Word of Mouth -
I didn't know much about this Eastport Peninsula Wilderness Adventure Race, except it was held outdoors, and that it involved snowshoeing and skiing.
So, I woke up bright and early on the morning of Feb. 23 and prepared the only way I knew how for a day in the woods - dress warm and do what you can to avoid getting wet.
I wasn't even 100 per cent sure of where I was going. As soon as I passed the twirling water slide at Splash N' Putt, I kept an eye out for either a visitor's centre sign, or a marine centre sign. I eventually passed a sign warning me that the visitor's centre was a single kilometre down the highway.
I pulled in and immediately saw a group of what seemed to be high school students, so I figured I had the right place. I walked into a building that was packed with students and coaches. On the wall opposite of the entrance was a map of the course, and I was shown where the transition area was where the students had to light a fire before heading off on their skis.
A great place to snap a few pictures, I thought. But how would I get there? I never had snowshoes or skis, and my 2007 Kia wouldn't ride too well on the trails. That's when I heard the familiar sound I heard so often back home in Harbour Breton - the sound of a skidoo riding down the trail.
The park warden manning the skidoo had to drag skis and a volunteer to the same transition area I was headed to, and although he didn't have to ride back until after the race was over, he gladly made the extra trip to come back to pick up this hitchhiker.
After talking with a few members from one of the two Smallwood Academy teams, the sound of the skidoo caught my attention again. Time to go for a ride.
As we travelled up a path, I got the urge to ask the warden if he wanted to take a detour to some flat, snowy ground where he could really push the throttle so I could see exactly how fast this machine was. The trail we took to get to the transition area wasn't really a trail at all, and not once did an opportunity arise where my driver could really give it the gas. Too bad, I thought.
"My money was on those guys. I mean, I was told that Dennis Feltham could light a match under water..."
We arrived at the transition area where volunteers were putting the finishing touches on what had to be done before the athletes arrived. When they did, however, it was a mad scene of snowshoeing, skiing, smoke, fires, injury care, bark and lighter searching...and chatter.
After snapping a few pictures and talking with different team members, I saw the same Smallwood Academy team I was talking to when I first arrived. My money was on those guys. I mean, I was told that Dennis Feltham could light a match under water, so my proverbial $1,000 was on those guys.
Although they had little trouble lighting their fire, the team's water just wouldn't boil. One of the volunteers jokingly asked what they were trying to boil, and Feltham replied, "We don't care about that. We're going to roast marshmallows later on anyway."
I replied, "They didn't come here to compete. They came for a boil up."
Although I won't say who said it, one team member said, "We came for a day off school."
Yes, truer words have never been spoken. I immediately thought back to the science fairs I entered just so I wouldn't have to attend horrid math classes. What is the value of Z if X=2 and Y=-3...no thanks. I didn't like physics either, and I didn't take chemistry, but dealing with science was a lot better than math.
However, I've gone off track, just like a few of the female skiers I had to help up on my way to the finish line on borrowed snowshoes (thanks Smallwood Academy).
In the end, as one of the volunteers said before the students headed back to their respective schools, everybody made it back under their own power. Therefore, the event was a tremendous success.
Same time next year?
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