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2008 BERRYMAN ADVENTURE, Big Spring Park, Van Buren Missouri, September 27
After last year's disappointing drop from the Berryman Adventure, we didn't want to bother with a 36-hour race again. Then a few months went by, and we shifted gears toward a vow of training harder to make the 2008 race a success. Well, we not only finished (big success), we placed second out of the ten 2-person teams (bigger success)! Read on for the exciting story...
For the third year in a row Jason, Laura, and the Bonk Hard crew made Big Spring Park the setting for the ass-kicking Berryman Adventure. Check-in was a breeze, because gear checks would take place on the course. The pre-race spaghetti dinner was excellent, as usual. Even the pre-race meeting went quick (after the prize raffle drawings), thanks to no maps being handed out and a surprise announcement: we would be boarding buses in less than 2 hours so they could take us to the starting line! In that time we had to fill a Clean Stream bag for a remote transition area and get our backpacks stocked up. The only clues given were that we'd be trekking for 9 to 15 hours and then paddling for 6 to 10 hours before returning to the main TA (and finish) area. Our bikes would remain at this TA, so it was a safe assumption that biking would follow those initial trek and paddle sections.
By 10pm Friday night all the racers were sitting on two school buses, backpacks in our laps, wondering where we were going. The drive took a little over an hour: from the TA/finish area in the park we headed back toward Van Buren, then took Highway 60 west to Highway 19, north to Highway 106, east to Highway V, and finally north to a parking lot. I think we could have walked up some of those hills faster than the bus! The lot provided access to the Current River just downstream of where the Jacks Fork River dumps in. We had a few minutes to stretch out after the cramped bus ride, and then it was time for final instructions and the singing of the National Anthem (acappella this year).
A starting line was established somewhere in the middle of the lot, and I stood with 23 other team representatives who were the "clue sheet runners." When the GO sign was given at 11:30pm, we dashed back up the road about a quarter mile where two volunteers handed out the sheets. Upon returning to the lot, Jim and the other teams were waiting with maps in hand, ready to plot points. One problem that I hadn't prepared for: everyone looked like the same silhouette with a headlamp! A quick shout led me to Jim, and we went right to work on the pre-gridded map. The very first point was our current location, and it looked suspiciously far from the river. The second checkpoint got placed on a hillside, but the clue was "hilltop." We double-checked the UTM numbers, but we had not made a mistake in plotting these points. About this time there were comments from other teams with the same confusion as us. Turns out there was a mix-up on the UTM datum between the clue sheets and the map grids. Luckily the other datum grid was marked on the map, and with that correction the points made sense with the clues. By plotting all the trek points in the parking lot, we weren't in the first batch of teams who started moving. I'm guessing some people made the decision to plot on the go.
After fighting with UTM coordinates, our next challenge was to get across the Current River. The road on the other side was the best way to get to the next checkpoint. Being behind the leaders has very few advantages, but this time it let us see that the river was chest deep in the middle. Not wanting to run in soaked clothes in chilly temps, we stripped down to our bike shorts and kept the clothes in our dry bags. We chose to leave on the socks and shoes to prevent injury and give us better traction in the river, at the risk of developing blisters later. Our sentiments were shared with the other teams, and it pretty much turned into a "show off your underwear" event. The winner was a young lady who was sporting a stylish thong! Anyway, back to the race... Yes, the water was cold and deep, and keeping balance while holding packs on our heads was not easy. The bottom was sandy and gravelly, contributing to the slow going. On the far shore we dressed and emptied sand from the shoes. One of the other racers was bandaging a slice she got while crossing barefoot, which confirmed our decision to have wet shoes.
Down the road we squished (a.k.a. ran), with another team or two nearby. At an intersection we took a bearing and headed toward the top of Wildcat Mountain, more than 600 feet above us! CP2 turned out to be on an unmarked jeep road, and several teams were converging on it as we reached the peak. This road went generally north, so we opted for it over bushwhacking along the bearing we had planned. It worked, and we came to CP3 (intersection) from the northeast instead of the southwest. We went north from there along another jeep road, which was mostly grass/gravel along the ridge top. Distance was judged based on our jogging pace and the watch, and it wasn't long until we came to the Y-intersection, turned right, then headed downhill. At the creek we noticed a trail intersection, which confirmed our position. Another bearing took us into a reentrant and up the hill to CP4. A 2-man team caught up, so there were 4 headlamps in the search.
