The weather was perfect for a 64km race. I had not participated in this race since 1982 and it was only my third time on the course. Mike ran the race last year with his cousin and we were both eagerly looking forward to this year.
We had some equipment malfunctions along the way primarily involving our hydrating systems and experienced frustrating collisions with hidden rocks just under the surface of the water. The water levels this year unfortunately were the lowest in recent history which made the rapids we encountered along the way a bit of a challenge to say the least.
Other incidents along the way included being almost swamped by another canoe as they crashed into the side of our boat in the middle of Trout Lake. We also took on a boat full of water in the Campion Rapids by Champlain Park and had to promptly pull over to empty the canoe. We were repeatedly being stranded on rocks just hidden under the surface and quickly decided not to cut corners.
I tripped while walking along the Talon Chutes portage resulting in minor injuries and more delays. We still hadn't figured out how to properly carry our canoe through the portages by the time we reached Pine Lake and lost more time as a result. We did pick up some time by running the rapids as opposed to portaging.
All in all it was a good day. We completed the course in 8 hrs 43 mins and were pleased as punch with our results. We are eagerly looking forward to the 2011 race where we hope to shave some time of this year's results.
