For the past few days, media volunteer Jan de Bree has been manning one of the remote checkpoints that fall along the Primal Quest course. The racers must all pass through these checkpoints on their way to the finish line, and are required to sign in and out, recording their times in the process.

For the volunteers who man these CP’s, it can be long hours without seeing another soul, and teams can come and go at all hours of the day and night. To get an idea of what it’s like to be stationed at one of these places, read on…

Check Point Volunteer
by
Jan de Bree

A check point is a place where race teams stop to record their arrival and departure. This place is hosted by one or two volunteers. My first assignment was check point thirty-four, Sage Creek Road, and the Larsen Farm that borders the Badlands National Park.

Sharon drove the two of us in her Toyota four-wheel drive pickup truck. We bounced our way along the farm’s two and half mile driveway. Over the hill and down into the valley we arrived at the dilapidated barns and a concrete silo that had written on it, “Larsen Farm, 1960. The trees surrounding the buildings were dying. Barbed wire and weathered wood was scattered between the buildings. Curious black Angus cattle stared at us as we hung our Primal Quest signs on the silo.

Sharon’s shelter was her truck. I came with my tent. Sharon brought a chair and a puzzle book. I surveyed the site in search of a portable toilet and a water supply. Sharon laughed, “A toilet and water? This is a check point not a transition area.” I had visited several transition areas and therefore I expected a similar arrangement at the Larsen Farm. I came without water. Sharon brought four quarts of water that she now had to share with me. We had to be judicious with her water. I was reminded of cowboy films in which two people trek across the prairie with only a small canteen of water and vultures circling overhead.

Once we were setup we studied the gate at the top of the hill and lived in expectation of the first team to arrive at our check point. We were told that they could arrive in the evening or during the early morning hours. After several hours of waiting and looking, Sharon telephoned Primal Quest communications. She asked, “How close is that team, which is heading toward check point thirty-four?” The team close to us had not yet arrived at check point thirty-three. We could bed down for the night and enjoy uninterrupted sleep.

The next day the team was not within reach of our check point as expected. We spent the day walking among the farm buildings and we we inspected several cattle watering holes because we were low on water. Sharon had brought a water filter and a water purification chemical. When filtered muddy water where cattle meandered, urinated and defecated, we were taking risks with giardia. We boiled the water for added security.

The hours spent waiting for a race team to arrive never led to romantic visions of “Little House on the Prairie.” The Larsen farmhouse was reduced to a concrete foundation and concrete front door steps. Mrs. Larsen left her husband for a man in Rapid City. And as the story was told to us, Mr. Larsen put a gun to his head and shot himself.

The Larsen homestead was now a home to cattle, antelope, deer and coyotes. Sharon and I were transitory sojourners. And yet during our three day stay, we talked often about the place. Someone had pushed the outhouse onto its side. It had room for two people. Sharon questioned whether a family would want to toilet together in same the outhouse. And when gusts of forty-five mile per hour winds and pelting rain hit us one evening, she said, “I now know why Mrs. Larsen left. I am supporting her decision.”

The arrival of Europeans to South Dakota was beyond our imagination. Although we could not touch the past, we were touched in the present by the land, the weather, the vegetation and the animals.

During our second evening, we checked in our first team. They were on their way to the Badlands with only a five or ten minute stopover with us. We watched the four person team disappear behind a small rise on the prairie while we cherished our moment of chit chat and camaraderie. We were again patiently waiting for the next team to arrive. As a consolation we ate one snack and then another.

During our stay at check point thirty-four, we processed seven teams. On the second day we drove to Scenic for additional water, a chocolate bar and a bag of chips. On the drive out we met a team on the road. We hurried to the store and returned quickly to our post. When we drove the road and the lengthy driveway, we did not see that team again. Sharon asked if we were hallucinating. She telephoned Primal Quest communications. They told her that Sage Creek Road showed no teams traveling along it. A lack of water and the isolation had us imagining a team walking toward our check point. An hour later the phantom team arrived. Their Spot tracking device was inactive. We activated the device and they continue on their trek to the Badlands.

Day three we drove to Scenic again for water. We were met by the man that transported volunteers to check points. He had brought us our replacement. What a surprise! Our replacement came a day early. Sharon drove Steve to the Larsen farm. We gathered together our belongings. By two o’clock we were at Saga Creek Road and on our way to Rapid City. I came away with my first experience at a check point where I waited in anticipation, where I watched the crest of a hill and a gate for approaching teams and where I felt the wind. And I took with me a photographic record of the place.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at 8:45 pm and is filed under Primal Quest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.