Hells Bells is a winter race so I
suppose we have to expect cool conditions but I think this year many teams were
a little surprised at just how cold it was out there! Mountain Designs Wild
Women not only survived and finished another Hells Bells but also had another
strong race finishing 1st Female team, 8th 4 person
Adventure 1 team and 10th overall, we were beaten by 2 two person
all male teams. So, here’s how it all played out!
HQ Revealed – Picnic Point Park Maroochydore
Given that I knew the HQ was at
Maroochydore and the bike drop was just 35k from there, I was hopeful that we
may be heading into some familiar territory. So, when the logistics planner was
released just over a week before the start the fun began guessing where we
might go! Sloshy, also a Sunshine Coast local who was racing with the Alpine
Avengers, and I both thought maybe Baroon Pocket Dam, Kondalilla, Cooloolabin
and Parklands; but that meant no coasteering and for some reason we thought
there was going to be, so we moved on to other options from HQ. Who would have
thought that we almost got it right on our first guess! Speculating where a
race may take you is definitely one of the most exciting parts of adventure
racing and is one of the reasons why I love the sport because even if you are
local and know parts of the course you can guarantee that you are going to
visit some amazing place that you have never been before and this course did
just that!
Logistics Planner
As mentioned, we received the
logistics planner a week out, one section that instantly caused me to think
overtime was the notion of an elite trek. Who was this really targeting? What
would be the style? – rogaine with time credits, or something like Geoquest
where if you complete more than other teams you rank higher? It turned out to
be something completely different and even more risky! Anyway, at the time we
were not to know, so I sent out my estimates to the team which helped everyone
to get gear ready before the race. We had Annie Alford joining the team (Kim,
Cass and Amie) for the event and she had never done an adventure race before so
I thought this would be a real benefit. I took a photo of the planner with all
my notes and sent it out to the girls. It was an anxious wait of about 7 days
to find out the location of the bike drop!
Bike Drop
On Friday morning, teams were
notified that the bike drop was at Kondalilla Falls. Cass & Annie and I met
up at 6.30 am race day with the bikes and box A with all our stuff and food for
10 hours or so (as if we were doing the elite trek) meanwhile Amie was securing
us a sunny spot back at HQ.
Map Handout & Final Preparation
Because we received the logistics
planner early there was not much box packing to do, however when the course was
revealed it threw me into a bit of a spin as, honestly, by the planner I
thought in a 24 hour race we had the time to complete the 3-5hr elite trek.
However, we soon realised that the final paddle cut off was 7.30am (an hour
earlier than I thought we would arrive if we attempted the elite trek) and that
the estimated time had changed as well and was not longer. The rules stated you had to start it before
6.30pm however would that be enough time for us to finish???? There were quite
a few teams questioning Chris the Race Director about this and he made it clear
– start and not find all the CP’s you would get a time penalty for each CP not
found, start and finish elite trek but not make paddle cut-off you would be
short coursed. Because of this dilemma I found it really hard to concentrate on
the map planning for the rest of the course, so luckily most of the areas we
had some local knowledge, which I suppose was a huge advantage. We were soon
all ready to go and jump on the bus – Amie had the control card, Annie had the
tracker, Cass and I had the maps! Let the excitement begin!
Leg 1 Paddle Baroon Pocket Dam – 6k
Busses pulled up at the dam and
soon everyone was either dashing for either the toilets (lucky there were some
there) or to get a good kayak. It was freezing as the wind was blowing
forcefully and chopping up the lake – we did not have enough warm gear on but
hey…..it was just a short paddle and soon we would be running! Cass & Amie
paddled together, and I paddled with Annie – this was her 2nd paddle
ever! Navigation was not too tricky as most of the teams went one way or the other,
what was difficult was steering the kayaks now almost sinking due to the wind
and wave action! We were pretty glad to return to the grassy bank and gear up
for the run!
Leg 2 – Trek Obi Obi Creek to Kondalilla Falls
Despite how freezing it was and
how under-clothed we were, this leg was actually my favourite and I look
forward to going back on a really hot day in summer! We started with a rope
slide down into Obi Obi Creek and soon we were rock hopping. Now I just love
this sort of thing but not the thought of jumping into freezing water! We were
so lucky that the sun was shining brightly as when I hit the water for that
first swim it was so cold it almost felt like your chest was burning up! We
made a break on a few teams here while some others forged ahead a little
faster, we decided to take the track after CP4 so warmed up as we ran up the
switch backs and bush bashed down a very steep spur. We saw Wild Earth coming
up, so thought at least we were not the only ones! We hit the creek again but
at a point where there was another big pool so, across we swam, but pretty
happy to be bang on the creek line we were hoping to find.
We overshot CP 5 and
looking back at the live replay it seems like 90% of the teams did the same
including the top 5 teams, so we got to see an amazing waterfall as did many
others, no doubt! After realizing we had gone too far we turned back to see
quite a few teams coming up and bummer, we lost a bit of time here! Anyway, we
stayed in the main creek for a while before heading back up to the track to
Kondallilla Falls and up to the TA in the park. Amie managed to get some great footage of us
in the creek…..check it out!
