At 6:30am Tuesday morning teams made the short ½ mile bike ride from the Quality Inn to the Bridge View Park in St. Ignace to prepare for the 7:00am start. The Mighty Mackinac Bridge towered in the background over the Straits of Mackinac. With all teams raring and ready to go and the helicopter hovering overhead with the videographer harnessed in, the race kicked off two minutes early. The MIX was on!

A police escort led teams through St. Ignace and a mandatory route took teams on a fast warm up to CP1 in the small town of Hessel. Nearly half the field stormed into CP1 in one large pack. At CP1 teams transitioned to paddling gear and prepared their canoes. Teams were scheduled to paddle a 25 mile route through the Les Cheneaux Islands on the northern coast of Lake Huron. As mid morning hit, the winds were starting to pick up. The Les Cheneaux served as relatively good shelter from the southeastern wind through CP’s 2, 2A, and 3. As teams came around Beavertail Point, they really became exposed to the wind as it had continued to pick up throughout the late morning and early afternoon. At CP3A, teams were informed that the paddling section had been shortened, about 5 miles in total, and that the new take out location was now just around the next point, before Stevenson Bay, effectively canceling CP4 and moving the take-out location of CP5. Travelcountry.com exited the water first with a total paddling time of 4:55 and just 2 minutes ahead of Allez. Teams EMS, CP0, PVS and Calleva all followed by 5 minutes or less. Travelcountry.com received Kokatat PFDs and Tops as the section prize for having the fastest paddle leg split.

Teams found their bikes waiting at CP5 and they transitioned out of the canoe and back to bike. The ensuing bike leg was not very long at just 25 miles, but it was very strategic as catching the Ferry boat in De Tour Village to Drummond Island that runs once an hour played in. Just three teams, EMS, CP0 and TravelCountry.com, got on the road fast enough to catch the 2:40pm ferry boat, with all the chasers having to wait for the 3:40pm boat. A couple teams even came around the corner just in time to see the Ferry Boat pull away from the dock. Once on Drummond Island, teams biked to the Drummond Island Resort for CP6/TA1.

At TA1 teams transitioned to a trekking leg on Drummond Island. Heading into this lengthy trekking section in late afternoon, this was already looking to be a crux of the race. If teams navigated well, then they were well on their way to having a good race. However, if teams struggled with the navigation they found themselves already behind the 8-ball to make the rest of the time cutoffs and stay on the full course. Total distance for this trekking leg was approximately 30 miles, with some tough navigation, especially as teams were navigating it at night. The trek started with two unmanned points, CP’s A and B before coming out to CP7 which was manned. At CPA teams found a surprise in that a race volunteer was actually out manning that location. For CPB teams had no such luck. This proved to be one of the most difficult points in the race as many teams got off track on some of the many unmarked trails and logging two tracks in the area and really struggled to find the point. Some teams never did find it and finally moved on after hours and hours of searching. Those that moved on found CP7 and then CPC, a beautiful point on the southwest edge of Pilot Cove overlooking remote Lake Huron. From there, the highlight of the trek was a visit to CP8 at Marble Head. Marble Head is the easternmost point of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and is a gorgeous scenic point atop a 60-foot cliff overlooking Lake Huron. It was seemingly downhill on the rest of the trek through points CPD, 9, E and 10 as teams were led back to the Drummond Island Resort for CP11/TA2. The race was really starting to shape up after this trek. PVS put together a strong trek to win the fastest leg split and a set of Salomon Packs and a Nemo Tent with a total trekking time of 13:04. They also moved to the top of the field coming into TA2 just 13 minutes up on EMS with CP0 tracking in third.

