MAR

Team on start lineFrom July 30 to August 4 team Mergeo.com was taking part in Mountain Adventure Race (MAR). The line-up was Matt Hayes, Glenn Rogers, Ruaraidh Stenson, Julie Heidt. The last current standings are available at Checkpointtracker. Pictures from Ruaraidh Stenson, story first posted at AARC.

Ruaraidh Stenson:

A really amazing course which kicked my butt but also had many, many moments when I just felt privilaged to be in such a stunning location.

The high route, we took the low roadMonday 30th Jul - We pack our kit and mess around thinking that the maps are not going to be distributed until 4pm that day only to go to gear check and most teams have had them for the past 4 hrs, DUH what a stoke of bad luck since this means staying up a load of the night to fix them. Course looks demanding with lots elevation with the following stages. Trek on Bridger Mtns MTB over Mtns to Hyalite lake Trek around some mtns near Hyalite MTB on lower hills near Hyalite Mega trek up Mt Hyalite and Southern Gallatin ridge (aka Continental divide trail) Paddle down Gallatin river (less paddling more like rock avoidance technique but more about this later) Mega bike section up over 9000' and a 4000' hike a bike section right at the end.

George and CP1As usual a late night ensued before the race although 11pm is pretty respectable to hit the sack. I slept about 1/2 hr at most, just lay there thinking "I should be sleeping, I should be sleeping..."

7am - Start from the "M" on the Bridger range and we're cheered off by Mike Miller - way to go Mike! MerGeo is born from orienteers and this showed with our route choice on the 1st leg. Taking the low route allowed less sun exposure, less elevation and consequently less time and effort. After the mad sprint off the start line by a lot of teams (why since this was a 4 day race) we settled into a nice hike pace with the usual jog on flat and down. We had loaded up with water and I was carrying over 150oz since this was a dry stage until we hit Ross Pass. However this only applied to those going over the ridge not the lower section we took where there was a bunch of water available. Still, better safe than sorry and that became the mantra for the trip. Arrived at CP to find we were 1st which picked all of us up. Off we trotted along the knobbly ridge which was a real blast. Big cliffs and tricky footing rarely found in AR events made this a true mountain race. After CP4 (actually our 2nd CP of the day confusingly!) we figured we were at least 45 mins ahead. A long hike back to TA without water looked a possibility but we found a stream to fill up with water from the 1st stream we found (my MSR sweetwater pump was the biz for this trip). This proved a very hard section early in the race and several miles on road at the end was pretty hard going in the heat too.

Decisions, decisionsAt TA 2 we were actually about 2.3 hrs up which was quite a shock to us. However at this point Matt's stomach took a turn for the worse and Julie started to tire a bit too. The bike section we thought we would lose a pile of time but since the 1st control was tricky to find and we got it just before dark gave us back the advantage since the following teams would have trouble finding it. Resolved to take it easy so Matt could recover but Glenn and I did a lot of towing that section. Stopped at a school for what I thought was a real score - running water outside the building. After spending time filling bottles and bladders we tasted it and it was YUK!

Carried on to the next CP up the road and slept for 20 mins (I just lay down again). What followed was typical for this race - hike a bike up trail that was unridable - a real normality during this race unless you were a trials rider. This was a hard section with a lot of lifting and pushing and we set up a 3 man pulley system. Again, we stopped at the top for a rest before carrying on. The race had extremes all over the place and the temperatures were just one of them. It was now about 4 am and it was probably in the 40's, quite a drop from the 90's of the daytime. The bike back was quite cold.

TA3 we slept for an hour which was actually a really bad plan. We should have sorted out the kit and got on with the hike then slept somewhere in the woods. Then Go-lite Timberland (GLT) would not have seen us as we left the TA. This was bad strategy but likely because we forgot although it had been talked about before the race.

This hike was only 15 miles and on paper we thought it was a 4 hr route we would knock off in no time - wrong! We took a while getting over the 1st col and then slowly down to the Cottonwood river and trail. My feet were starting hurt and blister which was worrying so early in the race. Couldn't get the compeed pad to stick, either too old pads or the Vaseline was stopping it. Either way it led to more discomfort. Matt was beginning to feet a bit better and Glenn was pretty strong here too. Filled up again with my filter - great thing did I say??! Then a big hike along a canyon and up a meadow to a wide open pass below Mt Blackmore. This was really hard as the sun was beating down and I was getting really tired here. Julie was hurting too and talking off quitting which was unfortunate since we were in 1st place. We had basically decided by at the pass that Julie would jog down and end her race at the next TA and the 3 of us would carry on as an unranked team. GLT also overtook us after about 5 hrs on the way up to the pass which we were baffled about - seems like they made a nav error early on so took longer to overtake us slow folk.

