POCAR 2010

Team Midwest Mountaineering Adventure Racing traveled to Southern Indiana for the 2nd year in a row to participate in the Purdue Outing Club's Annual Adventure Race, POCAR.  Held in the Hoosier National Forest, the same rugged terrain as the previous year, we knew we were in for a good, hard race.  We were excited for our first event of 2010 and also to have our new Icebreaker clothing to keep us warm.  Icebreaker makes the best, in my opinion, merino wool athletic wear on the market.  The best looking also.  With unpredictable weather, we were thrilled to be prepared for any condition.

For the purpose of this narrative, we have relabeled the control points, CP's, numerically in the order we visited them.  Teams were given the option of visiting the controls on their current leg in any order.  The controls were named, b-28, u4, etc.  It seems easier for you to follow if we just label them numerically.  We had some GPS data logger issue early in the event, which sorted itself out on the way to CP2.  The random path around the start and CP1 doesn't depict our course, the rest is accurate though.

The competition starts with a portion of the teams gaining entry to the race HQ to begin plotting the control locations.  Teams are assigned one of three start times and given 25 minutes to get their work done.  Then it is off to the races.  We decided to take a safe attack point to the first control CP1, getting our feet wet, and headed up the main road.  We found our attack point and dove in to the woods.  We came in to the spur a little too far west, subjecting us to a climb that wasn't necessary.  So much for taking a safe attack point.

CP2 was in a location that we had difficulty with the prior year.  An area with multiple reentrants, we jumped too soon and ended up too far east this time.  Deja' vu?  We hoped, because we got things on track after this area in 2009.

Mass starts to an adventure race always create a train of teams.  Why search for a control when you can follow a team?  Although we didn't exactly put on a stellar navigation display to the first two controls, we are an experienced team with some competence.  We don't like to follow, because the team you are following is often more likely to get you lost than to the control you are looking for.  This is especially true early on, before the lead teams distance themselves.  As we meandered towards CP3, we picked up the pace, hoping to shed a few teams in the area.

We reached CP3 with no issues and quickly left the area.  Navigating to the south, we realized we were a little overdressed.  The Icebreaker layering system really works well, and makes it easy to remedy.  We started stripping down, some of us to one layer, and pushed on.  The next three controls came quickly with some discussion on route choice, but no bobbles once a decision was made.  Paula and Pete were making decisions on the go, slowing slightly to read the maps, then catching up to the others who had moved ahead.

CP6 cost us some time.  Considering the maps that were available to the organizers, I would have moved the control outside of the shaded area.  All I could see on my map was a mass of black.  No discernible contours to read, so we had to rely on features outside of the shaded area as our guide.  We aimed for a small pond to the south, but made our course deviation too quickly and ended up in a nasty thorn and brush filled reentrant too far south.  Of course, we thought we were in the correct location, so a search ensued.  We spent 25 minutes, a loooooonnng time, searching this area.  Typically one would reference the map and determine a likely gaf, but this was like looking at pudding.  We decided to go high and see if we could spot the large lake to our north, get a bearing and attack using that information.  We crested the ridge to the north, found our small pond, and attacked in to the CP, locating it in 2-3 minutes.  As Will, punched our control card, our fellow Minnesotans, the Rainbow Unicorns, arrived at the control.  Their assigned start time was 60 minutes later than ours....  crap.  Well, now we have a side by side race.  The only difference being we had been on the terrain before, and they had not.  Pete, Will and Paula raced here the prior year.  This was Paula's third time in this location.  The RU's headed low, as we headed high.  We jogged to CP 8, nailing it, then ran in to the RU's as we headed to nine, which started with a slog over creeks and overgrown marsh.

We reached the road to our east, and followed a path to the top of the ridge, which we followed to the control.  This path is what we anticipated the entire event would have for footing.  A sloppy, horse churned, snow melt trail that was similar to running down a slip and slide on a cross hill...  Fun!  We punched and did a 180, seeing the RU's again as we headed out.  On to CP10 and the TA.

CP10 and the route to the TA went very smooth.  Dead on nav, distance estimation, and directional control through relatively flat open woods.  We talked about our gafs and what we could do better.  The cobwebs from six months absence of racing teamwork were going away.

We were the first team in to the TA, at a little over four hours.  Surprising as we had fumbled so many controls.  RU's arrived about 5 minutes behind us.  All we had to do at this TA was a quick load of additional supplies, food/water, and plot 5 CPs.  We did this efficiently and headed out North East along the road, still in first, but we knew that the RU's would be close behind.  We crossed the bridge at Maumee and went north down the road about 200 meters when we heard a car horn.  We turned and saw the RU's spread out on the hood of a truck.  We headed back (gave up our slim lead) and found out that one of the controls had the wrong coordinates at the transition area.  The change took some distance off the course, but was a foreshadow of events to come.  Paula took issue with the RU's leap frogging us and let them know what she thought.

