by: Mark Richardson, edited and published by Adam Doti

Dirty Avocados entered two teams for this event. Our team consisted of Adam Doti, Adam “A-Bomb” Aramijo, Linda McClean, and Karen Rehder. We knew before the start that Linda would be leaving early and be kickin' it at a Colorado resort when we finished. I met A-Bomb and Adam D at last years BAAR Brawl 2.5 Redux as well as racing with Adam D at the SSA Finals event last season. It was my first event with Karen and Linda. We were going to go out and try to complete the course that we were assured would be much shorter that past routes and would have a 50% completion rate, (WRONG).

We gathered in the parking lot anticipating the promised map release at 5:30 pm. Well, the pre-race meeting started shortly after 6, with maps and coordinates given after that. We plotted UTMs feverishly and discovered interesting things like a CP in the ocean near the Pt. Bonita lighthouse. Gordon then put up a master of the first page because the coordinates for some of the CPs were wrong, Doh!. We were still working on the maps when the announcement was made that the non-event would start in 5 minutes. We opted to stay inside and finish plotting the CPs in the well lit shelter of the Sports Basement. The other Dirty Avocados team left having plotted through CP18.

We wen't outside and finally hit the road shortly after 7pm. There were two or three other teams still in the parking lot. One was with us as we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. We biked along Crissy Field up into the Presidio and across the Golden Gate Bridge and dropped down into Sausalito via the Alexander exit.

We arrived at Sea Trek in Sausalito and made a fairly quick transition to the boats. The rest of the team wore spray jackets but I've usually overheated on paddle legs and it wasn't that cold. I'd rather be a little cold that sweat a whole bunch inside the jacket at the start of the race. I wen't barefoot because I wanted dry shoes and socks for later in the race. I brought some food and a water bottle. I thought I might need more, but it's always hard to eat and drink while paddling. Because we were racing with 5 people, our kayak configuration was one three person kayak and one two person kayak.

Before we got around the first point I knocked my water bottle into the bay and lost it….okay, so I'd be a bit behind on hydration when we returned to the CP. We had a double and a triple kayak. I started with Karen and I in the tandem. We made the decision to stay left and then cross the channel to Angel Island. This wasn't wise because in the dark we could not read the contours of the shore line and because I had never paddled in the area before so I knew no landmarks. We crossed to the Ayala Cove initially thinking we still had to pass one more point. The pier came into view and we could soon see the cove and outlines of sailboats well beyond the pier and realized we were there. We also realized that the current in the straight wasn't much of a factor, we could have easily ferried. We counted sailboat moorings and then headed off to the next CP on the north side of the Tiburon Peninsula .

We arrived at the area where the CP was to be. We had to answer what a plaque on a bench urged us to do. Adam D ran around on shore for while before finally finding the plaque on the bench towards the back of the park with a plaque that read “Experience Joy”. Before taking off we shuffled our seating arrangements in the kayaks to attempt to even the speed between the two boats, Adam D and Karen switched places. We should have brought a tow line. Adam D was feeling really good on the kayak leg and the whole team was amazed at how calm and glassy the bay and was on this night. We paddled back to Sea Trek and arrived at about the same time as two other teams. We were out for about three hours. I wasn't too wet and only a little cold when we arrived. I then stood up and dumped the water from my spray skirt all over the front of my tights…what a knucklehead. Oh well, they'll dry quickly on the bike. We carried the boats, checked in with the Sea Trek staff, and got ready for the next leg. I put on shoes and socks. I got my maps ready on my bike, ate and drank and was ready to go. Adam D, Linda, and A-bomb were ready too. Karen had been lured to the heater and was attempting to warm up and dry some of her clothes. So I danced in place and ate some more in an attempt to stay warm while the teammates helped Karen get on the road. By the time we left I was shivering.

