What an adventure Expedition Canada was!
Sunday Sept 26
Drive to Penticton. Jason and I traveled from Victoria and Laurel and Kristal traveled from Saskatoon. Road trip fun!!
Sunday night late in the hotel we met Laurel for the first time. She had enthusiasm and excitement that pumped me up. And it was awesome for me to see my dear friend Kristal for the first time in a few years.
Mon Sept 27/Tues Sept 28
It takes a LOT of work to organize the logistics and gear for an event like this. We spent all of Monday and Tuesday doing rope checks, swim checks, photos, meetings, organizing food, organizing gear. Packing our bikes into our boxes, deciding what stuff goes into what boxes. It was a lot! By Tues night we were emotionally done with all of this planning and ready to get after it.
Wed Sept 29: The Start
4 am wake up, pack up/eat, go into lockdown at 4:30am.
Then the race video was shown. Watch it! It’s amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JzjF9AAoDQ
Jason and Kristal - our awesome navigators - looked at the map and figured out our intended routes of travel for the first half of the course.
6:30am - everyone walked 1.5km to the start line carrying our paddling bags, swim gear, and trekking gear for Leg 2.
Leg 1: the swim
Estimated time from race director 0.6-1.5 hours
Actual time for team Ignorance Is Bliss: not known. Approximately 1.5 hours
Jason and Laurel started us off and swam together for the 1km West. Kristal and I walked to the end and cheered them on. When they came out of the water, they tagged us and we swam back. I was really proud of Kristal. I knew this was not inside her comfort zone and she just kept going and tried to stay calm and move forward. I did my best to help her along and we were both pretty psyched when we could stand up in the sand at the end!
Leg 2: trek 14.5km to Skaha Bluffs 514m up /396m down
Estimated time by race director: 1.5hr-4hr
Actual time for Ignorance Is Bliss: Approx 3 hours, plus time in transition building bikes
We fast walked through town as we ate and continued to dry off from the swim. At the south end of town we started a very steep climb up toward skaha bluffs and checkpoint 2.
Checkpoint 2?!? Uh-oh. Where was checkpoint 1? Shoot!
We felt really silly as we realized that we had completely missed checkpoint 1, which was in town and really close to the start. I felt particularly silly because I had underlined the words ‘visitor center’ in our little passport book, but I hadn’t connected this with CP1 in my head and assumed we would be going through town at some later date to get this one… nope! We mourned this stupid miss for a few minutes and then decided just to keep going. We knew we would be “unranked”, but we also knew that going back for it wasn’t worth it to us, because we were never in this event to be competitive.
We hiked up to CP 2 and punched the orienteering flag, and then made our way through the bluffs. Navigating was a hard job - difficult to try and put the information from the map we had in front of us into all the trails around us on the ground.
We made it to the transition (TA2) to finish the trek leg and start riding our bikes. 1-2 teams were just finishing up their bike builds and off they went, leaving team 6 as the last ones in this transition. I was really stoked when we (thanks to Kristal’s awesome bike mechanical skills) got 4 bikes built and in working order out of our boxes and ready to ride.
Leg 3: Mtn Bike 50km total
Estimated time from race director: 3.5-8 hours (including transition)
Estimated time it actually took us: 9 hours, 45min (not including transitions)
Part One: getting through Penticton from Skaha Bluffs to 3 Blind Mice trails
We had a tough time negotiating our way through town. We started the bike tow here, but weren’t very skilled at using it (having never practiced) in traffic, so Jason tried to navigate us away from traffic. We then had extra opportunities to climb hills as well as carry our bikes up and down some stairs!! We were trying to laugh at ourselves and do our best to just keep moving forward.
Part Two: singletrack mountain biking through the 3 Blind Mice trails
Kristal and Jason helped us navigate through the chaotic network of beautiful riding trails there. We headed up and they did an awesome job bouncing ideas of where we were and what was coming up as we went. Laurel got off her bike and ran any section she didn’t feel comfortable riding. There were two checkpoints down low and then a significant climb up to the top of the area for CP5. We met a group of local bikers as we negotiated our way to the top. They couldn’t understand why we wouldn’t just use the Trailforks app on our phones to help us find our way to the top of the climb, and were totally confused by the idea of our race. (“You don’t have your phones?!”) They did help by pointing out that the trail we were on did not exist on our map, but that it would take us up to the top area.