Mountain man.. Said goodbye to Julie and headed out on the bike for a 20 mile loop. This looked the easiest on paper and indeed it was. Instantly caught GLT at CP 13 who had been faffing around trying to find the CP. Chris the race director had said to use "Old school Nav techniques" to find this CP and Timberland had already shown some amateurism with their nav. The CP was at the end of a ridge between 2 spurs and we initially though to use a reentrant as the attackpoint. We nearly got it and I thought it was a bit further East of where we were but unsure of where. Glenn carried on and approached from the other side of the ridge following another reentrant which led plum to the CP - result! GLT 2.5 hrs, MerGeo 30mins! Bombed down the hill and into some fab singletrack (about the only singletrack worthy of mention, except the 1st MTB stage where Matt was dying). We flew down here with the whoops etc all going nuts! Bad news for me was the road climb up to Hyalite lake which I got a mega tow from Matt who was back in the land of the living again after over a day of suffering. Most people would have quit way before but not our Matt ("I'll cross that finish line as long as I'm still upright" he was quoted saying). He as good as damnit pulled me up that hill as I was really flaking out.

Team rockin up the hillsTA5 - I had notions of quitting here since we had nothing to play for but in the back of my mind I knew 2 things: Roger would never let it lie about how I am a sprint racer only and my AR buddies in Ireland would do the same so this spurred me on. Glen fixed up my blisters on my ankles and sorted out me big toe, it took 20 mins but it was worth it. I was a new man again! Matt's dad brewed up some "$100 soup" which was the biz, we had 3 cups each and felt like a million dollars. GLT passed us in TA but we caught them napping at the trailhead. This section up to Mt Hyalite had us all in great spirits again and we packed light then filled to the brim with my filter at the last available stream (did I say how useful this filter was??). The section over the next ridge was amazing, one of the highlights of my AR career as we were walking by moonlight on an exposed ridge. Since my ankles are somewhat prone to twisting I had the torch on for a good part of it but it was lovely to have the moon light the way. Down to Crater lake and we hit our only nav issue on the whole race. Old map (which we were using) showed the trail contouring the mtn whereas there were actually cairn posts down another 1500ft to the valley and back up the other side but not marked on the map. We spent about 2.5 hrs billygoating around some really steep terrain for no reason until we figured this out. I was ballbagged at this point and was trying to nap every time Glenn wanted to check the map to no avail although I did manage a nodding donkey a couple of times! GLT passed us and we kept up with them all the way along to Windy Pass. This is one of the best ridge trails I have been on and while not having severe cliff exposure it was at 10K ft most the whole way up and round old volcanoes. Great little rocks to look at and amazing views all the way - really stunning. There is a 50mile race there every year and I would recommend doing this, it will kick your butt! My fingers started to swell up beyond any recognition, due to the swinging of arms and also the altitude. Really uncomfortable and the feet and ankles were doing the same. Popped 600mg Ibuprofen every 5 hrs which helped hugely - look guys I'm expedition running again (this looks like the Michel wiggle although probably not as fast as I've not perfected it yet!) We thought we were nearly at Windy Pass twice only to have the map show we had a pile of ridge to go - really disheartening and GLT were the same. It was lucky we set out so early as we were getting low on water although I oddly enough had a load left over. Don't think I drank enough on this day. Finally hit the pass and refilled with water. I thought it was just a short stroll down the hill, over another hill and down to the TA so was boosted by this. However it was more like some of the most tortuous hours of my life. This was pain beyond pain which went back over a 9000 ft Mtn and down a gentle zig-zag single track which we had to drop 3000 ft on.

