Lets just start by saying luck really hasn't been on our side for team Helly Hansen / MOMAR this year. We were already 2 from 2 of bad luck with Baja Travesia 5 day race, having been rescued from the first day kayak in the crazy pacific ocean to still being the 2nd team to cross the line, to Full Moon In June 36hr, finishing 2nd and again not being accredited it due to bad communication on the race staff behalf, to now making it 3 from 3 in Raid the North Extreme - here is our story (there is ALWAYS a story !!)
The race had turned upside down within 2 weeks, after massive floods and landslides, the original course had to be canned and completely re-done in a matter of 2 weeks. Hats off to the race director and staff to pull this off. This race just turned from a trekking based race to a paddling based race, which for us was not a good thing.
We got the maps the day before the race, and with some thinking outside the square we were trying to flip this back into more trekking for us then paddling. We had to paddle inflatable boats that were extremely slow and were probably just as fast to walk. We come up with this plan to build a set of wheels/trailer to tow our 2 kayaks, and take logging roads towing our kayaks instead of paddling them. This was top secret and was in theory going to be faster!! We get Mark our Helly Hansen rep straight onto the mission of building some wheels. We were taking the full day ferry to the Charlotte Islands to camp the night ready to start the race Monday morning. Mark comes back late Sunday night with this sensational looking set of wheels, we test them with one kayak on, and we are laughing. Other teams too had wheels, but at the time, didn’t look anywhere as good as ours!!
Day 1.
We start 6am Monday morning, we are a solid team, and wanting solid results, we are up against a few top international teams with out a doubt. The kayaks sucked, they are the slowest things ever, no rudder, no steering capabilities, we are zig-zagging all over the place. We are in the second half of the pack, and decided to pull the kayaks out early to run a 4km logging road into the first checkpoint to test out our wheels. The wheels didn’t quite hold up after putting on 2 x 65pound boats, 4 wetsuits, 4 paddles and PFD’s etc. We had issues and MacGyver style attempted to fix the wheels. Hence we came into checkpoint 1 in last place! Ok so we had some making up to do, but it was early days and we were good on our feet. We had a big trek ahead of us. We went from sea level to a 3500 foot peak to checkpoint 2, in this time we made up 17 spots and moved into 5th or 6th. We were moving well, we had to drop back to sea level then cross a 2500 foot saddle. After some sketchy downhill and climbing/scrambling back up, we made it to the saddle on sundown, just enough time to scope out what’s ahead and which way to go. We were going to follow a ridge line and drop down the other side, but the clouds just rolled in and fogged out the ridgeline, and it looked pretty sketchy. The wind was howling. So we decided to drop down the other side of the saddle. The 100foot contours on our map don’t show the 20-80 foot cliffs all around us. Within 10mins we were cliffed out in every direction. We scout the area and there is no way up or craziness down, we continue down some unfriendly terrain using branches and bushed as our life saver from making us fall way below. Hours after hours, of scaling down this insane terrain, and after at one point making the call we were in over our heads and now sure this is the area we really should not be messing with , we crack our radio open to confirm we are ok and there is in fact a way down. To find out there was no radio signal, we were on our own to figure this out. We get past the worst as the sun is rising and we had descended a long way. We once again get cliffed out as 2 rivers merge. We retrace our steps to find a fallen log down over the river to cross at.
We make it out to the beach about 18hours later to what we were told was to be a 5-10hours trek, and were out of food many hours ago. We were excited to get out of the bush to the sandy beach to run into our first transition to then find the sandy beach a big bog zone, ankle deep mud, nothing was on our side !! About 20hrs of trekking later we made transition to food and dry clothes, to find we were the 5th team in. But to also find out they had sent the top 4 teams onto the original course, and were not letting us continue on that course due to extremely wind and unsafe paddling conditions. So from this point on in the race top 4 were no matter what unreachable and put into a separate category. Which really sucked, as the highest position we could now obtain was 5th.
