Nocturnal AR

If I remembered anything from the 2009 Nocturnal it is that it was hot at the beginning of the race. I was racing with Melissa, Jimmy, and Chris - some veteran racers from a couple of years back. Melissa is not (supposed to be) running - more on that later, but she is nursing a knee that needs replacement. We all decided to stay the Friday before the race at a little place in St. Cloud called the Lakeside Inn (http://www.lakesideinnfl.com/ ). Amazingly for $35 per room per night you get a great place with a fantastic home style cafe - with an awesome breakfast and all you can eat fried catfish the night before.

Sure enough as we took out on bikes - it was HOT. I was feeling amazingly sluggish in the heat. Melissa decided to do the bike nav, which was cool.  The first control cost us some time - we overshot the attack point and had to crop back. We made up the time on CP2 and on the bike ride to the paddle TA at Billy's Lake. This was the shortest paddle I think I had ever done in a 18 hour race. It was still a pretty cool and had a really nice swampwack (see video) in it. After the main paddle we had the "Paddle Challenge" - a slalom course that was timed. Our entire team is made up of solid paddlers - and we won the challenge - which ended up giving Chris a $50 gift certificate for Travel Country Outdoors ( http://www.travelcountry.com/ ) where he will definitely be able to use it on some nice AR gear.

After the paddle - we started the first trek leg. It was about 4:30 PM and incredibly hot. The leg had no real navigation to speak of and also had no real shade. We left out of the TA just behind Militia AR and they did something that amazed the hell out of me, they started running. Well just for awhile - but it was impressive to see a team actually run in what had to be a 110 degree heat index. By the time we finished the slog (did I mention it was mostly soft sand?) I was wasted. We got the the TA - and I jumped back into Billy Lake. After a few minutes in the lake and a little ice water I felt tremendously better. Militia AR was a few minutes ahead of us - and we had a lot of teams (Florida Xtreme 1 and 2, Nature Calls, Super Frogs, and a few others) all within a few minutes of each other.

The next bike leg had one challenging control (CP12) - which was a challenge simply because the trail leading to it was a bit different from the map at the road. We figured it out just as we saw another team go by. We plugged along and rode hard (I took a tow for part of the way) back to the TA to make the most of daylight and also keep from having to unpack the lights. We made it - at this point the top 7-8 teams were all within 15 minutes of each other. It was too early to do the zip line, so we headed out on the sport trek. For a sport class trek it was amazingly challenging. The approach to Sport CP8 from the south was a challenge as the trail shown on the map were nowhere to be found.  CP9 and CP10 were also a little bit of a challenge as keeping a solid bearing for 250 meters is not easy.  It took us a little under 2 hours.

It was next to the zip line and all I can say was - awesome. The elite zip line was incredible, one of the most fun I have ever done and doing it at night made it that much more fun. ( http://www.floridaecosafaris.com/ZiplineSafaris/  ). The way the timing on the zip line worked is regardless of how long it took - you could not leave the TA on the next leg before 90 minutes after you started.

We hit the paddle leg next - I though the first paddle was the shortest, but this one was even shorter. It was fun, but also funny as the portage was nearly as long as the paddle...

After that it was the Sport bike leg. We took the Laura's way route from CP13 to CP 14 that turned out to be a mistake (lots of gates and electric fences to cross) - and then lost some time at CP14 as we did not find the trail and ended up doing a blind trek. While we were south of the control - Florida Xtreme 1 and 2 - and SUper Frogs came in, got it and left. We were facing another issue at this point - Jimmy had been eating 2 year old stale Hammer Gel - and the results had caught up to him.

Picture this - you are in the middle of nowhere, and your stomach just drops out and you need a bathroom. Just as you realize this you ride up to a real live bathroom on your bike. This was CP 12 (near the cracker house). After 10 minutes of waiting for you in the bathroom your team finally cajoles you back onto the bike. You head off deeper onto the ranch. Your stomach is still turning flips and you really need to stop at another bathroom. As we approach sport control CP14 - literally way out in a field, there is another bathroom. Yes folks there was another bathroom at Sport CP14 ! Jimmy was really feeling bad, and he got to spend some time there (about 30 minutes). This time when he came out he looked better and was a bit more chipper. We knew we had lost some time so we pushed it hard back to the TA.

Two items left - the sport zip line and the last elite trek. The sport zip was also a fun one (nowhere near as fun as the longer line we used in the elite). Also Jimmy had left the punch card back at the gear-in so we made him run back and get it. We still finished easily in the hour allotted for the zip and still had to wait 15 minutes before we got to do the last trek.