We rode up from Sausalito under 101 and up to the road to Kirby Beach. We rode down and counted the steps at the CP and rode back up and off to the next CP at the Pt. Bonita Lighthouse. We had no faith in the coordinates given and stopped to check options a couple times before committing to just riding to the lighthouse. The wind was wicked and we chilled quickly every time we stopped. We found the black and yellow number on the last telephone pole before the tunnel at the same time as another team. We followed the road and headed off to find the start of the Miwok Trail. We passed it by about a mile then did a quick check and decided to backtrack a bit. There was that same team again at the trailhead. We followed the Miwok trail over the hills to Tennessee Valley. On the climbs I was starting to feel strange and was burping frequently. I just drank more water and worked through it. I thought it might be dehydration but I was peeing regularly. I was feeling weak at a point in the event when I usually start to feel strong. Most of the Miwok trail was in pretty good condition but it got pretty slippery on the last part to the descent into the stables and the next CP. Near the end of the trail a large owl suddenly sprang from the trail in front of Karen, scaring the crap outa her.

At Tennessee Valley we had to find the name of the company on the port-a-potties. Here we made a strategic decision. Linda was concerned about some monster hills on the trails between here and the next CP. We took Karen's suggestion to instead ride an all paved route from Tennessee Valley to Shoreline and up Panoramic Highway. It was certainly a longer distance but we were able to ride most of it at a steady cadence and were betting that we'd finish the bike leg a bit less thrashed than if we took the trails am dahead of a fe teams. Linda left us and headed off to her vacation at the bottom of Tennessee Valley. We rode past the road to the Trek TA and snuck through Pantoll Ranger Station to get CP8. We counted knots in a sign post then rode back up to Panoramic Highway and dropped down Sierra Trail to CP9, the TA from bike to trek. I doubt it's legal but the Sierra Trail was a hoot! We arrived at the TA, Alice Eastwood Campground. All we should have had to do was change shoes…so why were we there for half an hour? Why? Because of the damned campfire, that's why. ;)

We started off for the trek at about 5:30. As we began hiking my gastric distress was increasing by the minute. I was expelling gasses from both ends and my stomach was churning. On the way out of Alice Eastwood we crossed paths with two other racers and inquired about the whereabouts of the other Dirty Avocados team. “Oh yeah, your the other Avocados? Cool, there about 2 hours out.” Adam D and I had spotted their bikes at Alice Eastwood so we knew they were in the vicinity. But 2 hours, that seems a but much. Also e ere thinking there as no ay this team e just passed had already completed the trek leg. They must have turned around early thus passing the other DA team which would explain the encounter.

By this time the sun was rising and the bay looked incredible. CP-10 was the Sitting Bull plaque near the top of Mt. Tamalpais. By the time we hiked up to the plaque there was no denying it…poop was going to be a major part of the rest of the event for me. I was also wholly dependent on Perpetuem and Sustained energy because my stomach would no longer tolerate solid food. I marched on just below the threshold of nausea. I almost puked a couple times but luckily avoided it. At this point Adam D regretted not bringing trekking poles. He had asked around before the race to see that others were planning to do and everybody except was planning not bring poles. He as thankful I did!

We reached the East Peak Visitor Center on Mt Tam and I raced for the toilet while my teammate shivered outside and treated them selves to the vending machine. It was just after dawn. We cruised to CP-11 without incident. We accidentally turned up an unmarked trail en route to CP-12 but returned and found that we hadn't noticed the correct trail. We followed the trail to Hidden lake where we had to state whether Hidden Lake was overgrown or cleared. Hidden lake looked like two ponds, one overgrown (swampy) and one nearby, clear (almost pond size). While my teammates figured it out I had to rush off behind some big trees and go again and again…when will it end?

We headed down towards Kent Lake. The route took us down Cataract Trail. Those teams that opted to not take Cataract made a huge mistake. This was easily the highlight of the course with beautiful cascading waterfalls tumbling over rocks covered in brilliant green moss. It was stunning. It was also torture because being a conscientious visitor to the great outdoors I knew that depositing human waste so close to water was not good, and I was desperate to deposit some waste. We got to the dam and dammit…no outhouses! Karen urged us to consider our options before starting the next trek loop but we chose to go for it. Here we also took a break that was way too long. Another lesson and mistake that is easy to make. We should be walking and eating not sitting. We shed some layers and headed up the road and ran right into Gordon and his teammate. Gordon told us it was only about 2 ½ hours for the loop, his teammate said that Gordon didn't know how to tell the truth. At this point it was about 10:30 – 10:45am.