After refueling at the Drummond Island Resort it was off on bike for a 40-mile bike loop around the east side of the Island. For the lead teams, they were just hitting day break as they headed out of the TA to tackle the bike leg, still going strong with no sleep through night one. However, there were plenty of teams still struggling through the trekking leg on the Island. Several of them would be hard pressed to finish the leg in time to make the 6:00pm Wednesday time cutoff to start the bike leg. On the Drummond Island bike leg there was a good mix, from pavement to two tracks and snowmobile trails. The trails and two tracks are much different from many of those in Michigan. On Drummond they are very rough and rocky with many deep and long mud puddles. On this leg, teams traveled through the Maxton Plains and again headed out to Marble Head, picking up unmanned point F and CP12 and CP13. The battle for first continued to be heated as EMS came in CP14/TA3 10 minutes ahead of PVS at 10:18am. But with a strategic move, PVS went straight from CP14 to CP14A, the kayak put in, essentially skipping any TA amenities and thus overtook EMS for the lead. From CP14 it was just an easy mile bike ride down to the beach to get to CP14a where all paddling gear and kayaks were staged. CP0 continued their stronghold on the third spot hitting CP14 just a half hour off the pace. Calleva, WEDALI and GOALS ARA were all still holding strong a couple hours back and within an hour of each other. Travelcountry.com laid claim to the fastest bike split, 3:45, and took home an awesome set of Jet Lites as the section prize.

As mentioned above, from TA3, just a short bike ride took teams to the kayak put in. The kayak route led teams on a 15-mile kayak leg in and around the islands on the North Side of Drummond Island to hit CP’s 15, 16 and 17 and unmanned points G and H. The paddle leg was very nice for the lead teams as they paddled the section in early to mid afternoon. The entire route was relatively sheltered with all the islands, but as the day got long, the winds died to a standstill. By nighttime teams were raving at the beauty out on the big water as the stars and eventually a full moon rose. No big surprise for the lead teams as they came off the water. EMS and PVS were in a literal dead heat, checking into TA4 at 2:12pm, with CP0 still maintaining third just a half hour back. CP0 did edge out EMS by just one minute to have the fastest kayak split at 3:00 even. For their efforts they were rewarded with a full outfit of Rail Riders Extreme Adventure Pants and Ecomesh Shirts.

After completing the kayak leg, teams once again transitioned at the Drummond Island Resort and prepared for a 70-mile bike leg that led them off of Drummond Island and all the way up to the town of Rudyard, hitting unmanned point I and CP’s 19 and 20 along the way. This bike really allowed teams to get out and stretch their legs, as most of it was paved and flat. WEDALI took the best advantage of this section as they had the fastest split time at 5:59 and won an outfit of Pearl Izumi apparel. Teams had to be aware of when they left TA4 as they needed to time the ferry boat properly to get a ride off Drummond. Through the night the ferry boat skips two hourly trips and leaves Drummond at 1:10am, 3:10am and 5:10am, so if not timed out correctly, a team could end up waiting well over an hour just to get off the Island. But the boat does dock on Drummond as it waits to leave for De Tour Village. Several teams chose to head for the ferry early just to ensure they made their targeted time. Upon arriving at the ferry, those teams rode right onto the ferry, laid their bikes on the deck and headed upstairs to the passenger waiting floor where they crashed out for a short nap until the ferry landed in De Tour Village. This ride was strategic for the whole field of teams. Starting with the 3:40pm ferry boat that both EMS and PVS made, yet CP0 had to wait for the 4:40pm boat. And all the way through the night, teams were rushing out of the TA to catch the ferry so they could give themselves the best chance to get to Rudyard in order to make it out in time for the 10:30am Thursday cutoff time.

The lead teams arrived in Rudyard just at nightfall of Day 2, another strategic decision time for these teams. EMS got in to the TA with a 25-minute lead and they pushed through the TA to get into their canoes on the Pine River. PVS decided they finally needed to grab a nap and laid down to sleep for an hour before pushing on into the night. CP0 followed a similar strategy of taking an hour nap at the TA. Heading out of TA5 in Rudyard, teams had a 17-mile paddle down the Pine River. With their strategies of sleep, the top three teams spread out a little coming off the Pine River paddle and heading into the National Forest Trekking section. EMS was back in first out of the Pine River at 1:28am Thursday, a full two hours up on PVS and three and half up on CP0. Travelcountry.com, nearly a day behind the leaders, powered through the paddle in 3:55 with the fastest paddle split and won a pair of Keen Shoes and a whole outfit from Smartwool.

