Training Log Archive: JayXC

RDM-SEA-DTW-ROC

Reverse route across the scree.

Back on the bikes with everything in the bag on to stay warm. We descended down from the bike drop only to have to bikepush up the next mountain to the radio tower at the top. Fortunately there was a beautiful sunrise to the east to keep our minds off the uselessness of the task.

Once off that the route quickly spilled out into the desert and into the freezer. My water bottles froze solid. I'm pretty sure I have frostbite on my nose from it. I heard it was in the low 20's.

The route now followed a canal and that spilled out onto a gas line. This would normally be a highlight in most races but after the awesome riding earlier this seemed boring. Fortunately the sun was coming out and by 10am our water bottles were starting to thaw out. By 11am we were in Bend and weaving our way to the last CP at Jason and Chelsea's house. From there it was a simple road ride to the finish.



We ended up winning the Sport division, doomed by our miscue at CP10 days ago which was certainly bittersweet. We ate breakfast burritos and drank beer and hung out with other finishers for a few hours swapping stories which was one of the highlights of the week.


The rest of the day was spent drying and packing gear for the return home. I was up until 10pm and barely set my alarm for 6:45a before collapsing in bed.

C • Good job 3

Up at 4:30a to get prepared for departure at 6:00am sharp. Putting on a wet wetsuit was not as bad as I was expecting.

The river continued to be a ton of fun and we were at the take out in no time. I felt bad for the team that had camped along the river within 400m of the takeout as we passed them waking up.

This trek was nothing special from a course design standpoint, just basically a shuttle to the TA along roads but the views were still spectacular to the west. The highlight of the route was running into Dave Romilly who had driven down from Portland in his adventure van and then ridden out to greet us on his bike. We shared stories and the miles flew by.

The TA was at the end of a cul de sac to nowhere. We put our bikes together and the set out on the short ride to the next foot section only to discover that there was a park just behind the overpass behind the TA with a working bathroom and running water. I have no idea why the TA wasn't right there instead.

We crossed over the Crooked River Gorge and then took a sketchy bikewhack under the highway to the trail. Not long after this we struggled to find the correct trail off the road, continuing to waste more time. Eventually we came up with a plan and executed it finding our way to the OHV park and the next Foot-O section.

It seemed every time we arrived at a TA we were informed of course changes and or new cut-off times. Eventually they all started to blend together. Our new cut-off for this next section was now 1930 hrs. When we finally put it together we only had time for 1 orienteering point. Orienteering points needed to be gathered in 3's and given we had scored 8 on the first O section our choice was either get 1 or get 4 here. 4 was going to be pushing it if we wanted to get to the ropes by the 10pm cutoff (we did).

So after one quick point we were back at the TA getting ready for another cold bike ride.

This was practically all up hill. Specifically, granny gear climb, fist full of brakes descent, bike push climb all with a whipping wind that nearly blew us over numerous times as we approached the bike drop.

We found a small sheltered spot to drop the bikes and change into trekking shoes for the trek to the ropes. It was all down hill from here on scree-covered slopes to the ropes. The view was fantastic!

We arrived at the climb site and checked in with 30 minutes to spare. NYARA was ahead of us, Perpetual Motion was ahead of them and some sketchy foreign team was ahead of them clogging up the ropes.

Erik and I were lead climbing, Mindy and Dave made it over to the top rope section. From the sounds of it they were done in an hour. Erik and I passed our competency test (counting down from 100 alternating by 3's) and headed to the lead climbing site where we ran into a log jam. The team on the ropes was struggling and the rest of us had to sit at the bottom in a cave listening to them yell continuously. Fortunately they decided to throw in the towel at pitch 2 and rappel down.

Once past that things moved smoothly and we eventually started climbing with Erik on lead. The sport climbing route we would be on was called Living Blindly . Perfect. The second pitch was the most fun and challenging. It was essentially a simple angled traverse up until right before the next station where there was a blind corner with very small foot holds to grab and a huge drop-off into forever just past it. The key feature was a blind reach around a corner in search of something to grab. Fortunately there was something suitable and I made it to the belay station without issue.

We made it to the top of the 3rd pitch and the guide stationed at the top pointed out the rappel station to me. It was only about 10 feet away and that's when I realized we were on top of a small spire. The rappel down was simple and seemed too short.

While Erik and I were having a blast, Mindy and Dave were held up in a cave in their bivy sacks freezing and trying to get some sleep. We were at the climb site for about 5 hours.