The loop sent us up an extremely steep grassy slope to CP-13 which Adam D seemd to run up mustering a pocket of energy that must have been hiding in reserves while I used my knucles like a Gorilla and stopping every so sften to ward of the urges to yack. Then we climbed up and over and down by the waterfall for CP-14 and continuing on along Oat Hill Trail to the Kent Lake Pump House Trail to CP-15 and back around to the lake. We strolled like Zombies back to the dam. Adam D thinks he has perfected the art of sleep walking-joging. He must have fallen asleep a dozen times while both trotting and walking.

We climbed all the way back up Cataract to Laurel Dell. I was thrilled to find outhouses there. My teammates waited patiently (I think) until I came out and was ready to go. The next CP was in the middle of the woods where there was no marked trail on our map. The clue was how many tubes in the chime. thinking maybe we could actually hear the wind chime. We were walking along and saw a well worn footpath down the hill in the right direction. The vegetation pattern also seemed pretty close to that indicated on the map. We climbed down to the right elevation and searched all around for wind chimes. After about 45 minutes we gave up and headed back up to the main trail. About 300 meters farther along we find another well worn footpath in the right direction. But this time it has a sign, “Music Stand Trail.” Ahh, this must be it! It was and we quickly discovered the strange little arrangement of music stands and a chime in a tree with fourteen tubes. The area was actually kind of creepy. Since 14 tubes was the answer to CP-16 we began to head back up to the main fire road.

As we were leaving two women came up and one asked, “Where do you believe you are?” Strange way to phrase the question so I replied, “Planet Earth.” Just kidding. I found out they intended to be on High Marsh Trail and needed to get back to Cataract. I gave them directions and then chased my teammates up the hill. We took off and turned on Benstein Trail to Mountain Theatre where we had to count the rows of seating for CP-17. From there we did a gentle jog down to Bootjack, along Panoramic, and then down Sierra back to Alice Eastwood Camp, CP/TA 18. Karen was kicking it into high gear at this point. Seems like everybody at some point in the race musters up this random pocket of energy and performs super human feats. Karen's quick pace back made sure we all found the energy to jog as much as we could back to camp. Maybe it was the looming dusk that put a fire under her ass? We found the campsite vacated with our bikes locked up. Hmmm, locked with whose lock? We found a note from Gordon and his crew inside one of our bike helmets, and on the note was the combination of the lock. It was dusk and before I change shoes I needed my headlamp to see.

We evaluated our options for the last bike leg. A-Bomb reminded us of Gordon's warning about the hazardous condition of the trails on the last leg. He also had a big day scheduled at work Monday. I was feeling really weak and borderline feverish. We discussed riding to Muir beach for two more CPs before heading back. We knew the tunnel at the Pt. Bonita lighthouse was locked and we wouldn't be able to get the phone number from the pay phone. Eventually we decided to ride directly back to the Sports Basement via Panoramic, Shoreline, Mill Valley bike path, Sausalito, up Alexander, the Golden Gate Bridge and finally down the Presidio We left around 6:30 and arrived at the sports basement at about 8pm to find no sign that the non-event that was BAAR BRAL 3 had ever happened.

I had a 120 mile trip home so after saying goodbye to my teammates and getting out of my stinky clothes I took a 50 minute nap in my truck. I woke up and found I was the only vehicle left in the parking lot. I drank two Red Bulls and headed back to Oakdale.

Summary: We clearly needed to shake off the winter rust. The nav wasn't bad but definitely not the best we can do. Karen knew the area well but I had very little local knowledge going in. I'm sure there were many teams more familiar with the area. We now know more about each other's strengths and weaknesses and will be able to strategize for these in the future. Karen could write a guidebook for the trails of Marin County. I wish Linda could have stayed longer. My initial impression is that she's a mountain goat who goes uphill really well and is mentally tough. Adam D and I work together really well on navigating. A-Bomb is really strong on the bike and never complains. And my self-assessment; I suck when I'm sick. Early in the race teammates knew the area and “exactly where we are going.” I should have still tracked our current location on the maps.

Lessons Learned:
- Traveling with more people multiplies the chance of something going wrong or general slowdowns and equipment adjustments.
- Bring trekking poles! Especially for any race in Marin no matter what anybody says.
- Pack food for a 24+ hour race with no TA or assisted CPs like it's the last time your ever going to eat!

- Dirty Avocaods

Petzel Myo 5 (Adam D)
Battery life on regular non-halogen setting was a bit short.

Home made bike map holder.
Plans coming soon.