DRAFT CPOY. 😉
I’ll fill in this page as time allows.
Kulshan Quest AR 2015
Bellingham, WA
Team RRAD* – Chris Mellick, Sonja Max and Todd Elsworth
Kulshan Quest AR 2015. We are Team RRAD-Run, Ride and DIG.
Team RRAD – Chris Mellick, Sonja Max and Todd Elsworth
Our objective for Quest was to go out and see how many checkpoints we could get in the allotted time of 12 hours and have the most fun doing it. We were up for the challenge.
Side note: These were not a scripted videos. You’ll hear me say repeatedly, “see you at the next checkpoint”, but I never actually record anything while we’re at a checkpoint, because that is what we were focused on- not the huge royalties that we get from our spawnsors**. It was something that I had in my head that I just had to get out, I guess.
Pre Race Meeting with Brent
 
Wait for it.
April keeping an eye on things!
The Maps!
There is some very serious competition OUT THERE. Here’s Evil Eye Annie from Team Sin Daaawgs making sure we weren’t trying to listen in on their strategy.
We went back to our compound (tent, table and lounge chairs) and plotted out our route.
Getting oriented.
On the water
Tip of Clarks Point with seal greeting!
Seeking the Statue.
HOWDY Todd – Thanks T.Eastman for being a safety boat on the water.
Heading Home!
First Transition.
“How was the paddle?”
“It was awesome…I gotta do more of this” – CM.
On the Bike
Ride ON.
Checkpoint Chris
Fuel Stops & Safety Breaks
S.MAX Burritos! Sonja made us power bars with beans, rice, avocado and other secret ingredients to fuel the fire to keep the motors running.
CM enjoys a mushroom free snack.
Plotting the course is an ongoing Endeavor.
CM touts the benefits of Red Peppers as espoused by S.MAX while searching for the next checkpoint.Â
“Please, Sonja, please. May I have another carrot?” – CM
Adventure Racing in the Chuckanuts.Â
Hike-a-Bike
Pushin’ Through
CM advice, “more Captain Crunch!”
I spy S.MAX
We’re all winners
Winning Smile
Hawaiian Punch
Coasting through the Chuckanuts.Â
Story Time
Snack Break
On Foot
Customer Recommendations
“He took us out to the edges.” – CM
“He’s a masochist” – Dude on trail as repeated by SM
Running through the Rock Trail
The camera was getting tired and we were on our last legs.
Fortunately, we got to get on our bikes to make the way back to the finish (of the TREK leg).
HOWDY!
TEAM Manny’s Aged Stout. They got all their checkpoints.
Searching at the bottom of the falls for a missing CP.
Where’s S.MAX?
We were greeted by cheering fans with a Cowbell Finish!
We finished with a time of 11:44. We took 7th place with 24 correct checkpoints. In the end we won. We’re better friends and know ourselves and the landscape a lot better.
When I saw Brent, I said, “Thank you sir, may I have another.”
I will have that chance again in September with Island Quest.
Unfortunately, Kulshan Quest will take a break next year to return in 2017.
*RRAD – Run, Ride and DIG
** I used to be able to use the word spelled that way until I got a cease and desist message from the organization that “owns” it. LAME. They wouldn’t even respond to my inquiry if we could share.
Family Man, Explorer, Entrepreneur, Writer, Artist, Outdoor Enthusiast and Recreation Advocate.