Sorry to be so long between postings, but our "remote" locations made access to the Internet impossible. And, when we returned, Jen couldn't get on the Internet because there was too much traffic to her site.
Just a quick recap of what happened in Pt. Renfrew. We (consisting of Eric and Stan from 1iOpen Productions out of Seattle (http://1iopenproductions.com), Tori Peterson who is the 14 year old daughter of Don Peterson - truly a trooper, Rob MacKay and myself) waited all day, eyes glued to the opening in the forest on the other side of the San Juan River where we knew Jen, Norm Hann and Don Peterson would emerge . The way it works is that when the hikers reach the beach, they need to raise a red flag which is attached to a post. This alerts "Butch" who operates the ferry service across the river. He only works from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm and advised me that he gets "very expensive" after that time. We had no idea what time they would show up - so all we could do was wait. The sun was out, though, so we had time to dry wet gear, which was soaked from the hike through Stathcona Park. At 4:00 pm, I went and talked to Butch, who once again reminded me how expensive he would be if they didn't show up in the next 1/2 hour. The fishermen's dockside happy hour was already getting underway!
I was getting worried that someone was hurt, so he radioed a keeper somewhere on the trail, saying we were looking for 1 woman and 2 men. The guy on the other end asked if it was the "runners" we were inquiring about, so right away I knew they were ok. He said they had spent the night at the Nitnat crossing and had been at Bonilla Point at 2:00 pm. Chuck estimated they would be about 8 more hours. He never failed to mention the cost of his time - he goes to bed at 9:30 and after that, he gets VERY, VERY expensive!
To make a long story short, I found a very kind fisherman, Bruce Smith, from Ladysmith, and he, along with his son, Neil, agreed to go over and get them no matter what time they arrived. We were completely out of cell phone range except, by some weird freak of the universe, one point at the mouth of the river on the campground. Randomly, cell phone access would be available here. Jackie Windh's call came through at this point to Eric - she told us that Jen's "Spot" had just posted a location and the team was probably about 1 to 1- 1/2 hours away. Through the darkness, we continued to peer across the river, knowing that their lights would alert us of their arrival. And sure enough, shortly after 10:00 pm, we could see the lights and hear their voices. "We need a boat", they shouted. "We have a boat", we shouted back as Bruce and Neil hopped in to their little boat and headed right over. They had them back to the campground within 5 minutes, and we joyously celebrated their arrival. Despite exhaustion, they were in amazingly good spirits.
We were pretty sure Jen would want to sleep for a few hours before setting out again, but we all underestimated her determination. She said they had decided to bike straight through to Victoria, as she wanted to keep to her 4 day goal. That meant she would need to bike right past the Juan de Fuca Trail, but she and Norm had just hiked it with Don a few months ago, so, though not intimidated for one minute by the hike, her bigger goal was getting to Mile 0. So, with a quick transition time - some hot food and drink, and a change of clothing, Jen and Norm jumped on their bikes and we left Port Renfrew at 11:47, heading over the hills and through the curves that would take us to Victoria. Rob MacKay, who had come to hike the Juan de Fuca trail with Jen, was so incredibly gracious in supporting Jen in her decision to cut that part of the program out. I'm sure it was disappointing for him, as he had waited all day, but he didn't hesitate for a minute in wanting to stay with the group and get the job done.
Don Peterson, who had hiked the Cape Scott trail with Jen, then drove tirelessly (well, maybe that's a poor choice of words - perhaps I should say faithfully) from the trailhead at Cape Scott to Bamfiield, logging next to no sleep, which, if taken, was done upright in the cab of the truck, and then hiked the West Coast Trail at breakneck speed with Jen, was very grateful to crawl in to the back of his car and be chauffeured back to Victoria. Sleep deprivation makes us say some pretty crazy things, and I understand he was hilarious throughout the last part of the journey...
We travelled along the road from Port Renfrew to Victoria with incredible speed. The system remained the same - I would drive ahead in the support vehicle, which was Jen's dad's truck and camper that was loaded to the hilt with food, beverages, gear, sleeping bags, etc. a pre-determined distance. Jen would say if I should go 10, 15 or 20 km ahead, depending on how far she thought she and Norm could go before needing to refuel. I would go the distance decided and get things ready for their arrival. I was amazed time and again at how quickly I would suddenly see their head lamps. With Rob following behind them, they would pull up, grab something to eat and/or drink, and then be off again.