We watched as AR Militia, then Florida Xtreme, and Super Frogs all left on the trek. We were first planning on letting them go and just taking the trek easy, but I got the competitive bug and we decided to run. We aced the navigation, including a straight Bushwhack from CP15 to CP16 - but it was not enough to catch the leaders. AR Militia took a well-deserved first, running a very tight race. The 2nd and 3rd place ended up being pretty exciting sprint finish. between FLXtreme 2 and Super Frogs.

I was happy - we had done 18 hours of amazing racing, this is a really good distance for racing and this race had lots of elements of pain, exhilaration, teamwork, competion, and excitement. I should have the maps up soon - till the next race, see ya !



Here are some scenes from the race.

SCAR Adventure Race

Pangea SCAR June 20, 2010

The SCAR has been a Father’s Day tradition for about 10 years – because who can resist the opportunity to race in extreme heat on this holiday. (Actually – the second SCAR started at the Black Hammock Fish Camp and it was a downpour the entire race – but every other one has been hot). I put together a team with FL Xtreme leader Jeff Leninger. We had a new addition Elizabeth Morse in her 3rd race (her 2nd was one week earlier) and Erik Wise – veteran of the Utility Mutants. This was going to be a fast race (6 hour race – very short time format) and also had a record turnout for both the elite and sport class – it looked like about 250 racers total between the 2 races.

We got the maps at 7:30 AM when we checked in, the race looked to have pretty easy navigation – another sign it would be fast. We started with a 2 ½ K run, pretty much to spread the teams about before we hit the boats for the second leg of the race. We kept a low pace that put us in the front of the middle pack. When we hit the water we headed north (the long leg). The strategy was that most of the teams headed south – so we chose to avoid a potential logjam at those controls. Primal Instinct (Jim Carr and Carolyn Schultz) also headed north and hammered the paddle as we could see them on the out and backs. There was a little bit of navigation, but also plenty of landmarks. CP5 was at the first river split, it did become an out and back as the river was pretty clogged that way and we had to return the main channel. CP6 was also at a river split, only 600 meters from CP5, so you needed to keep your eyes open. CP7 was about 200 meters from the mapped flag. The direct route was clogged, so we did need to go along the main channel west, north, and back east). The curves of the river were with the map helping us find the little entrance to CP7. CP8 was a straightforward out and back and the flag was easily visible from the river.

The upstream paddle was tough and Elizabeth and I did our best to hammer it. The swift current really did not allow us any rest. On the way south we passed the team (heading north) that had gone the other way. The two southern controls were pretty straightforward, one on a island, the other in a cove along the west edge of the river. We came in 12 minutes behind the lead team at about 1120. We had decided to trek second and only spent about a minute moving through the TA. The decision to trek second was because we would not have to changes shoes twice and we wanted to get it done before it got even hotter. We made a clean loop CP18 to CP15. I was suffering on this leg, it was hot and there was no shade. We were running along with Punch Junkies who we caught at CP15. At CP15 we moved to single track with shade and I felt much better. Everyone else appeared to be running OK. At CP17 we doubled back on the trail and followed the northern trail along the road before bushwhacking over to the road (it was pretty open). From there it was a straight run back past CP18 and to the TA. As we started into the transition I heard Greg getting ready to start the Sport Course in 3 minutes. We needed to be out before then or we would be caught behind them all. We flew through the TA and sprinted out of there on bikes.

It was now really hot. As we left CP9 we were on sandy (but ride-able) double track. I was starting to overheat. When we got to CP10 I was able to pour water on my head and wrists and bring my core temp down. It is a good idea for everyone who does AR in extreme conditions to recognize the signs of heat exhaustion – preferably before they are on the trail-side puking their guts out. After the intersection south of CP12, the trail became grassy and easier. We got a few clouds and a little bit of shade, and my core temp dropped a little (unless you really know what you are doing with judging your ability in heat – don’t risk it, rest and cool off). We missed the “Triple Trunk” at CP13 on the way north, but did not worry as we would get it on the return trip. The trail after that turned into mud and water so we pushed bikes pretty much most of the way. CP14 was right on the trail and the trail bend was as shown on the map. We did find the triple trunk and CP13 by simply measuring the distance from the trail bend north of CP13. After CP13 we were back on the bikes and riding south. The trail to CP11 (the last flag) was pretty obvious and it was now just chunking our way through the heat back to the TA. Jeff was struggling with heat here so we were not moving fast – but we were moving. We ended up finishing 3rd with Primal Instinct taking the 1st place and Hoof-Hearted in second.

It looked like most of the teams in both sport and elite class survived a very hot day, and proved they had what it takes to conquer the SCAR.


