Time to party!

Although there's lots more to share, this is going to be a little shorter of a post since I need to go and get a little sleep before the big day tomorrow. :-)

We spent the morning and early afternoon doing last minute prep on our packs - trying to balance the desire to have a lighter weight pack with the necessity of having all the mandatory gear and warm enough clothes to make it through the CHILLY nights! In Big Sky right now, its 45 deg (at 7000 ft) and it will be much cooler at the higher elevations!

At 3pm, we went to the pre-race meeting (3+ hrs long) where they gave us additional safety info (particularly on potential wildlife encounters) and we got previews of the course - then we got our set of maps, 11 of them. At that point, the race was on to efficiently and effectively plot the UTM coordinates of the 31 checkpoints and the 14 (or was it 12?) transition areas (where we transition to different events and support crews can help us reload on food, etc). It was quite a big job ... all 4 team members worked on this and we just finished a little while ago. The really great beta that Jeremy (our primary navigator) had was leading us to a table in the lobby of one of the condo buildings with a fireplace and comfortable chairs. This was so, so much nicer than our other option of plotting the maps inside a cramped RV trailer! We also got to talk to Don and Dawn Mann - the big chiefs of the race - and even had film crews in taking pics of us sweating it out. It was VERY helpful that I had picked up a few extra local mountain biking trail maps when I visited here a month ago because the maps they gave us did not have trails identified very well at all. ...probably since the data was last updated in 1983, compared to the IMBA trail maps which were updated just a few years ago. :-)


So, the first challenge for us tomorrow - climb Lone Mountain! This is the beautiful icon that you can't stop staring at if you come to Big Sky. Up on the ridge, they have ropes set up that we'll have to tie into for safety. After that, there's another big trek, then its time to get on the inflatable kayaks then riverboards. That's as far ahead as I can think about right now ... one step at a time. :-)

Be sure to check out the team website: http://team18.ecoprimalquest.com/ (sorry - struggling with actually adding the link, so just copy and paste for now) Our awesome support crew has already uploaded pictures and videos, so be sure to check those tabs at the top of the site also. They'll be updating this relatively frequently, so you can track us there.

Ok, one last thing before I sign off. To my family and friends, I love you dearly and really appreciate all the moral support and encouragement. I will be thinking of you and these happy thoughts are what will help me through the tough times. Know that you are with me in a very important way throughout this journey! Cheers!