
1 pm, Wednesday August 28: Team Land Rover completes the mountaineering
section of the nine-day adventure race. For four days they bushwhacked
through dense slide alder, crossed icefields, and made a Tyrolean.
Traverse using ropes to cross a swollen river of icy glacial water.
Even though they were warned to watch for bears they never saw any, but
said the constant battle with insects was bad enough.
4 pm, Wednesday August 28: After a three hour rest from four days of
mountaineering, Team Land Rover enters the Downton River for a 40 mile
paddle which will take all night. In the middle, they must portage
between two lakes. Rules prohibit dragging the canoes, so they must
carry all gear approximately one mile. By dawn they will switch to
mountain bikes for another twelve hours across steep ridges, carrying
instructions to watch out for black bears.
As of mid-day, Team Land Rover ranked approximately
twenty-fourth, and remains in great shape and great spirits. Of the
seventy starting teams, 41 remain; 15 have been disqualified and 12 are
unranked due to a team member dropping out.
First place Team Eco-Internet Reebok, approximately 30 hours and two legs
ahead of the Land Rover team, is now crossing the Pemberton icecap. The
French Team Hewlett Packard is in second place, and Team Hi-Tec Adventure
is in third.
The weather, which had been beautiful (although perhaps a bit too warm
during the day) is now overcast and predicted to worsen. The possibility
of rain may necessitate adjustments to plans.