Navigation

Superb navigation expertise is critical for the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic.  Some people take along a GPS but if you do, you shouldn't rely on it too heavily.  If you're stopping all the time to see how many feet you traveled in the last twelve minutes then you probably need to put it in your pack for a while and stop looking at it.  A GPS can actually slow you down if you get mired in the minutia of the coordinates and routes.

Whether or not you take a GPS you definitely need a compass and a map.  Most racers spend the months before the race poring over maps and figuring out which route is the fastest.  By the time you start the race you should have studied the terrain and the vegetation of your route and considered what it will look like when you're there in person.  Everything in Alaska is big so imagine the landmarks looking much larger in person than they seem to be on a map. 

I have used a combination wrist altimeter and compass for past races and it's worked very well for me.  Suunto makes great altimeters and it's the brand that most serious mountain climbers use.  Read some reviews and buy what you think will work best for you.  Here's the one I use.  Suunto

Upcoming race posts and a climbing boot sale.

I recently came into a jackpot of older Wilderness Classic stuff.  There's a large amount of articles and information so I'm in the process of scanning and digitizing them now.  I should be able to post some great stuff from the early days of the race pretty soon. 

In the meantime, if you're looking for some climbing or hiking boots, Endless.com is having a decent sale on some Scarpa. It's rare to find a rigid sole ice climbing or mountaineering boot for under $250 so if you're in the market for some, check it out.  Many of their other Scarpas are on sale too. 

Packrafting by Roman Dial

For those of you who haven't checked out Roman Dial's packrafting book yet, you should.  Packrafting is an essential skill for surviving the Wilderness Classic and even if you're not adventure racing, it's fun to do.

A packraft is the Supercub of hiking.  It opens up lots of backcountry terrain that wasn't possible before. 
Packrafting

Gear alert

I recently came across a great jacket from Sherpa Adventure Gear. The Halka. At 10.6 ounces it's very well designed and is windproof, waterproof and breathable.

There was a rumor in the 2002 race that a race leader took only a Patagonia Dragonfly as a jacket. Remember, this was the route through the Wrangells and 2002 was the year of the July snowstorm. On Day 1 of the race, a blizzard dropped several feet of snow near the top of Cooper Pass. The Dragonfly is super lightweight at 3.1 ounces but mere mortals will probably want to take a jacket that provides a little more warmth, like the Halka. Besides, I don't think Patagonia is selling the Dragonfly anymore and Sherpa is a unique and innovative company.

I got my jacket on a recent trip out of state and there doesn't appear to be a local store in Alaska that carries their stuff so you'll have to do your homework. The quality gear should make it more than worth your time though.

An added bonus with this jacket is that it has the story of the jacket printed in Tibetan on the inside in case you're stuck in a tent somewhere and feel like learning another language.

Speaking of gear, don't forget about the REI Outlet store. You can often get screaming deals here on new lightweight gear.

New Packraft

This just in . . .

Alpacka has a new raft out called the Scout. https://www.alpackaraft.com/store/index.cfm?CFID=4015961&CFTOKEN=76664291&ProductID=126&do=detail

The description says it's just over 3 lbs so maybe this will be a good boat for the Classic. This cuts more than a pound off previous boats. The only caveat is that the description says it's made for flat water. That's probably code for "you better know what you're doing if you float whitewater".

At any rate, it's got to be better than older Sevylor's racers used to use. Those weren't made for whitewater either but they usually got the job done. The Scout looks like a nice toy if you haven't already exceeded your Wilderness Classic budget for the year.

Shoes

Shoes are probably the most important piece of equipment or clothing that you'll take on the Classic. Your feet will give you more pain than any other part of your body during the race and you should take care of them as much as possible. You might think that you can ignore pain as well as the next bloke and you'll just suffer through it. That might tactic might work in a marathon or on a hike but it doesn't work on the Classic. The abuse your feet and ankles take is just too great. Even if you can mentally withstand the pain, your body can only physically take a certain amount of damage before it slows down.


Not very many racers take full-blown, ankle covering hiking boots. Some do but they are often the people who drop out. The terrain the Classic covers is rough and heavy boots might save your feet a little wear and tear but the extra weight is not worth it.

Many other racers take something smaller than large boots but larger than trail running shoes. These "day hikers" are not a bad choice if you're just looking to finish the race. They are still a bit heavy compared to what you could survive with.


Most competitive racers wear adventure racing or trail running shoes. Don't take regular running shoes. They're not built to withstand the rigors of cross-country travel and after 50 miles of abuse they will fall apart. And after they fall apart, your feet will fall apart.