The climb up to CP5 felt never-ending, and we ended up being really happy to find it just before dark. We treated our water, put on our lights and warmer clothes, got really surprised by a truck that came our way, and then rode down. The ride down had some challenging stuff and we navigated through the trails to find two more CPs. We enjoyed seeing a skunk running into the bushes, and then a flowy fun ride to end the section.
On a personal note, I was really happy about all of this riding. I’ve worked hard this year to become a competent mountain bike rider and a better hill climber as well. I really enjoyed all of these trails and feel like I can ride most mountain bike legs out there in adventure racing, day or night, which is a huge accomplishment for me.
The person waiting for us at WP2 at the end of the section was so kind and encouraging. We really appreciated him checking on us and sending us off with a warm smile.
Naramata Beach transition (10:20pm-11:30pm)
When we arrived, many racers were there and everything felt a bit frantic. Nathalie met us and told us that the paddle had been canceled due to high winds, and the race had been paused and was about to restart on a short course with no paddle. We could jump back on our bikes and restart with them, joining the main pack again. I guess from a race perspective this could have been cool, but we knew climbing up the enormous hill to get back up to the KVR on our bikes would be slow going for us. And we were hungry. And we had just been on our bikes for almost 10 hours and wanted a little break.
Laurel had a quick nap in transition while we fired up the stove and made a hot meal (quinoa and sausage dehydrated meal - yum!!) and got some clothes, pot, stove, fuel and food out of the paddle bag for the next bit.
Leg 5: Bike 12.5km
Estimated time from race director: 0.75-1.5 hours (including transition)
Time it actually took us: 1 hour, 45 min (not including transition)
Jason put on his jet pack and helped tow Laurel up the steep hill to the KVR. I could barely keep up with him even while he was towing. From the top of the road climb it was about 9km to the transition along the railroad (2% incline). We were plugging along, a little bit sleepy and tolerating the wind ok.
Transition 5: Bottom of Okanagan Mtn Park
We arrived here at about 2:15am. Removed our sleeping stuff from our dropbox “A”, changed clothes, ate some food, and set our alarms for 5:30am. I’d say resting inside our ‘emergency shelter’ was uncomfortable for me with some dampness, wind and cool parts, but it was still a welcome break after ‘day one’ of racing.
Getting out of the bothi bag at 5:30am, I started shivering and shaking pretty significantly and couldn’t really function well. So I warmed up by the fire for a brief stop before eating oatmeal from the stove and getting ready for the trek. The folks at this transition were lovely and did an awesome job of encouraging everyone and keeping water available and the fire going.
Leg 6: Trek 28km
Estimated time by race director: 3.75-8 hours (including transitions)
Actual time we took:10 hours (not including transitions)
We left at about 7am and started walking up the steep road. We saw a team on their way down and were in awe of how fast they must have done this trek through the dark, windy cold night. We were moving quite a bit better today than we were the day before, and it was beautiful to hike along admiring the fall colours and more remote trails. We didn’t have to think about navigation much at all through this trek, but there was a lot of hill climbing to do. We gently hiked up to the first CP, and enjoyed the sun in that area, before our climb became steeper and more windy. We could see the rain approaching but it held off until we were closer to the second trek CP near Baker Lake. By the time we got there, it was pouring rain and some slow bushwacking was required to actually get to the CP flag and punch our passport.
We then climbed up and around to the next CP at Divide Lake, near the summit of Okanagan Mtn, and it was a cold heavy rain (?sleet) as Kristal rocked the navigation to the marshy area. With wet feet we snagged this CP flag and punched our passport. We took shelter in the emergency hut right there to have a snack and change because it was miserable outside and we were now soaking wet, but overall the hike was beautiful and I thought we made good progress considering the amount of climbing.
The descent was wet and we were keen to get down, but we didn’t run much. Maybe we should have pushed harder to shuffle along a bit more. Some sections were steeper and slippery and more technical, but some parts were runnable… For us, though, 28km on feet with a huge climb/descent and 3 CPs to find - it was a successful leg. Plus, it was a giant loop and I love loops!
Transition 6: Bottom of Okanagan Mtn Park
As we approached the transition we were getting prepared for the upcoming 44km biking leg. The great news was that the rain was done and it was supposed to be clearing up overnight and sunny again tomorrow. And the volunteers had boiling water ready for us to make some dinner!
