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In 1998, I participated in the Four Winds Adventure Race at Lake Powell and swore it would be my last. Our self-professed team "navigator" didn't know how to read a map and hid them in the bottom of his pack for the entire race. Becoming lost made no difference in our team's standing, there was such a backup on the ropes section that only one team made it down to officially finish the '98 race.

And on the way home I totalled my SUV.

I was done with anything having to do with Four Winds. That is until I got invited to do the Eco-Challenge with Team Evolving Systems, and the Four Winds Adventure Race in Northern California was on the training schedule.

"Gone are the days of showing race officials a forged skills certificate from a bogus climbing gym...."

The team captain for Team Evolving Systems is Ray Nyce and I knew him from the Marathon des Sables. We had run the 150-mile race across the Sahara Desert together a few times and I don't think he ever hit the wall. But now, I needed to try racing with the other two teammates, Heidi Wahl and Jeff Emrick, to make sure we didn't end up using our prusik slings to strangle each other.

Moments after meeting one another, we lugged our gear to the pre-race skills check. Gone are the days of showing race officials a forged skills certificate from a bogus climbing gym. Ropes were set up so you could demonstrate your ability to rappel, as well as do a self-rescue with a prusik sling. The race organizers warned us about treacherous downhills on the bike leg and advised us to double-check our brakes. They even showed us how to get back into a two-person kayak in case we flipped one. Four Winds' safety measures were topnotch.

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We were out the door at 3am for a 4am race start in the kayaks. The race course traced the shoreline of Clear Lake, a stunning spot in the wine country of Northern California. It took us a few hours to find all the checkpoints and get our passports punched. We were cold and wet when we finally got to the transition area.

It didn't take us long to warm up with the long bike climb that followed. We spent two hours pedalling to the top of the mountain where the rappelling leg was. Heidi and Jeff are great cyclists and I was glad to have my new 22-pound Klein so I could keep up. When you're racing with 29-year-old biking hotshots you definitely need technology on your side.

Another problem I'd had with the biking portion, in the past, was that my contact lenses would dry out. There were times when they blew right out of my eyes — and I am an optometrist. This time I was wearing PureVision Contact Lenses by Bausch & Lomb, the latest in technology. They performed beautifully and I felt like I was gradually getting together all the right gear.

When we arrived at the ropes section there were colorful mountain bikes strewn all over the place. It was raining and I knew I'd go hypothermic with the backup on the rappelling. But no sooner than we were geared up, a rope opened up for us and we got right on. I don't think I had ever been on a ropes section in any race where there wasn't a long wait to get on.

After the ropes section, the bike leg continued: we went though an area where there had been a forest fire in recent years, through streams, past meadows, and up and down steep mountains. I'm not sure how many mountains there are in the Mendocino National Forest, but I am sure we hit all of them — and then some.

"It would have taken a cannister of tear gas, maybe even two, to get us out of the RV at that point..."

By the time we made it to the next transition area it was late afternoon and Jeff was sick and vomiting. The course was bad enough when you were feeling good. I don't see how he managed to continue, but he did. Crew-person extraordinaire Dianne Bailey had tuna sandwiches, cheese, cookies, potatoes, and fruit all ready for us when we arrived. I gobbled mine up. Jeff put his in his pack to eat when he was feeling better.

The next leg was a 20-mile hike. It was so steep we kept skidding and falling.

"Don't they believe in switchbacks?" Jeff asked.

Apparently not, it was a dirt bike trail and switchbacks would only slow the trail down. Whoever first blazed the trails must have been in favor of the theory: the shortest way to get between two points is a straight line.

We stumbled along trails and dirt roads for half the night. Sleep deprivation is not my strong suit and I remember bumping into Ray several times when I started to weave. When we finally arrived at the next transition area, we barely made it into the RV when we heard the gentle patter of rain on the roof. Then the loud drumming of hail. It would have taken a cannister of tear gas, maybe even two, to get us out of the RV at that point. We waited for the weather to clear a little before we started the next bike leg.

It began with another long climb (the race theme if you ask me) of about 17-18 miles. It rained. It hailed. Yet as cold and exhausted as we were, nothing could detract from the spectacular scenery of Northern California. The vistas where I live in Northern New Mexico are hard to beat, and this was up there with the best of them.

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The downhill part was about nine miles long and I was pleased to see "Race in Progress" signs along the way alerting motorists. I could see why they had told us to double-check our brakes. My hands were cramping from all the braking and Ray completely wore his brake pads down. The sorest parts of my body after the race were my hands and forearms.

We got to a slough and had to kayak the bikes across to the transition area. After putting on our waterproof gear for the final kayak leg, we heard a knock on the door.

"The Coast Guard isn't letting boats onto the lake right now," a race official said. "There are three-foot swells and waves crashing all over the place. We'll give you an update at noon."

No problemo. Out came the cokes, cheese and crackers, and other goodies. I always have a stash of Ensure to keep my energy up and popped open a can of vanilla.

It's amazing how much fun two computer programmers (Ray and Jeff), and accountant (Heidi) and an optometrist can have hunkered down in an RV. I don't really remember what all we talked about, but it was warm and cozy. Our team was coming together.

We weren't about to quit and were prepared to wait all day if necessary. Some time later the Race Director, Bill Lionberger, gave us an official finish since boats weren't allowed on the lake.

Our next race is the MegaDose over Memorial Day weekend. After that we'll have some training weekends and then it's off to the Eco-Challenge in Borneo. Team Evolving Systems has taken its first step.

And Four Winds Adventure Racing is at the finish line. The organizers have worked the bugs out of putting on an adventure race and now put on a first-rate event. I hope they have another one in beautiful Northern California.

— Cathy Tibbetts, MountainZone.com Correspondent