Team MotionBased

This is the first in what I expect to be a three-part race report for Baja Travesia 2007. The Players:Melissa Grifiths (MG)- Dirty Avocados Expedition AR Diva Donato Polignone (DP) - fast runner and cyclist, and strong gas Mark Richardson - Navigator and Captain, author. Chris Davidson - Support Crew Tony Fernandez - Support Crew Terminology CP - Check point, teams must visit all checkpoints to be ranked. TA - Transition area, where teams change modes of travel i.e. kayak to mountain bike. TAs are usually places to resupply food and water. Departure Day We met in my front yard late in the morning. We spread our gear out on my lawn, went though all the mandatory gear lists, double checked that we had what we needed, and eliminated duplicate gear. Here I eliminated two items I'd later wish I'd taken; my wetsuit and my neoprene spray-skirt. Sometime in this process DP realized that his bin with all of his food was still at home in his garage. He decided to replace the food rather that try to arrange for another team. My truck was pretty dang full when we left. We didn't get loaded up and ready to go 'til around 2:15. Since my kids get out of school at 2:22 we drove down there so could say goodbye to my family again. Kyle and the kids were happily surprised to see me and it was nice to get another set of hugs and kisses before hitting the road. they were also amused at my fully loaded truck with the giant kayak on top. We traveled to Ensenada via San Diego. Our first adventure was parking at our hotel in San Diego. The lower floor of the building were businesses and parking was on the 9The floor up a corkscrew ramp. We has a triple kayak as long as my truck on top of the truck mounted on its beam and the valet said it wouldn't fit up the ramp. The other parking was a lot a block away that was not secured. Since our truck was loaded with gear that wasn't an option. We elected to drive to the parking lot on the ninth floor. As I nosed into the entrance to the ramp it was apparent that the kayak wasn't going to clear the ceiling as loaded. We took the kayak out of the mounting brackets and set it right side up flat on the cross bars of the rack. I crept up the ramp with the Tony and Chris guiding me and making sure I had clearance. At each floor I'd clear a fire sprinkler pipe by about 8". The corkscrew ramp ended at the 7th floor. The clearance up the the 9th floor was considerably lower and there was no way the boat would have enough clearance. The 7th floor parking was for Valet and office parking. I parked the loaded truck in the valet lot and left a note in the window with our room number. The next morning our bill included $20 for valet parking. Easiest valet fee that hotel ever earned but to us it well worth the security. Travel Day 2- San Diego to Ensenada After meeting my sister, brother in-law, and niece for breakfast at Soleil at the Marriott. Great buffet, eat breakfast there if your in San Diego. After breakfast we ran errands to REI, and a map store before heading south into Tijuana, Mexico. Tijuana greeted us with stop and go traffic. It's a crappy first impression for people entering Mexico. We finally hit route 1 south and were making progress. One thing we Californians weren't used to is the toll roads. Every so often that were toll booths and we had to pay about $2.65 USD. Virtually all businesses and even government toll booths in Baja California accept US Dollars. We arrived in Ensenada around 2:30pm. The most noticeable landmark in Ensenada is the HUGE Mexican flag at the harbor. Our Hotel was only about 400 meters from the flag. As we checked in we were told that there is a reduced rate is we paid cash...hmmm? Perhaps someone doesn't report cash income to the government. We got settled into our rooms with little drama. In the hotel courtyard there was a sign-up sheet for skills checks the next day. I signed up for 11:30am ropes skills check and 2:00pm kayak skills check. We walked into town for dinner. We ate at a seafood restaurant that had been recommended. I ordered a Seafood Combo plate and it was fantastic. Day 3. Skills Checks The next day we farted around with our gear in the morning. We then rode our bikes to the climbing wall across town where we'd be doing our ropes skills checks. We arrived with Dart II and right after Team Hype. All we had to do was climb the wall on belay then hook into a fixed rappel rope and rappel down stopping once and locking our prussic. We breezed through this pretty easily. We rode our bikes back across town. We didn't have long until our kayak skills check so we stopped and grabbed some ceviche tostadas mixtos from a cart across the street from the hotel. Chris and Tony met us at the hotel. We changed into our paddling gear and all five of us drove to the beach for the kayak skills testing. We spotted Paul and Karen at the beach and lugged our yacht of a kayak to the part of the beach where they were. If I'd had 4WD we could have driven there. We were instructed to paddle our through the surf. Once we were past the surf zone we were to tip over the kayak and self rescue in less than five minutes. After that we had to paddle back though the surf to shore. Well, paddling out went very well. We did an excellent job of tipping the boat and then righting it and getting back into it. We had a bit of trouble getting back in though. A wave caught us from behind and turned the boat sharply to the