Howl at the Moon
One Team Gets More Tricks Than Treats
Dr. Ron Eaglin of Team Travel Country / 31.10.2006
The Howl at the Moon 2006 – Team Travel Country Outdoors It is an annual event that has its own cult following. It is a chance to stay up all night long and race through the darkness and cold that makes even the simplest tasks a true challenge. Teams from Maine to Key West lined up on a cold afternoon in White Springs to see what the worst of the Suwannee River area and the Adventurous Concepts could dish out. I had been looking forward to the race and was racing with long-time team-mate Greg and also new racer friend Melissa.
A cold front moved through the area the morning of the race promising to make it a cold night. Melissa and I made very quick work of the usual preparing the maps for the race and we got all the gear ready. We would start with a bit of orienteering – but not until the race directors ran (yes ran) us to the intended start location. We had different ideas – our intention was to do the orienteering in reverse (an action that had been declared OK by the race director). Unfortunately we (and some other enterprising teams) took out a bit earlier than intended and by the time the race officials found us and ran us to the real start we were 20 minutes behind the pack. Oh well.
After about 2 ½ hours of running and bushwhacking we came back to the race start around 6th place and prepared to split up. Because Greg and I were racing 2 person and Melissa was racing as a solo, she had to paddle to the next Transition while we had to bike. We hoped we would be able rejoin – but the split did have us worried. Greg and I headed out on the bike where we immediately overshot the turn for the Transition by about a mile, doubled back, turned onto a dirt road that headed to the transition and promptly dead ended, bushwhacked, and finally found a good road. We were the second team out on the bikes and we became the 11th team to hit the water. Oh Well again.
As Greg and I hit the water we knew 2 things, we would be wet and we would be cold. We were carrying the bikes in the boat with us and had been warned of submerged rocks and very shallow water. We had those and were able to add 40 degree weather, wet clothes, thick fog, and failing lights. We were a lone boat on a dark winding river. Any time we stopped paddling we would start shivering. We were in and out of the boat to pull it off of sand bars and rocks.
See All Event Posts
