Beast of the East
Sat, Aug 9th: Footslogging and a River Rescue
10.08.2003
The second team to drop from the race was Team 23 MOJO, after a harrowing 4-hour ordeal on the French Broad River. Team mates Frank Greer and Tate Putnam jammed their canoe up and under a strainer in the river and spent the next several hours perched on the edge of their canoe and the debris as Team #2 -Intrepid helped orchestrate a late night rescue with race management. Since Team 23's gear (including radio) were submerged under water, Chris Brown from Team 2 called Odyssey race staff and helped the rescue team to locate 23. The team was safe and well, but weariness from their experience and more than 24 hours of racing convinced them they were done.
Other teams leaving the 34-mile river section lit off on bikes for the next 25-mile leg, then set out on an arduous 35-mile trek across the Continental Divide, through Cherokee Indian trading routes, and along the technical, hilly Foothills Trail.
Even before this trekking section, the lead teams as well as the others were suffering. Lee Simril from Litespeed walked about 20 steps down the trail and stopped to allow his swollen, blistered feet to adjust to the task of carrying him another 12 -15 hours. Chris Caul from New Balance/Odyssey was also struggling with a bad knee that overshadowed his usual joyful demeanour.
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