ~3 mi road trek/run to the next TA. Okay, we got that done. Then we (me) messed up the approach trail to the TA, adjacent to the Shepaug, which cost us 15 min or so and a bit more trekking.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Met this nesting mama near the TA</td></tr>
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When we arrived, we got co-RD Joe's instruction to proceed to the final TA which had been changed into the finish line. We would skip the final 2 trek sections. The trot to the finish line would entail 6+ mi of trekking and running, initially on rail trail and then gravel road and pavement.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKA8U_p20lc8rJJSV9Vsl0gItAuDDNnsuoDg46QqJNULrYj4mfNmNH3D84YXN7WjOktgOYegmVpfzmbVv0weP_nClljmcW52qje9IEVPahJjmANLZzOpgF888ooGJohEmHPeldojJgc4Q/s1600/P6120053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKA8U_p20lc8rJJSV9Vsl0gItAuDDNnsuoDg46QqJNULrYj4mfNmNH3D84YXN7WjOktgOYegmVpfzmbVv0weP_nClljmcW52qje9IEVPahJjmANLZzOpgF888ooGJohEmHPeldojJgc4Q/s320/P6120053.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rustic railroad tunnel</td></tr>
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About halfway through this, we realized that, to make the final time cutoff, we needed to haul buttocks. So we mustered a strong run on tired legs for the last 3 miles to finish out the race after 23 hrs 45 mins of playing outside.<br />
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At the finish line we sat on our butts for a nice spell, got some drinks, chatted with the esteemed former RD's of this race, Rodney and Amy, and then made a slow 4 mile bike ride back to the Fire Station for grub, naps, hanging out and re-packing the car. We came in 2nd behind Rev3, who got to 2 more trek CPs than us and finished an hour earlier - well done.<br />
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We would like to thank Austin Planz, Joe Brautigam and the crew of NYARA volunteers for their hard work in making this race happen. We are lucky to have such motivated folks around to arrange these great races and perpetuate our tiny sport!<br />
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NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2333683780996022962.post-68857468735130970422016-05-25T11:45:00.000-07:002016-05-25T12:45:15.376-07:00Presidential Traverse 5/20/16On Wednesday, we got a short-notice invite to join in on a traverse of the Presidential range with a veritable AR all-star team featuring west coast guest Kyle Peter (of the top-ranked US team Adventure Medical Kits). It took some last-minute scrambling of schedules but Rob and Mason made it happen. Ironically, Nick "I love the White Mountains especially the Presidentials" Cassotis was the one of us who couldn't make it (daughter's wedding).<br />
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From SectionHiker.com: <span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">One of the great hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire is called a Presidential Traverse. It’s so-called because hikers climb all of the mountains in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in one continuous hike that’s nearly 23 miles long with close to 9,000 feet of elevation gain</span><br />
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Rob and I each bagged 2 hrs of sleep Thurs night prior to a very early Seacoast departure for a 5:30 AM rendezvous with Kyle and fellow AR strongman Jason Urckfitz. For various reasons, other invitees couldn't make it and we were the 4 remaining. Rob and I had a little anxiety about keeping up with these horses for a day-long hike but it wasn't an issue. The pace would be deliberate but moderate overall with short stops for views/snacks etc.<br />
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We dropped a car at the endpoint (Elephant Head on Rt. 302) and drove ~30 mins to the start at Appalachia trailhead on Rt.2. The first task was to climb almost exactly 4000ft in only 3.6mi to reach the summit of Mt. Madison. This began as a moderate climb and then a steep climb through forest before breaking out above treeline for some stunning panoramic views (which we would have for much of the next 6 hours).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning from Mt. Madison</td></tr>
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Once above treeline, the terrain changed to a giant pile of boulders. This would persist for the next 2 peaks as well (Adams and Jefferson). Its a challenge to move with speed across a pile of boulders, especially when you would occasionally slip on their dry-appearing green lichen coating.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason. Boulder scree descent</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kyle. Boulders. Lots of boulders.</td></tr>
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After the first few peaks, the boulders let up a little and we would hike on small boulders, gravelly stuff and even a few patches of dirt. The ascent of Mt. Washington was actually pretty easy, only a moderate climb compared to the earlier peaks. At the summit of Mt.W, which was about the halfway point, we took 20 minutes to grab a seat on an indoor bench and enjoy a drink and a snack. We cooled off a bit at this point. Temps has been 40s to 50s but we were working hard on some climbs (and descents - did I mention they were bouldery?) and feeling warm. Once we stopped moving on the top of 40 degree Mt.W, we started to cool off and each added a layer and gloves before resuming the trek. These items were removed shortly however, as we worked up a sweat in the beautiful sun at 5000ft on our next descent/ascent toward Mt. Monroe.<br />
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The next few peaks (Monroe, Eisenhower and Pierce) involved relatively short climbs and overall better footing/groundspeed, with an occasional runnable stretch of trail. Spectacular weather and views were the norm for this highly enjoyable section.<br />
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The last part of the hike - to Mt. Jackson and the descent to the dropped car - were below treeline. This meant lots of typical White Mtns terrain - wet, rocky, rooty trails as well as a few areas of iced-over trail. For some reason I had been sweating my ass off during this traverse despite the relatively cool temps and not-excessive pace. I had plowed through my 2.5L of water and had been eating handfuls of alpine snow at every opportunity but I was out of water and very thirsty. Kyle lent me a full bike bottle (which I subsequently refilled twice at streams) and Jason offered a big slug of nuun but dehydration persisted. After we finished, I polished off half of a water bottle in my car and consumed 2 LARGE drinks from McDonalds and still had no need to use the bathroom until after 9 PM that night. I am a generally sweaty, heat-intolerant guy but this was a new low.<br />
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We continued on the wooded trails, made one short nav error and then headed up to Mt. Jackson. I just learned that Mt. Jackson is named after Charles Thomas Jackson, a geologist and not Andrew Jackson the president. Thus, Mt. Jackson need not be included to qualify as a Presidential traverse. We got our last wide-ranging views from Mt. Jackson and then headed down 2.6 miles to the car. 2.6 mi downhill sounds easy but it really wasn't. Most of this section was steep technical rocky downhill which was slow and not super comfortable on worked-over quads. Not my favorite hiking terrain but these ancient eroded streambeds which pass for trails are typical in the Whites. It's probably good training for something.<br />
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Kyle had had enough of our slow downhilling and skipped ahead for last bit and we met back at the car to upload data and change out of wet shoes and clothes (in that order) before shuttling back to the other end of the traverse and settling into the 2.5 hr drive home.<br />
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We were very lucky with our weather for the traverse. I kept thinking about how lousy (to be frank) this hike would be if you were stuck in a cloud and hiked for 10-11 hrs without any decent views. With stops, we clocked in just under 11 hrs for the trek, covered 21.4 mi and climbed just over 9000 ft.NHtrailvetshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03255547512021273062noreply@blogger.com1