Jim and I were feeling good, keeping a fast pace this far into the race. Constant reminders were offered back and forth about eating and drinking. What had we packed for this half-day trek? Hammer Gel, power bars, an apple, beef jerky, sandwiches, nuts, and Gatorade/water.
On the way to CP5 we had another river crossing, this time only knee deep. Two other teams were already there and had picked what appeared to be the best way up the steep bank on the other side. Into the deep reentrant we went, trusting the compass to stay focused on the right direction. After punching the passport, we continued up and over the hill and bushwhacked down to the trail that would lead to CP6. We intentionally drifted north of the checkpoint so as not to get lost in the intersection of creeks.
A special map of the Ozark Trail (regular paper, keep it dry!) had been given to us at the start that showed a path from CP6 to CP7. Now was the time to flip it to the front of the map case. There were a couple reentrants that might have been faster in the daylight, but in the pre-dawn hours we opted for trail jogging. In those 45 minutes or so of quick progress I hoped to pass a team, but we saw no one. After reaching CP7, I refolded the maps while Jim filled the squeeze filter bottle with creek water. It would give us an extra quart to drink if we got low before reaching the canoes. That's when we realized that another team had been making quick progress: the Garmin two-some, with whom we'd been swapping positions since the start.
Like two foxes driven by hounds, we left our competition and shot a bearing for yet another steep climb. Near the top there was an unmarked jeep trail that helped our speed. As we made our way along the peaks, we had a beautiful view of the sunrise with a sliver of the moon hanging in the clear sky. Fog shrouded the valley below. Maybe it was nature's distraction that slowed me down a bit, but I think Team Garmin just pushed hard and ended up passing us to reach CP8 first.
Now it was our turn to be the hounds, and we kept on their heels along more jeep trails that led toward CP9. This one was a little tricky, as it was marked about 150 yards off the path with no obvious landmarks. Both teams launched into the woods at about the same time, and we ended up with the punch first. Dashing off, we kept ahead of them down the trail, and soon we saw pavement for the first time since the race started. Still ahead of Team Garmin, we wanted to scurry across this road and up the trail fast. The trouble was, we didn't see a trail opening in the trees and undergrowth! Not even some trampling of grass and weeds by previous teams! Instead of trampling our own path, we wasted time debating and searching, and lo and behold our traveling companions joined us...again. So we all dived into the trees, found the trail, and climbed to CP10 at the top.
A fast descent led us to the base of yet another hilltop checkpoint. "Nose" was the clue, but it might as well have said "pinnacle" or "stair climb." Up we went, the four of us, through the fresh growth of trees that followed a forest fire in this area some time ago. Many charred trees and stumps were visible, and as we got higher the growth got denser. CP11 was acquired, and Jim and I were the first team back down. A quick jog down the road took us to Blue Spring and CP12. We filled up on water, trusting it enough to pass on the iodine tablets. Then it was another jog along the river that led us to CP13 (manned), a pile of canoes, the supply bags, and our kayak paddles. It was about 9:15 Saturday morning, and we were feeling great.
At the canoe transition we found out that all this swapping of position with Team Garmin was a battle for second place in the 2-person division (couple hours behind the lead 2-person team). During the 15-minute transition we ate some Chef Boyardee pasta, stocked our backpacks from the drop bag, and watched our competition come and go. They smartly wasted no time at CP13 and started down the Current River a few minutes ahead of us. Dang! Third place again.
The sky was clear as we shoved off from the bank. We put on the baseball caps, and in hindsight some sun block would have been a good idea. Jim was in back, keeping us pointed downstream. The 31-mile float trip was not going to be navigated by topo map. Instead, we had been given a park service pamphlet that showed our water checkpoints, and it even had mile markers. Our kayak paddles were an excellent choice over canoe oars. But even kayak paddles cause water to drip into the boat, and after a couple hours of constant work we had quite a puddle. A quick stop on a sand bar let us empty it out, and then it was back to the monotonous left-right-left-right strokes. A little while later we saw Team Garmin and slowly caught up. At about 1:30 in the afternoon our two canoes arrived at CP14, a manned river access point. It was time to dump the water from our canoe anyway. This was the only gear check on the course, and they asked to see pretty much everything. After packing up the gear it was time to stay in chase mode, because Team Garmin's canoe left CP14 first. Their pace picked up better than ours, and we didn't see them again while paddling.