We headed out of TA 1.1 in 2nd place and moved efficiently to CP11.  We found this with no issue and donned headlamps as it was getting dark.  CP12.....  We had a solid plan for reaching CP12, but executed too early.  We went north on a spur to the east of the desired spur.  Remember the comments on following?  The team on our tail, either made the same mistake, or trusted us too much.  We entered the reentrant to the east and headed south, not too sure of where we were, but knowing that we had to find a reference point.  As Pete tried to find a recognizable feature, Paula cracked the cipher.  This was confirmed when we ran into the RU's coming from the direction of CP12.  They informed us that CP12 was not where we had plotted it, that they could not find it.  Given the talent on this team, we had to trust that they were correct, but went to investigate and give it our due diligence.  Map and terrain now matched and we found our attack point and the mapped control location in short order.  Each team was provided with two maps, we plot separate, then compare to verify location.  RU's, Paula, and Pete's control location matched.  The control was nowhere to be found.  We followed the pipeline to the north and verified the map did match the location, then abandoned and set off for CP13.  We chose a nice hilltop trail and traveled to CP13 in short order, only to find RU's looking for this control.  We briefly discussed search techniques when Will located the control.  It was plotted at the foot of a spur, and in the correct location with respect to the map, but 20' in the air, on a greasy cliff.  Both teams were happy to find this control and the RU's shared that another team had found CP12, way off the plotted location, and had shared the location with them.  Pete informed them of his route to the control, which he thought was more efficient than a direct bushwhack, and both teams headed off together; a Minnesota (and one Wisconsinite) train.

We reached the location for CP12 and a quick search revealed the control in a well hidden location, behind a tree in a steep reentrant to the north east of the pond.  Well off the plotted mark.  With a little discussion, RU's decided to move the control to make it easier on the following teams.  Not something you do lightly.  Leaving the control, the RU's jogged ahead.  We followed the now familiar path, actually bobbled the route, but quickly adjusted and reached TA2, only to find the RU's sitting on their butts.  There were three CP's to plot at this location, and a mystery event, but the CPs were in the pocket of the race staff, who had left to confirm the location of CP12....  They looked comfy as they ate while we went to do the mystery event.

Why didn't we get a picture of this fun?  The POCAR staff had set up two slack lines (link) in a V.  Each team member had to reach the buckles at the end of the lines.  They started approximately 12" apart and ended at least 5' apart. Pete and Paula W. went first, holding arms, then wrists, hands and fingertips as they slid successfully down the lines.  Paula M and Will went next, unsuccessfully.  Paula M. looked for another way to skin the cat and laid down horizontally on top of the two lines.  She shimmied towards the buckles, not easy as the shortest of the crew, hooking her ankles and elbows until she reached the end.  Clark and Will did a quick assessment and decided that the easy route had just been identified.  We left the staff looking a little puzzled at our quick mastery of this event.

Back to the TA tent.  The CP locations had arrived, but a late coming team had jumped in front of RU's and TMMAR.  We were patient, the RU's let them have it with both guns!!  Nice!  Three quick plots and we left the chaos.  Alone again.

Third leg, first point;  it was CP13, now titled CP13/14.  Deja Vu for us.  We headed down our well traveled highway and arrived to see the RU's doing the one step forward, two steps back routine on the now super greasy cliff to the control.  Paula and I had been pondering route choice on the way, but as the RU's set off to the north for a ridge run, we chose that option also.  It is OK to follow a team you trust!  As we negotiated the slip and slide, punched the control and set out, the RU's distanced themselves as we slowed to a "feeding" pace.

The terrain in this portion of the map was awesome.  Big features, clear streams, rocks, mud, open woods...... perfect.  We looked for rails and hit them.  We measured distance and ended dead on.  The next two points we nailed.  We had to search for CP15, but it was hidden under our noses.  We inadvertently identified the control for another team, so now we had another issue.  Two teams on the same pace, going the same direction.  (The RU's were an hour ahead of us, so we posed no immediate threat to them, and an hour make up time was unrealistic at this point)  We noticed that this team, though intent to stay in the lead, kept looking back to see what we were doing.  That is a fixable issue.  We reached our route deviation and quietly went west as the lead team continued south, unaware they had missed the turn.  Over the ridge, we stopped to adjust some gear, tape blisters, and feed.  Sure enough, 5 minutes later our friends are back.  They looked a little sheepish, but drove on again.  Now, at every intersection they seemed to gaggle at their maps to wait and see what we were going to do.  We reached the intersection below Wilkerson hill, a major road, and the other team took off.  We couldn't have asked for a better situation as we saw them crest the rise to our front.  We weren't looking to go down the road, just use it briefly to gain access to the next ridge to the south.