Glenn pushing, shorts slowing him downIt took us hours. Matt was seeing all kinds of weird stuff as was I. Sleepmonsters were out to play...ever seen trees look like bears, cars, boats, little fluffy animals or trails that start in the middle of a bush? We did and it was weird. I had dreamt this exact scene about 3 months ago where Matt and I were seeing stuff. I also saw the mountains beside the Gallatin river (or whatever that tributary was) even though I've never been to Montana. A trail sign leading through a creek with GLT ahead on it was also in the dream and I knew we would take the high trail on the wrong side of the river. Glenn thought I was just spaced out but I swear on all my mortgage I had this dream. I even knew we would cross a river, bridge and finally double back onto a road and that GLT would be at the TA ahead of us. What I didn't know was that I'd get to the TA, pack my stuff then collapse from a standing position onto the ground. Totally flaked out and it was like I'd had 10 pints Guinness (yes there was a time in my life I could do that and still stand!) Sat up twice and fell over. Couldn't speak except to say "No I'm not getting into a kayak" and "Can you live with the guilt if something happens to me" before being carried into my sleeping bag. We missed the dark zone cut-off, great for me, bad for the team as we lost a good few hours to teams behind and GLT. I got 8 hrs sleep and felt great again the next morning.

Paddle down the Gallatin river - It's just like the Skagit or the Sammamish Slough I had told myself before we started - WRONG. Easy class II/III rapids with the right boat, a double Necky Amaruk - you've got to be kidding. Just avoiding the snags was an ordeal in itself and I wish we had some footage of us - that was feat of sea- kayakability how we got down there. Boats were however really stable until you pin them against a rock, then bang out you pop, go for a swim and how you don't lose all the kit. Glenn and Sarah (Glenns daughter or BEAST #3 Lake Union fame) flipped and got a bit of a shock then we did the same a bit further down. Try pushing an amaruk off a rock with the river forcing the boat back onto the rock. It took Matt and I squatting against the rock pushing the bow and centre of the boat to shift it. Don't want to think what would have happened if we flipped it the other side.

Short rappel and we were just getting ready to haul the boats down the highway when Matt's dad drove up to shift us to the end of the kayak stage. Water was too low. Great! If we had been given instructions for the duckies then it would have been too much fun and I would have wanted to carry on, but in the Amaruk I was glad to load onto the truck.

Final bike was a long grind up a fireroad trying to catch GLT who started about 5 mins ahead. Did so by the water stop but the pulled away again. Nip and tuck all the way along this section of the "Best singletrack around". My eyes were not that bad but I couldn't see any bit that classified as singletrack let alone any bit that was ridable. A ton of hike a bike up the hill and across the hill on the scabbiest, hardest to find, hardest to ride trail known to man up and down into Cottonwood canyon. Finally found some rideable trail half way down the Canyon and rode out to the trailhead. Since we were all tired at this point flipping over the bars was common occurrence and both Matt and Glenn go nasty bumps of some super dooper easy stuff - just shows what happens when you get tired. Dropped GLT, they overtook at trailhead as we stopped to put clothing on, they stopped to fix puncture, we passed, we stopped to go to Arbys they passed - get the picture!! We were catching them on the way to the finish and GLT kindly waited 20 sec or so for us to catch up and we rode across the finish together. Way to go and what a nice gesture since we had been back and forth all the time (even after we lost Julie a few days before). Quick beer, some food then back for a shower. I believe we were the only 2 teams to finish the course - way to go MerGeo!!

More from Bridger rangeBest kit of the week - MSR Sweetwater Microfilter - tastes great and we never got any stomach issues using it, plus it gives a great excuse to stop for a short rest break. OR widebrimed light hat, great for treking in the heat Yeti AS-R - Super light and easy to carry - wish someone would sponsor us these bad boys.

Big Up to our SPONSORS - www.MPGEAR.com - I got a great Sierra Designs sleeping bag and Ultimate Direction pack from them. Seattle Running Company - Montrail Continental Divides on the continental divide, how cool is that!? SRC are great! NUUN - I had about 5 tubes of the stuff - handy tip - fill old tubes with Ibuprofen, chamois butter, ecaps etc, great storage. Clif Bar - Still got bars left and these kept us going all race long, I ate tons of banana nut bread, builders bars, cool mint, nectar bars are the best! MerGeo- Our name says it all, we strive to do well in the nav sections and this race was a great showcase for MerGeo. Get the WeGo towlink from them too. As Robin Smith said, if this race comes up next year - do it!! Best valve expedition race you get this side of the Andes.