Hello from Big Sky, Montana!

The team has arrived in Big Sky, which is the headquarters and race start for Primal Quest Montana. We spent today completing gear and skills check and are now officially ready to race. The check-in process went relatively smooth - huge props to all of our crew members to getting us through check-in and supporting the chaos. Kudos to Rebekah "the amazing organizer and chef", Case "the pack mule and gear mechanic", Kenny "our last minute shopper" and Rick "the missing gear coordinator" (who's not even an official support member).

Tomorrow we have the day off to eat, sleep, be at altitude and get ready for the mandatory race meeting where we will learn more about the course. So far, we have heard there is 100 miles of whitewater travel and high ridge walks on fixed lines. It also sounds like the climbing will be limited to one section.

The weather has been great and we hope it continues. It's a little chilly at night but warm during the day. We've already broken into our supply of sunscreen.

The lodge and the resort are amazing and beautiful and the view of Lone Peak is prominent and a great backdrop for the race start.

Everyone is in good spirits and ready to go!

The race starts Monday morning and you can follow us here: http://www.ecoprimalquest.com. Click on the "team" link on the right side of the page, we are team #39.

~Team Kagome
Jared, Dave, Roger + Jen

Kagome juice samples a hit!

On June 3rd, Team Kagome was at the Seattle BEAST race handing out stickers and bottles of juice to 26 teams of race competitors. While the racers were getting registered, preparing their gear and awaiting the first set of race maps they had a chance to try some samples of Kagome juice.

We heard lots of positive comments from those that had already tasted it and initial impressions from those that had never experienced it before. Everyone was very appreciative of the free samples and a chance to try Kagome juice. Some of the races packed the bottles in their backpacks to drink on the course, while some liked it so much they finished it off before they even started!

Although the weather wasn't great and everyone got soaked in the rain, everyone had smiles on their faces and were excited to be out for a little friendly competition and a sample of juice. After the race got started Jen, Dave and Dave's son Colby headed out to the arboretum for a short paddle in a canoe before packing up the car and heading home for the night.

Enchanting training

This weekend Dave, Roger and I headed over to Leavenworth to hike through the Enchantments.  We headed in from the Snow Lake trailhead and back down Asgaard Pass to the Colchuck Lake trailhead.  The trail was in great shape, even with the snow level starting around Snow Lake, making route finding a little tricky.  We packed in ice axes, but ended up favoring our trekking poles once we hit the snow in the upper basin.

From Colchuck we biked back down to the Snow Lake trailhead to grab the car before getting some food and some much needed rest.  It was a great trip and a good chance to do some last minute gear testing and final adjustments before heading to Montana in less than 3 weeks.

The hike took about 16 hours, which includes a side trip up Little Annapurna and a few nice breaks to take pictures and soak in the views and the sunshine.