I thought we would be crawling along by this point. After all, we were almost at the end of 5 days since leaving Victoria and Jen had barely stopped. In calculating her sleep, it couldn't have been more than 3 1/2 hours since she and Don left us all and stepped in to the darkness of the Cape Scott trail at 1:00 am on Monday, August 24th. And this was the wee hours of Friday, August 28th. How was it humanly possible to move at all, never mind move at what seemed to me to be lightening speed? But Go must be Jen's middle name, because she was like a machine - and a very focused one, at that!
I just have to take a minute to tell you about this machine's partner in crime - Norm Hann. Norm had hiked Mt. Ranier last week-end, in celebration of his 40th birthday. Can't think of anything anyone would rather do for their 40th birthday...can you? He really wanted to be part of Jen's Vancouver Island Quest, so when his Ranier group didn't seem to be descending the mountain quick enough, he left them in the dust and headed back to Squamish, to pick up gear and catch the ferry over to Vancouver Island. He drove to Campbell River, and Jen's dad drove him up to wherever they would run in to us as we travelled down Island. We were somewhere between Port McNeil and Woss Lake when they appeared behind us. Norm didn't waste a minute in unloading his bike and joining Jen on the bike section. Huli, Jen's dad, who is always available to support her in anyway possible as long as she doesn't make him run, decided to join the group as far as Strathcona Park. Norm had brought his dog, Seena, along. She definitely added her own flavor to our trip. During one of our stops, she found something deliciously rotten to roll in, so Huli and I had the fragrant experience of having her hanging over our heads, eyes searching for Norm and Jen every moment, as we trailed along behind our daughter for 12 hours, wondering which one of us was responsible for the stubborn stamina gene she had acquired. Apparently, it comes from the 'Harper' side of the family - Huli's measurement of extreme is whether or not it will cause him to spill his beer...."This is definitely going in my book", I laughed!
The incredible part of this story is that Norm never left Jen's side again. He rode and ran through thick and thin - and he isn't even an endurance racer! I still can't figure out how he did what he did - but I'm sure he dug deeper than even he knew was possible. He rose to the occasion in superhuman fashion. How can I ever express my gratitude and admiration!
So, back to the completion - Jen and Norm rode in to Mile 0 in Victoria at 5:48 am on Friday, August 28th. Eric and Stan of 1iOpen Productions where on hand to film the completion. Eric has some incredible video footage of the entire adventure so be sure to check out his work - http://1iopenproductions.blogspot.com/ Being a retired adventure racer as well as the team manager for Dart-nuun himself, his experience and knowledge were an invaluable asset to our journey. He and Stan, his dad and hilarious assistant, who thought he would be eating hot dogs and building campfires for the whole week and never saw either, were nothing short of amazing the entire time. Ken Ross, a friend who wanted to participate in the adventure, jumped in with his bike along the road in to Victoria, adding welcome energy to keep them going. Auntie Cathy, always there to celebrate her family's accomplishments, awaited with a huge bouquet of balloons. Martin and Angele Segger offered hugs and congrats, and Jen's dad arrived, after having driven all the way from Campbell River without speeding, in less than 3 hours, showed up shortly after completion. And Barry Waters, who had generously sponsored a portion of Jen's journey through his company, Steel Pacific (www.steelpacific.com), arrived moments after we did.
Looking at Jen after her monumental effort, I couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. Anyone who might have seen her at this point in time without knowing what she had just accomplished, would have thought she had just spent the morning getting ready to go out for a little walk along Dallas Road.
As Jen's mom, I will have to process everything that I've just witnessed and been a part of, but I have to say that Jen stands in a class of her own in terms of her athletic ability, skill, determination, fitness level and dedication. She really wants to inspire all of us to get out there and reach for our dreams. She is, in no uncertain terms, one "can-do" woman and she has left all of us with our mouths open, looking at our dusty running shoes and wondering...
Jackie Windh (www.jacquelinewindh.com), the sports journalist who jumped in at the start of West Coast Trail with Jen and gang, and traveled along for as many hours as time would permit before turning back to the Bamfield, has posted a wonderful film of her time on the Vancouver Island Quest. Check it out and see Jen in action at http://www.youtube.
Over and out - Bonnie Segger
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