April 2, 2013. We recently announced dates for our adventure racing clinics as follows:

April 18, 2013 - Free Introduction To Adventure Racing Clinic

April 20, 2013 - Navigation Seminar and Field Course

June 1, 2013 - Navigation Seminar and Field Course

For all the details click here.

October 12, 2012

The next Wilderness Traverse 24-30 hour adventure race will take place on August 17-18, 2013. Please mark your calendar and let your teammates know!

August 10, 2012. Competitor Update

The 2012 Competitor Update was sent to all team captains this past Tuesday. If your team did not receive the update, it can be downloaded by clicking here.

August 15, 2011. Competitor Update

The 2011 Competitor Update was sent to all team captains last week. If your team did not receive the update, it can be downloaded by clicking here.

August 8, 2011. Course Testing

Late in June I was joined by Assistant Race Director, Barb Campbell, and team-mate Jack Van Dorp for one final vetting of the 2011 Wilderness Traverse Race Course. Check out Barb's training log for more details and some pictures:

http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp?userid=920&period=1&enddate=2011-06-26

July 11, 2011. Sold Out!

With the addition of long-time Ontario racer John Yip's team (Runningfree.com - Old School), the Wilderness Traverse is now full. If your team would like to be placed on the waiting list, please email me: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Check our registered racer page to see who else has signed up.

June 29, 2011. Nearing Capacity!

We currently have 37 teams registered. We've moved the cap on teams up to 40. If you plan to register, please do so ASAP to avoid dissapointment.

March 29, 2011

*NEW FOR 2011* Shed Coffee Bar Rookie Team Award

The Rookie Team Award will be given to the top ranked rookie team. Rookie teams consist entirely of members who have never had a ranked finish in a 24hr + length adventure race. Teams can be coed, all-male, or all-female, but they must start and finish with 4 team members to be eligible. Winners will receive 4 custom cycling jerseys from the Shed Coffee Bar in Belfountain. Rookies, be sure to take advantage of our free AR clinics!

March 15, 2011

We know some very capable adventure racers have little or no experience with overnight racing and are ready to take the next step. We're happy to share our tips and answer your questions. Join us for our new free 2-hour clinic "Taking it To The Next Level – Overnight and Expedition Length Adventure Racing".

If you'd like to improve your navigation skills - or learn from scratch - join us for one or more of our spring navigation clinics. We're offering 3-hr classroom seminars in Markham and Barrie and 3-5 hr field courses in the Horseshoe Valley. Navigation training is free for registered Wilderness Traverse racers - or apply the fee toward your WT registration if you decide to sign up later.

For more details, visit our AR Clinics page.

March 14, 2011

Our 2011 course testing photo album has been updated with pics from this trek. You can also check out Barb's blog.

January 15, 2011

We're excited to announce that Wilderness Traverse has joined Checkpoint Tracker Adventure Racing, the largest competitive adventure racing series in North America. Check out their site for adventure events ranging from sprints to expedition races. Teams racing Wilderness Traverse will earn points toward their ranking in Checkpoint Tracker's Coed or Open Elite divisions.

Dec 5, 2010: Click here to view the December 2010 e-newsletter

November 17, 2010: 2011 Date Announcement and Course Testing

Mark your calenders, the date for the 2011 edition of the Wilderness Traverse has been set for the weekend of August 20th/21st. We decided to go with a late summer date for a number of reasons, but mainly to avoid bug-season, and also provide teams with enough time to prepare and train in warmer summer months. The event will again take place in Haliburton County, since there's still so much untouched wilderness left to explore.

This past fall, myself and Assistant Race Director, Barb Campbell tested many sections of the all-new 2011 course and it's 99% set, I'm just awaiting final approval from a few land managers. Teams can expect another back-to-basics, point-to-point, navigationally challenging, old-school adventure race. No contrived sections here, as the Canadian back-country provides all the challenge most can handle. Details and pictures from some of our testing/scouting missions can be seen on Barb's Attackpoint log at the following links:

Oct. 23rd Scouting Oct. 27th Testing

Registration is now open with early-bird fees available until May 6, 2011. Next summer there will be a cap on the number of teams permitted into the event (most likely around 30-35 teams) due to host site restrictions and land-access use agreements, so sign-up early to avoid disappointment. Early registration also really helps our ability to plan; logistics, volunteer requirements, vehicle rentals etc.

May 20, 2010: Competitor Update

Only two weeks to go! The Competitor Update, which includes valuable course information has been sent to all team captains.

May 11, 2010: Facebook Picture Album

View more pictures from testing on our Facebook page.

May 10, 2010: Intrepid Map Board

While testing the mountain bike legs this past weekend I had a chance to try out the Intrepid Map Board (pictured at right), which is locally made by long-time AR competitor Mark Honsberger. If you're currently not using a map-board while mountain biking in AR, it's highly, highly recommended. I'd previously been using a Miry Map-Board (imported from the Czech Republic), which are available through 866Gaiters in North America. Here are my notes from testing:

• The Intrepid board was easier to mount.
• The Intrepid board is universally adaptable on different diameter handle bars (good for me as I have two bikes with diff. diameters).
• The Intrepid mounting system takes up much less room on your handle bar, which leaves room for other devices, especially bar-mounted night lights & odometer's.
• The Intrepid board sat higher & more forward, which didn't restrict pedaling while out of the saddle. The Miry board would hit my knees.
• I think the Intrepid board is slightly heavier than the Miry 12" board, but it's really close.
• The Intrepid board is less expensive than the Miry board ($60 CAD vs. $90 USD)

Overall, I'd recommend the Intrepid board for most of the reasons sited above, and I'll be using mine from now on. It's also great to support a local manufacturer & competitor (Mark will be racing the Wilderness Traverse on Team Adrenaline Rush).

