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Muskoka Area – Camp Dorset

22.09.2005

The cloudy skies, rain, and weekend traffic were no match for the determination and eagerness of teams making the journey to the ARC race headquarters at the Lion’s Camp Dorset. Located in the Muskoka’s close to Huntsville and boasting a course designed by Bob Miller, ARC’s annual September race was on the verge of being a wet and muddy affair. The bad weather was amazingly short lived and by Saturday morning not a cloud was in the sky and the ground was dry. An ideal day for racing.

With three separate races being held (Outventure 2-3 hour, Enduro 5-8 hour, EnduroXtreme 10-12 hour) and over 200 athletes from across Ontario, the race site was a busy place and it gave old friends a chance to catch up, and new friends a chance to meet.

ARC Enduro Xtreme 10-12 Hour Adventure Race
Race Start Time: 6:45am

After boarding a 6am bus, teams had the opportunity to fine-tune race strategies and watch the sunrise before being dropped off at the Frost Centre south of Dorset. Teams began the race with a bike navigation section through the Nordic ski trails just west of the centre. The hilly terrain and multiple trails meant teams had to shake off the early morning sleepiness and concentrate on good map reading to be successful. In a little under 2 hours Team Urban Voyageur emerged from the woods in first place and transitioned to the paddling section. Over the next several hours the remaining 5 teams would finish with the bike navigation section and make their way out on the water in an attempt to catch up to the leaders.

Traveling south on St. Nora Lake teams crossed into Kushog Lake then had to find the start of the portage to take them to Kabakwa Lake. This would be the first of six portages to challenge teams this race and, with a total distance of around 4.5 kilometers, teams had to be sure not to make any navigational errors that might result in more portaging than necessary.

After making additional paddles through Saskatchewan, Big Brother, Big Hawk, and Sherborne Lakes, Team Urban Voyageur arrived back at the Frost Centre still holding onto their lead. Team Karma arrived within 30 minutes of Urban Voyageur and was closely followed by Team Good2Go.

A transition back to bikes followed by several kilometers of trail and road biking brought teams to the trek navigation section. The trek began at the transition area on the picturesque shore of Avery Lake and took teams through marsh and bush, over hills, and through streams as they tried to locate three checkpoints.

Team Urban Voyageur stretched their lead to over 60 minutes. Their main challengers, Teams Karma and Good2Go, both made it back to the transition area shortly before the 5pm cut off.

After the trek teams set out on the final bike leg: a journey which would take them back to camp Dorset and the finish line. Over ten kilometers of ATV trails took racers through the backcountry alongside lakes and through the fall colored landscape before bringing them to the last few kilometers of pavement. The moderate hills and speedy descents were a welcome gift for tired legs and teams quickly made it to the entrance to the camp. A ride to the finish-line punctuated by cheers from spectators was quickly followed with burgers on the BBQ and free beer.

Team Urban Voyageur, refusing to give up their lead through the entire race, was the first to arrive. Team Good2Go was pursuing them relentlessly and, making up for an hour deficit, arrived just minutes after Urban Voyageur. Team Karma arrived 30 minutes later and, due to the fact they had successfully located all three trekking CPs, they were awarded 2nd place over Good2Go.

For complete results please visit: http://www.adventureracingcanada.com/results/results_05.htm

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