Tyler Adventure Race

Here are the pics of the adventure race in Tyler, Texas that Chad, Joel, Aaron, and I ran. The race involved compass and map navigation, trail running, kayak navigation, mountain bike and special challenges. At the start of the race they give you a map and nav points to mark out to find where your checkpoints are. Its all about map and compass skills. You have to use a UTM plotter to chart your course. It was sweet.


Got the above pic out of order...oh well. This is us running through the woods. On this leg of the race two team members could ride, the other two had to run.

The night before the race we thought, "you know what sounds really good? Sushi in Tyler, Texas. We found some. Probably not the best pre-race food but made us happy.

Aaron with the spicy Tuna.

Chad with the fish egg also topped with a quail egg sushi.

Gear table the night before the race. We slept in a camp shelter at Tyler State Park. It took us almost until 1:00am to get the bikes tuned, packs loaded, and first aid kits ready to go. Half the fun!

The start of the race. There were some crazy competitive teams there...ours...not so much.

Almost at the end.

This is our T.A. (transition area) here we store our bikes and other gear during the race. Each leg will eventually end up here where you come flying in grab more gear, chart your next course, and take off once more.

Chad plotting our next CP's on the map. (check points)

This is what a check point looks like when you find it. Notice I said find it? You can easily wander around the woods if you plot wrong. Once you find it you use the hanging clicker to punch a hole in your card to prove you were there.

My Mt. Hood Climb

The above pic is on the summit.

Another pic of the Summit facing West.

This is a pic of the North Face on Hood. It's where the climbers this past week were attempting to Summit. Notice the cornice hanging over the top...major danger.

Chad on the summit.

This is above crater rock. Right in front of this massive rock formation is the actual crater of the volcano. It's a dark funnel that goes into the mountain that emits smoke all the time. Almost like in a cartoon.

Mt. Adams in the distance.

Devils Kitchen route...never climbed it.

All of us on the summit with all our gear.

More summit photos.

Here is the smoke from the crater.

This is from the parking lot looking up. You can barely see where the ski lift ends over on the left. In the canyon in the middle of this picture is where Chad and I did all of our Mountaineering training.

It's been a hard week watching the news and hearing of the suffering of the families of the three climbers on Hood. It's weird because some of the rescue people I have seen on the news we actually met climbing a couple years ago. The mountain can be brutal and so much can go wrong so quickly. I pray for their families.

Respite

Here are the pics of the fish from todays adventure! Tim and I went out to Brushy Creek to see what we could catch. Tim was clearly the man...I on the other hand just had fun being up to my waste in river water in the middle of December. Seriously thought about a full on swim. I caught 4 fish, all were small Guadalupe Bass. Tim caught three huge black bass.

Day out was sweet and more than needed. I can't explain what the outdoors means to me.

Tried to catch some catfish with little smokies...no go. Came to a waterfall on the river and man did I want to go for it! Just Tim, myself, and chance. Chance to prove we are not afraid. Chance to see just how cold the water is in December. Chance to tell a story. Chance. Well needless to say we carried the boat around the falls...I will be back.

Tim bait fished with live minnows and some kinda juice that when applied to the bait really did bring in the big fish. I used the ole fly rod. Love fly fishing. His method definitely caught bigger fish.

Was a sweet day. Praise be to God for the fly, minnow, water, fish...amen.