Day 2
So a whole 2 bikes legs, one paddle leg, and a trek leg, was cut out of the race for us and all other teams behind us. We proceeded on bikes straight back to base where we would grab our kayaks and paddle to the south island of Queen Charlottes. The head wind was unexplainable, putting in every ounce of effort to move just the slightest bit forward. We again pull out early on the paddle to test our wheels again as we wanted them for our huge advanced paddle coming up, but to find after 8km of towing them on logging roads, they were indeed not going to work !! We come into next transition still in 5th. And hit the next trek hard. 20km logging road run into the foot of the tallest mountain on the island to climb 3700 feet. We arrive on sundown, and again the unlucky point for us. There was really only one way up this mountain “Mt Moresby”, by a trail that was flagged, as bushwhacking would just lead to too many cliffs. We find the start of the trail with a solid 3hr+ lead still in 5th. The trail crossed a river and we lose the direction of it. We spent all night looking for this trail that was supposedly flagged. The top team came up behind us and we spend another hour or so with them looking, still nothing. 4am – about 6hrs later we find the trail and start to motor up this faint steep trail following the flagging tape we re-found, thinking there is no way other teams are going to find this!! We scramble up this muddy crazy trail that had ropes at times to help pull you up and stop you from falling. We make it to the snow line, and continue up to the saddle. The peak is completely socked in, we can’t see it or see the best way up. We are the very first team up (the top 4 teams are behind us as they did the extra legs at the beginning). Then the sky just opens up and there the peak is right in front of us, we hike up, blow your mind away views. But to then look down below and see a train line of teams right behind us. What had happened was we spent all night looking for the trail, to other teams sleeping and not making it to the trail head until daylight, to then being able to see and finding the trail straight away !! booooo. So anyway, the 3 top teams where right behind us, Dart-Nuun, Yukon Wild, and Team Sole. We had the most fun part of the race here. We foot skied and arse slide all the way down from the peak, screaming and yahoo and moving so so fast sliding on our arse on the steep snow decent past all the 7+ teams hiking their way up!! We hammered down all the muddy trail that was faint to us coming up that was now a huge mud goat trail from all the teams tramping through there behind us, we hammer it into the next TA.
Day 3
This was the breaking point. We had our best transition ever, team sole right on our feet that were in first place and in another category to us, we had a solid 5th place lead. We launch our boats into the water ready for a brutal 12-14hr advanced sections paddle. As we launch our boats, Gary and Chris’s boat gets a 3 inch slit in it from a piece of metal hidden in the rocks, the boat deflated in half a second. It is way too big for a quick patch. We had to sew the outside and glue patch the inside that takes hours to dry. We sit impatiently in transition waiting for our patch to dry while watching team after team come through and leave ahead of us. 5 hours later we leave transition time to make up time again. We get about 5 hours into the paddle and just on dark. Todd’s not feeling well, and is feverish and freezing cold, we hang in for an hour or two but he doesn’t get better. We make the call to go to shore. He is worse then we all thought. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t talk, he was non-coherent, and freezing. We strip him of his clothes and get warm clothes on him and wrap him in emergency blankets, and build a fire. We crack the radio and radio for assistance. The boat comes to rescue us, we load all our gear on the boat at dark, with all of us now freezing cold. We get taken back to the last transition. We have nothing but our wet wetsuits. The locals of the adventure camp there were the most kindest helpful people ever. Todd gets looked after by the medics and the rest of us get given dry warm clothes from the locals and taken to a room in the camp with a fire and mattress to camp the night to be taken back to base by the first ferry the next morning. The race was over, and we were doing so well.
Day 4
We get taken back to base camp were all teams were to arrive by 4pm for the overnight ferry back to mainland for stage 2. There was endless amazing food there that was continually being brought in by the local community of their generosity of cooking. Todd was still not 100% but getting better as the day went on. We sorted out all our gear, had showers and decided we wanted to continue the race of stage 2 back on mainland in Prince Rupert. We board the 11pm ferry and get some sleep on the over night sailing.