Trail running shoes are stiffer than regular running shoes because of an insert in the sole and usually have more toe protection than regular street shoes. No matter what you wear, if you're running the race for the first time, your ankles and feet are going to suffer mightily.


By far the most common brand used by competitive racers is Salomon. Most equipment made for adventure racing won't work for the Classic because it's too heavy and won't hold up to the abuse. One notable exception is the Salomon Mens XA Pro 3D Ultra GTX
There's a reason why you'll rarely see these shoes for sale under $100. Salomon knows these shoes are the best and they are going to soak you for the maximum possible amount. If you look for these shoes, contrast the XA Pro with the XA Comp. When you try them on in the store, the Comp might seem more comfortable but the Pro is the better choice because it has a more rigid insole supporting your foot. You'll appreciate this when you're walking creek beds covered with large rocks like these racers on Cooper Creek on the Nabesna to McCarthy route.

The XA Pro's also come in a GTX version. This just means it has some sort of gortex sewn into it. This is just a marketing scam and will add unnecessary weight. Gortex or not your feet will be wet for the whole race anyway, so just get the regular version, if you can find it.  It's not always available.



One more reason to get adventure racing shoes is the nifty little shoe-lace holder that most of them have. Shoe-laces are generally a problem when racing and if you get shoes with the snazzy "quick-cinch" shoe-lace system and a place to tuck in the laces so they don't get snagged you'll save yourself a lot of headache.


Obviously, the XA Pro's won't work for everyone and you should pick what works best for your feet. Whatever you end up getting, take out the paper-thin liner that always comes with shoes and replace it with Superfeet inserts. These will do wonders for your your feet over the long run.

Packrafts

Packrafts are essential equipment for running the Classic. Alaskan rivers are usually big, fast and cold. Crossing or floating them are one of the most dangerous aspects of running the race. When the Classic first started, nobody took a packraft except for Dick Griffith. At the now legendary first significant river crossing during the first race, people learned quickly that Griffith knew what he was doing by bringing a packraft. He crossed quickly and safely while everyone else without a raft was stuck on the other side waiting for the water level to drop.

Soon most people started carrying a raft. Back in "the day" people usually carried Sherpa brand packrafts. Sherpa rafts were burly and got the job done pretty well. After a while racers began to look for ways to cut weight and came across Curtis Designs rafts. These rafts were well-made and super lightweight. Here's a nice Curtis Design raft weighing 1 lb 8oz.








The Curtis Design rafts don't have inflatable floors or a seat and because they're so light, they make running large water very exciting! Especially when you're running the Nizina at flood stage in the dark trying to avoid sweepers and then you get caught in a train of 5 foot standing waves only a few feet from an overhanging cliff with no life-jacket after 14 hours with no food!!

But I digress . . . Whew, sorry for the flashback. Anyway, the Curtis Design rafts are extremely lightweight and are no longer allowed when running the Classic.



Most everyone is familiar with the Sevylor rafts. They are toys made for swimming pools that have a warning on them that they shouldn't be used in real water. You should heed the warning. They're cheap and the bottom almost always rips out and loses air early on in the race. Countless racers have been stranded and had to drop out of the race when their Sevylor got a hole (usually a seam blowout) that couldn't be repaired. They're chincy but they also propelled many a Classic racer to the finish. Most Sevylor's were pretty lightweight at about 3 lbs.


Here's a Classic racer floating Jack Creek at the beginning of the Nabesna to McCarthy route. Notice the feet hanging in the water. This is standard practice with Sevylor's because they are so small.

Alpacka or Sherpa brand packrafts are now required equipment for the Wilderness Classic. Compared to the Curtis Design and Sevylor's, Alpacka rafts are like yachts. They are well designed, made out of bomber material and have basically spawned a whole new sport of packrafting just for fun. http://www.alpackaraft.com/store/index.cfm?CategoryID=53&do=list


If you find yourself getting addicted to packrafting, check out Roman Dial's book on packrafting.

http://www.amazon.com/PACKRAFTING-Introduction-How-Guide-Roman/dp/0974818836

Here's an early model Alpacka raft weighing 4 lbs 3oz.












You can add all sorts of nifty things to your Alpacka raft. Even though some people complain about the price of an Alpacka, they are well worth the money. Trust me, when you're in big water, you'll be glad you don't have to worry about your boat. Most close calls on the Classic have been in rivers and the requirement for Alpackas is a good one.

