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What's a little mud between friends?

After writing Dirty Girls, I had an opportunity to see my first Cyclocross race: the Turkey Burn at Allsop Park.  Along with a morning of witnessing awe inspiring feats of athleticism and competitive spirit, I got a little bit of vindication in my assertion that yes, women are getting into extreme sports, even here in Arkansas where some would expect that it should lag behind places like Utah and Colorado where extreme sports have enjoyed success for many years.  After the race I had a chance to chat with this lovely woman.

Getting it done

I grew up in Little Rock, my husband did not. He always jokes that in Arkansas there are only two degrees of separation, not six. So after the race I catch her to tell her and the other women how impressed I was with their badassness. And we realize that we have met before. Was it at a race? Was it through a mutual bike shop friend? A ladies ride? Ah yes, that’s it, her boyfriend is a crackfire bike mechanic that worked at a local bike shop we frequent. And we have a mutual friend and yeah, there might have been a shared ride in there at some time. Two degrees or fewer.

I asked her how she sees the growth of this kind of event from the feminine perspective and she tells me a great story of a 24 hour relay mountain bike race she did as a 4 woman team a few years ago. They were the only all female team at that event. They called themselves the Dirty Skirts. So each time one of them came through the main area the announcer could honestly say “here come the Dirty Skirts and boy are they DIRTY”.  But these days, it’s a rare thing to be the only all female team at an event like that one. More women are out there taking on the challenge of doing stuff like this:

Wet and Muddy

And smiling while they do it:

Tough Chicks are Happy Chicks

I’m definitely seeing more items pop up in sidebars and on search engines that lead me toward adventure sports oriented  publications and businesses that cater to women.  Like Women’s Adventure Magazine and Women’s Adventure Travel or the Women’s Wilderness Institute that has programs geared toward both adult women and the younger set to encourage them to be adventurers and explorers. And I recently found this UK publication, Sportsister, whose webpage header is an ad for a charity ride from London to Paris next summer that now has a women’s only route. I’ve had a ball reading one of the blogs on their site, Clarissa Goodwin’s Ultimate Challenges. There are big name sponsored races like Shape’s Diva Dash that’s advertised as an “obstacle adventure” run. Not a 5k, not a 10k, an adventure. Terra Firma racing puts on a number of multisport and mountain bike races in Texas and they have a women’s adventure race too. I hope it won’t be long before we have events like that in Arkansas. If you’ve been lacking  incentive or encouragement to get out there and get dirty you need look no further than a local 5K, 10K, marathon, bike race, charity ride, cyclocross race, mountain bike trail,triathlon festival, adventure race, rock face, climbing center, soccer field, track, or hang gliding take off point to find women who will be happy to give you what you may have been missing: Permission to Get Dirty.

Vaulting a log.

So with plastic bag over the camera (you can see it in a few shots) I set out to capture the fun. The lap on this course was longer and a bit more spread out than last week’s race. It took me a little more time to get from place to place and to find the best spots for shots. I was able to get some video footage at some choice obstacles .

Kicking up some mud.

The swimming section of the course.

The Hill

Keep smilin' guys, just keep smilin'.

Next weekend is the state championships at Burns Park in North Little Rock. I haven’t heard the weather forecast yet but it should be another fun one.

Over 200 photos of the misery can be found on our Flickr Page.

Results are in!

For more information about playing outside in Arkansas visit our Facebook, Google+, Flickr and Twitter pages.

Santa leads the way.

The run took competitors, and non-competitors from the Clinton Library over the Broadway Bridge and then to the Clinton Library Bridge and the finish line.

The leaders coming across the bridge.

Reindeer on the bridge.

The walkers, taking a different route, went under the Clinton Library Bridge.

We loaded over 100 more photos to our Flickr page. See if you can find yourself.

For more information about playing outside in Arkansas visit our Facebook, Google+, Flickr and Twitter pages.

I really enjoy cycling, but I also enjoy swimming (the “sport” of my youth) and hiking and orienteering and paddling and sometimes even running. I also enjoy competition so how do I choose what kind of event to focus on? Well, luckily, I don’t have to. Arkansas is a wonderful place to participate in multi-sport competitions.

