Leg 2: Flood & Grande Mts (27km)

As we got underway on stage 2, I realized that I’d forgotten my Clif Bloks so would have to rely on aid station supplies for electrolytes. We had left the sunscreen behind because the sky was still overcast - so pretty quickly the sun came out and the temperature jumped; just in time to start climbing Mt Flood.  
 
The first half wasn’t particularly steep but it was continuous. This was definitely not the Gatineau hills. We weren’t going as quickly as we had hoped, and less than an hour into the stage, at around 25 km, our race plan was starting to look over-optimistic. Our pace estimates had forecast a finishing time of around 23h55 - just 5 mins before the end of the race - so it was a bit concerning to start losing our buffer with 100km to go. This would put pressure on for later stages.
 
It got steeper as we moved through the last of the tree line, and we were spread out as we got to the top, about 2000 ft above the start line. We regrouped and caught our breath before heading down the other side.


Top of Mt Flood

The dip between Flood and Grande mountains includes the Bum Slide down to, and the Slugfest up from Washy Creek. The Bum Slide is an almost vertical ‘trail’ that was near impossible to do without sliding or slipping. The photos don’t do the gradient justice. Lots of people trip and fall here but we got through it ok although slowly.

Steep

Washy Creek was a swampy mess, especially after all the runners had churned through it. As we crossed it started to rain a little, and then a lot, and then it turned to hail.
We put our jackets on and started up the Slugfest.  In dry summers I guess this bit is a muddy staircase leading away from the creek.  This year, in this weather, it was a thick oozing stream that threatened a faceplant with every step. 

As we got past the worst of the mud the rain got harder and it was nice to take a 5 min pause under shelter at the aid station halfway up Mt Grande.  The rain eased off as we got to the top, but it was windy and cold.  We celebrated the top of the mountain with a quick photo, but needed to keep moving to avoid getting cold and stiff. 

Top of Mt Grande

On the race elevation profile there is a little 'bump' on the way down Grande Mt. On the ground this is a significant down & up which I think is called the Powerline.  This was another muddy mess and it became increasingly difficult to stay upright and the priority was avoiding the sharp rocks and trail edges if you lost your balance. 
It was easier to lean downhill and go with the gravity, but that came with added risk of wiping out at speed. After this up & down we were roughly a third of the way through the course, and my knees and ankles were starting to feel a bit sore.

Powerline (Photo: Tony M)

From the top of this hill we could see Grande Cache and the end of the stage, roughly 5 km away, and almost all sharp downhill. The bad news was we had lost even more of our buffer and there was a chance we might not even make it out onto Leg 3.

We got separated on the last descent. Tony was out in front, and Greg was somewhere behind me; it  looked like it would be 'every man for himself' to finish. I kept looking ahead and over my shoulder trying to spot the others, and with maybe a mile to go I saw Greg a few hundred metres back.
He caught me up and we knew we had no time to spare so we pushed hard into town.

In the last km we realized it was going to come down to seconds and Greg wasn't sure he could make it, and with around 800m to go we were yelling at each other but he urged me to go and I had to take off. I sprinted across the line and barely heard them announce my name as I cut through the transition area and straight onto Leg 3*.


Grande Cache and the Smoky River

* Cut off times are based on start time for each stage - i.e. the time you leave the transition area, not when you complete the leg.