Discussion: 2022 Maine Summer Adventure Race

Here's the tracking link:
http://live.enabledtracking.com/msa2022/

This year we have posted the race rules and maps into the system so you should be able to follow the action with a little more clarity. There will be several confusing sections for dot-watchers but I'll try to monitor AP and answer any questions that may arise.

Happy watching!

Thanks and have a great event!

Race Maps: https://adventureenablers.s3.amazonaws.com/Trackin... (Big file 42 MB)
Course Instructions: https://adventureenablers.s3.amazonaws.com/Trackin...

Course Brochure: https://adventureenablers.s3.amazonaws.com/Trackin...

Toyota Tundra (Justin Bakken; Mari Chandler; Brian Mayer) is the first team to paddle out of TA1 after the opening bike stage. Strong Machine (Amanda Martin; Glen Lewis; Matt Hayes; Tom Martin) and Rootstock (Abby Perkiss; Brent Freedland; Nicki Driscoll; Paul Miller) are at TA1. All are Mixed Premier teams.

I was checking positions and thought "Who is this Toyota Tundra team....oh, yep, that explains it."

Southern route to TA3 is out of bounds, if you were also curious but hadn't looked at the maps yet.

At 10:30 pm, the mysterious Toyota Tundra crew are descending from Peaked Mountain, which is CP34 on the trek. Rootstock has just started the trek going a different direction. Strong Machine is at TA2 and will start soon.

CPs 29 to 32 on the Stage 4 trek can only be obtained by packraft and it's only possible to launch and exit at a few points. All CPs on a stage can be obtained in any order. Toyota Tundra started by packrafting to CPs 29 and 30 then left the river to climb to CPs 33 and 34. Now they're heading back to the river, presumably to pick up CPs 31 and 32 before continuing to trek counterclockwise. This is an interesting stage for strategy!

Nearly 120 miles from one log, that is a monster of a 24 hr course!

Thanks to you all for tuning in! It was a tough course this year, made harder by the heat, which was in the low-80s during the day. We had lots of fun putting this one together and watching the teams tackle it. For those cursing the sand on the bike leg, blame Kate :)

I'd love to get people's thoughts about the Tiger Hill section. I wish more teams had had time to tackle this section so we could have seen the different strategies fully play out, but it was interesting to see the top four teams take four completely different routes. I liked Toyota Tundra's route and Strong Machine's long-distance spike of CP 39 impressed me. Our teammate Evan Moreshead, who helped set the section, was convinced a northerly route to 39, then 40, followed by a launch of the boats to pick up 29 and then a counter-clockwise pick-up of the rest of the points would have been fastest. How would you have solved it?

I think I'd blend Evan's route with Toyota Tundra's route: 39-40-29-30, out of the river to 33-34, then back to the river and counterclockwise around.

All good strategies. I opted to also employ the tactic of wandering around in confusion between White Mtn and Peaked Mtn for an hour, which was helpful and really boosted our early AM morale.

Looking at the map after the race and knowing the area now, I'd start by paddling north to 29, then ignore your guidance about the swamp and thick brush to punch over to 40 and 39. Paddle south to 30, takeout at that trail and use the road to 33 and 34. Back in the boats to 31, 32, drop the packrafts and get 35, 36, 37, 38, and run the road to TA.

@glewis, that way you could use the packrafts to cross the swamp to 39.

We actually talked about that on course. But no.