Team TravelCountry.com - Patricia Williams Smith, Don Nettlow, Blain Reeves and Ulf Petri

 

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 Team TravelCountry.com Primal Quest Blog

Check back for additional updates from the support crew on the course in Montana as Team TravelCountry.com looks to conquer Primal Quest 2008.

 Sunday, June 22 08:00 PM MST - Pre-Race Briefing

The pre-race brief is complete and the team is finalizing their preparations for the start tomorrow morning. The latest information from the briefing is that the course will be over 525 miles -  200+ miles of biking, 200+ miles of trekking and 70 miles of paddling. The course is shaping up to be dangerous, but everyone is very excited to get going. The team is beginning what promises to be a late night, plotting the 11 maps that have been provided by the race organization. Check back for more tomorrow after the starting gun goes off!

  Wednesday, June 24 04:00 PM MST - Race Day 3

Day 3 and the support crew finally has cell phone coverage, checking in from CP13! Recapping the race thus far, the team started the race with a short but epic trek up Lone Mountain. The Florida boys kicked butt, coming in right with the lead pack.  The team made it through the remainder of the long opening foot section running about 10th without any major issues and most importantly their feet in good shape. They got 3 hours of sleep at CP7 before heading out on the first river section at 6 AM Tuesday.

The team encountered their first major obstacle on an extreme paddling section when Blain and Patsy’s duckie capsized amidst the roaring rapids. Patsy struggled with the cold throughout the remainder of both the paddle and the ensuing riverboard section. With her body temperature as low as 90 degrees, the team was detained by the race medics after each section waiting for her temperature to rise so that they could continue.

With Patsy recovering at CP10, the team was also able to get some eats prior to setting off on what has turned out to be an epic trekking section. For all but the three lead teams, times on this trekking section have far exceeded pre-race expectations. We believe the team stopped for some rest on the course overnight and that the team is likely also low on food.

Latest estimates expect TravelCountry in to CP13 by 5:30 PM Wednesday.  At the TA, the crew will inform the racers that the kayak section (expected to be the next leg) has been cancelled due to the high water levels and replaced by a biking section. We’re hoping to report back once they’ve left the TA on their bikes (coverage permitting, of course).

 Wednesday, June 24 08:00 PM MST - Race Day 3

The team is through CP13. They arrived around 6 PM hungry and looking a little worse for the wear, but perked up quickly after getting some food and made a quick 30-minute transition back onto the bikes. They passed a number of teams asleep in the TA and appear to be traveling 8th at this point. The crew continues to hustle to provide the team the latest information about upcoming checkpoints which have been in flux as a result of the last minute cancellation of the paddling section.

The team’s tentative plan at this point is to bike 80 miles to Big Timber and stop there to get some z’s. They will then bike 20 more miles before transitioning back to foot for another gnarly trek over the aptly named Crazy Mountains.

 Thursday, June 25 06:00 PM MST - Race Day 4

As planned, the team was able to bank four hours of sleep at Big Timber, heading back out at 6 AM this morning in good shape and good spirits. They finished off the remaining 20 miles on bike and then set out on a long trek through the Crazy Mountains. Reports are that there is still a good amount of snow on this section, so the team will be carrying the mandatory snowshoes and going may be slow. The crew is now waiting at the transition area on the other side of the Crazies where temperatures have dipped and 4th place DART-nuun has just arrived. Word from the course is that TravelCountry just reached CP17 (slightly more than mid-way through the Trek leg) around 6 PM - good news that they were able to navigate through the most technical, high-altitude portion of this leg during the daylight hours. Estimating based on the lead teams times, the crew is expecting them in to the TA some time during the early morning hours Friday.  Stay tuned for more…

Check out this update on TravelCountry.com from a Primal Quest field reporter as they finish up in the Crazies - Team Travel Country Enjoying the Crazy Mountains

 Saturday, June 27 4:00 PM MST - Race Day 6

Well, they say that in adventure racing you experience the highest highs and the lowest lows. That could not have been more descriptive of the past 24 hours for Team TravelCountry.com. After “smoking” three consecutive segments and making a swift bike-to-foot transition at CP20 mid-day Friday, the team set off on a long trek through the Bridger Mountains. 100-hours into one of the toughest tests on Earth, they were ”in the money” in 5th place. Unfortunately, the next 24 hours would turn in to one huge cruel twist of fate. First, the team was forced to backtrack to the TA as team member Ulf became ill with a respiratory ailment. The team was detained in transition for 12-14 hours waiting to be cleared to continue. With Ulf recovered, they set out again around 2 AM this morning on the Bridger trek having fallen back to 11th position. That’s where bad turned to worse. During a nasty bushwhack late in the ascent up to CP21, Don became seperated from the rest of the team as they had spread out in search of a trailhead. Due to significant noise from a nearby rapidly flowing river, the team found themselves unable to hear each other. Blain, Patsy and Ulf were able to reconnect but could not locate Don. Those following the SPOT tracking map, may have noticed Team 50 making loops through and around CP21 - they were searching desperately for their seperated teammate. After a long morning of searching unsuccessfully for each other, Don made his way back down the mountain and the rest of the team has now done so as well.

The team was transported to CP23 where, facing disqualification due to Primal Quest rules about remaining with 100 m of all teammates at all times, they officially withdrew from the race early this afternoon. They are extremely disappointed but they’re handling it remarkably well. Everyone is in good health and looking forward to warm beds and a nice night’s sleep in the Big Sky Resort tonight. Though they did not get the storybook ending this time, they will take a lot of solace in the fact that they were able to hang with some of AR’s best for 4 days over grueling terrain. They’d like to thank everyone for the support and encouragement throughout the race and remind us that while this may be the end of their race, there are many adventures yet to come.

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