Training Log Archive: JayXC

Laundry, unpacking, sleep, figuring out how to use our new espresso maker...

Ride and Tie cont'd

After returning back to the TA we served our 30 minute penalty by sleeping for 45 minutes at the campfire. Very much needed.

Bike ride to the finish.

A mix of logging roads and snowmobile trails led us to a bushwhack to make it to the roads on the other side of the hills. This section was kind of a blur as I was struggling to keep my eyes open until daylight. Once on the gravel roads again we travelled well and saw MBR and ATP along the way up to CP33. We upped the pace again over the remainder of the course and rode into the finish happy to be done with the bike.
We checked in and received the Leg 6 rogaine points to plot. A quick look indicated that there was no chance we'd be able to score even 1 point prior to the 10am cut-off so we turned in our passport to finish up at 9:08 am.

Overall we had a lot of fun as a team and worked well together. During the long trekking section I questioned the choice to race the rogaine 10 days prior but I doubt that had much bearing on our finish since Granite was there also and they finished ahead of us as did Barb from RF. In the end it was our route choice and our stubbornness to change it that did us in there.

Thanks to the race staff and volunteers for a great event and congrats to all the finishers.

After the breakfast we sorted gear and then took a nap until 3pm then headed for home finally getting into my bed at 3am.

C • Nice Story! 2

Trek from hell continued.

Bike-O (with 1 point?)

This was a cool idea but due to time constraints the number of points to obtain was dropped to a very easy 1 and the fastest route was an out and back (obviously).

Trek/swim-
I liked this idea also but didn't enjoy the out and back nature of the point layout. I would have preferred to have done a linear loop here so that it had more of a purpose. I was very happy to hit this in the warm afternoon however. Getting into that water at 50F would have been much tougher.

I really wonder how we spent 8 hours on this leg 4. It didn't seem that long and we didn't sleep. MBR beat us out of here in the process so we were now in 7th.

Our plan was to sleep in the Primus Camp upon our return from the swim but when checking in we were told that there was a cut-off at the ride and tie for teams on the shortened course. We were not shortened but didn't know if the same cut-off applied to us so we transitioned quickly and headed out. It didn't take too long until we were nearly falling asleep on the bike so we stopped for a quick 5 minute nap. Technu came riding by just as we were were getting up and we trailed them all the way to the TA getting there just at 8pm.

Hells Gate Waterfall hike
Using their harness each team member was tied together with a rope and then sent up the creek on a walk the line section to collect 8 points in the creek. That rock was extremely slippery and Jennifer and I both took a nice fall. The actual falls were quite a sight but we only caught a glimpse of it in the dark. The darkness also shut down the conservation site so we hiked back to the TA on the trail and were told that we'd have to serve a 30 minute penalty before we could leave.

Bike ride and tie-
With one bike and all 4 teammates we had to collect 2 CP's in a creek. We put all of our mandatory gear in Jeff' and my pack and off we went with Jeff on the bike. There was quite a climb right out of the gate and we stopped for a quick 15 minute nap along the way. We found the creek and hiked down then ran back to the TA.

Portage down the road since the wheels were already on to the OB section where we put-in just in front of Technu Extreme who must have had a good o-relay.
Its a short paddle to the take out at a river confluence prior to a bridge. We arrive at the TA just ahead of Technu who took a slightly circuitous route through town.

The transition from paddle to mtn bike is at a fire station in town and they've made us spagetti, excellent. We quickly change into bike gear and pack the trekking and ropes gear along with enough food for 24 hours into our packs then load everything else into the paddle bag. Running Free and Granite are the only teams to join us as everyone else (Danes, Kinetics and Technu) head out without eating the hot food. The 'Danes had 16 minute TA, nice! As with most sections what I thought would be pretty straight forward turned into kind of a pain as the paved road turned into a gravel road then into a path and pretty soon we're bushwhacking down hill with Granite and RF in what might be a snowmobile trail in the winter but is currently a muddy mess. We finally hit a nice trail and head towards a snowmobile trail which we expect crosses a creek and takes us to a nice road. Only issue is we don't find the trail and after some searching decide to just bushwhack across. Fortunately we find a herd path which takes us to the creek and the road with minimal bushwhacking but I do get my only pair of dry socks soaked crossing. The remainder of the ride is on gravel trails and Jeff comments that there doesn't seem to be too many tracks in front of us. Eventually we're on paved roads heading to the TA where we find out we're in third behind RF and Granite who are just leaving. Must have been something in the spagetti. :-) Given our route and the amount of time I thought we wasted searching it seemed we'd be hours behind already.
At this point in the race we'd been moving pretty conservatively and we were right in the thick of it which was encouraging and a lot of fun.

After the 2005 App Extreme I swore I never wanted to trek thru pine scrub like we'd seen in that race ever again. Fast forward to 2010 and not only would I be in it here again but 2 of the three summit CP's were on the same peaks. Are you kidding me???? At least this time up Magalloway Mtn we used the trail. Same bushwhack down the south side to the trail at the bottom. Its still just as thick as I remembered it. We hit the trail at the bottom and headed towards the ropes course miles away. We were able to see exactly where we were overall as the leg into the ropes course was an out and back. Guats and Technu had passed us on the way also so we were now in 6th.
We made relatively quick work of the ropes and then headed out for the next summit CP on a mountain lake where we saw Technu again. The trek to the next CP was miserable as we tried to ride the side of the ridge and encountered thick vegetation the whole way. Fortunately as we approached the CP we were able to zero in on it pretty easily as we were all familiar with its placement and the number of false summits in the area. Daylight also helped unfortunately.