View SCAR Adventure Race in a larger map

Twelve Points Adventure Race

I did the twelve points AR - a production of Inverted Armadillo Rogue Racing. Pretty cool race - 12 hour rogaine format with 3 4 hour long legs that could be done in any order. The race was at Sunnyhill restoration area near Umatilla on the Oklawaha River - great area I raced with Erik Wise and Elizabeth Morse (we raced great together). The trek was true to word - we finished right at 4 hours - just as the heat index was topping 100 degrees. Highlight was spotting a black bear along the course and some tough bushwacking. We did the paddle second - also a full 4 hour paddle, with one CP that required a pretty tough bushwack through slime (on the video). The bike leg was brutal and we only got 2 of the 4 points before heading in. Still a great race and some awesome training for our team. Highlights are in the video;



Here is the course;


View 12 Points Challenge - Sunnyhill in a larger map

LOST - My Ending

OK - this has nothing to do with the adventure theme of the blog. I have been an avid Lost fan for years and was disappointed at the ending. Luckily it is fiction and I can actually write my own ending - so here it is.We'll pick up after Desmond has gotten to the bottom of the waterfall and is unplugging the whatever the hell it was.

The Island

Desmond wraps his arms around the rock pulling upwards. At first nothing happens, but then a slight movement. As he senses the rock will move, he gives one huge pull and falls away with the rock his arms still wrapped around the rock. At first there is no change, but then a sputter. The light starts to flicker the way a candle would in a high wind. It flickers and then it is gone. The darkness seems to move out of the hole left by the rock - but it also comes in from all sides. This is not just a darkness of light, but an all-encompassing darkness of light and sound, of everything. The darkness spreads over the rest of the island swallowing everything - even the sound of the sea. For an instance there is only silence. And then the light comes - brilliant white light that encompasses everything, it grows into a crescendo and then everything is gone. There is only silence and light - the reality of the island has ceased to exist.

The Non-Island Reality

Directly in timed unison with the destruction (or closing of the reality) of the island - everyone is suddenly hit with an onslaught of memories. Everyone - not just the island residents, but the entire planet. For nearly everyone this comes on as a dream and fades just like one. People get the onslaught only to appear dazed as if waking from a vivid dream - only to have this dream fade away. For the people who have been to or been touched by the island the sensation is different. All the memories and emotions, loves and losses of their time in the alternate reality suddenly become full and stark memories mixed with their current life. For some - the meories of their lifes, loves, and death becomes clear. For all this is a shared vision, a glimpse into a life that no longer exists, that closed and disappeared with the reality that encompassed it.

For all the people touched by the island - a shared truth, of how they are all connected and part of each others lives becomes apparent to them. They realize that through the experience they have become found, that they have played a part in a bigger purpose.

Epilogue

Somewhere in the South Atlantic a small hole opens in the water. The hole is a dark black stain in the Crystal blue waters. The a light shines through the hole. An incredibly bright light pours from the hole like the sun trying to fit through a single point. The light blinds the screen until it fades and the light recovers to reveal a beautiful serene island where there was only water before. And the island was waiting for those who were lost.

Atomic Adventure Race Part II

Atomic Adventure Race Part II

We finally made the Stage TA at 10:30 PM. It was raining and we he had to plot all the points for the second half of the race. I told the others to do everything they needed to get ready and started on the maps. I was able to finish plotting by about 11:15 and got a route strategy for at least the next trekking leg. I grabbed a cup of noodles, a piece of pizza, threw some food in my pack, grabbed my trekking poles. Unfortunately I did not grab a new pair of socks (though I did grab my trekking shoes) so would have to trek in my biking socks (not good padding). Following the second rule of adventure racing, “If you don’t have it, you don’t need it” we all got together – listened to the pre-race and got ready to go. All in all it felt like a regular transition with point plotting to me. Hey – if we had gotten there sooner we would have had too much time !

The next trek started with a pretty long leg to CP17. The original route had us crossing the Etowah – but the rain had made that too dangerous. We would instead cross at a bridge, but would have to cross another creek that was likely to be swollen. As we approached Shoal Creek we could see it was 20-30 yards across and we saw another team trekking along it on the other side. They shouted that they had been swept downstream, and warned us the crossing was dangerous. We had 6 teams – so we linked arms and headed across. Even with at least 20 racers linked arm in arm – we almost got swept up in the current – luckily we had some pretty tall guys that kept us on the track.

The navigation was not terribly difficult approaching CP17 – though the location was pretty challenging. Luckily a lot of the faster teams were leaving as we approached and we were able to easily follow the lights down the gulley to the waterfall and the CP. From there we headed west and north towards CP18. This one looked easy (it was near the TA) and sure enough, except for wandering off the blue blazed trail –it was. My feet were getting hotspots from the long wet trek in bad socks, but we were heading off onto the bikes. The team had done a great job on the trek – but we were now heading back onto the bikes and the first ride had left most of us tired and a bit sore (in many places). It was going to be a long, but mostly road (not trail) bike ride.

