12 Stupid Things: Stupid Thing #2 - Salomon Snowshoe Raid

Well folks, “Stupid Thing” number 2 is firmly behind us, and we’re gearing up to get ready for the next one!!

The Snowshoe Raid took place under sunny skies and crisp air on February 21 at Horseshoe Valley Resort in Barrie, Ontario. Ten of us entered - five teams of two: Team Trip and Stumble, Team NOKNEES, Team C&N Express, Team Icescream, and Team Ediwa. We even had two friends who came along to cheer us on.

Armed with our topographical maps, our shiny new compasses that we didn’t really know how to use yet, and our sense of adventure, we headed off into the mayhem. When we arrived at the registration center, we were met with intimidating swaths of spandex-clad marathon-running types (150 of them to be exact) who were intensely conferencing with their teammates about their chosen routes. Grabbing our packages and maps, we too quickly set about planning our *much* less ambitious routes and trying to figure out what the red needle on our compass meant (ok, I’m exaggerating a bit).

Racers getting ready

The deal was this: 1) you get a topo map of a 16 square km region of woods, 2) there are 45 checkpoints within this space – 43 are marked on the map, 3) you have three hours to find as many as you can and return to the finish line, using only your compass and your wits.

Four of our teams at the start

Finding all 45 was out of the question for all us, so we each set our sights on a few checkpoints that we thought were achievable and set out from there. Interestingly, all 5 of our teams took completely different routes! Team C&N Express decided to take their fitness and their buns of steel and put them to the test - running up and down steep hills in the "matrix" region, scoring on many high-scoring checkpoints! Team NOKNEES got bored of finding the easy checkpoints and decided to challenge themselves with one of the steepest hills in the park – and found the checkpoint at the top of that hill! (legs hurting the next day, I’d imagine, ladies!). Team Trip and Stumble covered the greatest distance of us all – getting up to the far corner of the map and finding many checkpoints! Team Icescream (who we think win the contest for best team name) have interesting stories to tell – ask them, and maybe they’ll share!!

Shif breaking trail

Jen and I started with some easy checkpoints, and then decided to get waaay off the trails and trust in our compass – it was fun, and we managed to find 11 checkpoints without getting lost! As an added bonus, at one point our adventures found us sliding down a steep tree-covered hill on our butts – seemed the most efficient way to get down, and it certainly was the most fun (except for occasional collisions with large trees)!

Checkpoint!

Jen at the finish

A fun time was had by all, and I think I can safely say that we all exceeded our goals and expectations of ourselves! I think that this was truly the most fun I’ve ever had at an organized sporting event (sorry, Nancy – dragon boat is fun too)!! It was truly exhilarating to be off in the woods, trusting in your compass and map, pushing your body’s endurance, and seeking out these little red flag-boxes tied to trees. The glow inside me lasted for days!