Baja Travesia 2008
Day 2: Disaster for DART – times two!
Jacqueline Windh / 26.03.2008
Day 2, 5:00 pmIt seemed that the two DART teams had this race almost in the bag.
But, as Gary and I started our drive back from the rolling granite crest at the top of the Sierras – many miles after seeing Bosi head into the forest at the correct location – we noticed bike tracks on the road before us. We were on a long rolling uphill to the Park Gate, and the waviness of the three tracks told us that the bikes ahead were climbing.
Just as we arrived at the Gate, there was DART-nuun’s number one team – way, way off course. And more than six hours after having left the previous checkpoint, ten miles back from here.
“Bet you didn’t expect to run into any teams here,’ Jen said to me with a sad little attempt at a smile.
Travelling with the other DART team, they had all made it to the next CP11, but then had serious problems in trying to find their way to CP12. They finally split up, not long before I ran into them.
They tell me that they decided to head back to their last known location. I am not sure why they are back here on this road, then, and why they didn’t just go back as far as CP11. In any case, they seem pretty turned around and, when I left them, they were all standing around in the snow and Cyril was making his best efforts to speak Spanish to the ranger and work out what his best route options (and trying to figure out whether the ranger was telling them that going around would mean six extra kilometres or sixty extra kilometres).
Very bad luck for both DART teams, who were both running with a 3 hour lead. DART-nuun has definitely lost six hours here, and sounds like DART-nuun/NW Kayak may have lost about the same. If Yoga Slackers and Bosi can avoid this error, they may soon be fighting for first place. (Check the Leaderboard to see what’s happened – I am typing this from a moving vehicle and will have no access to the net for hours). Note on posting - from the leaderboard, it looks like the other DART-nuun/NW Kayaks is the only team to have made CP12 as of 9:00pm Tuesday).See All Event Posts
