Ousel Falls and the Journey to the River: Day 1, Part 2

Posted by Frances Fisher, Asst Media Director

After the stunning beginning of Primal Quest 2008, teams continued the Mind Quest Ultra Marathon trekking segment by finding several checkpoints along the way to Transition Area 2 and covering 70.75 miles before the next segment, the Travel Montana Inflatable Kayak (aka “Duckie”).  One of the most notable and viewer-friendly segments was the hike to Ousel Falls.  The hike took racers along the South Fork of the West Fork of the Gallatin River (yes, that’s its real name!).  The river was racing and the falls were pumping with all the snow melt – some of the same water the racers will be paddling and swimming through tomorrow. 

The lead teams hit CP5 – the trailhead for Ousel Falls – around 3:30 and there were no surprises.  Team PeakAdventure.com led the pack with Team Nike close on its heels (rumor has it they stopped for a tasty ice cream treat).  Not to be counted out, Team Merrell followed a few minutes behind.  After a bit, Team DART-nuun arrived at the CP, followed by five other teams close together.

Some teams took advantage of the Day 1 Route that took them through the commercial areas of Big Sky, Montana. Racers were spotted at the Hungry Moose Market and the Huckleberry Café.  When asked what they had gotten, John Weirich of Team Sawbones proudly spoke of his Italian sandwich with chips and a pickle, plus two Milky Ways and a bunch of Cokes. 

Although the lead teams were hustling, most of the later teams agreed that they hadn’t run all day.  With 200+ miles of trekking ahead of them, they are conserving energy and watching their feet.  All teams were in good spirits and cited the climb up Lone Peak (and glissading down) as the highlight of the day.  “We were giggling like children” said Team HART/Marmot, in between bites at the Huckleberry Café.

As racers cling to the last remnants of civilization before they forage into the wild, they’re looking forward to the riverboarding and climbing sections.  Many are wary of the whitewater kayaking sections – though they’ve logged hundreds of hours preparing, many haven’t had access to rivers that flow as fast and furious as the Gallatin and Yellowstone rivers full of melted snow from last week’s blizzards.

Tonight and early tomorrow, most teams will reach Transition Area 2 – the put-in for the first whitewater section.  TA2 is a “dark zone,” which means that if racers arrive after the evening cutoff time, they cannot leave the TA until daybreak.  This is to ensure safety on the water.  With the first teams expecting to arrive around 9 or 10pm tonight, they will certainly be chomping at the bit to get on the river course designed by Josh Galt of Face Level.  He promises to deliver a heart-pounding, adrenaline-pumping, death-defying experience the competitors will not soon forget.

Stay tuned as the adventure continues…

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 9:31 pm and is filed under Primal Quest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.