Leg 3 – MTB Kondalilla, Flaxton, Mapleton Cooloolabin
By the time we hit this TA we had
pretty much decided we were not going to attempt the elite trek, so this meant we
could leave a whole heap of gear and food behind. I had not packed shoes in box
B thinking I would wear those from the trek, so had to carry mine. I also
suggested to the girls to carry waterproof pants if they did not have any in
Box B or C as when we get to the paddle it will still be dark and potentially
freezing. We probably spent a bit too long in this TA, something that out team
definitely needs to work on…..but eventually we were off! Cass was having bike
issues! This was not a great sign right at the start of a bike leg. It seemed
like the derailleur spring was not functioning, so she had limited gears as we
rode up on the path out of the falls!
The sun was going down as we rode
the ridgeline up to Mapleton and we did not have any trouble with CP 6 as it
was pretty easy. I was very excited with this next section of the course as we
had ridden most of these parts before. We found the Sunshine Coast Great Walk trail and rode out
to find Ubajee Viewpoint and CP7 with no flag. Unfortunately we lost a bit of
time locating the trail to CP8, as for some weird reason my map-board compass
was doing weird things and the minor track that I saw just did not seem to be
on the right bearing, we tried another track near but it took us onto the Great
Walk again and then headed back where we had come from looking for something
else. Eventually we just had to take the track that we had seen before and hope
for the best. It was right and soon we caught up to the teams that had just
passed us at CP8. Annie was the ferret and was doing a great job running into
the bush looking for the hidden CP’s. I had never ridden this trail before so
it was exciting to be finding somewhere new to ride up here in the Mapleton
area. Eventually we came back out onto the road that connects with the
motorbike trails and we headed for the main road – Mapleton Forest Drive. It
was almost dark now so on went our trusty Ay Up lights. https://ayup-lights.com/
Now this was easy for us as I
knew the area, however just looking at the maps the road did not look like a
main road at all, so I can understand why some teams would have had trouble
with this section of the course. Cedar Pocket Road looked like the ‘better
road’ however in reality this was quite misleading and a very long way to CP9.
Anyway we thought this one would be tricky as the CP description was vague and
the CP not on an evident feature! I set a west bearing and aimed for a big gum
tree about 50m from the junction. I think Annie spotted the CP glowing in some
bushes…..not sure about the 20m N of creek description though…..anyway we got
it and moved on. Now for some reason we still went via the TA for the elite
trek even though we knew we were not going to attempt it. Upon arrival we had 1
minute to get out of the TA and give it a go…..no way….we thought! We saw that
only 4 teams had headed out, so we quickly moved on. In hindsight we should
have ignored the TA and just gone on the main road to CP10, it would have been
a bit of a climb, but I think way faster! I was very familiar with the way we
went around the back of Cooloolabin Dam, so it was a nice ride just a bit
undulating all the way to CP10, easy to find on the Pt Glorious Sign. We had
the Shallow Watermen right behind us (Steve & Rowdy) but somehow lost them
just as we turned off down Python Break to CP11. This section we chose to
continue on the forest trails as opposed to the long road way around…..again I
did not think it would be faster but may put us in a better position to find
CP12.
We got a bit bamboozled at one
point when we took an unmarked track to a dead end, Cass searched for something,
but it certainly was not a real track! I then fell on my bike whilst trying to
walk out of there and broke my brand new map-board…..not happy as I just keep
breaking them! While we were trying to zip tie it back on we broke my brand new
mini pliers – these goes about $150 in a flash! Anyway, we soon got going and
found the correct route down to Kureelpa Falls. Amie had been there riding just
a few weeks ago so also knew the way across the creek. Just as we were crossing
we came across Tri Adventure Vintage (Jan & Sharon) who were on the Fairy
Bells Course. CP 12 was on a really cool spur and a spot we had never been to!
It was a bit challenging to walk bikes down such a narrow ridge but we all
survived and found the CP along the way. We then got out on the road and
hightailed it to the TA at Wappa Dam.
Leg 4 – Trek Wappa
Jan and Sharon were in and out of
that TA in a flash, however we were not that fast! Mmmm definitely something we
must work on as a team! Anyway, we can run so soon caught up and travelled together
up Mt Wappa. I was looking for an old trail that we knew that went from the
power lines up the Northern Ridge, but could not find a trace so just bush
bashed anyway! We got to the top and exited to the SW down a spur which was a
really great exit route that the Alpine Avengers were travelling up. We then
travelled to H with Jan & Sharon and then went our separate ways. Fairy
Bells only had to get 3 CP’s on this leg, but we had to get all 6. We found the
Alpine Avengers in the creek looking for CPH and then travelled to CPI. Well
that was our plan but we just had trouble getting there! Initially we took the creek
line out of H towards the track but it was slow and overgrown, so we headed up
the slope to Mt Combe. Silly me should have looked at all those contours…..it
was a huge climb and in reality no faster than staying in the creek! At the top
we seemed to be on a driveway and then hit a road, it just did not make sense
and we did not see a trail. Amie found a letter in a bin and the address was Mt
Combe Rd, so we went along the road for a bit just to check exactly we
were. Eventually Annie mentioned a gate
she had seen when we were running down the driveway! Yes, was exactly what we
were looking for, so we then were back on track again and got CPL and K seeing
a few other teams travelling in opposite directions. We did a little bush bash
from the trail out of K to Beeston Rd…..well it did not seem like a road, it
seemed more like a trail through a cow paddock. We crossed some power lines and
soon were confident we were on the right trail to CPI. It was not long before
we were back to the TA and onto the bikes again.
