Smoky Mountains Adventure Race
Dogs Mush to a 4th Place Finish at SMAR
Ardie Olson Team Mighty Dog/Explorer / 08.04.2005
I knew there was a reason why I did not initially sign up for Smoky Mountain Adventure Race 2005 (SMAR). But I couldn\'t remember it when Jim Farmer called me late Thursday night to replace an ill team mate ... now the rest of the story. Team Mighty Dog/Explorer could have easily been called Team Sled Dog after braving Iditarod like weather on April 1-2, 2005 in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Maps were handed out at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night and our team immediately rushed to Glenville Lake to plot and plan our course - securing a primo spot for our transition area. Most of the other teams mapped at the Hotel.
It was raining and the wind was blowing when the race started at 10:00 p.m. on Friday night with a mass start on the lake. It was so congested that boats collided as we made our way to the first checkpoint. This section was a Rogaine so any order was allowed for the 4 CPs. Jim Farmer did an excellent job navigating us to the CPs in the dark with the wind, rain and waves crashing against our boat.
Our team took 3 1/2 hours on the paddling section which put us in 3rd place coming out of the water. At TA1, our support person, Sherry Olson, had the BIG RED VAN warm and our entire transition area set up inside (Sweet!). After a quick change of clothes, we were off for what we would be a long, tough bike section as the weather continued to worsen.
When I got a flat, the cold weather turned a 5 minute repair into a 30 minute struggle to get the frozen tire loose. The flat caused us to slip back to 8th place by CP9. Snow and mud conditions turned the bike section into mostly a hike-a-bike from CP10 to CP13. At Sassafras Knob, we met up with Teams Racemetrics, Lightspeed, Tally-Ho and Bear North. Navigators from all 5 teams huddled to pick a route from this confusing intersection of faint trails to TA2.
With teams now headed to TA2, everyone\'s bike was having problems with the snow (frozen wheels, brakes and derailleurs) . At TA2, we climbed again into our sanctuary of the BIG RED WARM VAN and spent 20 minutes discussing whether to continue or not.
When word reached us that the final bike section would probably be cancelled, we rallied and agreed to finish the race with the hike, which we thought would take 10 hours. When we went to pick up our passport, we had to wait for the race officials to decide if we could continue given the worsening conditions (snow, sleet, 70 mph wind gusts). After another 20 minutes (which we really didn\'t need to loose), Tony Berwald gave us the final word, due to the weather the race was being shortened.
He advised that we could continue to CP’s 15 and 16 which was now the new race finish and we would be picked up there. We were relieved that our 10 hour hike was probably now a 2-3 hour hike. After topping the ridge line, we met up Team Tally Ho.
For safety reasons, we decided to coordinate our efforts to finish the race together. It was now Saturday night, dark and still snowing, which made it difficult to navigate. With the help of the trusty compass and a few ATV roads, we made it to CP16 where EMS and Team Tally Ho\'s support crew greeted us with a warm vehicle and a ride back to race headquarters.
Team Mighty Dog/Explorer were: Jim Farmer, Patricia Williams Smith and Ardie Olson
For the full race results see www.smokymountainsar.org.See All Event Posts