We now had burned up a ton of time getting there and had just a short amount of time left to get to the Primus Camp before the time cut-off. We put in a decent effort and made it there at 7:45 am with 15 minutes to spare. GOALS ARA 2 had beat us there while Milton Basement Runners and BRAT came in right behind us and also made it. There were only 8 teams on the full course now which was comforting but we were now hours behind the leaders and had shredded feet.

The TA was stocked with stoves and tents as well as our personal and paddle bins so we ate some hot food and refilled on fluids but choose not to sleep.

Event: Untamed New England 3-Day Adventure Race
 

Untamed New England- Dixville Knotch, NH

Roushunter, Sony and I teamed up with CP0 navigator Peter Jolles for this race. After racing against him numerous times over the years we knew he'd be an asset to the team and would fit right in.

The first portion of the race was a o-paddle prologue for 4 controls in the Second Connecticut Lake. Cannon blast and we're off. Boat set-up was 3 people in a Old Town 16.9 and 1 person in a 12 ft. kayak with a leash between the two. Nearly everyone else had the same idea except for a few who elected to put 4 in the canoe and just tow the kayak behind them as a dingy. Team Guats seemed to be benefit from this configuration but others did not and I suspect Guats would have been fast regardless. With 41 teams paddling for the 4 points in the small lake it was mayhem at the controls, simiar to a piranah feeding frenzy and I had to be a jerk to get the first passport punch in a timely fashion.

It became apparent that tying the boats together was faster in the open water but tougher to maneuver around everyone else at the controls so we untied the kayak as we approached and dove in with just the canoe as the kayak floated towards the next control which was a big improvement.

I estimate we were around 15th by the 4th control and as we approached the end of the lake for the take-out it looked pretty congested and kind of steep so we took out early at a nice sandy shore, quickly put the wheels on and off we went down the road in 3rd place, nice!

The portage was going very well right up until we hit the Moose Alley trail portion which was very rough and didn't allow us to use our wheels. Its in this section I realized that I'm no match for an 85 lb canoe filled with 4 backpacks, 4 gallons of water, and portage wheels ("isn't it ironic..") We punched CP1 along the way and finally came to the 1st conservation project at a dirt road enabling us to se the wheels again.

Conservation Project #1

Drop the canoe and packs and run along the trail to a pile of planks, logs, hammers and nails. Each team has to grab one of each and 2 nails and run further up the trail to extent the trail over the bog. Kind of a fun task as long as you avoid running into the logs and planks coming at you on the narrow trail... We're told to keep the hammer for the next project. Great! Relevant uses of the word hammer ensues. "We're gonna hammer this course, Let's put the hammer down, Its hammer time!, Some times you're the hammer, some times you're the nail." You get the picture.

From CP2 we hop into a small creek and paddle to First Connecticut Lake for 2 points which are pretty straight forward with one small portage in the middle. We're in 4th place at the put-in while Granite puts in right behind us as does Running Free.
The benefit of following teams on the lake is you can see where teams ahead of you beach their boats and attack the point from and where the first team exits the woods from the CP. Using this information we're able to pass 3 teams with quick punches while they were still searching in the woods. Guats passes us back along the way to the take-out while Running Free catches us just as we get out.
I really enjoyed this section of the paddle as the sun was setting with dead calm conditions. This section could have been miserable with a little wind and rain.
Another quick transition to wheels and we run down the road Francis Lake. Somehow Guats comes up from behind us on the carry which really confused me as they had already passed us on the water prior. As we put in we can see one team about 5 minutes down the lake which I think was the 'Danes who must have put in just after the dam.
We paddle across the lake and take out on the other side, quick transition to wheels again and down the road to the river. It was along this run that I realized how much the local community was into the race. Every car waved to us and shouted encouragement and it was apparent that Grant had done a good job of getting them hyped up. Had to laugh at the girls taking a picture of Sony taking a leak just prior to the put-in. "No autographs please".
The river portion of the paddle was pretty fun up until it became dark enough that you couldn't see the slightly submerged rocks, then it became a game of Rock Bingo. At least I wasn't in my own canoe this time. Fortunately we don't have any major run-ins and make it to the take-out for the O-Relay without swimming.

Conservation Project #2-
Take-out and carry to a parking lot for the next project.

Using our hammer from before we're to take 2 trail markers and 4 nails onto the new section of trail, find a tree with pink ribbon and replace the ribbon with the markers, then return back.
Once finished we are to complete the relay with each team member heading out on an o-course solo with different degrees of length and difficulty. Since on;y one team member was on the course at a time the others got a chance to relax and dry off at the fire, read some shout-outs from home, eat, drink and chat with others which was a nice break and a lot of fun.
We managed to enter and exit this section in third right behind Guats ? and about 15 minutes behind the 'Danes.

Travelled to Dixville Knotch, NH with EG.