This race has seen a lot of different iterations over the years, from the original Muskoka River X to the Huntsville 110 and now... a new 90km Algonquin Route.
90km is obviously less than 130km or 110km, but this route is not easier by a long shot. 15 portages, many of them knarly back country... very twisty rivers (creeks?)... it's going to be a proper "Adventure"!
It's beautiful, it's rugged, it's hard.
The Madawaska River
We pre-paddled this section last week, and whooey it's slow going.
This river is long but these are the headwaters - the highest points, where it's more of a creek at times.
Twists and turns, rarely straight. Lots of places to get lost, we really had to read the water to see where the current was strongest to know where to go.
Beaver dams! Several beaver dams. Most of them we had to portage over - they're quick but it was a learning curve for us to know where to stop and where you could stand.
The Oxtongue River
It's rocky and twisty at the top, but mostly it was pretty good! We had good water levels, but I don't know if it'll stay that way on race day.
With the distance we'll almost certainly be paddling this in the dark so that'll be... fun?
We knocked up my buddy's boat pretty good near Gravel Falls, which is an amazing chute near the finish... you can put in several places, but some of them leave you running rapids! It's probably faster but the last ones we got hung up and had to get out of the boat anyway, pretty miserable.
Paddling in the Dark
We did it in the Huntsville 110 and it was awesome! Well, awesome-ish. Challenging but so peaceful and unique. River paddling in the dark was hard on the Muskoka River, I can't imagine how hard portaging and paddling the Oxtongue will be... different kettle of fish.
Nutrition
300kcal/h of carbs, will mix it all into energy drink. I have a plan! We have to "make" water using tablets and such to treat lake waters...
Excited?
I am! I was dreading this one a bit but I feel like we're prepared and ready to rock it!
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