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| September 25th, 2002 |
Entry Submitted by: Joe Smirlies
This years ARC Muskoka was quite a race. 144 Teams competed for top hounrs. It was full of adventure and fun. Read Joe's race report below.
Click here --> ARC Muskoka 2002 Race Report <-- Click here
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| September 14th, 2002 |
Entry Submitted by: Peter Judd
To get us ready for the Muskoka race next week, Peter submitted his account of a race he
did with another team last year in Haliburton to illustrate how important navigation is to any adventure race.
Click here --> Navigation is the key to adventure racing! <-- Click here
Entry Submitted by: Joe Smirlies
Since we all have real jobs and responsibilities, it is not always easy to find time to train.
However, opportunities to train do pop up at the most unlikely times. You just have to be willing to take
advantage of them. Take these past few days. I was on a business trip in beautiful Boise, Idaho. This valley city
is surrounded by scenic hills, which had me salivating! The plan started to formulate in my mind. I can see it now!
Hiking up and down a selected hill. The question was which one. So, during dinner on the 12th with my colleagues, I couldn't
resist asking the waitress about any trails and how do I get there. The options were endless.
I opted for the closest hill to our hotel. Table Rock Mountain. It wasn't really a mountain, it was more of a hill with a
flat top, like a table. What do ya know! Just like its name. It was all settled then, I will climb Table Rock Mountain!
Just one problem, I had no gear with me. That won't stop me, I thought to myself. Well, maybe.
The day arrived, but business first. Luckily our meetings finished around 1:30pm. Plenty of time to fit in a hike.
My colleagues were not as enthusiastic as I was. They both took naps. So I first ventured out to deal with my limited gear
situation. It was pretty hot and those hills looked pretty dry and arid. Typical southwestern looking hills.
I picked up some power gels, a water bottle and a baseball cap. I was ready to go. The plan was being executed just fine.
I headed back to the hotel to change. I had instructions and a map on how to get there. I expected to park at the bottom
of the hill and then climb it. However, what I found was that the road led right to the top of Table Rock Mountain.
It was a lookout point. I was disappointed, I really wanted to climb it first. Oh well! My plan changed a little.
Looking out over Boise and the hill, I noticed a number of trails winding their way down. I picked my trail and ventured
out with a big grin on my face. The trail was very dry and well travelled. Hardly any bush or grass were taller than my
knees. The great thing about hiking in a new location, is that you have a chance to explore. Upon reaching the
bottom of the hill, I came across an abandoned turn-of-the-century graveyard. Intrigued, I entered and explored the
dozen or so tombstones and plaques. They included many young interned as well as a WWII soldier and one unknown.
Many of them past on in the late 1800's. After my little visit, I pressed on and headed back up the hill.
The journey up was definitely more challenging. The heat and sun were more noticable as I climbed. Before reaching the top,
I decided to take another trail that led around to the back of the mountain. This path followed along the base of some sharp
rock faces and through a rock quarry. This provided me with some interesting geology to entrtain me while I was hiking.
I exited the quarry and reached the summit. I spent a few more minutes looking down at the city. Pleased with myself for hiking today and
slipping in some adventure race training while I was away. |
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| September 10th, 2002 |
Entry Submitted by: Joe Smirlies
Plan: Train at Kelso after work. Plan to bike for an hour then climb the Glen Eden Ski hill
at least 4 times. |
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| September 9th, 2002 |
Team webscroll.com debuts its webpage!
Welcome to the Journal section of our web site. In here you will find various
entries submitted by members of the webscroll.com adventure racing team. We hope you
will find this section both enlightening and humrous as we share our experiences during
training and racing.
Entry Submitted by: Joe Smirlies
By this time in 2002, I have already participated in two adventure races. The first being
in Haliburton organized by WBAC and the other in Toronto organized by ARC. Both races were
fun, but I did not feel properly prepared. Our next race is only a couple of weeks away.
This time around I feel better prepared. This is largely to due with the fact that Heather, Peter
and myself have been able to train as a team more often. Motivation during training is just as
important as motivation during race day. My teammates have definitely motivated me and I hope I have
done the same for them. We have been training hard since mid-August and mainly thanks to the hills
at Kelso, I think we will do not bad....maybe!
Our last training session was on Sunday, Sept. 8th. This time we went to Hilton Falls. Started out about 10am
and by that time it was already bordering on 30 degrees! Theresa, Peter's wife and experienced adventure racer, joined
us and this is just after recovering from the Canadian Eco-Challenge Championship a couple of weeks prior. She was great. Showed a lot of energy for someone
still suffering from spending 5 days in the back country of Golden, BC. We started our training on the bike,
which lasted just under 2 hours and covered about 17kms. Terrain was a mixture of wide gravel paths
to narrow, very rocky so-called trails. One section was near impossible to ride over, so we "bike-whacked" it
for a couple of kms. In the true spirit of adventure racing! After that we set out on foot. We headed towards the
falls and noticed how drastic an impact the lack of rain has had. The falls weren't much more then a small stream of water
running down the rocks. This prompted Peter to get in his shower for the day! We decided to the follow
the river bed, which was dry and mainly consisted of rocks. After coming to a dead end and not prepared to do
serious bush whacking, we headed back until we were able to find a path out. We found a path alright, but it led us to a
20+ foot cliff face. Theresa opted for the intelligent decision of back tracking further and ascend safely up the
escarpment. The guys in the party on the other hand decided to be guys and climb the cliff face.
The team reconviened and continued there trek through the bush. We hiked for about and hour and 15 minutes at a fairly
good pace. Another good training day! Today will be a rest day. Back at it Tuesday at Kelso. After that,
I think the team has two more good training days left before the race. Must the make the most on them! |
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