Training Log Archive: JayXC

Last bits of the monster bike leg.

And then the wheels started to fall off.

Everyone seemed pretty eager to keep moving and there was no discussion of sleeping in the TA. I think personally I was underestimating the potential for problems on the next two legs of the race. I had paddled on the Pathfinder Reservoir and trekked around the Alcova Reservoir in 2013 so that perhaps gave me a false sense of confidence.

We set out with the packrafts for what I thought was a straightforward trek down to the reservoir. Within 2k of leaving the TA I could feel sleepiness coming on. The next two hours seemed like a blur. Alex was struggling to identify the correct trail to the CP. While he and Jesse were trying to figure it out I fell asleep 3x just standing, once while Alex was trying to describe the problems he was having to me. After wandering around for 2 hours we finally decided to lay down and sleep for an hour which was what we should have done 2 hrs previously.

Mindy woke us up stating that another team was approaching. We quickly gathered our things and set out behind Journey Racing just as the sun was coming up. In daylight it was much easier to find the trails and we ended up walking right to CP29 on the edge of the reservoir. We had also blown a 2.5 hr lead over 16th place.

Fortunately we had a great tailwind as we paddled NE across the reservoir. Despite our 1 hr sleep earlier we were still traveling pretty slowly and gave up a few spots just before hitting the takeout.

Trek from the take-out across the dam to the river on the other side. W4J met us here too and tried to cheer us up. We had an option to trek along the shallow parts of the river or paddle down it. It looked pretty boney but decided to give it a shot.

The shallow section of the river eventually let up and we could see Fremont Canyon approaching. Alex and I were looking forward to paddling through the canyon. Jesse and Mindy were not. We had the option to portage around the canyon on the road but to me it seemed like an easy decision to paddle it given my feet and the fact that Mark had told us he didn't think there was an advantage either way.




With some apprehension Mindy agreed to give it a shot. When we approached the first drop we decided to let her portage around while I paddled through it solo. Alex and Jesse did the same. Not much further into the canyon I realized that the 75 cfs flow and the width of the slots were not compatible and this was going to be a struggle to get through. Compounding this was the fact that the portage route for Mindy was essentially canyoneering on steroids. After 2 hours of struggle we finally made it to CP31A and the takeout. We should have walked around.

This was a miserable road walk spent discussing the Beatles and the Rolling Stones as the mid-day sun beat down.




As we turned off the pavement into the campground we finally got hit with a rainstorm after dodging them successfully throughout the race thus far. We were due.

By the time we made it to the shore of the Alcova Reservoir the storm had passed and there was blue skies again. We re-inflated the rafts and set off for a short 4k paddle across.

We punched the one control on shore and headed straight towards the take-out east of the dam. Around half way across I noticed that it was clouding up again. 5 minutes later it was raining and we had a bit of a tail wind.

The conditions continued to grow over the next 10 minutes and before I knew it we were in the middle of a very nasty storm. Cracks of lightning were right on top of us and the tailwind was blowing at what I thought was a sustained 50 mph. This created a strange condition on the water under us. It was similar to paddling across a river current where it enters the ocean with 2-3 foot standing waves breaking in the direction we were traveling. It seemed as if one wrong/weak paddle stroke would be enough to send us sideways resulting in the wind flipping us over.

We made it to within 100m of the shoreline and then started to ferry east looking for somewhere to come ashore without being destroyed by the break. Alex and Jesse had found a small cove that was somewhat sheltered from the wind, which made approaching much easier, and we shot in and quickly exited the rafts.

We started to deflate and pack up with the intention of getting down to CP33 and some shelter. At that moment however the lightning was right on top of us with no delay between the flashes and bangs so instead we piled under a small ledge and put a deflated packraft over our heads as some type of shelter from the rain/wind and sat there for the next 45 minutes waiting for the storm to pass. We were certainly wet but I think I fell asleep a few times while waiting it out.

With that craziness past, we gathered up our gear and hiked down towards CP33, running into the race referee on our way. We asked if we were in trouble and he laughed. He informed us that the store marked on the map in town was already closed but that there was a team held up in the gym at the school next to the CP. We knocked on the door and the custodian named Stormy let us in, very appropriate.

Northbound Adventure was also there drying out. We took the opportunity to dry out a few items and change into our remaining dry gear (fleece) for the river paddle to the last TA of the race. We had been lucky with the weather up until this point but it was exacting its revenge on us now.

When leaving the previous TA in the early morning I thought we would be finished by now.

We put on the river just as it was getting dark. There was a little current but that dropped off quickly and we found ourselves paddling though some nasty vegetation just under the surface which also had and a strange floating, white foam above it.

After about 3k we heard some rushing water from a dam spillover and discovered that we were actually in a small reservoir that required us to portage down to the river below.

Once below the dam the river was flowing well but some were struggling with drowsiness again and we started singing and asking trivia questions to keep everyone engaged. Interesting fact: Jesse knows all the words to Ice Ice Baby.

This whole paddle was a strange déjà vu episode for me and I could swear I had done this exact paddle previously. I went back and forth in my head wondering if we had paddled it in any Cowboy Tough's previously.

Eventually we saw the highway bridge and knew the madness was coming to an end. W4J greeted us as we arrived and we set about building bikes, changing clothes and eating warm food. We were very cold but W4J and the TA staff were in shorts and t-shirts. I at least recognized that and avoided overdressing for the last bike ride to the finish.



One benefit to having a quicker TA than your teammates.

C • deja vu 2