I warned the team that we would have a relatively easy ride (some low hills) until the last few miles which would be a massive climb. We all got a burst of energy as the sub came up and we had been traveling with some really fun teams. Jim was towing Wanda and Kim was riding well even though she was really sore. The final hill started to spread us out – and Jeff decided that Florida Xtreme 1 would hit the next CP and last mandatory control and head to the finish line. That left Florida Xtreme 2 (Jim and I) to finish and clear the course). We were heading out on the Foot Rogaine as FL Xtreme 1 made it up the hill and checked in and headed back down the mountain to the finish. The ropes (ascent and rappel) were open as we passed by so I quickly geared up and did that before we headed out.

My strategy was simple – hit CP25 (on the south peak) first, then go due north to the CP26. I had plotted it a little too far south off the stream. We saw another team leaving it and they told us it was on the stream (it would have been a good clue for the passport). We gave them instructions to the indistinct trail that was on the map along the stream. From CP 26 we contoured up back to the trail southeast of where we went in and headed to the confluence and CP24. We also were able to help a couple of teams that were wandering around that area. The next leg would require us to climb up to the other peak – so we just buckled down and climbed the trail all the way back up. It was easy navigation (only 26 was challenging) – and 8 minutes after finding it, we crossed south across the double peaks to the TA.

It was just Jim and I for the descent back to the main road and to Amicalola Falls. We simply opened it up and coasted the entire way down. My legs were starting to toast as we approached the entrance to the falls. We knew we had one thing left to do – and sure enough we guessed correctly that the final finish line was at the top of the falls. Only a couple miles and 1000 vertical feet were between us and the finish. I was definitely tired, the foot rogaine had toasted me and left some pretty blisters. We achieved the goal – clearing the course and finishing strong. I was very happy with our performance and look forward to racing with FL Xtreme. Just for note – this was Wanda’s and Kim’s 3rd 30 hour race, their first was Swamp Stomp (4 months earlier!) pretty good for 4 months of racing long races.

Scenes from Atomic AR

Here is some video I took with my Go Pro camera..

Atomic Adventure Race Part I

In just one year the Atomic Adventure race has turned into one of the premiere races in the Southeast so of course when I got a call to join a team, I said yes. I would be joining Florida Xtreme and racing with 5 people (1 three person team and 1 two person team). Since we were going to get maps at check-in we made a point to get there early. I did all the marking while the team prepared gear – we would be marking the first stage, and get another map and points for the second stage. There weren't too may points to plot – though some of the maps had a really weird scale (1:70K and 1:whatever).

The race started with a very short prelude, one team-mate running about a mile and then we started to the top of Amicolola Falls to our staged bikes (CP2) with one CP on the way up. From there it was onto the mountain roads for the frst nice long bike leg. CP3was relatively easy to find, and after chunking uphill to the forest tower, Jim and I were rewarded by being able to scream down the washed out road (we bot enjoyed that downhill immensely – thanks!) . As we left I noticed some teams taking a route north up over Black Mountain. They were obviously planning on attacking CP4 (on Bearden Creek) from the north. Here are a few reasons why that was a bad idea (1) The southern route is on the way to the next CP, (2) The only way get to the attack point was the AT, (3) it would involve a bike bushwhack through very steep terrain, and (4) the southern attack point had a very obvious attack location. From CP3 we dropped down to road 28E. At the end of the road all the bikes from the teams in front of us were on the ground, but we could also see lead teams running down the hill from the CP. One of the lead teams said it was bikeable almost to the control and sure enough after crossing a stream with our bikes it was. We rode up to about200 yards from the CP and climbed the steep and now slippery slope up to the CP on a pretty waterfall. We were with a lot of other teams here - and our team was talking and joking. Mim's the Word had dropped their passport at CP3 and was looking for it – luckily someone (Melissa Scott) had found it and they were back in action.