Coming out of the water and heading for the bikes at the CATS Triathlon in Conway, AR.

The obvious multi-sport event is the triathlon. Varying lengths from short sprints to long sufferfests, triathlons incorporate swimming, cycling and running. I did my first one in the mid 1980′s and finished 50th in a field of 51. I didn’t do any more for a long time but found them again about 10 years ago. My tri’s tend to go like this, a strong swim finishing near the front of the pack, I hold my own on the bike being passed by only the super serious guys and then I totally fall apart on the run. I still do okay but never finish “in the money”.

The start of the Big Dam Bridge Duathlon.

Triathlons are not the only multi-sport races to participate in. A variation is the Xterra or off-road triathlon. A swimming leg, a mountain bike leg and a trail running leg. These tend to interest me more mainly because I tend to be more comfortable in the woods than on the road. We have a series of these in the state. Lisa has enjoyed duathlons on occasion. She is not big on the swimming part of a tri and this way she can concentrate on a run leg, a bike leg and another run leg. Duathlons are also offered for those with a love for the off-road competitions. Many of these off-road events are part of a bigger competitive weekend that usually includes mountain bike races and other running events. Something for everyone.

My true love in multi-sport competitions is  the monster of them all, the adventure race. Most adventure races consist of working as a team (not a relay) through several disciplines such as trail running, mountain biking, climbing or rope work, paddling and sometimes other challenges. All this is wrapped around orienteering, map and compass work. I’ve lost count of the number of these races I’ve done. The one I’ve competed in the most is Raid the Rock Adventure Race. The team dynamics is the real challenge here. You’re only as fast as your slowest teammate. People get tired as each team member works through different weaker and stronger areas. It’s a heck of a test of leadership ability and getting along with others while working at the edge of your limits for hours on end. The best part, when I finished my first one years ago I felt like I could do anything. I love that feeling.

Once I did Raid the Rock as a solo competitor....once.

Often you can find races that are an off shoot  of adventure races or even more of a mash-up of triathlons and adventure races. Lisa and I competed in the Ruggedman race a couple of times in Glenwood, AR. This race consisted of a short road bike ride, a kayak trip on the Cadron and then a 4 mile run. We did a similar race in Russellville, AR one year called 40 Acres of Hill Triathlon. One race we hated to see go was the Fort Chaffee Challenge near Fort Smith, AR. It consisted of teams of two doing a run/orienteer leg followed by a mountain bike leg…repeated three times. In between each leg they had other challenges like one that involved one teammate hauling water while blindfolded,trying to fill a bucket at the opposite end of the field while the other teammate would yell directions at them, fun. Or doing the army crawl through mud to find a drill sergeant at the end of it to make teams do push ups and jump squats.  I hope that format makes a comeback soon. It was a blast.

Lisa and our friend Chris at the start of the Ruggedman. BTW, it was COLD!

Picking up a checkpoint in the Fort Chaffee Challenge.

So keep an eye on this site, subscribe or put us in your rss reader. We’ll make sure you know when these things are coming up.

For more information about playing outside in Arkansas visit our Facebook, Google+, Flickr and Twitter pages.

Go Santa Go!

Time for Jingle Bell runs, Yule runs, Santa runs, etc. This is what we have so far, let us know of any we left out:

December 3rd, 2011

• Farmers Bank 5K Yule Run - Greenwood, AR – Race Start 9 am.
• Speedy Santa 5k – Benton, AR – Race Start 8:30 am.
• Jingle Bell Run/Walk - Little Rock, AR – Race Start 11:00 am.
• Young Jingle Jacket Jog 5k and Family Fun Run – Springdale, AR – Race Start 6 pm.
• Hope, Faith, St. Jude SHS East 5K – Springdale, AR – Race Start 10 am.

December 10th, 2011

• White River Christmas Half Marathon/8K – Batesville, AR – Race Start 9am.
• Jingle Bell Run/Walk – Hot Springs, AR
• Magic Mile - Fayetteville, AR

December 17th, 2011

• Jingle Bell Run/Walk – Rogers, AR – Race Start 2 pm.
• Jingle Bell 5K/Kid’s Santa Chase – Fort Smith, AR 9am. - Info: 580-483-5579, maguero@cameron.edu.