We quietly jumped in to the woods, staying to the east of the ridge line as we ascended so that we couldn't be seen, and were alone again.  CP16, in the middle of nowhere, was about as easy a control as they get.  We picked it up like we had placed it ourselves, and headed west to the water control point.  A little ridge walk, being careful not to head north down a trail, and we got to a nice little 500' drop.  Easy enough in dry weather, but tired legs, minds, feet and slippery shoes/footing, made for an entertaining walk/slide/ stagger down the slope.  Did we mention it was covered in jagged boulders?  Hard to believe nobody got hurt.

We danced across a swamp and headed down the road to the water stop.  We hit the bridge, oops, too far.  We headed back...  oops too far.  What the.....   Hmmm  what is that big white blob?  Pete went to investigate and found some snoozing staffers in a tent under a tarp.  "We are here to check in."  "Not here, over there."  "Uh, where is there?"  "At the flashing light."  "What flashing light?"  no answer....  except a muffled "go away"  We notice a headlight off to the south and head in that direction.  We meet another staffer in the woods.  He comes over and turns on the flashing light.  "Ohhh, that light....."

Another mystery challenge!!!!!   We felt like we were in the Cash Cab!!!  Flashing lights and mystery challenges.  Again, no pics, but it probably wasn't safe to take pics.  The description.....   A rope was strung horizontally (use that word a lot...) between two trees.  It had a double pulley hanging from it.  A rope was strung from the first pulley through a series of pulleys to an ascender.  As three of the TMMAR members pulled on this rope, the pulley arrangement went out over a valley.  Attached to the pulley cluster was Paula W., in  a harness and attached to a rope that terminated at the high attach point through a belay device, controlled by Pete.  The point was to let out rope up top so that Paula could move across the gap, but not so much that she wouldn't be able to punch on the far side.  Wait a minute, there isn't a punch up there.  Staffer, "yeah, can you hang it for us?"  Sure.  Some side notes.  This is about the craziest rig you can imagine.  Now imagine doing it on grease.  Pete did the 1 step/2 step up the hill and promptly fell at the base of the tree, kissing the staffers boot.  The haul team of Paula M., Clark and Will did the skip and slide while trying to hoist Paula across the gap.  In the end, we didn't miss the target, Paula hung the control, and we were on our way.

The afore mentioned team was leaving this station as we arrived.  Having not seen them since eluding them, we wondered how they got the intermediary control and beat us to this location. They headed west as we started our mystery challenge.  Pete wanted to head up the greasy hill to nav to the next control, Paula W. wanted to skirt the river.  The decision was to try and skirt the river until it became untenable and then hit the ridge.  A win win.  Walking side hill on grease isn't fun, especially on tired legs, but the team gutted it out and got through the steep side hills to the peninsula, where they climbed atop the much lower ridge line.  Hey, look who we ran in to!  The RU's met us several hundred meters from the control.  They shared that the team we had been dancing with were on the wrong side of the river.  With no way to cross, they had to back track.  They also shared that the team had skipped CP16, meaning that we had a sizable buffer.  No call for getting comfortable, but good news.  We shared some high five's as they headed to the last two controls and we navigated to our third from last.  CP17 was simple enough.  A little hunting on location, a slip and a lost compass by Pete, the primary navigator, a found compass by Paula M., and the team was on it's way.  Backtracking up and up and up to the top of the ridge we skipped on the way in.  Glad we did that.

As you can see from our route on the way to the 19th and 20th CP's, we were doing OK on the map.  A couple of tricky spots to get through, but the CPs came easy.  We gained the road and began to ponder when the sun would come up.  Paula and Pete did a quick glance at their maps and stowed them away, confident of the route back.  We reflected on how we looked at this point the year prior.  Stumbling and mumbling on the same road from Maumee back to camp.  This year, everyone was alert, in pain, but moving briskly.

We reached the end at 7:28 AM.  50 minutes faster than the year prior for a similar distance.  We finished 23 minutes behind the Rainbow Unicorns, a mix of two of Minnesota's finer racing teams, losing just those 23 minutes over the last 14 controls.  Pats and hugs to all and we settled in for the most dangerous ride of our lives.  Five people fighting to stay alert enough to find the closest coffee stand.