The ride to CP5 was uneventful and easy navigation – we were starting to get our flatlander Florida legs used to hills. From CP5 we had a bike Rogaine with 5 control of which we could visit 4. We went by paved road and turned left on the first bike trail (223F). The girls (Kim and Wanda) were a little uncomfortable at first with the narrow single track and hills – but adjusted to it very fast. CP6 was right on the trail – so we got one of the 4 controls within 15 minutes of CP5. Wo hoo! Our next control would be CP7. It was on trail 223C – we could take trail 223 straight to it, ut it involved a very steep climb, instead I chose to take trail/road 223F. That allowed us to tow (our team was still adjusting to the hills) a milder but longer slope. We would still have a one steep but much shorter climb as we would approach the control from the north on 223C. That trail was bikeable up, but we pushed up it, found the control. It was a LOT of fun on the way down (I love biking down washouts). Our original strategy had us going to CP9 and then CP10 – I decided to change it and instead hit CP8 (we had heard from a team it was pretty easy travel). We got to the creek, dropped our bikes and started to bushwhack up the hill. That did not work out, Jeff smartly asked a local group camping (where our bikes were dropped) – and was informed that “That there trail will take you right to the waterfall”. That turned out to be a bit easier than a bushwhack along the creek bed. All along this route we would pick up teams and then split off from teams, so this section had a lot of collaboration. As we headed back towards CP10, we ran across some horses. They asked how to get to the dam – as the rain had destroyed their map. That was straight where we were headed. I gave them verbal instructions (take this trail to 223D, to 223F to the 5 way intersection). They were able to follow us on horses most of the first part since it was uphill, we did run into them again as we left the dam and CP10. This next section was everyone's favorite – the long bike up Bull Mountain was tough, the screaming downhill back down was awesome. With a little pumping I was able to get over 60 km/hr. I also took some video of this section holding my camera while flying downhill that turned out pretty good. CP10 was easy. On the rollers on the downhill to CP10 Kim was riding in front of me and got some good air (and then nearly bit it !). We rode back out to CP5/CP11 just in time to see some guys out the church across the street washing out paintbrushes with a hose. After filling our bottles and bladders we headed to CP12. From CP12 to CP13 was one of those navigators nightmares. I was never quite sure where we were – but there was always at least one road going the correct direction. We did enjoy the riding in this section, and we did end up at the bottom of the hill at a small gas station. Jeff treated us all to anything we wanted – after a quick lunch consisting of Hershey's bars, Mountain Dew, Apple Pies, Pork rinds, etc.. we headed to Quick Shoals a solid hour before the cutoff (remember our goal was to clear the course – not win).

Since I had the most (read this as only) experience paddling whitewater – I put Kim and Wanda in my boat. Jeff and Jim were in the other boat. Kim and Wanda loved the little Class I and II rapids – as did I. We took a couple of hard bumps (lots of rocks) and Wanda and I both discovered the boat had a cross board in front of us designed to stop us by our shins. My shins still have indentations in them as I write this. I made sure Kim (from of the boat) knew that the only rocks I could NOT see were those directly in front of us. She developed a technique of calling out ROCK! about ½ second before impact. Which was at least enough for us to brace for impact. The were both worried about tipping over. I made sure they understood that if the boat tipped it was because I wanted to to. We did have some close calls where we wedged and almost put our upstream draft in the water – but a few hard leans downstream side corrected us in time. (If you paddle whitewater you know exactly what I am talking about – if not get out there and do it!). Etowah Falls was a lot of fun – we portaged the main falls but still got to do a few fun drops downstream of the falls.. We got to the tunnel where we were supposed to go about ¼ mile down an old mining shaft (pitch black whitewater). Unfortunately the race had to close this section as 3 of the 7 team that went through had capsized or gotten stuck. One team wedged their boat in the narrow tunnel and ended up wit a crushed bow. By now Jeff and Jim had cracked the hull of my fiberglass Mohawk and had to stop and dump water about every 15 minutes. We paddled about another hour and not having a map of the area or any idea of the length of the paddle was pretty sure we were done. We paddled another hour and it starting raining. Lightning was striking all around us and it got pretty cold. Since it was warm when we went into the water the girls had on tank top shirts. I could see they were shivering, we kept paddling to stay warm. About 8 PM it was dark, pouring rain, and cold. Every road we passed got our hopes up and then dashed them as it was not the take-out. We finally got their about 8:30 PM. The girls were shivering, and there was a covered pavilion. Jim and I were both pretty warm – so we prepped the boats and gear and put the girls under the cover and told them to get warm (as best as possible). A few other teams were under the cover too – trying to stay warm. As soon as we got te boats set for pick-up (all the gear and paddles had to be secured in the boats) we rousted everyone out of the pavilion into the rain. We needed to get to the next TA to get the coordinates and maps for stage 2. We also knew there was a fire station along route that would allow us to warm up. The fire station was less than ½ mile from the take-out and the firemen their knew just what to do to help the girls warm up. Jim did not get a break, I had left my camera on the boat and wanted it so we ran back to the take-out. As it turned out I had dropped it near the boats – luckily it is bright yellow. We ran back to to fire station where Kim and Wanda were now warm. We were informed there was no cover at the next TA (it was still drizzling) – I was not worried about cold, but I would have to plot the next points in the rain. Ugh... We finally dragged into the TA at 10:30 PM. Nearly all the teams were there, the race leaders having arrived around 4:30 PM. I had plotting to do and the second stage was going to start at midnight. The race was about to get even more interesting as the night sections always are.

