Two Wanderers Survive the Lenape Survival Challenge

On April 16, Susan and I [Randy Clever] accepted the Lenape Challenge, despite the fact that we could not find one area canoe rental establishment open for practice in the weeks before the big day.

Instead, we had to rely on advice from seasoned canoeists, articles, and visualization. Visualization was by far our biggest MO, but once on the water the visual fades and plain old survivor instincts kick in with a vengeance. Fortunate for us, we benefited from the presence of Coach "Big Stick" Kretschmann who helped us remain centered and focused.

The running course itself was 4.5 miles of "rolling hills" before hitting the uphill ski slope. We were forewarned about the big ski slope by everybody, but nary a word about those ferocious rolling hills that went on and on before it. I arrived at the creek somewhat before Susan and had the choicest of life vest and paddle ready for her to snatch up so we could adroitly slip into our awaiting canoe.

After a slip into the water before we slipped into the canoe, we were off with the pack and seemed to progress well, although we chose the serpentine route over the straight one. They tell me that the paddler in the stern has some control over that; unfortunately, not this one. Actually, there wasn't too much passing or being passed, once everyone was on the water, except when we got hung up sideways on a rock and almost took the rapids backwards. I believe a couple of boats passed us at that point, but we passed a few others a little later, especially those who had capsized or serpentined more than we had. I must say it was the fine navigational skills of Susan who kept us on course with, "Left, left, left" and "we're gonna hit a rock" in ever increasing crescendo.

She just kept calmly paddling all the while I'm doing the novice's shifting of the paddle from side-to-side or the energy-draining side sweep, to avoid the looming dangers. The final brush with death occurred at the end. Seeing the finish line, and knowing that I would not be able to adeptly steer us into port, I jumped out of the boat to pull us ashore amidst the shouts from our boat and the one to my left aiming to sheer my legs off below the knee. Needless to say, our opponents arrived before us, but they weren't in our category anyway, so it didn't matter.

We finished a respectable 5th in our category and right before we left the site Susan was seen to be scanning the results board to see what team combination she had to find to win next year. She settled on the female >70 (combined ages), as long as she can find someone who can run at least as fast as she and who has my minimal paddling skills. She's offered me a spot in that category as her team mate if I'm willing to wear a wig next year. I, on the other hand, am thinking of petitioning the race committee for more categories, like over 90, maybe even over 100. Maybe I'll have a chance of winning in one of those next time.

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