right. We did a poor job of bracing quickly enough and were dumped over the left. At my command we attempted to tow the kayak back out past the surf zone before attempting to right it and get back in. after well over five minutes it was obvious that this was a futile effort. I pushed the kayak into the waves and swam in after it as the surf washed it back towards the beach. Safely on the beach we secured our gear and walked the kayak back to the truck. Then Karen appeared and said we had to go out again. We dragged the huge boat back to the beach. Paul told us to paddle out into the surf zone and let a few waves hit us on each side. We did as told and leaned and braced into each wave as it hit us, picture perfect technique. We took one full set of waves from our left then turned around and took another set on our right. We paddled out past the surf zone and then back in, executing everything perfectly and building our skills,confidence, and teamwork in the process...we would need all of it in the race, and then some! We were all grateful that we had to go back out and practice some more. That night we went to dinner with BAARBD Wire and Thin Air. As a rule adventure racers are a friendly bunch with a strong sense of community in the sport. We had a good time socializing and event took a few photos together. I ate Mexican seafood again which was good, but not as good as what I'd eaten the night before. DP took the crew out drinking after that. Click below for more... Day 4 - Pre-Race meetings and Media Day We went to eat, then I had to attend a captains meeting. I brought Melissa with me to help me keep notes. She was already proving to be an excellent teammate. She was always finding ways to help me and was critical assisting me with organization and scheduling. We were given the breakdown of the race in terms of distance, and disciplines. We'd be starting with a paddle and the promoters we keeping a close watch on the forecast a a storm was expected to slam into San Diego. We were also told about the big canyon, Canon Esperanza. The next scheduled event was the Media Presentation. Most of the media was local and they were naturally focused on the local teams. There was a slide show and Paul, Karen, and Antonio told about the event. After the presentation there was a reception and t-shirt exchange in the courtyard featuring tacos, Corona served by Corona girls. Each team had to stand on a podium to be photographed. We hammed it up a bit and took a couple serious photos too. Each team was also told to bring three shirts for a shirt exchange. DP busted his butt making some nice DA shirts using Champion wicking fabric shirts. Several teams brought nothing to exchange. As far as I could tell the Venomous Ducks and the DA shirts were the best. I'm not sure what shirt Melissa got but I remember it was reallynice too, Donato got a T-shirt with an image of the Dali Llama wearing shades from Team Stride and I got a Venomous Ducks Shirt. I chatted with racers from around the country that I'd met over the years. The pre-race meeting was later in the afternoon where the course was revealed to all racers. Specific instructions were given to unsupported teams regarding how to pack their gear boxes. The highlight of the meeting was Paul and Karen's photo presentation of what we'd see in the Canon Esperanza. We'd have over a dozen rappels, some canyon swims, some technical bouldering, and a water-slide. We'd also have cold and heat. This was clearly to be the highlight of the race and we were all pretty excited to be a part of it. The meeting ended up with each team being handed a roll of maps. We then had to transpose all the checkpoints from the maps on the wall to our copies. I started it then with help from my team we double checked that all were correct. We were able to take our time and plan our intended route with our maps spread on a large table. Unsupported teams like Racing with Giants/DA and BAARBD Wire had to copy the check points and rush off to get their gear boxes to the drop in the parking area before the deadline. It was nice having the time a space to do a thorough job with the maps before heading back to the room. Back at the room we packaged our food into bags portioned to last 6 or 12 hours. It was getting dark. Before we went to dinner the promoters posted an update on the board. The weather forecast was for 25 knot winds in the morning and 35-40 knot by the afternoon with 8-10 foot swells forecast. Each team was now required to have a baler for each cockpit as a bilge pump would not be adequate in case a kayak capsized. Chris and Tony made us some perfect balers out of gallon water bottles. We went out late for a quick dinner at a semi Italian restaurant called something like Cafe Venezia. I wanted pasta instead of the high protein seafood extravaganza I'd been consuming since we arrived in Mexico. Melissa and I went to bed early and DP and the boys hit the town one last time, though they didn't stay out late this time. Sleep didn't come easy knowing that the rough seas were going to make the initial kayak leg very challenging. Melissa was very anxious about it and I was trying to be as reassuring as I could be without lying. I knew that paddling downwind with waves coming from behind was going to be scary, I didn't know how scary because I hadn't done anything like that before. Day 5 Race Day We awoke from a restless night to a gray morning and drizzle. Chris