Just when we think we've explored the best that Ontario had to offer, along comes French River! It was a great day for a Salomon Adventure Challenge! With the sun shining and bugs at bay, 26 times headed for a paddle start in the Murdock River! This was a straight paddle with a beautiful shoreline. The starting gun went off at 10 am, and teams paddled 13 km with an amazing tailwind. The highlight was watching teams enter the tube under the bridge at the sawmill! As the channel narrowed the water flow increased and teams were pulled to the edges of the culvert!

Teams TPS (Toronto Police Services), Worth the Drive, and Machine all arrived at CP 1 within one minute of each other. It was team TPS that was first out of the TA and off running towards the woods and CP2. It was a very quick start--all teams were within 26 minutes of each other!

From CP 1 to CP 2, teams traveled overland to a place where a lake met a swamp and all the bugs in the world congregated! Race Staffer Vin, fully dressed in bug wear, waited quietly as many teams walked past him in the search of the correct location. Teams Crashing Hard and Machine arrived at the same time to CP2. Crashing Hard made the trek in 18 minutes! Their secret? A straight shot to the CP. Most teams took about 45 minutes to hike through the bush. Team Bronte Boyz received a crash course in taking a bearing just before race start, managed a fourth place time into CP2.

Travelling from CP 2 to CP 3 would prove to be the testing ground for team’s navigational ability. Although the terrain started out fairly dry, it quickly progressed to a swampy mess.

Many teams used the tips from the race briefing to find ways across the swamps via beaver dams. Other teams just chose to keep going straight and get more than their feet wet. With Crashing Hard still well in the lead – teams Worth the Drive, TPS, Machine, Bereft of Purpose and Peaks were still on the radar within minutes of each other.

The bike leg from CP 3 to CP 4 started with a short ride on the road to a trail head. Teams then faced a muddy, dirty ride / hike a bike to CP 4. Crashing Hard, once again was the first into CP4 arriving 50 minutes ahead of the next team. Peaks, TPS, Bereft of Purpose and Had No Plans were the next 5 teams respectively. Team Had No Plans made a great comeback after being 20th off the water at CP 1. Team Recycled a co-ed team made steady gains over the day to move into 14th place – with a combined age of 160? Team Recycled really kicked some butt.

Teams that arrived before 4:15 pm at CP 4 were given the choice to try the advanced navigation section. Teams that chose the advanced section hiked to the top of the highest point in the area. This required a tight bearing as you couldn’t see the communication towers until you were right beside them, eight teams made the cut off and proceeded on the advanced course.

To the finish line, teams either trekked in from the advanced course or biked eight kilometers to the Salomon finish line! Many teams were greeted by Samuel de Champlain himself!

Team Had No Plans hammered to the finish to be the first place co-ed team. Team Crashing Hard was the first place men’s team. The Termites crossed the line a bit after the official cut-off but were the first women’s team to finish this year’s 4th Salomon Adventure Challenge!

Top Five Co-ed Teams:

1 Had No Plans
2 Machine
3 Worth the Drive
4 Ball of Confusion
5 Rage


Top Five Male Teams:

1 Crashing Hard
2 Peaks
3 Bereft of Purpose
4 TPS
5 13 ERT