Leg 5 MTB – Wappa Dam to Dunethin Rock via Parklands
The most important thing we all
had to remember here was to bring our plastic pants for the paddle. It was now
after midnight and we had about 3 hrs before the paddle, we just had to
navigate our way through Parklands. We had not really marked up the route but I
was fairly confident we could work it out on the fly! We could collect these in
any order, so we decided to go 17, 14, 18, 16, 15. We entered via Shenans Rd
and looked for the entrance, it had been a while since we had been that way!
Then we travelled along Road Rage to a significant bend. We got the CP really
quickly and soon were on our way to Cancer Tree. CP 14 was in the creek and we
continued out in the same direction meanwhile other teams chose out and back.
We took fire trails to Hoe Chi Ho and then rode/pushed our bikes up to the high
point for CP18……the ride down was fun! The climb up Radar Hill we made a bit
tougher for ourselves by getting sucked up the little high point just before! Oops…..
we were quickly back riding up the hill to find CP 16 on the fence at Radar
Hill. We took the fire trails down to CP15 which was in a really familiar creek
line, and I even knew the best way to skirt around the waterfall to access the
CP…..yes this had been a spot where there was a CP in one Hells Bells many
years ago. We arrived at Dunethin Rock to see Mitchell Krome at the TA – we
were surprised to see him as previously he was at the Elite Trek TA.
Leg 6 Paddle Dunethin Rock to Maroochydore Finish
There was a nice fire going so we
changed into our fantastic Gore-Tex jackets and pants and made sure we had
thermals and buffs too! Given the winds we knew this was going to be chilly at
least until the sun rose! We got our kayaks ready and soon we were off down
river! It was really beautiful and the sun was beginning to rise…..but the air
temperature was getting cooler. We had a slight tail wind, it seemed, and the
water was glassy. Birds were beginning to chirp and we saw eagles, pelicans and
heard Kookaburra’s along the way.
We were very cold, and it was really hard to
stay awake. We were all falling asleep but trying to stay alert by singing!
CP19 was easy to spot on the bend and soon we were heading south towards CP20.
It was a long way and Annie was doing so well again as it was only her 3rd
paddle, we had some really fierce headwinds
and cross winds to negotiate from CP20 to 21 but after we passed under
the motorway we had a tailwind and it was all smooth sailing to CP21. Now this
was tricky…… 30m W of East of island, base of tree no flag. Well there were no trees
at that end of the island just mangroves and it looked like at high tide the CP
would be under water. After a grid search, we eventually found the CP – well
spotted girls! We had a little race to the finish line with an all-male team of
two. To our surprise we managed to lift our kayaks up onto the grass and run to
the finish line before them! Sorry guys, but thanks all the same!
Woo-hoo, we were pretty glad to
finish Hells Bells at 8.32am, around 3hrs before the cut off time, collecting
all CP’s on the Hells Bells course except for the elite trek. This was Annie’s
first adventure race, so honestly our main goal was to get her through and make
sure she had a good time! She did find it hard (especially the paddle) but
loved the single track on the MTB and enjoyed the course and the nature of AR. So,
what’s next for the Wild Women??
Annie is hooked on AR I think and
is keen to come out for another adventure with the Wild Women soon! I will be encouraging
her to find a race partner and come along to the Wild Women AR on 19th
October based at Habitat Noosa. http://triadventure.com.au/?page_id=72
Cass & Amie are preparing to
take on Coast to Coast NZ in February 2020 World Multisport Championships. https://www.coasttocoast.co.nz/
Kim is off to ‘Eco Challenge Fiji
– The Ultimate Adventure Race’ in September. Racing for Team Namako (one Wild
Woman and three amazing Fijian local athletes who can climb coconut trees, hunt
wild boar and are quite handy with a machete in the Fijian jungle) https://www.ecochallenge.com/
Thanks again to our major sponsors:-
Mountain Designs – A heritage
born of the mountains – proving us the gear that we can trust to get us through
any AR conditions. https://www.mountaindesigns.com/
Ay Up Lights – The most reliable
and robust night lighting systems https://ayup-lights.com/
Triadventure – health, fitness, navigation,
outdoors, environment http://triadventure.com.au/
