Training Log Archive: Browner

Here is a quick summary of my first expedition level adventure race. I was very fortunate to race with four super fun and amazingly supportive guys: DD, Escondido and Andrew Reeder. DD's family and Erin were also there for emotional support and provided unbelievable kindness and generosity before during and after the race (despite this being an unsupported race).

We raced for 3.5 days and got every CP. It was hard and exhausting, and I was just dying for sleep on day 2, but we kept inching forward on the course and made it through the Lost World so extremely proud of ourselves. This race would have been unbearable if we hadn't found time to laugh our way through many of our low points. Speaking of which, let's just jump to the end of the race since that's where things get most interesting for Team Attack from Above:

Day 4, Leg 5. Total Sleep: 6.25 hr, Total Distance ~470 km.

We come off the big Whitewater Raft early evening and are directed to proceed to the final trek - packraft -bike leg. We are told by the river guides that the flows will drop significantly at 8:00pm at the dam and this will reduce water levels in the river by 9:00 to the point where we may need to get out and walk sections. We hustle in hopes of finding some water to take us back down. When we get to the remote put in, it was pitch dark and we could not assess the risks or hazards of the section we were about to run since the trail did not run with a view if the water. While setting up, we discovered we only had 3 sets of lights, undermining our plan that we would each take our own Alpacka down the river. Nothing we practiced for would be put into play.

We decided to give it a go with Reeder and I in one boat with one set of lights, but when we entered the water the flows were surprisingly high - very high and there were loads of exposed rocks to avoid. I don't know why the info we were given so vastly differed from what we experienced but it was a shocker to see all that water. Andrew couldn't actually see said rocks with my head in the way and since I had no lights on it was difficult for us to avoid them. Adding in that we were just too low in the water in a boat meant for one person, we got swamped in every rapid. We did catch the first and second CP on the other side of the river but it felt uncontrolled and unsafe and then on the next go of it we got swamped and we were totally submerged, losing Reeder's dry bag that wasn't lashed since we had been trying out different seating/bag positions. I called the rafting off on account of "this is just crazy I'm not drowning tonight", which was totally the right decision, no regrets there. We ferried back over to the trail side of the river for a team discussion about what to do next and then things got weird.

We were all wet but reasonably warm and could have just moved onto the trail immediately with gear all loose to trek out to the TA, but for some reason we were not in agreement about whether quitting the paddle on account of safety meant a DNF and this was discussed at great length internally but not with HQ. We then decided to pack up cleanly, and walk out together - no matter the outcome. We then moved into an extremely cautious approach of preventing hypothermia in Andrew who had no dry clothes to change into. At first he resisted, but eventually agreed to be stripped naked and put into a sleeping bag. Next we pinned him down I think to provide warmth, but also to keep him still while Paul worked a knife to fashion him some booties for his feet from a bivy sack that was also being worked into a skirt for me since I myself had nothing dry from the waist down. Once we were ready to go, we cut a hole out of the top of the sleeping bag so Andrew could walk out in some form of mu-mu. When Paul asked Andrew if he was still cold, he jumped up in his new racing dress and said "I'm very warm, I'm very comfortable in this outfit, in fact I've never been so comfortable this whole race, possibly my whole life....if you just give me some arm holes, I can race, or I can sleep, whichever you prefer.". He got his arm holes and we waddled him through the bush up a steep hill onto the trail where we did the final walk of shame on the trail with Andrew whistling the circus theme song (for hours) until we met a race official at the trail head.

On the walk out my bivy skirt started shredding and splitting up the seam and the circus act was about to become R rated, until Chris offered to give me his underpants. We figure the list of circumstances when a person will gladly take on a friend's used undies has to be fairly short, but this situation is at the top of the list. I gladly accepted, as though these were simply spare Team Underpants.

The whole thing was truly ridiculous, being sent out there in the first place to do something so dangerous in the dark, after 4 days of continuous racing, and even more our bumbling and overly cautious approach to preventing hypothermia. We were all fine and un-injured and could have run to stay warm and been out 2 or 3 hours sooner. But so tired and fuzzy in the head, we all knew what was most important and focused on taking care of each other to the nth degree, and this is why I love Adventure Racing.

Reeder captured it beautifully at breakfast the next morning..." This story is better than an official finish." As it turns out, we have been told by Grant that we will get an official finish despite the DNF that is currently showing on the web site. The packrafting section was actually cancelled while we were out there but word never got to us in time.

What an amazing experience.

C • Unbelievable! What a story,... 10

C • Welcome Home! 1

Event: Untamed New England Expedition Race