Raid the North Extreme
Slurpees and hotdogs and Kraft Dinner
Susan McKenzie / 21.08.2003
Set in a baseball diamond in the First Nations town of Lac La Croix, the transition area offered no respite from the heat. But just down the road, on the dock, a small grocery store offered something even better: Slushies (strawberry, banana or strawberry banana). And cold water and cold soft drinks. The adjacent restaurant, which was not planning to be opened, had hotdogs and Kraft Dinner.
“The people along the way up here have been so nice,� says Marnie McBean. “We pulled over to the side of the road for a catnap last night, and four different cars came and stopped and asked us if we were alright. They gave us Coke and iced tea. And we got more Cokes this morning. And then someone brought us those slurpees.�
The team was even treated to a container of ice cream, courtesy of Taiga’s Anton Stranc, who had come up to the TA12 to re-join his team for the remainder of the race. “It wasn’t going to last until they got there, so he gave it to us,� says Jennings. “It was so good.�
Aside from being a transition area, CP13 is also a team’s last chance to change its course through the next canoe/portage section. The 90-kilometre (or so) voyage will literally trace the path the voyageurs took through this part of Canada. It begins on Lac La Croix, with a paddle that literally straddles the Canada/US border (teams must stay on Canadian soil.)
Because of the variety of routes they could take, teams had to plot their course and provide race management with a copy of their route. If they want to change their minds, they have to do it here. Speak or forever hold your peace.
“I might do that,� says Jennings, the team’s navigator. “We originally chose the shorter route with lots of portages, but the other section of canoeing taught us a bit about that. The portages in the dark were really tricky, so I might take the longer canoeing route.�
A few hours later out on the water, however, and Jennings is sticking to the original plan. “Honestly, it was just too much hassle to plot the map, change the route,� he says. “We just wanted to get in and out of the TA.�
McBean and Jennings’ boat is moving easily through the water as Jennings speaks. “I hardly have to do anything,� he says, referring to the fact that his boat mate is a multiple gold medal Olympic rower.
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