Day 5
Stage 2 – the proving of what Team Helly Hansen / MOMAR really has, our determination and non-quitting attitude.
We have a quick sprint from the ferry to the paddle, first into transition we pump our boats up and are on the water. Our first calm water and wind free paddle went ok, docking into the land about 3hrs later ready for a gruelling portage / boat whack !! ie carrying our boats 8km+ across land to the other side of the channel through overgrown old logging roads, 2 x 65 pound boats, PFD’s, wetsuits, Paddles, backpacks etc. Craziness. Through thick thick scrubs and forest. It was insane, but our team moved fast, we passed the top elite teams !! We then had a steep steep descend back to the water, hauling all this gear down the terrain mostly sliding on our arse. We were second back on the water (although the team ahead only had 3 team members and one boat – unranked team like us!). We start paddling, we get caught by 2 other teams using a drafting line, we jump on board, and give it every ounce of energy we had to keep on the line, we stick for most of it and loose them towards the end. We hustle in transition and are 3rd out on the bikes. A beautiful scenic but terrain boring time-trial ride brought us into the next transition back to paddling just on dark. This had to have been our nicest paddle. Crystal clear smooth glass water, of a 2 hr paddle. A 1km portage into transition at the other end and just 1 trek to the finish line. With Team Sole (top team) behind us, we were trying to hold them off (yes they had done more course then us, and we had more rest then them, but they were still absolute machines and an amazing international team, we still wanted to try to stay ahead of them)!!. We go into the last trek still in 3rd. We find the trail head up the last mountain of the race. A beautiful trail up to the top of a ski hill through the night. We caught 2nd place and motored by. We were moving!! Got to the top, the friendly volunteers at the top and the huge fire was hard to resist, but was knew better to not go near it, and we had a 1hr running descent down a road to the finish, to cross the line 2nd place for stage 2 at 4.30am. Not that is meant anything as we were unranked, but we proved to ourselves and others around us what our team was capable of. We had pizza and coke and showered and hit bed !!
The race had turned upside down within 2 weeks, after massive floods and landslides, the original course had to be canned and completely re-done in a matter of 2 weeks. Hats off to the race director and staff to pull this off. This race just turned from a trekking based race to a paddling based race, which for us was not a good thing.
We got the maps the day before the race, and with some thinking outside the square we were trying to flip this back into more trekking for us then paddling. We had to paddle inflatable boats that were extremely slow and were probably just as fast to walk. We come up with this plan to build a set of wheels/trailer to tow our 2 kayaks, and take logging roads towing our kayaks instead of paddling them. This was top secret and was in theory going to be faster!! We get Mark our Helly Hansen rep straight onto the mission of building some wheels. We were taking the full day ferry to the Charlotte Islands to camp the night ready to start the race Monday morning. Mark comes back late Sunday night with this sensational looking set of wheels, we test them with one kayak on, and we are laughing. Other teams too had wheels, but at the time, didn’t look anywhere as good as ours!!
Day 1.