A little excitement on the water came at about the 5-hour point of our 6-hour float trip. Up 'til now it had been paddle, drink, paddle, eat, paddle, talk, paddle, and so on. We saw two canoes up ahead, and it was easy to tell they weren't some of the vacationers with their coolers and comfy seatbacks. They were racers, and we were gaining! Just as we overtook the trailing canoe, exchanging the usual pleasantries, we looked ahead to a huge tree that had fallen and formed a strainer over 2/3 of the river at a most inconvenient bend. Jim laid out our game plan for getting through the narrow opening safely, and we executed it flawlessly. The lead canoe of the 4-person team had stopped, and they were watching their teammates attempt the obstacle. We all looked back and saw that they had just tipped. Getting confirmation that the lead canoe was going to fish them out, we continued on, very aware that we could find ourselves wet with any lapse in judgment.
Finally the radio towers and Highway 60 bridge came into sight, and we knew our paddling was close to being over. A few miles later the Big Spring canoe take-out point (CP15) came into view, and we thankfully put our boat in line with the others. A short jog took us to CP16 and our main TA where we had boarded buses the night before. Two more maps and a clue sheet were handed out, so we grabbed some food and went to work on marking our bike points. It felt good to be sitting at a picnic table in the pavilion instead of on hands and knees in a dark parking lot.
At this TA we restocked the backpacks for what we figured would be at least 12 hours of biking. The trekking shoes and socks came off, and luckily our feet had no blisters. The skin was prune-like, since most of the time we had wet feet, so dry socks and bike shoes felt great. By the time we were saddled up and ready to check out, it had been almost an hour. But it was encouraging to hear that Team Garmin, who had arrived at CP16 before us in second place, had not left yet. Hoorah! Off we rode (after a quick pit stop in the civilized restroom).
With renewed energy we zipped up the road to CP17 next to a barn. Then it was a climb (ugh-more hills) up to Skyline Drive. It was at this point that we saw a welcome sight coming from the other direction: the other Mid Rivers Adventure teams were heading back to finish the 12-hour race. After some encouraging words were given and received, we continued toward CP18 on the Ozark Trail. There were many miles to go on this section of trail, and we were thankful to still have some daylight on our side. Along the trail from CP18 to CP19 there were at least a dozen 12-hour teams that we had to dodge. It only slowed us a little, but after so many times of saying "excuse me", "thanks for moving over", and "pardon me", I wished the two race courses hadn't coincided like this!
Yes, it was probably inevitable, but Team Garmin knocked on our back door along the trail. Even though I spent more time training on trail rides than ever before, I was still slowing Jim down, and we were slower than our competition. We hollered out, "Catch you later," and watched them pull away into the trees ahead. Oh well, better to be in second place for a short while than not at all, right?
After successfully finding CP19 where the trail crosses a road, the sun started dipping below the horizon. Riding roads at night is easier than trails, so the darkness didn't really phase us. Most of the time my 5-LED Cat Eye was enough, but now and then I kicked on the brighter Night Rover Halogen. Jim's handlebars had a similar setup as far as the lights, and he also had a working odometer. We used that to mark off the distances I was reading from the maps. CP20 was no problem to find, and a few miles later we approached CP21 at Evans Pond. What I thought were lights from another team's bike lights turned out to be the volunteers punching passports along this lonely road.
What followed were many miles of pavement with a few key turns, so we really worked that odometer process. After no wrong turns, we arrived at a spot on the road where we had to do a little trekking on foot. About 100 yards into the trees was another pond to find, but this time there were no volunteers with lights. Jim and I took parallel paths and started walking. After counting steps and figuring I had gone far enough, some side-to-side searching kept me busy for a few minutes. No pond. Jim's headlight was visible through the trees, so I headed his way. And to my amazement he had found it by noticing the type of bushes that are typically around water! Way to go! So with CP22 punched we picked up our bikes and rode on.