This point until morning was spent on some of the best singletrack I've ridden in an AR. Its too bad I was nearly asleep the whole time and its kind of amazing I didn't crash with the number of high speed, blind turns. Just complete faith in the red blinker in front of you.

Approaching CP22 we came across Journey waking up from a sleep and waved as we rode past. We messed up the attack for CP22 and ended up following Journey into the correct area. We both ended up peppering the area for the control and were confused by the number of additional trails in the area. Eventually on the last map review we put it together and found the point. Frustration levels were high on the team. Time was getting tight if we wanted to get on the water by the deadline of 3pm. There was another singletrack park we needed to make it through without and mistakes and then a road ride to the TA. Fortunately we made good progress and arrived in time to set off on the paddle.

Knowing we would not make it out of the TA in time to paddle to TA5 we made some gear changes in this TA to ensure we would be warm at TA4.5 later tonight, namely switching out our bivy for a sleeping bag, a thermorest and a complete set of dry clothes to change into.

This next section contained class II-III whitewater but really wasn't a concern with our new Foragers. In fact, these boats are actually a little overkill for this level and river flow but given what the racers faced last year we thought it was a wise move pre-race.

The paddle ended up being a ton of fun. It was practically continuous whitewater the entire way with just a few stretches of flat water along the way. After what seemed like just a few hours we were at the take out for the night. We ended up missing the ability to paddle the entire stretch by about 35 minutes I think.

TA4.5 was at a campground and there was one other team there ahead of us and another team arrived just behind us. The park director greeted us and verified that campfires were not allowed. Too bad, that would have been nice. We quickly changed into dry clothes, set up the tent and sleeping bags then ate a ton of food. Legendary Randy stopped by as did Jason so we were able to get a download on how the race was going at the front. The other teams were not nearly as prepared for a bivy as we were and spent a very cold night waiting for morning in their wet clothes.

Soul-sucking paddle cont'd

This was a pretty cold night and we discovered that the paddle splash was freezing on our paddles, poggies and creating icicles on the edges of our helmets.

The takeout for this leg was at a campground near the large falls with ample signs warning a death if we missed it. The sun was just starting to get warm as we changed which was fortunate and we avoided overdressing. Every paddle TA in this race seemed to be extremely cold.

This trek started to get warm and we found the next creek just in time to re-fill some bottles. Due to our extra time and distance the night before everyone was running pretty low on food by this point as well.

We should have actually filled all of our bladders at this point as this would be the last water source we would see for the next 12 hours. Perhaps something which should have been stressed by the organizers.

The last portion of the trek was a kind of annoying as most of the Forest Service roads in the field were not on the map including the road we needed to find to locate the road sign for the next control. With a bunch of guessing and peppering of the area we eventually found it and then wandered our way to the next TA.

We gathered as much water as we had and dropped a bunch of extra weight then set out in the mid afternoon sun for an orienteering leg which the leaders had been doing in 4 hours.

This was a really cool area with some vegetation lower and narrow ridgelines up high which we used to travel to each of the points. I expect this area was a bit of a concern for Jason and Chelsea as it looked like it had been under snow until very recently.








We rationed H20 and melted snow along the way, finishing it in just over 4 hours completely empty.

We arrived just as the sun was setting and prepared for a cold night of riding. I immediately went for the double tight and legwarmer option as you could actually feel it getting colder by the minute.

There was a small town on our way that we would be able to stop at to pick up some fluid and some highly caffeinated drinks. Not much longer after that we turned away from civilization for the rest of the night. We struggled to find the animal crossing under rte 97 but then made decent progress on the route from there. There was a monster climb followed by a 'significant downhill' which forced me to put on every layer including a puffy I had to stay warm.

The control at the lava tube created a bit of confusion. We could see the control at the bottom of the middle pit but there was no obvious way down. After reading the cluesheet closer we decided the route to it was from the third pit. We used a 3-way relay across the top to Erik down below when we saw his headlamp shining through the correct tunnel. Pretty comical with 4 sleep-deprived racers. This was a major time suck.

Expedition Oregon with Mindy Fernando, DML, Erik Grimm as Untamed New England.

