Fall Creek Falls Adventure Race

Saturday August 28, 2004

The Fall Creek Falls race team included, Jim - Captain Yak, Eric - Yak Daddy, and, filling in for Alan - Yakety-Yak who decided he would rather run himself over with a large farm implement than spend the day with us, was Tom -THE YAKINATOR!!

(Studly looking Yak isn't he? Go ahead, hit him with your mouse.)

The FCF race was a BEAR!  It was certainly not as well organized as any of the other ARs I have been in.  It was an incredible challenge, and the Yaks lived (but that is about it!) thanks to our yakatude and our FABULOUS support crew, Margo, Carly, and Sally.  We couldn't have done it without you! (as evidenced by the fact that we barely did it WITH you!)

Leg 1 - 1/4 mile swim across the lake

Leg 2 - 5.5 mile flat water canoe 

Leg 3 - 20+ mile bike ride

Leg 4 - 10+ mile hike

Leg 5 - 100+ ft rappel

(All distances are estimated... They might be short by hundreds of miles!)

The team consisted of Myself - Captain Yak, Eric - Yak Daddy, and Tom - The Yakinator.  We started at 7:00am with a swim across the FCF lake with all our gear in a big drybag.  We swam the lake and jumped in the canoe.  Canoeing from one end of the lake to the other we ended up 50 yards from the dam.  Eric and I then had to do a deep-water exit swim to the punch and reenter the canoe.  We then canoed back to the dock and grabbed the bikes.  We were off on a very bumpy ride along the lake.  We got lost, with about 5 other teams, and spend an hour or so on the wrong trail.  Unfortunately it was one of those trails that you have to carry your bikes up and down steep terrain and avoid ground hornets, etc.  Several  members of other teams got into the hornets and received stings...OUCH.  Fortunately for us Yak hide is virtually impenetrable by hornets and they went on to weaker prey.

Once on the right course again we continued back to the transition area and took off on foot.  The hike into the gorge was fraught with indecision as none of the park trail maps were on our topo map.  Again we lost some time.  The descent into the gorge was beautiful and the views were great.  

Once there, however, it began to suck royally!  The next part of the journey took us up Cane creek toward the falls.  The going was slow as we had to stay in the creek and the rocks were slick and hard to navigate.  

  We met some new friends, three copperhead snakes we almost either stepped on or put a hand on!

Tom was especially feeling the pain as we "proceeded up the gorge" (our guidebook stated this as if it were a walk in the park!!) for 3-4 miles of hell.  We swore that we must be off course (though it is hard to get off course going up a creek bed) because the going was so rough and very dangerous.  The closer we got to the falls the larger the boulders got .  Soon we were climbing over boulders the size of VWs and houses.  We had to ford some pretty swift water a couple of times and jump over one torrent onto a slick shelf.  The Yakinator got several style points after that one!

By the time we made it out of the gorge, it was 12, 1/2 hours into a 12 hour race.  It was getting dark and unfortunately they had saved the 100+ foot rappel for the last event and we did not get to complete it!  Thus earning the Yaks' first DNF (did not finish)!  AND OUR LAST! GRRRRR (Can't you just feel the grit and determination!?!)

The real insult was the fact that we had completed the entire course, albeit slowly, but then to not finish the last checkpoint, arrrrgh the pain!

As an additional note, the course directors had no idea there were still 2 teams behind us stuck in the gorge after dark.  We talked to one of the team members who said they had to climb out and didn't get up till around 9:30.  Needless to say, their support crew was beside themselves with worry.  Also, the race directors RAN OUT OF FOOD for the racers!  (a faux-pas potentially punishable by death) The Yaks basically got the last servings of lasagna and there were teams coming to the table after we did. We paid $5 per person for our support crew and they got a cookie and some garlic bread!  I don't know if we will do another race by these folks, but I guess next year when the opportunity to try this one again comes up, we will see! Gotta do something about the DNF at Fall Creek Falls!

Click the link below to view an online photo album of the race!