Billie's Bay Orienteering

Had a great (and hot) run yesterday at Billie's Bay in Ocala. Orienteering was challenging - but finished blue course in about 113 minutes (was going for under 2 hours). Here are some scenes from that run. The old helmet cam was a bit bouncy - but you can at least get a sense for what it looked like out there. Here are the top 4 in Blue course fromhttp://www.floridaorienteering.org/  - Greg made me run (I had not intended to run since I've been having issues with joints) by catching up to me at CP 9 - all in all a pretty straightforward blue course. Great run by Chris especially in the heat (92 degrees and humid).

Name Time
Johnson, Chris 101:32
Sirmans, Jerry 105:13
Eaglin, Ron 113:30
Pangea Adventure Racing 114:05




For those new to orienteering - watch this film - it really gives a true flavor of what it is like to be out there running the course. This is NOT Florida terrain.

Nocatee Challenge

I was lucky enough to race with FL Xtreme this weekend in the Nocatee Challenge, a great little 30 hour race with team-mates Darrell, Kim, and Wanda. Here is a quick rundown of our course with some maps to help out. I'm going to keep this brief, but if anyone wants to know how I attacked or found any control simply email me and I'll give details.

- The first leg was a bike - paddle - bike. I estimated it would take about 10 hours, so we decided to bike the Guana leg first, paddle, and then do the road bike back around A1A. We hit CP 21 first coming from the parking area to the southwest. 3 teams decided to do the loop this direction. After 21 we went to CP 16 (not on map) and did the bearings course. Kim had a magic compass and literally nailed every single one. We usually have each team member independently shoot the bearing, increasing our chance of finding them quickly, rather than having only the navigator shoot the bearings. The rest of the navigation was working backwards and hitting CP 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, and 9 in succession and making it to the boat TA in 4 hours after a relatively easy ride.

- The paddle leg was also easy, we nailed each control quickly, however I should have decided to do CP 6 (the one south of the boat ramp first). The tide was going out and the north section was dam controlled, while the south section was tidal. After getting all the north control, the tide was very low in the Tolomato and this necessitated a 200 yard portage through knee deep black muck to get to and from the boat ramp. We had muck to deal with on almost every control, though the funniest was when Darrell jumped out of the boat into waist deep muck to get a control. We were more careful about checking the solidity of the ground after that. A quick road ride with 3 control put us back at the TA and we quickly prepared for the next section of the race, a trek-paddle-trek-paddle-trek.

 

Back at the TA we took a quick photo and headed out to use the remaining daylight. We had some sandwiches waiting and I drank a Pepsi. it is amazing how something I don't normally drink (soda) can taste so good in the middle of a race. I quickly realized that the scale on the next map was off as we arrived at CP 23 at an amazing speed. I was hoping to make the trek between CP23 to CP24 in daylight to help with a direct route, but we lost light and had to use the road to the east of CP24 as a backstop and go around adding about 25 minutes to the trek. We hooked up with Nature Calls here and decided to finish the trek together. The only control to give us trouble on the trek was CP29 - it was described as being on a firebreak - as it turned out there were at least 6 firebreaks in 300 a meter range near the control location. We knew there were at least 6 as that is how many we searched.

We got to the boats around 12:30 PM and headed for CP31. I was not paying attention to the maps real well there and using only the aerial map completely overshot it. After some frustration I pulled out the USGS map noticed it was about 600 meters south of the light (which was flashing at me) - and we headed to it with now 3 teams (Eco-Choice, Nature Calls, and FL Xtreme. We started in towards CP 33, unfortunately the route from the south was completely clogged with grass. This time I pulled out the aerial (I had switched to USGS at CP31) and noted that the route from CP32 looked to be the best clear route - which it was. We spotted Team Punch Junkies coming out as we headed for CP33 and an orienteering loop (CP34-CP38). We made quick work out of the orienteering, no real problems with 3 teams together.  

The picked off CP32 quickly (the nearby light made it pretty easy). CP 39 was a real challenge - by now the tide was incredibly low and the small creek lacked water. We trekked the bed of the creek - we were pretty good at slogging through mud by now, and the control was in what could have been described as a junk yard. It was pretty funny slogging in a deep salt water marsh in the darkness - but we had a great group of racers.

