We thought the prestigious Lanterne Rouge award had been settled half an hour earlier but two impressive teams gave us a pleasant surprise, arriving at the finish less than a minute before the 4 pm deadline. Team 46 Optiv-Mystics finished the Explorers Course with just 54 seconds to spare, 4 seconds behind Team 29 JJAM, who finished the Challenge Course. Congratulations to these two teams who enjoyed every single minute of Wilderness Traverse 2026!

It's official! Les Folles Alliées (34) are our first female team! These gritty women finished the Explorer course with a time of 29:31:00. Well done and we sure hope to see you next year!

We've been glued to the final few dots sending 'power' vibes out to the legs of the teams still out there biking their way back to the finish and racing against diminishing time left on course. It's been exciting and heartbreaking to know that a few teams came so close to getting here before the cut-off. Whether or not they made it across the line in an officially ranked way, we know that these teams have squeezed every last ounce of adventure, teamwork and energy out of each

Here are a whack of finish line photos. Look at all those happy (tired) faces. Nothing feels better than crossing the finish line... and stopping. :)

We are into the final stage of the race and the Lanterne Rouge and we still have a few teams out on each of the three courses. Teams are now racing against the clock to get to the finish by 15:00, the course cut-off. Let's hope these teams have been hiding some jetpacks as we want to welcome them across the finish line. Here's a quick snapshot of who's still out there:

In case you didn't see our earlier posts about these folks - there were two flatlanders teams out there - Flatlanders and Flatlanders Boyfriend Initiation, which (of course) fully piqued our curiosity. What exactly is the 'boyfriend initiation'? Turns out this everyone is related (parents, kids) + "the boyfriend" being initiated into racing and (we have to assume) the family. So, now that they're back at HQ, inquiring minds needed to know - was the initiation successful? Ambe

Dad Reckoning is made up of two dads (veteran racers, but who self-describe as the 'old guys') with the kids (aka young guns) to carry their packs and bring in a 'next gen' level of enthusiasm to the team. This Co-Ed Premier Team finished 4th overall and as the top junior team at WT 2026, so we're going to say the strategy of the young workhorses carry the 'old guys' packs worked out pretty well for them! We love that Wayne asked for a shout out to 'mom' (who is also followin

If you were following the race coverage on Thursday, you saw some insights and advice from some top former WT racers. A lot of it centered around having a well-oiled machine and keeping the momentum going. Wayne captured a great little video of Spare Parts talking portage strategy as they enjoyed the finisher area. Getting in and out of the boat efficiently and having an established set of 'roles' and strategies for the portages can really save you time when you've got 8 of t

As we creep closer and closer to the 13:30 cut-off at TA4, the coveted honour of the Lanterne Rouge is definitely still undecided! Right now, we're keeping our eye on a few teams and rooting them on from HQ in hopes they make that 13:30 cut-off! Team 52 - The Breakfast Club (All Female) Team 31 - Uphill Both Ways (All Male) Team 34 - Les Folles Alliées (All Female)

We have quite a few teams still moving through the wilds of Ontario on the Challenge Course. Teams still on foot (trek) get CP11 then skip CP12 and 13 to head straight to TA4. Teams on the bike skip CP15 but still need to pick up CP16 and 17 on their way into the finish line! I've roughly sketched out the Trek in blue, and bike in white.