Once at the mouth of the Pine River, teams dropped their paddling gear and headed out on a tough 20-mile trek through the Hiawatha National Forest. Teams were looking for two unmanned points J and K as well as manned CPs 23 and 24, before coming up to CP25, the Rappel site at Scott Quarry. Teams’ navigational skills were again put to the test. These points were on hill tops, ridgelines and two tracks, but the going was tough between points. There were plenty of swamps, beaver ponds, creek crossings, unmarked trails, and lots of downed trees. At the end of the trek was the 60-foot rappel. Then just a short distance down a rough two track, teams would find CP26/TA6. By CP23 the top three teams had nearly joined again, spread out by just 30 minutes. PVS had again taken the lead, followed by EMS and CP0. Coming into TA6 at 4:27pm Thursday, PVS still held the lead, this time by 30 minutes over EMS and CP0 had dropped back about 2 hours. WEDALI was still racing hard, now less than two hours out of third, trying to make it a four team race. WEDALI also had the fastest National Forest trek time, over half hour faster than the next closest team, at 9:57. They won sets of Petzl Ascenders courtesy of Planet Rock Climbing Gym for this feat.

Heading out of TA6, teams were on a short, but challenging, 20-25 mile bike on very remote National Forest two tracks leading them up to the Fiborn Quarry, CP27/TA7. The position of teams didn’t change much from TA6 to TA7 as the section was relatively devoid of major route choices. Teams found TA7 in an old rail house building from around the turn of the 20th century when this area was operated as the Fiborn Quarry. The Fiborn Quarry is now owned by the Michigan Karst Conservancy as the surrounding area is filled with Karst and sinkholes. It is also home to the Hendrie River Water Cave. This little known cave is a true cave carved out of the limestone by the waters of the Hendrie River.

At Fiborn teams decided whether they wanted to do an Orienteering course or go caving first. After completing their first choice, teams returned to the TA and headed into the other section. The o-course was a challenging orienteering course that led teams nearly 20 miles through various terrain to find 9 unmanned check points. Only 8 of the remaining 20 teams on the full course were able to obtain all 9 points on the O-course. In the Hendrie River Water Cave there were open rooms and tight passages that teams worked their way through approximately a quarter mile to reach the check point located at a five foot underground waterfall in the cave. Most teams checked in to the TA and opted to take on the O-course first. Then they were just left with the caving before leaving Fiborn altogether. After completing both legs at Fiborn, teams headed out on the last section of the course. PVS held strong as they left Fiborn at 11:37am on Friday, Day 4, and their lead increased to about an hour and a half. EMS was one of the teams that opted to hit the O-course first, and that decision proved to be rather inconsequential as they still held onto second now leading CP0 by 2 hours. CP0 held third, but their lead was trimmed to less than 1:45 with WEDALI still moving hard. The race for 4th looked to be the tight race as Salomon/Suunto held onto fifth and only trailed WEDALI by 8 minutes leaving Fiborn. It was the Canadian team Kinetic that bested the O-course with the fastest time, 8:46, to obtain all 9 CPs. Kinetic won a set of Suunto Vector Wristop Computers for their o-course prowess.

The next section of the race had teams head out on bike for approximately 30 miles. This section was either just another uneventful section or a very challenging bike leg, depending on route choice. There were several choices that teams could take and one of the routes led teams through several miles of virtually un-rideable road covered by thick sand. It took the teams that selected this route almost two hours longer than those that didn’t and really shaped the final standings of teams. This bike leg led teams to the Carp River for the canoe put in, CP31, on the eastern edge of the Mackinac Wilderness Area. PVS and EMS held onto 1 – 2 coming in at 2:23pm and 3:30pm respectively, but CP0 was not so fortunate. They selected the sandy route into CP31 and WEDALI was just minutes behind at CP30 and able to overtake CP0 on the way to CP31. Salomon/Suunto chose the same route as CP0 so they ended up not challenging WEDALI, but did comfortably hold onto fifth. The sectional prize awarded for this section was given for the combined times of the bike to Fiborn from TA6 and the bike out of Fiborn to CP31. Travelcountry.com was still fighting hard and pulled out another section prize for this combined bike leg and they won a sweet set of Specialized Bike Quivers courtesy of Fraser Bicycle.

