Race Recap: The Frigid - January 17, 2015

The first race of 2015 - The Frigid - fortunately did not live up to its name. This past Saturday was sunny and warm for January making the 4 hour - Rogaine that much more enjoyable.  361 Adventures put this meet on and also offered a 4 hour nighttime Rogaine that we (my husband and I) opted not to do. Considering we are still fairly new to the sport and after finishing the first one, we knew we made the right decision.

Frigid Map

A Rogaine is a type of race where you choose your route based on where the checkpoints are located on the map. For this particular one, there were 14 main checkpoints plus 4 extra checkpoints that would be revealed at one of the main checkpoints. You are given a map and this time the 14 checkpoints were already mapped. Everyone has the same start and finish points, but then you and your team decides what is the best route for your team's ability. A team is made up of 2-4 people or you can go solo.

This registration was from 8-10am, maps passed out at 10:15am, and race started at 11am. We made it to Explore Brown County (Indiana) way too early - 8:30am. It was a short drive where I grew up in Columbus, IN which was nice, so my parents could watch our 3 kids. Registration was quick and easy. We had already signed the waiver form so we picked up our bib number and waited. My brother-in-law and cousin made a team and joined us shortly after we arrived, so it was nice hanging out with them while waiting for the race to start. 

The main meeting place was inside a red barn like building that had plenty of room for the 100 or so participants. The race directors had a short meeting reviewing  the rules and tips such as be careful of the black ice on the gravel. Once that was done we had about 30 minutes to look over the map to plan our route. We gathered our gear and was ready to start. Each person had to carry hydration, a light, a whistle, hat, and a long  sleeve shirt. Each team also had to have spaceblanket, compass, the map, passport (paper that you punch when you find a checkpoint), charged cell phone, and the race number.


This year, our plan was to try to get all the main checkpoints. Last year, my husband and his brother got all but one, so we wanted to do a little bit better. We planned our route to follow the easiest navigation route, run the flats, and walk the hills. We stuck to the plan and ended up getting all the checkpoints plus one of the extra checkpoints finishing in 3 hours 33 minutes. You get penalized if you are late, so we wanted to make sure we were not late! Only one checkpoint gave us trouble as it did for a few other teams that we met up with while trying to find which we were eventually successful.

It's not all seriousness with The D team as we look for our next checkpoint.

Overall, the rogaine was fun. I had my fill of the Brown County hills for sure. Some places, I was sliding down since it was so steep and then climbing up on all fours. Fortunately, my feet stayed dried since most of the creek crossings were shallow and slightly frozen still. After the race, there was vegetable soup, bread, and cookies with water or lemonade to drink. There was about an hour between the end of the day race before the maps were being handed out for the night race. Awards were handed out to the top 3 teams and top 3 solo finishers. We finished as the 5th team, 10th overall. Next year, the plan is to clear the course and get a few more checkpoints. That will only happen if I practice some hills so I don't keep saying, "oh, hill no!" sarcastically in the race again.

If you are interested in learning more about orienteering, rogaining or adventure racing check out some of these groups for more information and races. They are fun for all levels whether you hike or run, if you like being out in the woods, these races are for you.

361 Adventures

OLOU

DINO

Flying Squirrel Adventures

TOPO Adventure Sports

Meeting Barn at Explore Brown County

ROGAINE stands for Rugged Outdoor Group Activity Involving Navigation and Endurance

Hiking Review: Cumberland Falls, Yahoo Falls, Natural Arch

I am a huge fan of waterfalls. As the main family planner of vacation, I booked a few days at the Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in southern Kentucky or so I thought. I actually booked our 2 night stay at Lake Cumberland, but did not know that until they could not find our reservation at the Cumberland Falls park. Not the way you want to start your family vacation after a 3 hour drive. Fortunately, the staff was super helpful and had a cabin available so we were able to stay and not have to drive an extra 70 or so miles to Lake Cumberland.

Once we unloaded the van, we set off on our first hike to Cumberland Falls which is known as Little Niagara. One of the trailheads was in our cabin area that led to the falls. It was just under a two mile hike roundtrip and fairly easy hike. My 6 and 4 year olds had no issues. Once we reached the falls, we could walk out on the rock bed near the top of the falls - similar to Falls over the Ohio, but much smaller scale. Hiking a bit more, there were several overlooks, sandy beach, and some rocks to climb.

 Day 2 we headed south to Natural Arch, Yahoo Falls, and Yahoo Arch near Whitley City which is about 15-19 miles from Cumberland Falls. The parking area for Natural Arch is $3 which has an envelop right at the entrance. The overlook of Natural Arch was beautiful with the fall colors. The arch is one of the largest in Kentucky - 60 feet high and 100 feet long as compared to Natural Bridge - which is 78 feet long, 65 feet high.  The hike to the actual arch was another easy one for my kids - 2 mile round trip again. There are picnic tables, swings and bathrooms in the parking lot area.

Our next stop was the Yahoo Falls - the tallest waterfall in Kentucky - and the Yahoo Arch which took us on a gravel road to reach the parking lot. We ate lunch in the parking lot there which had also had bathrooms and picnic tables. These two hikes were about 3 miles. We hiked on top of the falls first and followed the trail to the arch where we could walk on top of this one. This arch was 17 feet tall by 70 feet long. Heading back, we took the Yahoo Falls loop to go down to the 113 foot waterfall.  On the way home, we stopped by the Dairy Bar on Main Street in Whitley City that is a 50s diner which was a fun treat after a day of hiking.  We pretty much had all these hikes to ourselves, just seeing one other group at each of the hikes.

Day 3 we explored the Eagle Falls Trail (1.5miles) at Cumberland Falls. We got there right after breakfast so we were first in the parking lot which overflows as the day goes on. This trail was the most rugged of all the trails we hiked and kept our kids close since it follows a cliffline. The views of the Cumberland Falls were gorgeous from this side of the river. Right before reaching the falls, it looks like the trail ends, but just climb over the tree debris. The Eagle Falls offered boulders for climbing, ability to go behind the falls, and a sandy beach to play. Needless to say, we stayed for a long time once we reached the falls. This was the kids' favorite.

This was a great mini hiking fall break. The hikes were short enough for our kids to hike on their own. We packed flashlights so they could check out all the rock crevices and cut throughs along the hikes. I look forward to going back to the Daniel Boone National Forest to explore even more.