Team MAAR headed to the Black River in northern wisconsin to do some whitewater training the weekend of April 26.  The idea was to get some whitewater paddling and riverboarding in.  Mother nature had her own plans and made the weather a factor.  Significant rain and snow melt made the river pretty gnarly.  The usual discharge for this time of year is 800 cubic feet/second but on our weekend it was flowing at nearly 3000 cubic feet/second.  Add on top of that temperatures that peaked at 39 degrees, snow and 20 mph winds gusting to over 30 mph made for an adventuresome weekend!  However, it didn’t deter Team MAAR from getting in some quality training.  Saturday consisted of whitewater kayaking.  The kayaks that we used were not truly meant for whitewater and the spray skirts were loose causing alot of cockpit water and a fair amount of swimming in 40ish degree water.  Lots of fun.  We were too cold to take pictures!

On Sunday, we decided to riverboard some Class 2-3 rapids.  It was a blast.  The temps were the same but at least the sun was out.  Pictures below.

 

Video of Chris Decker riverboarding the Black river: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nObbkesCqn4

 

 

 

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Dan and Chris traveled to Willow Springs, Illinois on 4/19 to compete in the WOW (World Orienteering-Wilmette) Palos 12-hour Rogaine. 

 http://worldorienteeringwilmette.com/index.htm

 The race was held at the Palos Forest Preserve just outside of Chicago.  The area is beautiful and was a great venue for a grueling 12 hour rogaine.  The event was a score-orienteering rogaine where controls were worth 1-6 points depending upon difficulty.  Chris and Dan hit 29 controls for 105 points in 11hrs and 15 minutes, snagging first place in the 12-hour division. The second place team in the 12-hour division had 87 points in 11hrs 45 minutes.  In getting those 29 controls Team MAAR covered 30+ miles on foot.  Navigation was dead on for most points.  There was alot of running between points.  Overall a great PQ training day.

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Dan and Chris teamed up with Cathy Diamond for the Planet Adventure 28 hour adventure race in Story Indiana on April 6, 2008.  The trio covered the course in 25 hrs and 52 minutes to take 9th overall and 2nd place in the masters division.  As usual for team MAAR, this was a race of attrition, as 17 of the 30 teams starting the race DNF’d.  The race began at 0800 on Saturday and after a quick 5-6 mile trek, teams hit the mountain bikes for some muddy single track and backroad riding.  Team MAAR “misinterpreted” pre race instructions to stay off of the routes up Browning Hill (actually, only the trail was off limits and not the road).  That forced the team to look for alternate routes (which were all under water!).  Eventually, the team made it to the orienteering course but had burned a good 90 minutes with their mistake.  The orienteering course went well, with Team MAAR posting the 9th best time on the 12+ mile O-course.  Then it was off to the paddle.  This was to be the defining moment for most teams.  Teams that started the paddle with 2 hours  or more of daylight ahead of them did well while those who started later had an impossible time navigating the overflowing river at night.  Team MAAR started with only 30 minutes of daylight left but stuck with it, while most teams who dropped out did so during the night paddlle as temps dropped into the low 30’s and hypothermia was a real problem.  Some teams had to find shore and “camp” until daylight when they could then paddle out to quit.  Once off the paddle, Team MAAR hit one of the trekking points and biked to the finish.  Overall, a good PQ practice day for Team MAAR.  See more on the Planet Adventure checkpoint tracker website at:

 http://www.checkpointtracker.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.showDashboard&eventID=134

 

Dan, Chris and Cathy prior to the start of Planet Adventure 28 hour Challenge

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