We made it to the TA shortly after that and the sun just started to come out. It was a quick few miles back to the TA and the last bike section. The sun was now up, which was good as the first couple of bike controls would have been challenging in the dark. As it was only one control, CP48 gave us trouble. We had run back into Nature Calls and Eco-Choice at this location  again - so we all worked together to find it. The challenge was looking into a large group of trees in thick palmettos for a "Tree Cluster". After that we had one more control (CP39) which was easy and a 6 mile ride back to the TA. Easy stuff.  We got to see a lot of teams that were out on the sport course.

We got back to the TA - Punch Junkies and Appalachian were both in the TA and gave us a few words of encouragement as we headed out onto the last trek - the trek course from the sport course. Another hour of easy jogging/walking and we were done - woo hoo. 3rd place and a happy team.

I have a little bit of footage from the course (I'm  just getting used to my sport camera so bear with me) here is at least what it looks like in the day on an elite 30 hours race. 

Nadia Bloom Search

I spent a good bit of time this weekend and took off work Monday to help search for Nadia Bloom. It is almost impossible to describe how happy I was to hear she had been found safe Tuesday Morning. There is a lot on this story at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-nadia-bloom-missing-20100412,0,72482.story . James King, went out solo, and was able to essentially go straight towards her - an absolutely wonderful thing. Being involved in the search I had a great insight to what was going on, and believe that there are plenty of things that can be learned. I truly feel that this is important as we always need to learn and make notes of what was learned for the next search.

Here are some items that I noted - in my line of work all ideas are good ideas (I'm a professor so I analyze), some just better than others - so these should be taken as they are given as possible constructive ideas.

1. Local counties should keep a list of pre-approved search volunteers. This would allow them to be able to bring manpower to the scene of a search quickly. I say this as I saw the crews working incredibly hard - but I also saw that if they had more manpower they could have covered more ground. Because everyone was working so hard doing the job at hand - there was little time left over to bring in and coordinate a volunteer activity.

2. Explore all possibilities of what could have happened, however improbable. When I talked to some of the folks in charge I was convinced she was in area 13 (the heavy swamp) - I was told many times she would not have wandered into the swamp, but my gut told me that this is what happened. My theory was she took the trail leading west from the pond, got distracted, disoriented and ended up wandering into the swamp.

Here is a map of  what I thought had happened and what happened in the search. The rescue team leaders did listen to my logic and were prepared to search this area.


View Nadia Bloom Search in a larger map (click to see notes on icons)

3. Never give up hope. I guess this somehow goes without saying. But it also goes hand in hand with have faith.

4. You've got to go into the thick stuff. This is from my experience with quite a few searches. Every time the person was lost in the "thick stuff" - in the case of this one the thick stuff was REALLY think. This was some truly challenging swamp.

5. Also huge thanks to Jim King - sometimes the extraordinary efforts of a single individual make all the difference in the world. Never be afraid to be that individual.

6. One thing done very well was the "safety zone" - where the local PTA put out signs with a bottled water that said "Nadia We Love You Drink this and Stay Here" I requested one additional item - that they put whistles on the signs and add "Blow Whistle". For searching large areas of woods - this a really good idea to have these located in safe areas of the search zone.Here is one;

7. Also if you notice from these pictures the vast majority of the searchers were wearing camouflage. Come on people this is a search and rescue - the objective is to be seen, we should be wearing orange vests. I did note that many of the S&R teams DID have reflective blazers.


This is not meant as a criticism of the teams out there. What I saw was an incredibly dedicated group of people doing everything that they could do with what they had. The swamp in the area 13 is some of the toughest thickest anywhere - searching - I came across one big Water Moccasin nest, and quite a few gators (one big).

All love and good wishes to the wonderful Bloom family. I am so glad this had a happy ending and I want to make sure the next time this occurs it also has a happy ending.

Additionally Here is My Call to Action to people I know and Myself

- United States Orienteering Federation (USOF) - To Create a national list, easily accessible. of top orienteers (and adventure racers) that are willing to perform search and rescue as volunteers. These are the people I personally want looking.

- Currently the web site SearchAndRescue.com is parked as an advertising site. Take this domain (or another similar domain) and put up real information that can help the public in knowing what they can do in these types of situations. Best practices for searchers and helpers, setting up of safe zones, etc...