Other non-holiday themed runs/walks:

December 3rd, 2011

•  Reddie Steady 5K – Arkadelphia, AR – Race Start 9:30am - Info: 870-230-5140, hperclub@reddies.hsu.edu

December 4th, 2011

• Walk Across Springdale – Springdale, AR – Start time 2 pm.

December 10th, 2011

• Magic Mile - Fayetteville, AR – Start time 10 am.
• Light up the Night 5K - Little Rock, AR – Start time 5 pm.

December 11th, 2011

• Fayetteville Half Marathon/5K/1M – Fayetteville, AR – Start time 8 am.

December 17th, 2011

• Mount Nebo Bench Trail Run 4 Mile – Dardanelle, AR – Start time

Pre-Suffering Grin

The race today, “The Turkey Burn”, was held at Allsop Park in Little Rock and is part of a larger cyclocross series called the Arkansas Super-Prestige held across the state this time of year. One of the great things about the race is that spectators can wander around a pretty small area and watch the race from several vantage points. Something that’s kind of tough to do with road races and mountain bike races. So there is a lot of cheering and cowbell ringing. This event had three separate races based on skill level and each ran fora  different length of time. Between the races everyone just kind of hangs out and talks about all things cycling. This race was sponsored by Arkansas Cycling and Fitness, Arkansas Bicycle Club and Vino’s, the latter supplied pizza and beer for the racers. Yes, it’s that kind of event.

Just a sip each lap to keep him going.

Their are two more races left in the series so you still have a chance to get out and witness the craziness. On Sunday December 4th is the Jingle Bell Race at Boyle Park in Little Rock and on Sunday December 11th is the State Cyclocross Championship Race at Burns Park in North Little Rock.

The rest of the story is best told in photos. Please excuse the quality of some of the photos, the big camera had a mishap on a backpacking trip the day before so we had to rock the point-and-shoots. If you feel the need to see even more suffering visit our Flickr Page.

Mountain Bikes and Cyclocross bikes were used throughout the race.

Running the steps.

Just a little suffer face.

Pushing on through the mud.

Did I tell you about the sand?

More fun!

Cowbell awards

The results, except for the A group.

For more information about playing outside in Arkansas visit our Facebook, Google+, Flickr and Twitter pages.

It was a pretty restful night, I think the sound of the water in the nearby creek helped. We had decided the night before that this was going to be our hike out day. The original plan was to do some long day hikes and then spend another night but the thought of a strong chance of rain Friday night followed by a cool, wet hike with wet gear out on Saturday morning was not appealing. So we decided to trim down our day hikes to just our main objective, reaching Hemmed in Falls, the tallest waterfall between the Appalachians and Rockies. At over 200 feet high, it should be pretty impressive.  We would hike out and back and then hike back to the car in the afternoon. Breakfast consisted of a choice of instant oatmeal or instant grits, coffee or hot chocolate. The clouds were already on the move and so were we.

It still looked like a nice day for a hike.

We immediately would be removing our boots for a short, shallow creek crossing and then the hike to the falls. The trail was nice and we got several views of the bluffs in the distance.

Distant Bluffs

David checking out a tree growing out of the rock.

After passing another trail that leads up to the Compton Trailhead we went right, down into the hollow. Soon we passed the trail that goes down to the Buffalo River (used by folks who paddle to the falls), stayed to the left and passed several smaller falls.

This is a twin fall when the water is running a little better.

And then we reached Hemmed in Falls, and my camera broke. That’s right, my camera gave it up. First the lens cover wouldn’t open all the way, I was still able to take a few telephoto shots but nothing wide-angle (something you really need to take a photo of a waterfall from under it. The good news was I did have my iPhone with me so I shot what I could with the Nikon before it totally gave up and the rest of these photos are using the iPhone camera.

Also, the water was just barely running over the top but still enough to get wet under it.

David and McKenna up under the falls.

From the top of the falls down to McKenna.

