I was first introduced to the Wilderness Challenge back in 2004. I read an All Hands magazine article and shortly after a fellow Supply Corps officer asked if I would be interested in being part of his team. Each team consists of four active duty military members with at least one female. The challenge sounded interesting and challenging! That year started me down the path of participating in the Wilderness Challenge every year since, except one year due to operational commitments.
That first year our team “Pork Chops III” finished 3rd for the Navy.
The Wilderness Challenge is organized by Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Morale, Welfare and Recreation department. Mike Bond and his team do an EXCELLENT job every year, which is one of the main reasons I continue to return.
The events are planned so the most athletic or the athletically challenged can participate. Teams range from the extremely competitive, those who tether their slower runner to the faster runners, to those out for fun, the guys who did most events in speedos and capes. Or as the Wilderness Challenge website claims “This event has been designed so that every active duty member already possesses the skills needed.” I have found that some have more skills than others!
The challenge is spread out over two days. Day one consists of an 8K run along the New River Gorge in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains finishing out with a 14 mile two-hour white water raft trip of continuous paddling down class III-V rapids. Day two starts very early, we meet when it’s still dark, so we can get lined up for the 12-14 mile mountain bike portion, followed by a 7-mile run down Class I-III rapids in a rubber ducky (inflatable kayak). The final event is a 15-mile hike/run through some of the highest and most beautiful parts of the Appalachian Mountains . It’s a shame we can’t “stop to smell the roses.”
The teams I’ve been on are middle-of-the-road in competitiveness. We push ourselves and always remain together as a team “encouraging” each other along the way. Along with the physical challenges there are always mechanical challenges, from a bike chain that broke only four miles into the 12 mile mountain bike portion, to major rain the night before and during the mountain bike portion which caked mud on your brakes leaving you with no braking power while going downhill at breakneck speed!
Most of our team training consisted of ensuring everyone felt comfortable enough on a mountain bike and getting in some decent runs in preparation for the final event. There isn’t much training we can do to prepare for the white water rafting or the rubber ducky and although the rapids do most of the work in getting us down the river we are continuously paddling in sync as a team to get there faster. The challenge is to keep our raft in the fast water, maintain a straight line in the rubber ducky and pray we don’t dump the raft!
The Wilderness Challenge is all about teamwork, camaraderie and having fun – and getting the all important coin!
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