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15 October 2016: This morning the competition began with a loop that provided a quick introduction to the challenges and terrain variations of the Rebelle. As we set off into the desert in search of our first set of CPs all the guessing and extrapolating of potential scenarios was finished. The day offered us a menu of 12 checkpoints and a practice “Times.Speed.Distance” (TSD) segment and we set off excitedly to chase down flags. The beauty of the desert itself became “secondary” as we looked instead at the shape of hills and the relative locations of peaks as indicators of our “position” vis-a-vis the points we had so carefully plotted in the early a.m. hours. The first green flag was a welcome sight — signalling success and relief — a confidence booster. From here on, it would get progressively more complex, but we felt ready …
15 October 2016: Woke up around 4am without the alarm clock. We had been forbidden from setting our alarm clocks for earlier than 5am — but despite this many of us were already awake and quietly preparing for the first day. The dark of night hadn’t begun to lift yet. Luckily there was a full moon that spilled light across the desert, which reflected somewhat eerily off the sand, lending a surreal glow to the shadow landscape. In the main tent rally staff were beginning to stir, and by 5am most of us were in line to pick up our CP guide for the day. We got down to the business of plotting our points before the morning briefing began at 6am. The first vehicle would be off the line at 7am, and we were number 16 for start. The teams would be taking off with a minute or two of separation, so that we would not be on top of each other heading down the trail. The ambiance was a mix of anxious excitement. In its way it was a historic moment, the start of the first day of the first-ever Rebelle Rally …
15 October 2016: Today’s loop runs south and west taking us first around the Gabbs Valley Range and then down into Win Wan Valley, across Buckley Flat and through Gillis Canyon towards Walker Lake. The area around Base Camp 1 is fairly stark and arid, with little vegetation, though hearty saltbush on the steep hillsides adds a grey sheen to the terrain. The landscape alternates between flat open stretches of desert and narrower passages through the hills. Apart from some mining and grazing activity, the area is largely empty wilderness criss-crossed by dirt roads… It is a typical slice of this part of the Nevada desert, which is defined by a seemingly endless series of ridges stretching roughly north/south, separated by flat alluvial fans. Some areas are characterized by rugged rock outcroppings and dramatic cliffs, while others are defined by large washes. Apart from the power line utility road, most of the “roads” here were defined by mining exploration and cross the desert by the easiest route, making the drive nice and smooth. Making our way south in the morning we pass between Chukar Ridge and Mount Ferguson. A tall rampart rising high along the skyline, the Chukar ridge is dominated by a peak that sits at 7497 feet. From the top one could see the multiple canyons and craggy ridgelines to the south, but they were mostly invisible to us, as we drove along the base of the ridges, working out way back to the west…
15 October 2016: Team Engage #124 had a tough first day out on the rally course, with a mechanical issue early in the day. The morning had been progressing well until a problem developed that caused the traction control system to kick in and “brake” whenever the Jeep accelerated. The team had to limp along at less than 20mph until by chance they crossed paths with Nena Barlow of Team Squirrel Girls, who did a quick field fix which remedied the issue. From that point Team Engage #124 was back in the game, making up for lost time and picking up the rest of their blue and green CPs, before heading back to base on time. The slowdown in the morning had caused the team to miss a few optional CPs, leaving them in the 7th ranking position at the end of the first day…
15 October 2016 Rebelle Rally official update: Silt beds, deep sand, fast two-track trails—and roads so rocky you’d be sure your vehicle was on the verge of falling apart. Winds so strong that billboards in the closest town, a few hours away by dirt, blew over and blocked traffic. The inaugural Rebelle Rally is making things clear—it isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Teams had over a hundred grueling off-road miles to cover, and over a dozen checkpoints to clear to earn the maximum amount of points. There’s three different checkpoints, green, which everyone must clear to proceed to the next day and are well marked; blue checkpoints are harder to find, but still marked. Black checkpoints must be found solely using the team’s navigation skills and are not marked. They must be within 150 feet of those designated spots in order to earn the points. A super tight points spread is a sign of the intense competition to come—with an incredible four teams competing the course with 97% accuracy; leaving them with a total of 108 points each, a four-way tie for first place. Second place is currently in a five-way tie, with those teams completing the course with 95% accuracy and a total of 106 points. Needless to say, tomorrow is going to be an exciting day that’s sure to separate the field. Check the live scoring link below to see more. Many teams arrived back at basecamp to find their tents and shelter in tatters, with extremely high winds upsetting everything but the most well-secured tents. Luckily a rain storm which had previously shifted course midday towards basecamp just skirted away to the north—as you can imagine, that would make an already difficult day even more challenging. In true Rebelle spirit, some competitors lent a helping hand to those competitors still out on the course, re-securing and repairing tents so they didn’t blow away. (Photo: Rebelle Rally/Nicole Dreon)…
THIS WEEK:
