Adventure teams learn about the course

Before 76 teams set out on the course for The Eighth Annual Thunder Rolls Adventure Race, they had a mandatory meeting where they learned about the course.

At 7 p.m. Aug. 27, race organizer Gerry Voelliger began the meeting in the dining
hall at Boy Scout Camp Lowden.

“The start is at midnight.  You are going to start out trekking.  You are going to trek to your canoes, said Voelliger From there you will portage.  You will then paddle for a ways then you will be biking. You will bike to the Nachusa Grasslands where you will do radio orienteering.  You will be back on your bikes for a piece then come back here. You will pack raft.  Pack rafting is for a reason— to get to the other side of the river. You will return and begin a rather lengthy trekking leg, then the ropes course,” said Voelliger.

All of this was to be completed in 24 hours or less for 36 of these teams.  The 12 hour course was shorter but included many of the same stops.

“You are going to spend some quality time at the Nachusa Grasslands,” said Voelliger.  “Volunteers go in and pick weeds and collect seeds.  The reason why we got permission to go there is now that there are no buffalo, they are going to use us for buffalo.  We are going in to trample the grasslands.”

Voelliger said prairies need fire and disturbance to thrive.

“I was shocked to receive permission to go there,” said Voelliger.

The theme for the race is historical, Voelliger said.

“There is a history lesson in your race guide.  You are going to be doing some unique stuff,” said Voelliger.

At the Nachusa Grasslands, the 24 hour teams were going to have a radio orienteering course.

“Your navigator will have a radio talking to a team in the field who has no map,” said Voelliger.  “The person with the map has to be very good at explaining terrain, distance, bearings, and what to look for.”

Preparation for this race took Voelliger 18 months.

“We tried to do this race last year, but the parks were closed,” he said.