At CP31 teams changed into paddling gear and prepared for about 12 miles of paddling to CP32 at the mouth of the Carp and into Lake Huron. In Lake Huron, teams had just 8 more miles to the take out, CP33, on the southern edge of Horseshoe Bay. The race was relatively determined at this point. PVS exited canoes at CP33 at 7:13pm followed by EMS and WEDALI. CP0 had dropped to 4th with Salomon/Suunto in 5th. WEDALI, still excited from jumping into 3rd place, had the fastest paddling split at 4:20 and took home Lendal Paddles as a result.

At CP33 teams found their bikes waiting there for a short 8 mile ride back through St. Ignace and down to Bridge View Park for the finish! PVS stormed in at 8:00pm on Friday evening to grab the hard fought victory. EMS gave another valiant effort and finished in 2nd, for the third straight year, at 9:35pm. WEDALI’s strategic planning and late race heroics put them on the podium in 3rd place with their 12:20am finish on Saturday. CP0 continued to push hard into the finish to take 4th place at 2:10am. Salomon/Suunto had a really strong race to claim 5th place finishing at 4:10am. The Lab Rats edged out Kinetic as the teams finished at 9:44am and 9:51am respectively for 6th and 7th. Blue Bayou had another great effort to finish in 8th place at 11:52am. These teams all completed the full course and obtained all 9 points on the orienteering course. Masterlock/Albatross hit 5 O-points and finished at 9:56am for 9th and Vyster also got 5 O-points finishing at 10:26am to round out the top 10.

The MIX was a tough race by any standard. Final mileage was well over 350 miles with unlimited navigational choices giving teams a thorough introduction to the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They spent a lot of time seeing the sights and remote area on Drummond Island, enjoyed difficult and beautiful terrain of the Hiawatha National Forest, experienced the Hendrie River Water Cave and paddled on Lake Huron three times. The fastest team took 85 hours, or 1 hour over 3 ½ days. In all there were 15 teams that completed the entire course, 8 of whom obtained all 9 points on the orienteering course. Beyond that, five more teams finished the race on shortened or alternate courses and 5 more finished unranked after having dropped one or two teammates. The MIX also saw one member from two of the 8 withdrawn teams join up with two of the unranked teams to finish the race. All in all this is certainly a great finishing rate for a race of this length and toughness. Surely a testament to the skill and ability of those that pressed hard to finish the race.

Infiterra Sports would like to publicly extend some big thanks. Anyone who has attended a successful adventure race knows what a major contribution the volunteers make. Anyone who attended the MIX knows what a great group of volunteers were present. We simply can’t say enough. So to all the MIX volunteers, THANK YOU from both race staff and the racers themselves! Thanks to the Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan DNR, Michigan Karst Conservancy, City of St. Ignace, Boulevard Street Quality Inn of St. Ignace, Drummond Island Resort, Latitude 45° Bike Shop and so many more, see http://www.infiterrasports.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1548 for a complete thank you list.

And finally to our sponsors who contributed such wonderful prizing to the MIX. Salomon, JEEP, REI, Smartwool, Rail Riders, Seal Skinz, Jet Lites, Kokatat, Hammer Nutrition, Pearl Izumi, Suunto, Fraser Bicycle, Planet Rock, Keen, Nuun, NEMO Equipment, Zanfel, Superfeet, Jet Boil and Protech.

Your MIchigan eXpediton Staff:

Luke Osborn
Zac Chisholm
Chad Lambert
Don Hudson
Chad Swander