The only thing wrong with Alpackas is their weight. They are significantly heavier than rafts used in the past and all the nifty add-ons make it even heavier. When you're trying to shave 100th's of an ounce off your pack weight, 5 lbs of raft is like carrying a Cadillac. You would also do well to verify all listed weights. Weights of these rafts can vary. Sometimes significantly.

I'll write a lot more later on about packrafting on the Classic but here's a note to end this post with. You might think that you can take as long as you want to blow up your raft and the only thing you'll lose is time. Here's a picture of racers hiding in the bushes trying to inflate rafts as fast as possible on the bank of Iron Creek on the Eureka to Talkeetna route. As we were laying out our rafts and getting ready for the final float into Talkeetna, we found a half eaten 25 lb salmon about 5 feet away. The grizzly showed up on the opposite side of Iron Creek just as we were putting our rafts in the water. Needless to say, raft inflation speeds probably rivaled all time records.

More Packs

Here's a couple examples of packs that might work well. It will depend a lot on how much you think you'll be taking and how much back support you think you'll need for jogging with 22 pounds on your back. More back support is always better for jogging with a pack but at the end of the day, the person with more back support is going to be just as tired as the person without back support and will still be carrying the extra 8 ounces of padding.

Do your own research and find what works for you but the lighter the better.







Vaude Cross Ultralight

You can also check out the Gossamer Mariposa Ultralight.

Or something like the Equinox Katahdin might work.

Packs

As with most things on the Wilderness Classic, lighter is better. You really don't need more than a nylong bag to cram your stuff into for a backpack. It doesn't have to be waterproof but if it's not you should line it with a garbage bag to keep your stuff semi-dry. In fact everything you want to keep dry should be in ziploc bags anyway.

Some people have used super light dry bags used for rafting and kayaking. These are handy because they might actually keep your stuff dry. Most of them are pretty heavy though and not very large. You definitely don't need anything with a frame or padding on it unless you're going to carry 30+ pounds. If you're carrying that much then you're probably not worried about speed anyway.

You should try to keep your pack weight below 22 pounds. This is pretty hard to do but it's possible if you don't eat too much and don't take anything to sleep in. Keeping pack weight to a minimum used to be easier before Alpacka rafts were required equipment. These are excellent rafts and they're lightweight relative to other floating devices but they are heavier than what racers used to carry. If you add on a spray-skirt and a life-jacket, you're adding on quite a few pounds. Minimalistic is the best choice. You can add a few ounces here and few ounces there for comfort but it's going to cost you in energy and time. The main question should be can you literally survive without the piece of equipment. If you can't, you should probably take it. If you can, consider if it will increase your speed. If it won't then don't take it.

You should look for a backpack that by itself weighs less than 16oz. Most weigh more than that but it's a good goal. Cut extra straps and material off and take anything metal off of it. You'll usually save several ounces by doing this. Weigh everything on a scale and evaluate anything that weighs more than an ounce. 85 miles into the race, you'll be glad you did.

Some racers have been able to get their pack weight below 20 pounds but this is pretty rare. Anyone who claims their pack is 18 pounds is probably not counting in the weight of a full water bottle or has a funky scale.

Don't forget to use your backpack as a half-sleeping bag and the garbage bag in it as a bivy sack. GoLite makes some good, lightweight packs but there are several other brands out there that will work well also. Look at Walmart or Costco for a super cheap (and inexpensive) pack that you can cut stuff off of. If you pare your pack down to just cheap nylon and a waist belt, you're on the right track.

Line your pack with a garbage bag and tie the top. Put everything in ziplocs inside the garbage bag. Things like fire starter you probably want to put in two ziplocs. Many racers carry smaller bags like a fanny pack somewhere on their body. You won't have time to stop and take your pack off to dig for food or water. Strap your water bottle to your chest and put a few power bars in an outside pocket. You'll dig in your pack a lot less than you think. If something is in the bottom of your pack, you'll probably never get it out just because it takes so much time to unpack.

You should carry absolute survival material on your body somewhere. When your raft flips over and your pack goes floating away, you'll be glad you have a lighter and a couple calories with you.

It may seem strange, but consider what color your pack is. If it's a bright color you can wave it to flag down the helicopter that comes to rescue you when your ankles swell up like cantalope and you think you can't hobble even one more mile. On the other hand if it's a light color then you might boost your competitors' moral when they spot you across the valley. They'll speed up to catch you whereas if they can't see you, they'll still think you're 20 miles ahead of them.