We start 6am Monday morning, we are a solid team, and wanting solid results, we are up against a few top international teams with out a doubt. The kayaks sucked, they are the slowest things ever, no rudder, no steering capabilities, we are zig-zagging all over the place. We are in the second half of the pack, and decided to pull the kayaks out early to run a 4km logging road into the first checkpoint to test out our wheels. The wheels didn’t quite hold up after putting on 2 x 65pound boats, 4 wetsuits, 4 paddles and PFD’s etc. We had issues and MacGyver style attempted to fix the wheels. Hence we came into checkpoint 1 in last place! Ok so we had some making up to do, but it was early days and we were good on our feet. We had a big trek ahead of us. We went from sea level to a 3500 foot peak to checkpoint 2, in this time we made up 17 spots and moved into 5th or 6th. We were moving well, we had to drop back to sea level then cross a 2500 foot saddle. After some sketchy downhill and climbing/scrambling back up, we made it to the saddle on sundown, just enough time to scope out what’s ahead and which way to go. We were going to follow a ridge line and drop down the other side, but the clouds just rolled in and fogged out the ridgeline, and it looked pretty sketchy. The wind was howling. So we decided to drop down the other side of the saddle. The 100foot contours on our map don’t show the 20-80 foot cliffs all around us. Within 10mins we were cliffed out in every direction. We scout the area and there is no way up or craziness down, we continue down some unfriendly terrain using branches and bushed as our life saver from making us fall way below. Hours after hours, of scaling down this insane terrain, and after at one point making the call we were in over our heads and now sure this is the area we really should not be messing with , we crack our radio open to confirm we are ok and there is in fact a way down. To find out there was no radio signal, we were on our own to figure this out. We get past the worst as the sun is rising and we had descended a long way. We once again get cliffed out as 2 rivers merge. We retrace our steps to find a fallen log down over the river to cross at.
We make it out to the beach about 18hours later to what we were told was to be a 5-10hours trek, and were out of food many hours ago. We were excited to get out of the bush to the sandy beach to run into our first transition to then find the sandy beach a big bog zone, ankle deep mud, nothing was on our side !! About 20hrs of trekking later we made transition to food and dry clothes, to find we were the 5th team in. But to also find out they had sent the top 4 teams onto the original course, and were not letting us continue on that course due to extremely wind and unsafe paddling conditions. So from this point on in the race top 4 were no matter what unreachable and put into a separate category. Which really sucked, as the highest position we could now obtain was 5th.
Day 2
So a whole 2 bikes legs, one paddle leg, and a trek leg, was cut out of the race for us and all other teams behind us. We proceeded on bikes straight back to base where we would grab our kayaks and paddle to the south island of Queen Charlottes. The head wind was unexplainable, putting in every ounce of effort to move just the slightest bit forward. We again pull out early on the paddle to test our wheels again as we wanted them for our huge advanced paddle coming up, but to find after 8km of towing them on logging roads, they were indeed not going to work !! We come into next transition still in 5th. And hit the next trek hard. 20km logging road run into the foot of the tallest mountain on the island to climb 3700 feet. We arrive on sundown, and again the unlucky point for us. There was really only one way up this mountain “Mt Moresby”, by a trail that was flagged, as bushwhacking would just lead to too many cliffs. We find the start of the trail with a solid 3hr+ lead still in 5th. The trail crossed a river and we lose the direction of it. We spent all night looking for this trail that was supposedly flagged. The top team came up behind us and we spend another hour or so with them looking, still nothing. 4am – about 6hrs later we find the trail and start to motor up this faint steep trail following the flagging tape we re-found, thinking there is no way other teams are going to find this!! We scramble up this muddy crazy trail that had ropes at times to help pull you up and stop you from falling. We make it to the snow line, and continue up to the saddle. The peak is completely socked in, we can’t see it or see the best way up. We are the very first team up (the top 4 teams are behind us as they did the extra legs at the beginning). Then the sky just opens up and there the peak is right in front of us, we hike up, blow your mind away views. But to then look down below and see a train line of teams right behind us. What had happened was we spent all night looking for the trail, to other teams sleeping and not making it to the trail head until daylight, to then being able to see and finding the trail straight away !! booooo. So anyway, the 3 top teams where right behind us, Dart-Nuun, Yukon Wild, and Team Sole. We had the most fun part of the race here. We foot skied and arse slide all the way down from the peak, screaming and yahoo and moving so so fast sliding on our arse on the steep snow decent past all the 7+ teams hiking their way up!! We hammered down all the muddy trail that was faint to us coming up that was now a huge mud goat trail from all the teams tramping through there behind us, we hammer it into the next TA.