We had loads of stuff to fit into our packs. For legs 7,8,9,10 and 11 we wouldn’t have any access to drop boxes. So we had to carry a lot of gear, clothing, water, sleeping items, food, lights, etc. Our packs were HEAVY and FULL.
And then as we were leaving, Kristal and the volunteer started asking which way we wanted to go. KVR flat for 25km or up the steep hill road for 8km? And there were 2 checkpoints to find along this section of road/KVR. Oops. I hadn’t realized what was coming up, and neither did Jason. We hadn’t prioritized any time for our navigator to be looking ahead and tell us what was coming…
Leg 7: 44km bike ride
Estimated time by race director: 3-6hours
Actual time it took us: 7:15pm Thursday-1pm Friday (18 hours)
So we started riding and pushing our bikes up the steep road climb as the sun set. And then we saw a team heading our way - coming back and having to pull out because of an injury on the course. So they were biking back to Penticton. On we pushed into the dark. Another team came our way, dropping out because of an injured teammate and biking back to Penticton.
I was getting tired and wasn’t thrilled about the long boring bike leg ahead. I had some tears on this climb as fatigue was setting in and we were heading out into the night.
At the top of the 8km road, we knew we were close to Chute Lake Resort. Jason and I had been there once years ago but it was closed, and there wasn’t much to it. But I joked and said “how amazing would it be if you were allowed to rent a cabin at the resort for a few hours and sleep and be warm and dry?” Ha ha… we were pretty sure it would be closed, and we didn’t think it was allowed in the race to rent a room part way through... was it?
First we had to find the next checkpoint anyway. It was dark but still earlier on in the night, and we wanted to find this checkpoint and then get some km done on the KVR to keep moving and keep warm as we continued on before a rest. The checkpoint was described as being on a single track, off the KVR, requiring a short out and back. But we couldn’t figure out where to go. Maybe we are here? Or here? What about this road? There is no lake near here... this road isn’t on the map. We must be back here? Or here? … and on it went. No single track around. Only logging roads.
Our communication and cognition wasn’t going well. Nobody was angry or unhappy but we weren’t capable of making good decisions. So we opted to take a camping break and try to get rested up and warm and then re-try for the checkpoint.
Two racers came by, returning back to Penticton as they had an injured teammate. Kristal chatted with them and they gave us some intel on finding the checkpoint. But we opted for some rest before we went out to find it. We got into the shelter at 10pm and we set our alarms for 1am. I was damp and shaking and shivering a little but managed to get some sleep.
Getting out of the shelter to go out into the cold to look for a lost checkpoint was a real low point of the race for me. Laurel and Kristal made a fire (amazing girl guide skills because it must have been below zero degrees and everything was wet or frozen!). We were in a weird place here and everyone had their own challenges going on. I was terrified of the cold and shaking and shivering and didn’t really know how to leave the fire and warm sleeping bag.
Eventually, our navigators came up with a plan and renewed confidence. They realized the map scale wasn’t what they thought before, so the single track was about 5km in and out, not 2km in and out, so we had to go further than we had previously tried.
We went in on foot, leaving our bikes, and paced off our distance to confirm what road we were on with other trails/roads. We figured it out, found the dam, and found the checkpoint. We were excited to celebrate and took a moment to stare at the beautiful stars above. Although we still don’t understand how the instructions could have said ‘singletrack’ when it was in fact all on a double track, driveable active logging road until the last 20 meters.
We walked/jogged back to our bikes, wrapped in emergency blankets and a shared sleeping bag. We packed up, wiped all the ice off our bikes, and started riding. But my gear shifter was frozen and I couldn’t change gears. I was stuck in the same gear for the rest of the day, and couldn’t climb any hills.
We rode right by Chute Lake resort, which we thought did look open. (It turns out that two other teams HAD rented rooms there for a few hours and that this was allowed within race rules - another rookie learning. I think if we had done that and then gone back to the checkpoint with a plan, we might have wasted way less energy and certainly been way less cold!)
Then we had loads of kms to knock off on the KVR in the dark before the sun came up enough to hit us. We weren’t biking too quickly and our hands and toes were all chilly. We had different strategies of emergency blankets wrapped over our bodies or handlebars, socks on hands, etc. It seemed to me that the trestle we were aiming for to get our next checkpoint was taking SO LONG to come along. We made it to the trestle and CP 15 just as the sun hit us and lit up the trestle wood in a beautiful sparkling frost.