It was soon time to head back to our camp and prepare for the walk back to the car. The trip would be mostly up hill and we had already done some hiking so off we went. After getting back to camp we had some lunch, flavored tuna in pita bread, mmmmm…… Then packing everything up for the hike. We saw a few people on the way out including some horseback riders. And we went up.

We made pretty good time hiking out considering the hills.

Once we were out on the road we decided on a quick stop at a store in Ponca for some drinks. They had the best sign on the door.

Welcome to Arkansas!

Another great trip in the bag. Happy to be out before the rain but already wishing we could have hiked more. If you ever have the chance to hike the area I  highly recommend it. We started planning our next hike on the trip home.

So Thankgiving morning we headed out toward Ponca, AR. It was a  foggy morning but we made good time and the fog had cleared in time to enjoy the drive through Boxley Valley. By noon we were at the Centerpoint Trailhead just north of town. We ate a quick lunch and we were down the trail.

Heading down the ridgeline on the Centerpoint Trail.

The Centerpoint Trail is an old “jeep trail” that heads down into the Buffalo River Valley. Since the leaves were gone we were treated to some beautiful views of the valley and surrounding area. It isn’t far from the Centerpoint Trailhead to the  intersection for the Chimney Rock Trail that goes down into the valley but that one will have to wait, we kept going on the Centerpoint. At 2.5 miles we came to another trail intersection for a short spur called the Goat Trail that would take us out to Big Bluff. This is an area I have wanted to see for a long time. It is also the main reason we did this hike from the Centerpoint Trailhead instead of the more popular and shorter Compton Trailhead. I should say here that this is a risky little hike on some narrow trail on a high bluff. I wouldn’t recommend it for the very young, anyone with height issues or someone who considers themselves to be clumsy. The penalty for failure in this area is steep!

Now on with some photos:

The start of the bluff.

Our first stop, looking up river.

After crawling through a hole in the rock the ledge gets a little narrower but the views get even bigger.

David trying to take in as much view as he could.

David and I made it to this small cave where I got a panoramic shot of the Buffalo River Valley.

The girls trying to keep up with us.

Me climbing back though the hole in the wall to head out.

We were soon back on the trail, heading down into the valley. The forecast was for a beautiful day on Friday and then rain Friday night and Saturday. Our plan was to spend two nights in the area. I started to think about what it would be like to hike all the way back up, in the rain with wet gear. More on that later.

The trail meets the Sneeds Creek Trail after another 0.8 miles from the Goat Trail intersection. A left here would take us the long way up to Compton trailhead, we went right and headed down to meet up with the Old River Trail which follows the Buffalo National River. It was just a short hike to Sneeds Creek and we were soon taking over an established camp near the creek. This would be our base camp for the rest of the trip. Across the creek were some great rock formations that we dubbed “The Castle” or “The Keep” depending on which one of us you ask.

The Castle or The Keep, your call.

In the photo above you can see a “beach” area at the bottom just across the creek. This is actually the creek crossing that would take us on our Friday trip.

We soon had settled in with the tents pitched, a rope hung from a limb for our food and some firewood collected. We decided to explore the area before dark.

The woods were creepy.

David fashioned a fishing spear a'la Survivorman. You'll see his success in a later photo.

McKenna found a downed tree to perch on and watch the river flow by.

This is the up river view from McKenna's perch.

Soon it was time for Thanksgiving dinner! What do you have for Thanksgiving dinner when you’re backpacking. Well, since this trip would be pretty short we opted to carry in some things we might not carry on a longer trip. Lisa came up with the perfect thing. Stove-Top Stuffing with Turkey Spam. It was perfect.

Lisa slaves over the holiday dinner.

I don’t care what you think, it tasted great!

Thanksgiving Dinner

None went to waste.

We had a nice warm fire going and enjoyed some marshmallows for desert.

The only real success David had with his fishing spear.

Time for a couple of late night games of Uno.

We were all tired and were soon ready to climb into some nice warm sleeping bags. But first to tidy up the campsite and get ready for the next day.

Always good to purify some water the night before.

Time to watch the campfire burn down.

Check out Part 2, Hemmed-in-Falls and our technique for rain avoidance, plus, technology heads south.