Angelica Haggert
I have never been more exhausted in my
life.
As you read here in The Hub previously,
on June 20, I and my team of two extras
competed in the SCAR - the South Coast
Adventure Race, organized by the Essex
Region Conservation Authority. It was the
most exhilarating, challenging, exhausting
and thrilling thing I have ever done.
We knew the day had about 40
kilometres of biking, 10 kilometres of
trekking and 8 to 10 kilometres of canoeing
in store. Add some orienteering into the mix,
and we had two goals: to not get lost, and to
finish in the 8-hour time frame.
Our bikes had been dropped off the
evening before at Point Pelee National Park.
At 8 a.m. we rolled into the meeting area at
Hillman Marsh and joined the crowd.
A quick briefing and the maps were
handed out. We had 10 checkpoints to hit with the start not at Hillman Marsh as we
expected, but in the middle of Point Pelee:
they were going to bus the 250+ participants
to the beginning of the course. We managed
to plot our way from checkpoint to
checkpoint without much arguing. I was
working with two team members not from
the area, so I was able to suggest things about
Leamington and Essex County that they
might not have thought of. We had to get from
Point Pelee back to Hillman Marsh, with a
stop at Seacliff Beach, Two Creeks
Conservation Area, and some time in the
marsh itself.
We knew we weren’t quick on our bikes.
With four knee surgeries in my past, I am still
regaining the muscles needed for a quick
Want to see some of what
Angelica and other SCAR
participants endured? Click
here to watch the video!
cycle. We hoped to make up for it on the
orienteering, trekking, and the paddle. With
two former Scouts on our team (myself being
one of them!) we figured we had a leg up from
the rest of the pack.
On the bus to Point Pelee I found an old
Girl Guide leader of mine, reminding me that
those in love with the outdoors rarely fall of
out of love. We counted down as a group until
course designers blew their air horn at “zero,”
and took off down the main road of Point
Pelee. Gradually, the pack began to spread out,
as some sprinted the three kilometres to our
bikes and others walked. The first trek and
bike was what we had expected - but man
those hidden hills could kill! If you thought
Essex County was flat, you are sadly mistaken.
It rained pretty viciously for the first
hour we were on the course, making the bike
difficult and making every path we took that
much more muddy. It eventually tapered off,
and the day stayed cool for us. As we biked
through Leamington, I had to bike on
recreational paths, grass, and at one point had
to lift my bike over my head to get it across
some concrete barriers. In Wheatley, I fell off
my bike attempting to go up a slick muddy
hill, and banged up my knee, but I got right
back on and kept going.
The paddle was last and I was ecstatic to
not have to be on the bicycle anymore. Forty
kilometres on a bike and anyone’s butt would
hurt, even with the fancy padded biking
shorts I had on! We sang Disney songs as we
paddled, overtaking a number of teams who
had been ahead of us on the biking sections.
Unfortunately, we finished at 6:05 p.m. - five
minutes past the eight hour window - but for
us, that was an accomplishment: We
FINISHED!
I saw parts of Essex County I had never
seen before, and I grew up exploring and
camping all around this area. But you don’t
have to compete in an adventure race to see
the beauty that this area has to offer. The
Chrysler Greenway and 1