Training Log Archive: Bash

Hike with 'Bent and dogs to explore around the new Tree Hugger Advanced Base Camp in Collingwood.

Dontgetlost Snowshoe Raid
Pretty River Provincial Park

Browner and I teamed up for one of the chilliest Snowshoe Raids ever!

AG! got some great pics from the start. The fresh snow in the forest was spectacular.





There had been a lot of rain followed by a flash freeze so the streams were running and the snow was heavy beneath a fluffy surface layer. Conditions weren't fast but we moved pretty well.

(The next photos are Derek Carpenter's.)



We did a loop of controls in the northeast, then made our way down the western half of the map until #50, when we headed to Pretty River Road. (I'll photograph the map and add it later.) Everything went smoothly except for valuable #53 where I led us off the trail too early and happily trotted up a spur when the contours actually showed a reentrant if the map was read correctly. We lost about 10 minutes but it was a 100-pointer so it was worth the extra time.



The grand finale of our plan involved crossing the Pretty River in the southeast part of the map close to the finish line to get 40 and 41. We'd planned this to be 25% of our point total so everything was built around having enough time for it.

I don't mind crossing streams in winter but the recent rains had raised the river level so there was rushing current with some open water and - more concerning - patches of ice over and under the water. Browner and I spent 13 minutes walking and running along the river bank and one of its tributaries, looking for a safe crossing point. We tested the crossing of a minor feeder stream where I broke through ice in my snowshoes and went in knee deep. We weren't keen to take the risk with the river itself and many other teams made the same decision. A few did cross, including both our husbands! Unfortunately, there weren't any other controls nearby so we headed for the finish early.





It was a fun, beautiful day in the woods and our truncated route earned us the female masters win.

Congrats to STORM and Gally, who took the overall victory in a field of 101 teams!



And congrats to 'Bent and Hammer, who placed 2nd overall in spite of their late arrival and sizeable penalty.



I love these game faces!



Congrats also to Mrs. Tiny and Heidi, who were 1st of 41 female teams.



Big thanks as always to Bob and his team of volunteers for a terrific time and a challenging race course. It's never easy and everyone has fun!

2018 opened up wide this morning when I was unsuccessful in the CCC (101K race at UTMB) lottery. It was my 2nd consecutive attempt so I had 2 tickets and about an 80% chance of getting in, and I hadn’t spent any time considering alternatives. Time to start! I’ll need to think about earning qualifying points again too. Boo.

Looking forward to future training opportunities and explaining some missed training over the last couple of months, here's my Christmas present to myself:



Although the jacket and sunglasses will continue to be used on most winter days, this is a (distant) photo of a dog-friendly condo in Collingwood that will allow 'Bent and me to extend our maximum-8-hours-away-from-home window to new parts of Ontario. We love Caledon and will stay home most weekends but this is close enough that we can even go for a day trip, hike the dogs, then go exploring in new territory. The paddling, swimming and hill training are better than home so we might get there more often in summer than winter since we don't downhill ski or snowboard. A number of outdoor friends are up there regularly, and we're looking forward to spending more time with them and with visitors to our guest room.

The condo closes tomorrow, it's completely empty, and we've invited STORM and Browner to stay with us this weekend for the Snowshoe Raid. So I have a few tasks on my to-do list but it's all good stuff. :)