We snagged the checkpoint in the creek at the bottom of the trestle, and had a hot meal with the stove in the sun. Bathroom breaks, food, a nap for Laurel, and Kristal fiddled with my gear shifter… it was a glorious stop.
Forward we went, past some participants in the BC Bike Race (going the opposite direction), and into the Crawford Mtn Bike trails. Kristal was smart to remind us to be conservative on these downhill singletrack trails because we were tired, our packs were very heavy, and it had rained yesterday and frozen overnight. Plus, we had seen three teams come back to us with injured teammates so we wondered what was happening in these trails.
The trails were awesome. The sun was up, and we had made it to Friday morning sunrise, which meant that the rain in the forecast was done and it was supposed to be sunnier. The views into the Myra Canyon were lovely and riding the trails of the biking network there was really fun. Laurel was improving SO much on her bike and really enjoying the riding now, so we were mostly having lots of fun together again. My bike couldn’t ride uphill very well at all, which wasn’t a big deal in this area because it was mostly downhill.
We had to find one checkpoint at the ‘top of the hill’ near Lost Lake before ending the section and getting to the ropes. Maybe it was our fatigue or not communicating or maybe the trails weren’t quite adding up, but we hiked up several extra hills not finding the CP flag and not being quite sure where the lake was. We were getting really low on water and we were all looking forward to being done on our bikes.
Anyway, we took some time to navigate around the Lost Lake section. But I found a “Lost Lake” sign, after poor Kristal did all sorts of extra work trying to find out where we were/check extra hilltops, and we couldn’t find accessible water. Fatigue was on us but we were mostly still being nice to each other and laughing about it all.
We rode out of the Lost Lake, Crawford trails area and then had a 2km road climb up to the ropes area. I needed the towline this time, since my bike was stuck in a gear that made uphill riding pretty hard. This sealed the decision for me right there. I couldn’t ride up 2km and it was already late in the afternoon… I didn’t think we could ride 33km more, with quite a bit of climbing, without it getting cold and dark. We weren’t set up very well to go into a third cold and wet night if we couldn’t stay moving quickly to stay warm. So we decided that we would do the ropes section and then call it quits.
Leg 8: The ropes
We heard people cheering for us as we came into the parking area of the high adventure ropes course of Myra Canyon. That cheering was really awesome. They hadn’t given up on us!
We had the option of hiking down into the bottom of the canyon to collect checkpoint 19 and then hiking back up, but the team decided against this so we ended our adventure with some extra ropes course playing.
Finishing / Getting back to Penticton
We went back to our bikes at the parking lot/transition area and announced our decision to be finished. We took a team picture and felt really proud of ourselves and all that we had done.
Total time on course: 55 hours
Swim total 1km, Trekking total 65km, Mountain biking total 107km, + ropes course
Navigated to 15 checkpoints and had about 5-6 hours of sleep total
Then, miracle of miracles, the volunteer there had a truck and was driving back to Penticton anyway for his next duty. So it pays to be LAST!!! Other teams that finished had to turn around and bike back to Penticton, which was something that was really upsetting to me because I had no interest in riding my bike along the railway path (KVR) any further.
We left our bikes and jumped in with our stuff and got to sit in a cushy seat and ride to the finish line. Doug Smith, a super kind man from Calgary, made our day and was full of stories from the race and enthusiasm for life and adventure racing.
We turned in our race tracker at the finish without much fanfare. Then we grabbed some food, showered, got a hotel room, checked in with friends and family online, checked in with the other racing teams around the course, and went to sleep. In a lovely, clean, warm, cozy bed!
Reflections
Overall I’m really happy with our experience. I’ve been fascinated by this sport and by these amazing athletes that can keep going and do this stuff. There is no way to really understand what it is like to mountain bike in the dark or organize all the gear or navigate around as a group or keep going through the night and then keep going again… and it’s hard. And it’s really cool. And I’m so glad I was able to do this with my partner for life Jason and these two other women that I really respect that are kind and tough and smart.
My favorite parts were the Okanagan Mtn trek and the beautiful aspen up high, and I also really enjoyed the single track bike riding in the Crawford Trails.
