Discussion: Great work out there!

Loved watching you guys tackle this intense course! Your team's spirit goes a long way. So fun to hang out with you all and can't wait to do it again - this time all as racers! - at Untamed!

We were tempted by the road along Togus Pond, too. We thought about taking a risk that the gap in the road on the map was wrong, but decided to play it safe and stick to Porcupine Hill.

Great to see you guys out there and get to cross paths so many times. See you again in a few weeks!

Our course testers took the route. When they arrived, they found a nice lady sitting in a lawn chair who said she didn't mind if they crossed. Curious how many teams went for it rather than biking over the hill.

Nice racing Adventure Dogs and nice report!

Being bitten by at least a dozen mosquitoes at a time plus the deer carcass stench at the Garcelon TA inspired the most frenzied transition to bike I've ever done! Get me the *&%# out of here!!!

Yeah that deer stench was 10000x worse the previous weekend.... complete with entrails that we drove our car through :( Fun times!

Whoa, I didn't even notice it! Can't say I'm disappointed :)

Dan, tell me more about these pickle juice shots. I've contemplated bringing a few bags of those Oh Snap pickles on a race course, but I'm not sure how shelf-stable they are.

I think pickles are just below Twinkies on the shelf-stable scale - they should last forever if they aren't in direct sunlight. I've been pretty happy with the flavor and [real or placebo-effect] results from Pickle Juice extra strength shots, which claim they are just concentrated pickle juice. A had a cramp coming on when we hit the ruins on the rail trail, and was fine 10 minutes after taking a shot. If I have empty containers, I just refill them from the pickle jar at home and use those for training or right before a race. They fit really nicely on the shoulder strap of an Osprey pack.

The four of us polished off a glass jar of pickle spears and the juice when we hit the O-course in town. Pickle power!

As much as I love the idea of carrying a jar of pickles during a race, I don't know that my teammates would dig it (I know at least one of them would take crippling cramps over eating a pickle -- I happen to be married to him). These are the ones I've been contemplating: https://ohsnappickles.com/ (but they're in the refrigerated section, rather than on the shelves at the store).

If it's any kind of pickle, I would not be at all worried about it's microbial stability in the short term (days). That's the whole idea of pickling. Although, full disclosure, this is coming from someone who refilled their water bladder directly from Wellman Pond at CP18 with no concerns :)

Hahaha, we filled just below CP7, which was... chunky?

Nice :) I'm a big proponent of au naturel AR hydration practices (within reason). #nofilter

Wait, you didn't purify there??

Nope. I generally don't.

Wow, you’re braver (and perhaps heartier) than I.

I also grabbed water at CP18 (through a filter, though), about the time MH was taking a dip, and only noticed the beaver lodge a few feet away after I'd finished doing so. This statement hasn't been approved by the FDA, but I'm pretty certain that pickle juice kills giardia.

It's on the internet now, so it's legit.

I will admit to not always treating water in the past. Once one of your teammates has a bout with Leptospirosis though you start to think differently. I now always treat regardless of its source.
Giardia can be transmitted by humans as well as beavers so even up high water sources may not be safe.

We're now 2-3 days beyond the incubation period for any Giardia/Lepto bugs from MSAR. Hopefully everyone had a good weekend and spent more time riding bikes than toilets!

No toilet riding here!

As JayXC said, any water source may not be safe. If I had to obtain water from an area with a risk of human or livestock poo contamination, I would certainly treat. There's not any conclusive science to be had regarding wild water sources, so use your best judgement, obvs.

Aren't we supposed to "Go fast and take chances"? ;)

Maybe that should be "Go fast and take chances and Doxycycline, or you'll really have to go, fast"

This enlightening and entertaining conversation brought to you by the Maine Summer Adventure Race :)