Training Log Archive: Skidder

Crossing the zip-line we pushed our bikes up a steep embankment to a trail. From here we rode out of the bush and into Fort Colounge and through to the Ottawa river where we crossed it with our bikes in 6-person river rafts. From the far side it was a 17-18k ride to the raft put-in for WW rafting. We arrived around 3AM and it was darkzoned until 6:45AM so we did our TA and then got off the clock so we could sleep for a couple hours until 6AM. At 6:45 we were off on a self-guided river raft which took just 45min and we were back on our bikes by 7:30. This left a 30k - 2 hour - ride to the finish but I tried to get clever with the nav and we lost an hour and put on an extra 10k riding trails NE of the raft take out. However we did arrive before 10:30AM at the finish well inside the cut-off and in 4th place in a field of good teams. Only regret is that the 1st trek loosing close to 6 hours probably cost us 2nd or at worst 3rd place.

C • Way to go! 3

CONTINUED FROM DAY2

We wasted a lot of time in the rafts trying to navigate the rivers before finnally realizing around 2 or 3 AM to put away the rafts and resume trekking. We had a little bit of difficulty finding out way but finnally we crossed the Noire river - halfway to CP8 - around 5AM. Once over the river we found a trail and followed it East for 5k where we took a dawn nap from 6:15 until 7AM. Refreshed we headed up the trail and by 7:30 were bushwaking through to near CP8. We hit the trail to the CP around 9 and were there by 9:30AM. We then took a decision to forgo a 7k bushwack for an 18k trail hike to protect getting to CP9/TA4 before the 3PM cut-off. It worked and we were there just before 2PM to discover we were now in 4th and likely no one else would make the cut-off.

Some medical treatment and a slower TA than our previous ones and we were off at 2:45PM knowing that no one else could follow us given the 3PM cut-off and so 4th was guaranteed if we just finished. The last real challenge was to get to CP10 before a 5:30PM darkzone cut-off. We made it there at 5:10 with 20 minutes to spare and so were allowed to continue on the 38k downriver whitewater and swiftwater paddle. Once darkness hit at 7:30PM it was a little frustrating as we kept getting grounded in shallows we couldn't see or avoid. We were probably twice as slow because of this. There wasn't mush left to go though and we got to CP11/TA5 by 9:30. Here Hawkeye fell in the river and had a real battle with Hypothermia and so we had a long casual TA and left around 10:40PM on our bikes. Just before midnight we rolled into the next CP which was a zip line over a dammed falls with our bikes.

We reached Bald Eagle Cliff about 1:30 in the morning and got held up behind 3 other teams for over an hour and so didn't get off the rappell until 3:30AM. We were the last ones to rappell as the ropes were chaffing and they took the ropes down after we got off. The continuing trek to CP4 went well and we were approaching the TA at 6:30AM when I realized I'd dropped my helmet somewhere along route and we spent until 8AM looking for it. We never found it and so hit the TA still well back in the pack around 8:30. A quick TA and we were on the bikes and off by 9AM.

The bike ride went flawlessly and we arrived at the next TA before 5PM - less than 8 hours for a hilly and rocky 90k ride.

A little longer TA this time before we set off on the mega trek of the race. We were still in 9th but had closed the gap on a number of teams. We decided to packraft this segment and left about 5:45 to do a short 2-3 trail trek to out chosen put-in. We lost the trail and just ended up finding water and getting on the lake. By 9PM we had rolled into CP7 now in 6th place. We continued in our packrafts down the lake and into a river system which we hoped would take us near halfway to CP8. By midnight we were bogged down in the rivers with lots of beaver dams and shallows we couldn't paddle or read in the dark. ON TO DAY3

Event: Canadian Adventure Racing Championship
 

The opening of RTNC - we had a 4k LeMas run to the canoe put-in....followed by a beautiful 40k paddle down a mostly whitewater/swiftwater river to the begginning of the 1st trek. It rained the whole time but it was still a lot of fun.

The trek could have gone better as we should've been to Bald Eagle Cliff before midnight but some night nav issues left us still looking as Thursday ended.