Central Florida Zoo - Ropes Course

The Central Florida Zoo is now much more than a zoo - they have a great set of ropes courses and zip lines. I took the morning off of work Wednesday during my kids Spring Break to check it out. We did not have time to qualify to do the big course (Rainforest) which we should be able to do next time - but we did do 2 courses; Upland 1 and Upland 2.  Each kids also brought a friend so these courses are kid tested and parent approved. I've done the zip lines at Florida Forever - and even though they are longer and more exciting, they aren't the full course that you get at the zoo with lots of challenges and games. The site is http://www.centralfloridazoo.org/zoomairadventurepark 

Bumblebee Baseball

The kids are on spring break and there is no soccer game this week, so we spent a good part of the day playing one of the games from my childhood - bumblebee baseball. The game is simple - you try to whack the bumblebees that are constantly diving and trying to attack you with whatever implement of desctruction you choose. Here we are using canoe paddles - though this does work much better with tennis rackets. Ahhh! a nice relaxing day at home. (for those of you worried about the bees - I was planning to wipe them out with Orthene as they ruin the cedar on my house - but this is somehow more sporting...)

Next Race - Nocatee Challenge

The ACC is now called the Nocatee Challenge and I am racing with team FLXtreme. I enjoyed this race a lot last year and am looking forward to it again this year - all the details are at http://www.pangeaadventureracing.com/race.php?r=40 - it looks like there are a lot of teams in the Sport class race and just a small group (10 teams) going for the 30 hour race.

Guana at Sunset - Courtesy of www.teamracephotos.com

I've got some pics from last years race - but you'll need to friend me on Facebook so you can see my albums... I Use FB since it is pretty easy and convenient to use.

Race to the Yukon

I just finished my friend Rod Price's book "Race to the Yukon" - a great read, you can find it at http://www.rodpriceadventure.com/

To me it is amazing how small the community of true adventurers and ultra-endurance athletes is in the US and the world. I am truly blessed to know a lot of them and recognize a lot of them from the book. We are a small and crazy group, but we love it.

Stories From the Amazon - Lodge at Pavacachi

Not everyone wants to rough it in the jungle. For those folks Mickey built an incredible lodge near the airstrip in Pavacachi. I've never had the pleasure of actually staying in the lodge - but am looking forward to it, so we want people to join the level 1 adventures so I will get the chance.



www.ecoplanetadventure.com

Stories From the Amazon - Foraging Mushrooms

Eating forest mushrooms is always a pretty iffy thing. Some are delicious as long as they don't kill you. Others have adverse but temporary side effects, some of which can be quite fun. Here is our expedition learning about which one to eat and which ones to avoid.

The Equator and the Coriolis Effect

I was curious about the coriolis effect. I knew that it had a large scale impact on the weather and wind patterns. I also knew that it was the reason we see counter-clockwise rotation when water moves through a drain. The question is - what happens on the equator, and how far do you need to be from the equator to observe the effect - well here is a video showing the effect in action. In case you are wondering - we tried this over and over again and always got the exact same results - happy viewing.

Stories From the Amazon - Amazon Architecture

As we headed downstream we came upon the community of Victoria. We needed to stop and arrange passage and ability to explore the region of this community. We were told by a local lady that was out in a dugout where the community "president" or "leader" lived. We headed to meet with him. Pictured is his location from the river;

We docked and headed up the cliff to meet with him. His young son greeted us with a bow and arrow, though a couple days later he was our buddy. The compound consisted of 2 open air building. One was basically the kitchen (it had a fire) - but was a complete marvel of architecture. There were no nails - just joints and joists that were put together by fitting them together.

You can see the incredible symmetry of the architecture from this interior shot of the hut. It is pretty amazing. It is also incredibly sturdy. The construction of these huts is a community project and takes about 6 months. The roof - though it looks flimsy - is quite watertight and will last up to 20 years (yes 20 years!) - so these are really architectural wonders that would be incredibly difficult to duplicate in the "civilized" world.

Speaking from experience, having a nice dry, covered space to meet, eat, or just to hang out is a pretty nice thing in the rain forest.

www.ecoplanetadventure.com

Stories from the Amazon - Balsa Rafts

OK - so I had a little fun with this one. Bucket List Item #74, the video tells it all. This is on the Curaray River in the Amazon Rainforest. The Balsa rafts were quite fun.



www.ecoplanetadventure.com

Stories from the Amazon - Getting to Pavacachi

Sometimes getting there is half the fun. Well getting to the Amazon has a lot of fun associated with it. First we flew from Miami to Quito. From Quito it is a 5 hour drive down the Pan-American Highway to the road to Banos and then to Banos. Of course we had to stop and climb to the glacier at Cotapaxi and a mountain bike ride down the side of the volcano (I had a pretty bad elevation headache - but still enjoyed it). After a night in Banos it is about a one hour drive through the cloud forest, through tunnels, past waterfalls, to Shell. From Shell it is a hop on a small plane to a tiny airstrip in Pavacachi. From there it is a dugout canoe - and the expedition really begins - but just getting to Pavacachi is an amazing adventure in itself.



www.ecoplanetadventure.com