Team Engage is competing as Team #124 in the inaugural edition of the Rebelle Rally 13-22 October 2016. The Rebelle launches on the shores of iconic Lake Tahoe with 76 women from 19 states and 4 countries becoming the first competitors to take part in the women’s 10-day off-road navigation rally raid. The Rebelle Rally is not a race for speed but an event based on traditional compass, map, and roadbook navigation. GPS devices and cell phones will be sealed and prohibited from team use until the event concludes as navigators and drivers traverse the stunning Nevada and California terrain in stock 4-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles. The route covers primarily land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and takes place on legal dirt roads, trails, and OHV areas. The participants will also travel through two National Parks. The unique rally is a hybrid of sorts, combining traditional compass and map navigation with time, speed, and distance sections where the teams use roadbooks and must maintain average, safe speeds. However, the bulk of the challenge is finding hidden checkpoints in a difficulty rating system similar to ski or bike trails, with the highest score winning. Smart, careful driving coupled with the ability to plot latitude and longitude, triangulate using topographic maps and handheld compasses, and mastery of distance and heading are among the skills. A diverse field of vehicles will take to the start, including both new and older models of Land Rovers, Mercedes, Jeeps, and Toyotas in the 4×4 class, and an interesting mix of the new Honda Ridgeline, Porsche Cayenne, and Jaguar F-PACE in the Crossover Class. Jeeps will make a strong presence in the first time event with 15 total ranging from a 1982 Scrambler to a 2016 Rubicon, and a notable showing will also be from Land Rover (6) and Toyota (6). The goal of the rally is to showcase the capabilities of manufacturer vehicles in people’s driveways, as well as the tenacity, teamwork, and capabilities of women off-road. The competition portion will end in the desert near the California-Arizona border and wrap up on the shores of the Pacific Ocean with the final Awards Gala, where competitors will wash off the dirt and celebrate in style at the historic Del Mar Racetrack. For daily updates during the competition or to follow the event online, visit www.rebellerally.com. Viewers can also track the teams live beginning October 15th via: rebellerally.com/live.
TEAM ENGAGE
Team Engage is JoMarie Fecci of USnomads and Tracey Ristow driving “Sable,” a Barlow Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, across the American southwest in the inaugural edition of the Rebelle Rally, 13-22 October 2016. The team, hailing from opposite coasts of the USA, came together to compete in the Rebelle with a shared commitment to humanitarian ideals in addition to a love of overland exploration. During the rally Team Engage will be showing its support for the Blue Heart Campaign to raise awareness and help victims of human trafficking through the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking…
THE BLUE HEART CAMPAIGN
Team Engage supports the UN’s Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking and the Blue Heart Campaign as their platform to raise awareness about global human trafficking— an issue which disproportionately effects women. Human trafficking is modern day slavery and includes sex trafficking (forced prostitution and forced marriage), labor trafficking (domestic servitude, sweatshops and fraudulent bonded labor contracts), child soldiers and organ trafficking. According to the International Labor Organization, nearly 21 million people or 3 out of every 1,000 people worldwide are victims of human trafficking. The UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking was established in 2010 and provides direct humanitarian, legal and financial aid to human trafficking victims. They provide grants to small grassroot NGOs that directly assist victims with housing, food, legal aid, access to justice, psychosocial support, medical care and training. Click here to donate directly to the Fund…
SPOTLIGHT ON GEOLOGY
The area of Nevada we are driving through today was once covered by Lake Lahontan, a large prehistoric (Pleistocene era) lake that extended from northwestern Nevada into northeastern California and southern Oregon. At its peak approximately 12,700 years ago it had a surface area of over 8,500 square miles centered around the location of the present-day Carson Sink. With a depth of about 900 feet it would have been one of the largest lakes in North America. As the surface elevation dropped, Lahontan broke up into series of smaller lakes, most of which rapidly dried up, leaving only playa. These playas include the Black Rock Desert, the Carson Sink, and the Humboldt Sink. The only lakes that remain, are Walker Lake, on the southwestern edge of today’s rally course and Pyramid Lake north of Reno.
WHERE WE ARE
Today’s route sent teams on a criss-crossing loop south and west almost to the edge of Walker Lake before returning them back to the Base Camp, southeast of Fallon. Terrain was varied and offered an easy introduction to the desert trails, including a particularly nice stretch along a canyon wash. Navigation was relatively straightforward and competitors were given a chance to get comfortable with the rally format (click on the map below to view larger).
MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
1-7 Oct – NY to Reno
26-30 Sep – Rally Prep
19-25 Sep – Long Island
12-18 Sep – Yuma and Glamis
5-11 Sep – Sedona
29 Aug – 4 Sep – Long Island
23-28 August – Rod Hall Drive Training
15-22 August – Reno Rebelle Training
8-14 August – TFT8
1-7 August – Serbia overland
July – Serbia, Rally planning
June – Mongolia
16-31 May – Overland Expo, Mongolia
1-15 May – Paris
April – training desert prep
March – Long Island
February – California deserts
January – El Camino del Diablo
December – Long Island
November – New York
15-31 October – Moab
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Detailed series on a solo scouting journey into some of the remotest backcountry around Moab. The six day 450-mile off-pavement trip into the Maze district of the Canyonlands National Park offers insight into the challenges of expedition planning… [read]
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SCOUTING THE SAHARA IN MAURITANIA: WAYPOINT NOUAKCHOTT
The first in a series of reports from our scouting trip in Mauritania takes and indepth look at the capital city of Nouakchott, and its fishing port… [read]