Day 3
This was the breaking point. We had our best transition ever, team sole right on our feet that were in first place and in another category to us, we had a solid 5th place lead. We launch our boats into the water ready for a brutal 12-14hr advanced sections paddle. As we launch our boats, Gary and Chris’s boat gets a 3 inch slit in it from a piece of metal hidden in the rocks, the boat deflated in half a second. It is way too big for a quick patch. We had to sew the outside and glue patch the inside that takes hours to dry. We sit impatiently in transition waiting for our patch to dry while watching team after team come through and leave ahead of us. 5 hours later we leave transition time to make up time again. We get about 5 hours into the paddle and just on dark. Todd’s not feeling well, and is feverish and freezing cold, we hang in for an hour or two but he doesn’t get better. We make the call to go to shore. He is worse then we all thought. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t talk, he was non-coherent, and freezing. We strip him of his clothes and get warm clothes on him and wrap him in emergency blankets, and build a fire. We crack the radio and radio for assistance. The boat comes to rescue us, we load all our gear on the boat at dark, with all of us now freezing cold. We get taken back to the last transition. We have nothing but our wet wetsuits. The locals of the adventure camp there were the most kindest helpful people ever. Todd gets looked after by the medics and the rest of us get given dry warm clothes from the locals and taken to a room in the camp with a fire and mattress to camp the night to be taken back to base by the first ferry the next morning. The race was over, and we were doing so well.
Day 4
We get taken back to base camp were all teams were to arrive by 4pm for the overnight ferry back to mainland for stage 2. There was endless amazing food there that was continually being brought in by the local community of their generosity of cooking. Todd was still not 100% but getting better as the day went on. We sorted out all our gear, had showers and decided we wanted to continue the race of stage 2 back on mainland in Prince Rupert. We board the 11pm ferry and get some sleep on the over night sailing.
Day 5
Stage 2 – the proving of what Team Helly Hansen / MOMAR really has, our determination and non-quitting attitude.
We have a quick sprint from the ferry to the paddle, first into transition we pump our boats up and are on the water. Our first calm water and wind free paddle went ok, docking into the land about 3hrs later ready for a gruelling portage / boat whack !! ie carrying our boats 8km+ across land to the other side of the channel through overgrown old logging roads, 2 x 65 pound boats, PFD’s, wetsuits, Paddles, backpacks etc. Craziness. Through thick thick scrubs and forest. It was insane, but our team moved fast, we passed the top elite teams !! We then had a steep steep descend back to the water, hauling all this gear down the terrain mostly sliding on our arse. We were second back on the water (although the team ahead only had 3 team members and one boat – unranked team like us!). We start paddling, we get caught by 2 other teams using a drafting line, we jump on board, and give it every ounce of energy we had to keep on the line, we stick for most of it and loose them towards the end. We hustle in transition and are 3rd out on the bikes. A beautiful scenic but terrain boring time-trial ride brought us into the next transition back to paddling just on dark. This had to have been our nicest paddle. Crystal clear smooth glass water, of a 2 hr paddle. A 1km portage into transition at the other end and just 1 trek to the finish line. With Team Sole (top team) behind us, we were trying to hold them off (yes they had done more course then us, and we had more rest then them, but they were still absolute machines and an amazing international team, we still wanted to try to stay ahead of them)!!. We go into the last trek still in 3rd. We find the trail head up the last mountain of the race. A beautiful trail up to the top of a ski hill through the night. We caught 2nd place and motored by. We were moving!! Got to the top, the friendly volunteers at the top and the huge fire was hard to resist, but was knew better to not go near it, and we had a 1hr running descent down a road to the finish, to cross the line 2nd place for stage 2 at 4.30am. Not that is meant anything as we were unranked, but we proved to ourselves and others around us what our team was capable of. We had pizza and coke and showered and hit bed !!
No comments:
Post a Comment