To order an Intrepid Map Board, or for more information e-mail mark @ intrepidhons"at"rogers"dot"com

May 10, 2010: Final Course Vetting Update.

I was back on the course last weekend checking out the final legs I hadn't seen this year. All of the pictures at right were taken last weekend. On Saturday I rode some mountain biking sections, while on Sunday I was joined by our Course Consultant Barb Campbell to review one of the treks.

You'll notice in one of the pictures we had a pack-raft with us on this trekking stage. We used the pack-raft to cross a small stretch of lake (50-100m wide), since the water temperatures were still quite cold & we were being a bit soft. However, there are longer pack-rafting opportunities on the course, and pack-rafting is an acceptable means of travel on the trekking legs. The question of whether or not I would recommend pack-rafting is a tough one, since numerous variables impact this decision, including: added weight, time wasted inflating & deflating, daytime vs. nighttime, water conditions (headwind), forest conditions, your teams bush-whacking speed, and the condition of team members (injuries) to name a few. Personally, I wouldn't use a pack-raft in the event this year, since I feel I can move faster through these forests on foot (for the most part the forests we encountered were open and afforded speedy travel). For those not familiar with pack-rafting, it basically entails carrying an inflatable raft, or pool toy, and using it for water travel vs. land travel. Most teams would also employ a set of collapsible paddles, or hand paddles for forward momentum. A pack-raft could be purchased at Walmart, or somewhere similar for less than $20. The model pictured at right is a Sevylor "Trail Boat".

The mountain biking trails were in great shape for this time of year, with only a few soft areas. As mentioned in the course description, the mountain bike sections consist of a mix of gravel road, ATV track and single-track. I was using a hard-tail during testing with a semi-slick rear tire, however, it was raining for much of the day and I'd wished I'd had knobbier tires. I also typically use a full-suspension bike while racing, and would probably do so for this race, but that's only because I've become accustom to the plusher ride of a soft-tail. In the end, you'll be fine with a hard-tail, or soft-tail, and the decision of what type of tire would be based on the conditions expected on the race weekend (i.e. dry = semi-slick, wet = knobby).

Overall, I'm very happy with how the course came together, and as advertised, it will dutifully test; teamwork, navigation, proficiency across all disciplines, and of course mental fortitude.

For another perspective & more great pictures from last Sunday's trek, check out Barb's training log on Attackpoint.

April 6, 2010: Course Conditions Update.

With the amazing early spring weather I was able to get onto sections of the race course this past Monday with our Course Consultant Barb Campbell. The pictures at right were all taken on Monday. We traversed some great sections of trekking and paddling. Conditions in the forest are extremely dry (there was even a fire ban), and water levels are still high, but no where near as high as normal. All of the ice was gone, and we saw only sporadic patches of snow. It even seemed the water temperatures were up a few degrees from ice-out.

After our testing and another thorough review of the proposed route we've added 10 more kilometres of paddling & portaging, which will bring the total distance of the course up to approximately 144km. Broken down as follows: Trekking 32k, Paddling 36k, Mountain Biking 76k). This decision was made as we felt the course was light on paddling, plus our revised estimates had top teams finishing well before the 24hr mark. We also found another series of remote lakes we hadn't originally known were connected by portages, and thought they'd make an ideal addition to the course.

Teams should be prepared to tackle numerous portages during the event, ranging from 50 metres, up to 1500 metres, totaling up to 10,000 metres on the full course. You'll be happy to hear the supplied canoes will be lightweight (approx. 45lbs) Kevlar tripping canoes from Algonquin Outfitters. I've been asked if portage wheels would be an asset, and personally I would not use them. Most portages are on rough, tight, single-track trails, and I feel the extra time & weight associated with portage wheels would slow most teams down. I would recommend practicing portaging before the event.

In the end, this section of the course lived up to its moniker as the Wilderness Traverse, as we didn't see another human from the time we started testing until we reached our vehicle again over 12 hours later. For another perspective on our testing, you can view Barb's training log at the following link: http://www.ar.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_920/period-1/enddate-2010-04-05

March 30, 2010: AR Research. I recently participated in an interview with a grad. student from the U of Ottawa regarding a study on the "psychological elements associated with high level performance in adventure racing". They're seeking more participants for the study, if you have been racing for more than 5 years and are interested, please contact Brittany @ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The interview reminded me of a different study conducted at Primal Quest in 2006 by a Harvard Grad Student who was studying "Team Effectiveness" and what traits correlated with succesful teams. I found a copy of his research study & have posted it for download here.

Feb. 17th, 2010: Interested in trying to figure out where the Wilderness Traverse race course might go? Click here to see a highlighted area where the course will take place. Good Luck, there's a vast amount of wilderness in all directions surrounding the host site!