Not far away we headed down a gravel road and punched CP23. The clue said "road/trail", but the map showed only a road. With headlights we could see the trail (barely) as it headed off toward the north. Now it made sense: the racers were invited to follow this unmarked trail and see if it led them to the next point. Well, that was too much of an unknown for us, and we didn't want to spend a lot of time bushwhacking with bikes for about a mile in case this trail disappeared. So our choice was to backtrack using roads and go about 4 miles instead. That worked, and CP24 was an easy find. No, we didn't see a trail on the CP24 end! We crossed paths with Team Garmin at some point between CP24 and CP26 (memory fading), and they had taken the trail from CP23 to CP24. After hearing our road method, they admitted that they hadn't saved any time on the hard-to-follow trail.
The race had been underway for over 24 hours, and staying awake was a struggle for me. We had each packed some caffeine, but my intake had been less than Jim's. Over the course of the race, Jim had used 5-Hour Energy twice, a Starbucks Double Shot, and a couple Mountain Dews. My one bottle of Mountain Dew just wasn't dew-ing the trick. Hammer Gel was giving my legs the energy to keep pedaling (as well as the other food we were eating), but the eyelids just kept closing. So after almost crashing off the road, I asked Jim to stop so we could take a power nap. To stay warm in the cool night air, I layered up with a couple shirts, a fleece, and a rain jacket. The stocking hat was the last thing I put on, but I should have also spread out the safety blanket before lying down on the grass. Chiggers, as I found out a couple days later, had given me some nasty bites around the waistline. My watch alarm went off after 30 minutes of deep sleep, but all I remember is waking up to Jim's voice. Good thing he heard my watch, or we'd still be sleeping!
Pedaling toward CP25 warmed me up a bit and got rid of the chill of being idle. After punching the passport and taking off a couple layers, I finally started to feel alert. We were faced, however, with another bushwhack decision, and we finally chose the road/backtrack method again. So after a few more miles of road we entered the Bristol Cemetery (in the middle of the night, mind you) and punched CP26. Neither of us had any good ghost stories to tell.
After riding on paved or gravel roads all night, it was finally time to hit the Ozark Trail with full headlights on. There were many fallen trees blocking the path, and in a couple areas there were creeks that made it hard to stay on the trail. Voices behind us turned out to be Team Subaru, a 4-person team with members that we know, so it was nice to see some familiar faces in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't as nice, though, when they pulled away and reminded me of how much more bike training I need to do. We came to a jeep road intersection with the trail, and the map showed that it went parallel to the trail for quite a while. With no stipulation in the rules about staying on the trail in this part of the race, we decided to ride the grass track and avoid more fallen trees. The plan worked until we needed to pick up the Ozark Trail again to get to CP27. Going back and forth along a spur of the jeep road, we could not find the white diamond markers or any sign of a trail crossing. Our only choice was to continue along the grass road and take a big detour to find the checkpoint from the north instead of from the south. This worked, but it cost us time.
More road riding took us a short way to CP28 and CP29. Water and Gatorade were starting to get low, but we knew there were only a couple more checkpoints before getting back to the TA to restock. The bottom of this clue sheet said that the next clue sheet would be handed out at CP32. Did it mean more trekking? Another short trip in the canoe? Time would tell.
On the map, it seemed like a long easy jeep trail to get to CP30. But on the bikes, as the sun was starting to show some light, there were many turns and intersections that made it tricky. Shortly after leaving CP29, for instance, we rounded a bend to find a cable blocking the grass track with a private property sign. No trespassing. Hmmmmm... Maybe this isn't the right path to the east? We retraced our treads and found a turn we had missed. The trail was overgrown and full of ruts, making it slow going. At one point I hopped over a log, but it popped up and gave my derailleur quite a hit. The rear assembly got wedged in the spokes and brought me to a skidding halt. With Jim pulling one way and me the other we got the wheel free, but for the rest of the race the gears were noisy.
After CP30 it was downhill to Highway Z, then north to another cemetery for CP31. By this time it was another bright sunny morning, and we were excited to be heading back to the TA. My rear end wanted off the seat, and the steep hills were enough to make me walk a couple times. Jim remembered a shortcut that would let us avoid the last hill, and it was the trail that followed the river next to the dining hall. From there it was only a quarter mile to the pavilion and our next clue sheet.
What's this? As we approached the TA, the volunteers told us to head through the finish line chute. Bonk Hard had played a joke on the teams, and there was no "next clue sheet". We were done after a little more than 33 hours!!! And better yet, the news came in that the quickest 2-person team had missed at least one checkpoint, so we finished in second place behind Team Garmin, with no CP's missed.
That's an adventure I won't soon forget!
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