and Tony had already packed the truck for the road and covered all the gear with tarps. We didn't go out for breakfast, just ate some of our race food. I had my usual pre-race breakfast of Ensure plus some trail mix and a bottle of water. We drove to the harbor and unloaded the boat. Some teams just carried their boats from the hotel but since we had a crew to bring the truck back that seemed like a waste of energy. There was a stiff breeze blowing and the enormous flag at the harbor was blowing strait out from the pole. The harbor was deceptively calm and the high seawalls prevented us from seeing the angry seas beyond. We paddle gently around the harbor for awhile. Each team had to paddle to the starting area for a gear check. Once that was done we lined up at the starting line. The race was started on time at 0800. Knowing that it was a long leg we settled quickly into a good rhythm and paddled at a comfortable pace out of the harbor. When we left the harbor we were greeted by 4-6 foot seas from the west. As we paddled through the larger waves with whitecaps the front of the boat would pop out of the backside of the waves then crash back down to the water. Melissa was catching some big air in the front of the boat and some of the landings had to be kinda hard on her booty. The spray skirt I was using had no shoulder straps and it was allowing water to sit on it. DP didn't put his on correctly and both of our spray-skirts were allowing water to get into our boat. Now I wished I had my neoprene spray-skirt which would have kept us much dryer. We'd packed a bottle in each of our cockpits to pee into. Peeing into a bottle would have required undoing the spray-skirt and raising my center of gravity to pee. In those seas undoing the spary-skirts would have been a really bad idea as the next wave could easily flood the cockpit and raising the center of gravity also could've had obvious consequences, so we did what we had to do right where we sat in the boat. We were to paddle west/southwest towards CP1 at the southeast corner of Todos Santos Island. However, in order to take the waves head-on I found myself steering slightly north of the target and trying to cheat south between sets of swells. Just as I was starting to adjust our course to southwest Paul came up in the boat that was CP1. He said the sea was too angry at Todos Santos and to proceed from our present location, now CP1, to CP2 at La Bufadora, or the blow hole. He asked how we were doing and we said fine but we had a little too much water in the boat. He said "get it out" and motored away to the next team. We knew we had to get the water out but opening the spray-skirt to do it seemed like a bad idea too considering that all that water got in there with the spray-skirt on. I tuned the boat into the waves and one at a time Donato and Melissa bailed the water out of the front and rear compartments while I steered the boat into the waves. We then started towards CP2. CP 2 was south of the point that was the south end of the Ensenada Bay. Waves were definitely getting larger now. I could see the rocky shoreline with the crashing waves and steered well clear of it. We saw a team stopped with one person in the water. We paddled close to them and the saw us but they didn't appear to be in distress. We progressed around the point with a comfortable cushion and started more south. We were taking the waves from our right side now and I was watching for the whitecaps and trying to steer into them whenever I could. the waves were getting larger and things were beginning to get stressful. I spotted the small bay where CP2 was located and we passed another team with their girl in the water. It was DART-Nuun II/Northwest Kayaks and they arrived at CP2 just after we did and Jenn looked pretty hypothermic. The initial plan was to make a quick stop but we ended up taking the opportunity to eat some food without fear of getting rolled in a wave. I was also getting cold so I put on my jacket. There were several teams there while we were. and most of them had been swimming against their will. CP2 to CP3 was easily the longest leg of the kayak section. Will and his all-male Racing with Giants/Dirty Avocados team was there and left just a few minutes ahead of us. As we paddled out of the inlet we passed an abandoned Necky Amaruk Kayak that was close to crashing into the rocky shoreline. Some teams were off to a really bad start. We paddled out to sea as the size of the swells continued to grow, and grow, and grow. Once out of the cove the wind was coming more from behind us. We spent about ten minutes attempting to get our kayak sail up and into it's mount on the front of the kayak. It didn't work and finally a critical piece dropped off into the sea so we put it away and started paddling. This may have ben a blessing as the kayak may have been very hard to handle in the huge swell with a sail up. The waves were coming more and more from behind us too. We were struggling to keep a vigilant watch for waves with whitecaps coming at us from behind. As every set of swells came past we found it harder and harder to keep the kayak stable and we were taking on more water through our spray-skirts too. One wave near the end of a set passed us by when a smaller wave from a different angle unexpectedly caught the tail of our kayak and dumped us over into the sea. I immediately took command of the situation. I made sure we were all on the