Team AOA and the Odyssey

On Sunday, as the weekend at Hawksbill Cabin was winding down, I decided to drive into town and visit with the Appalachian Outdoors Adventures team about their recent 24-hour Odyssey adventure race. Both Howard and Gary have posts up on their blogs – links below, and the photo is from their gear shakedown run up on Duncan Knob – I think they have a little more news to share, but I wanted to hear about the experience in person.

Here's just a preview of the skills competitors needed to have to participate, taken from the Odyssey website (race details are at http://www.oarevents.com/events/2010/Odyssey_One_Day_2010.shtml) :

• Boat/paddling maneuvers - Peel out, ferry-forward, back ferry, eddy turns, stop (within reasonable distance), positions-sitting/kneeling- rocking/balance, forward in a straight line.
• Paddle strokes - Forward and backstrokes, draw stroke, cross bow draw, bow sweep, stern sweep, stop.
• Reading water - V’s-upstream/downstream; recognizing: rocks, horizon line, ledges, strainers, eddies, hydraulics.
• River rescue/safety - How to swim in moving waters, foot entrapment prevention, aggressive swimming-self rescue, avoiding obstacles/strainers, broaching/pinning; communication: paddle signals/whistle use, rescue priorities (people, boats, gear), hypothermia: prevention and treatment, how to receive a throwrope, proper clothing; lifejacket: fit, types, (location of whistle/knife); helmets, bailers. Strainer drill, throwrope use: re-stuff/re-throw/belay position; boat over boat rescue; lining a boat/portage, rigging: gear attachment, throwrope location, load distribution

Howard rolled out one of the maps they used in this race and we took a look at the route through the first four checkpoints – I couldn’t believe what I was seeing there. Just getting through one of those checkpoints is a more vigorous adventure than what I usually plan for a day hike.

Not to mention what I recall as the final leg of the route to the 3rd checkpoint on their map – after a 20+ mile bike ride, enter the Jefferson National Forest, bike four miles on forest trails, while climbing 1,000 + feet…

In the end, the AOA team wasn’t one of the three teams out of 36 that finished the entire race. But what they did achieve is pretty awesome! Congrats to them - Steve, Kris, Howard, and Gary - and looking forward to future news on these adventures!

http://adventuresinthevalley.blogspot.com/2010/07/odyssey-one-day-adventure-race.html

http://runtechinthevalley.blogspot.com/2010/07/24-hour-odessey-adventure-race-tech.html