Given this race was put on by the team previously known as the Yogaslackers we figured the technical and suffer aspects of this race were going to be high. Our suspicions were confirmed when the recommended gear list was published. Packrafting, snowshoeing, lead climbing, mtb'ing, trekking and orienteering were on the list. Given that the race was going to be in Bend in April potential temperature swings were also factored in. We had numerous conversations regarding proper gear prior to the event as a team which spurred on multiple purchases. Happy to report that we used all the new gear!

The first leg was a snowshoe orienteering leg. Having raced multiple Snowgaines and Frigid Inflictions we had a pretty good idea of what we were getting ourselves into here.

Every bus/coach ride I take to an event start goes the wrong way and this one was no exception. Eventually we arrived at the start, unloaded, picked up our passport and tracker then lined up for a Lemans-style start.

We opted to put on our snowshoes right away but I think the correct call was to put on microspikes first. The 'trail' to the first CP was packed down pretty well so the snowshoes were overkill.

By the time we reached the first CP they were definitely required as the snow turned to slush in the sun. The snowpack at the higher elevation must have been over 10' which was cool to see.

From CP1 to CP2 it was all uphill to the top of Maiden Peak in a conga line where the views were outstanding.






Almost everyone enjoyed surfing/skiing/glissading down the steep backside. From there we ascended another snow peak and then descended below the snowline to yet another one which required bushwhacking through Manzanita in the afternoon sun. The last little bit was across a floodplain and a creek right before the TA which finally soaked my feet which had been dry in my Gore-Tex up until that point.

We transitioned with Bend Racing, Journey and Norcal with Bones putting on the water just before we arrived. Our transitions seemed slow the entire race. Transitioning can be tricky with the Foragers as everything is stowed in the inflatable portion of the boat which makes the cockpit very comfortable but everything needs to be ready to go before they're inflated.

We decided to just put on our wetsuits and not out drytops which worked fine for this short paddle but if we had to paddle much further it would have been an issue as the wind was blowing the paddle splash everywhere and my hands were freezing when we arrived at the lava field takeout.

I had envisioned the lava field as one big solid flow of rock. That may be the case in Hawaii but in Bend its about a billion different rocks as small as a bowling ball and as big as a VW each as sharp as a knife and delicately balanced, waiting to shift when you step on them.



early steps on the flow

We seemed to be moving ok with our 50 lb + packs in the early portion of it during the daylight. There was a little bit of vegetation that we stayed in but once out into the open field as darkness fell and with headlamps on our pace slowed to a crawl.

The field was not nearly as flat as it appeared on the map either. There was endless moraines traveling perpendicular to our path of travel so we were always going up or down. Mindy struggles with rock hopping in general and with the added possibility here of a nasty gash with a wrong step the ER nurse in here lashed out, cursing the entire time.

After what seemed like forever we heard the sound of peepers in the distance and after a steep decent we were finally done with the lava (for now).

We trekked down a road to a campground on the Wikieup Reservoir where we inflated our rafts along side Norcal and set out paddling north under clear skies and a billion stars for CP 10 with our boats tied together.

After about 30 minutes of paddling Erik expressed some concern with the fact that his (my) boat seemed to be losing air. We stopped to investigate it and heard the telltale sound of air escaping. A quick investigation of the inflation valve showed the problem. They had shut the valve with the small runner I had attached for a handle in it so there was no seal.

There is no way to get air into these boats while someone is in them and given our location in the middle of the reservoir paddling to shore wasn't an option. We chose the only option available to us which was to transfer everyone into the boat Dave and I were in while I blew up their boat manually again. Fortunately we pulled this off without anyone or all of us going for a swim.

Perhaps due to this distraction we messed up our attack to CP10. We paddled right by the opening to the bay for the CP and hit the shallow water of the opposite shore. Our flawed thinking here was that there was a large sandbar jutting out on the south side of the bay and we would have to paddle east towards CP11 then more north to get CP10 when in reality we were already north of it and exploring parallel channels heading NW. Eventually we found the end of one where we realized we had no idea where we were. Dave got out to look around but there was nothing in the area to indicate where we were. Looking at the sat view of our track it looks like we were about 50m SW of a major road. I wish we had done a little more surveying here as I'm sure we could have figured it out with this info.

At the end of our rope we decided to bail on CP10 and head to CP11 knowing we would no longer be on the full course. It was a bit of a letdown.

We made our way to CP11 easily enough as the sun came up and then NW again to the dam, a 1 km portage around the dam and then onto the river portion of the paddle.

Packing

Event: Expedition Oregon
 

ROC-DTW-SEA-RDM