same side of the boat and commanded, " flip the boat on three: one, two, three." Once the boat was upright I told Donato to get back into the boat brace the kayak with his paddle while Melissa got in. I hung on the outside of the boat so it would float higher while they bailed water. We had to hurry before because another large wave could flood the cockpit again at any moment. Once the kayak was mostly empty I climbed back in, we closed our spray-skirts, and we were back underway. We we saw what appeared to be a commercial fishing ship steaming towards us through the waves but as we got closer we could see that it was an optical illusions. The ship was anchored, the waves were crashing across it's bow, and it was the waves and wind that were pushing us towards the ship. Once past the ship we had to get around one more point of land before bearing southeast to the end of the kayak leg. As we got closer to the point the size of the waves kept increasing and the "surf zone" was extending farther and farther out from shore. I spotted a large rock protruding from the sea at least a mile west of the point and realized that there was a shoal extending from the point and the swells were being pushed up into large waves as they passed over the shoal. I turned the boat West an paddled out to sea because 20 foot tall breaking waves were not on my to do list, and because it appeared to me that if we were capsized in that "surf zone" we would not likely be able to get back into the kayak. Even traveling away from shore we had several tall waves break over our heads as we leaned into them and braced with our paddles. Eventually I detoured far enough west that it seemed relatively safe to turn south and go around the point. Waves from behind were pushing us around and I found myself using my paddle as an outrigger to stabilize the kayak more than I was using it to paddle forward. Finally the our destination came into view and as we neared it the wave size gradually decreased. We landed in relatively safe surf but because of a mistake on my part we flipped the kayak 20 yards from the beach. With help from our crew and others we got the kayak to shore and dumped out the water. We'd conquered and epic paddle that few avid kayakers will ever match or would even want to match. This was one of those epic race legs that will be talked about for years to come. Cold and wet we arrived at the transition area that Chris and Tony had organized perfectly. The stiff wind off of the ocean added to the chill. We changed clothes, ate some food, and packed for the next leg. DP even sat in the Truck with the heater on to warm up. While there we heard that several teams, possibly up to seven, were unaccounted for. This news hung heavy in out thoughts throughout the next leg because we were several of the "missing" people were friends. We prepped our bikes for a dusk departure. I laid out the maps, reviewed the route, and we were ready for the next leg of Baja Travesia 2007.... At the first TA there were several teams there that had not completed the paddle for whatever reason; some were rescued, some had nor been allowed to continue past CP2, and others had decided not to proceed past CP2. Team Venomous Ducks had the best story though; they had capsized in heavy breaking waves and were unable to get back into their triple kayak. When they realized they were not going to get back into the boat they grabbed all of their mandatory gear and swam a mile and a half to the end of the paddle leg, amazing. Their boat was eventually recovered but it had sustained significant damage when it was washed up onto the rocks. We left the first transition area wondering if the seven unaccounted for teams were okay. Melissa’s friend Tracey and Thin Air were among the “missing”. The unranked teams waiting in the Transition area were allowed to leave at about the same time as we did. The second leg of the race was a mountain bike ride that would take us winding south and east through the coastal hills on dirt roads. This was our first chance to get used to using the 1:50,000 scale maps that are standard in Mexico. One of the first things I noticed was that is was really difficult to figure out elevation because it was denoted in very few places on the maps. We rode to CP4 which was a left turn where the valley we followed away from the coast narrowed. As we rode up the first hill after CP4 the worry about the missing kayakers combined with a stomach full of food and salt water took it’s toll on Melissa and she pulled to the shoulder and puked. She again proved her toughness by getting right back on the bike and continuing like nothing had happened. To track our travel distances I would tell DP my estimate of distance to the next landmark, turn, or checkpoint. One CP was located in what the race instructions described as a “ghost town”. I had an Image of something like Bodie California in my head. We passed several groups of structures in the middle of the night while looking for the ghost town. DP began to say that it seemed like we had gone too far. We hadn’t seen a ghost town so I thought we’d keep riding and I’d keep a close eye on the compass. I also had the distraction that several spokes on my rear wheel were coming loose. We stopped to and decided to turn back but first I had to tighten up the spoke and hope that my wheel would hold together for the 3-4 miles to the end of the bike leg. While we stopped several teams passed us including Venomous Ducks, Hype, and others. Once I’d done a fair job of getting my rear wheel semi-strait we returned to the last bunch of buildings we’d passed about a mile down hill from where we stopped. We took a look around and I found the CP. As we punched the CP we could see the lights of other teams coming up the road. We found our way through the empty village but were caught by several teams including Racing with Giants. We bombed down the hill to the next TA. On the way Melissa got her font wheel stuck in a rain rut, and when she stopped to correct it the rider following her plowed right into her and her bike. No serious injuries resulted and we rolled along in the bicycle caravan into TA2. My plan for TA2 was to change pants and shoes and go. Melissa and DP planned to eat hot food, drink liquids, restock their bags, then go…and that’s what happened. I also assigned the crew the task of finding someone who could repair my wheel or get me a spare wheel from another team because I did not trust mine to make it through the rest of the race. As we set out on the third leg of the race the weather was chilly but not exactly cold. There was defintily a cool breeze from the coast. We crossed a highway and discovered that that there was a dirt road leading up the hills that wasn’t on our maps. I paused to compare the direction of the road and compare what I was seeing to the map. While we paused Racing with giants caught up to us and Will Gilmore proposed that we team up for this leg. The road was a blessing for the teams but it posed a special challenge for will and I as navigators. We had to stop several times to shoot bearings and triangulate our position on the maps. We worked together to navigate this section, never moving far without following our position on the maps. Both teams ambled along happily chatting about a number of subjects. Karl seemed to assume the role of conversation starter, evoking several subjects including kids and family, marriage, and religion. As we strolled along a couple teams passed us the opposite direction. They weren’t sure exactly where they were and we backtracking to figure out which canyon to follow to CP7. Once they’d gone around the bend and out of view I announced that we were exactly where we should leave the trail and follow the canyon to the next CP. Will and I consulted briefly and he concurred. I led the way as we followed animal trails through the canyon. The bottom of the canyon drainage was choked with vegetation so we traveled above the canyon bottom. At one point I got boxed in steep terrain at a reentrant (side canyon). DP quickly took the lead and we dropped deeper into the canyon then resumed following animal tracks. Eventually we came across a trail that was all that remained of a very old road. We followed the road to a gate where we found a nopales cactus farm. The race instructions said that the CP was located near a gate at the base of a hill with a west aspect. We wandered here and there, back and forth knowing that the CP was very near. I walked along the upper border of the nopales field looking for the CP, then I heard the others at the lower edge so I turned around and went to them. We looked all over the lower edge of the field then walked back around to where I’d been along the upper edge. We found the CP next to a gate about 50 feet from where I’d turned around 20 minutes earlier. In hindsight my indecision about which slope was a west aspect should have served as a clue that I needed to either take a nap or drink a Red Bull. When tiredness makes decision making difficult a short nap can do wonders. From CP7 we followed a dirt road along the bottom of a wide canyon that widened to a valley as it went. We eventually had to leave the road to get to the next CP which was under some high tension power lines. The dawn twilight was just beginning to light the sky and herald the start of day two. We heard voices behind us and turned off our headlamps so the team behind is wouldn’t follow our route. We could tell that the team behind us had missed the place where we’d left the dirt road. We could hear them arguing and bickering about the navigation. But with our lights off we were nearly invisible. Eventually it got light enough for them to see us and for us to see them. We recognized that it was Team Hype. They followed less than 5 minutes behind us all the way to CP 8. We bombed down hill from CP8. After we crossed a dry riverbed we came up to a gate. The farmers where near the house so Hanni from Racing with Giants asked in Spanish if we could pass through. They agreed and wished up good luck, …I think. We then followed dirt roads into and through the streets of the town of San Vicente. CP9 /TA3 was in a park in the center of town. When we arrived at the transition area I found out that Chris had found someone to repair my rear wheel, but as he worked on it he discovered that four of the spoke nipples were bad. I spoke to him and he offered to sell me a wheel for $100 US dollars. I briefly considered my options, realized I had none, and agreed to buy the wheel. As I prepared for the next leg and ate some food he put my tire onto the wheel and got it all set up on my bike. He brought my bike back and gave me some business cards. It turn out that he owns a bike shop in Ensenada. At the TA in San Vicente we found out that all of the teams that were missing on the first kayak leg had been accounted for and that all were fine. We also found out that many of the kayaks were not fine. Our TA in San Vicente was not short. We ate. I tried to sleep but my mind was whirling thinking about the race. DART was long gone and well established is first place. BAARBD Wire was in second. Kayak Lake Mead was in third place and was just up the road. I always have trouble sleeping in the morning and there was a lot of activity in and around the transition area. I tried to grab a few winks in the front seat of my truck while Melissa slept outside. I think DP also rested but I don’t think either of us got much rest. We rolled out of the TA and within a couple miles we caught and passed Team Hype. We rode strong and steady. We had no nav problems until we rode over a small pass and to a valley. My plan on the map was to come to a left turn and turn east towards the next CP. We rode down the hill and I was concerned that were going west. We looked all around and realized that the left turn we’d been looking for was through a large open gate. We rode in and soon came across a pickup truck. The driver was quick to tell us that it was “privado” and insisted that we turn around. As we reached the gate two more teams ,Wild Burros and Dancing Pandas met us. We explained the situation and looked at the race instructions. We suddenly realized that these were the “unfriendlies” noted in the race instructions which also advised us not to pass through the large gate in the tall fence…oops. There were two other dirt roads heading basically east back up the road just uphill from the “tall fence” property. One of the Wild Burros spoke Spanish and talked to the man in the pick-up. He returned and told us that the man told him a motorcycle had been riding back and forth on the road near the fence all night. We know that had to be Paul Romero. All three teams took that road to the next CP which might have been cp10. This CP marked the beginning of a significant hike a bike section. We basically walked our bikes straight up the ridge along a barbed wire fence. I hooked melissas bike to the tow line on my bike and helped pull her bike up the hill. DP went ahead. We arrived just in time to see the Wild Burros riding away. I studied the ap and we crossed the fence and rode away the same way the Wild Burros had gone. The trail began as sandy single track that was little more than animal trails but eventually we came to some dirt roads. The dirt roads improved and eventually began sweeping down from the hills into a valley. This was the only prolonged downhill bike section of the whole race and it was pretty fun. At the bottom of the we came around a left turn and had to brake hard to avoid crashing into a cable fence. We commented that any teams arriving there after dusk might have a serious wreck into that gate. We joined a dirt road in the valley that we followed over a mountain range to the next checkpoint. Parts of the road had recently been used by the Baja 250 and thus was in pretty bad shape. There were whoop-de-doos and silt and sand everywhere. As we started up the long climb I attempted to tow Melissa but I’d tied my tow line to short causing her front wheel to be too close to my rear wheel. We gave up on the towing and instead I took some of her gear and put it in my backpack. Racing with Giants caught up to us and we rode together for awhile before they rode aaway ahead of us. DP was suffering some serious gastro-intestinal disturbances at this point in the race. His diet of random high protein, high fat snack foods was no longer cooperating andhe had some unearthly horrendous gas realeses. He was also having to force himself to eat enough. He and Melissa were both suffering but persevered and we rode strong into the next transition area. Right before we arrived third placed Kayak Lake Mead had left. At this TA I finally gave in and let the crew get me some hot food. It was late afternoon of day two. The next trek was about 18k. We took our time in the TA and I didn’t mind because it seemed the Melissa and DP needed to recharge a bit anyway. We hammed it up for the race photographer, Bernardo and chatted with the volunteers. Will approached me and suggested that we do this trek section together again and I agreed. They were about ready to go so we had to rush to get ready. As Melissa pulled the waist strap of her Salomon backpack tight the strap tore off of the pack. We attempted to fix it with limited success. Melissa then got out her smaller backpack and used it instead. I got out the maps spent some time trying to decide on a route. There were several dirt roads leading away from the TA in about the easterly direction we had to travel but they were not on the map which made them suspect. There was also a set of high voltage power lines but following them would mean more uphill and downhill as the lines went straight over the hills they crossed. Finally our team was ready. Will and I conferred on top of a knoll and decided to walk on one of the dirt roads that went toward two twin hills. Eventually the one we were following turned south. We bushwhacked as I led us through the brush. We encountered a couple of places where we moved too slowly but overall we made good progress and it was fun. While we were following a dirt road through a saddle between hills I discovered a set of bear footprints. After crossing through a saddle between two hills we followed a dirt road towards the town of ????. As we got down to where the land flattened out. The area north towards the town was divided in rectangular parcels for agriculture. As we reached the first fence it was plain to see that whatever was grown here had been harvested and the fields were barren. As we crossed a fence it became very obvious that any field that had been tilled by a tractor was deep sand that was difficult to walk over, we had to stick to the dirt roads. We followed a road north when we saw another team coming from across a field from the west. It turned out to be paul Ablett’s team Wild Burros. We traveled with them for a while. As we traveled Will and I were keeping track of our position on the map. We realized after some time that some of the lines on the map were roads and some were power lines. It was a little confusing at first but we ended up using the power lines as our primary route. What started off as a fun cross country trek in the late afternoon became a long drawn out slog over sandy roads to a distant transition area. We finally arrived at CP12/TA5 shortly before 10pm. Our hard working crew was sound asleep in front of my truck. We were feeling kind and decided not to wake them. When we got there it was cold, the first real cold of the race. Racing with Giants discovered that their gear box had not arrived yet. As we spread out a tarp and struggled to stay warm in our bivys, RWG was being given down sleeping bags and a tent to sleep in. I was not warm and ended up climbing into the front seat of my truck to sleep, wishing I had a tent and warm bags like Racing with Giants. We were stupid for not bringing a warm sleeping bag to use for sleeping at transition areas, a mistake I won’t repeat. We slept for the planned two hours, than got up and prepared to head off on the bike leg that would take us to the start of the canyoneering leg of the race. Thomas from Thin Air was there helping us and the other Nor Cal teams get ready to go. His team had been rescued by the Mexican Navy and had decided not to continue the race unranked. We finally left the TA shortly after two am. We basically climbed up and up and up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Before long we were riding side by side with Racing with Giants again. As the sun came up it revealed that we’d been riding through very rugged. Rocky and beautiful terrain. There was an abundance of pink tinted granite and some had shiny flakes that were nearly transparent and crumbled like brittle plastic when handled. The primitive 4wd road we were on was steep and rocky. Racing with Giants rode off ahead of us. We found ourselves doing a lot of hike-a-bike. On portions of trail we used my tow line hooked to Melissa’s bike to hike-a-bike faster. As we began our descent to TA6 we once again caught Racing with Giants and we all road into the transition area together. At TA6 we discovered that the promoters had warm chilequeles, nopales, beans, and tortillas for us. I hesitated at first fearing what spicy food might do to my stomach when I resumed racing but before long I was feasting on a huge plate of delicious authentic Mexican cuisine. Paul gathered the three teams at the TA together and once again warned us that the canyon was serious and that once we entered it we were committed to continue through all of it as ascending back up would be nearly impossible. We had to carry a lot of gear for the next section, 24-30 hours of trekking and canyoneering. Before packing I patched a blister on Melissa’s foot that she got from walking in her biking shoes. Will asked if we wanted to travel together for the canyoneering which was fine by me. While DP was still eating and we were fixing feat and sorting gear, Racing with Giants was getting ready to go. They ended up having to wait about 10-15 minuted for us to get ready. As we finally got under way I noticed that the bottom of my pack was soaking wet and so were my shorts. At first I figured that I’d set the pack on the bite valve of my hydration bladder but then realized that my bite valve had been locked. We stopped and I discovered that my bladder had two small leaks near the bottom. I turned the bladder upside down in thepack and blew air into it to minimize the leak and we forged ahead. We had about a six hour hike before we would reach the crest of the Sierras and begin our drop into the canyon. I’d traced an intended route along a dry creek on my map based on instructions given at the pre-race meeting. Will had planned a route along the ridges. There was no way I wanted to follow the ridges, they’d be too rugged to move efficiently. The map showed a road in the shape of a question mark that didn’t appear to exist as mapped. We saw a road just after the creek. Will wanted to check is out so we gave it a quick look and decided that it wasn’t the road on the map. We began our hike following the creek bed. We crossed what appeared to be an old dirt road as we continued along. At one point we ended up following the wrong drainage but I noticed it pretty quickly and we made a nice recovery. As we traveled we crossed the road again and then a third time. Okay, that was enough of a clue. We followed the road. The road gradually deteriorated into a trail. The trail became faint. When we reached 1900 meters elevation we stopped for water because we’d been told that there may be no water above that elevation, which turned out to not be the case. to be continued...