July 5, 2022 – USA: As more Teams got deeper into their Overland Stages this week there has been a lot more Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally activity happening around the country and plenty of posts to follow online. Teams are racking up points across all four pillars: Overland Stages, Activity Tasks, Photo Quest and Weekly Challenges.
Team 136 Anderson leaped to the top of the Leaderboard with 2,274 points after completing several Overland Stages. Cheryl Anderson put together a fabulous route that included the Lost Coast, the Rubicon Trail and California’s Gold Country and then drove it, racking up 600 Overland Stage points and 1,264 Activity Task points which gives her a significant lead in the competition.
Team 132 Kienlen held onto the 2nd place spot with 1,448 points by strategically chipping away at the Activity Tasks and the Photo Quest items, adding over 500 points to their total this week.
Team 111 Potter slipped into 3rd place with 1,416 points. Lisa Potter had to get creative after finding out that her Jeep would be in the shop for a few weeks. Despite being Jeep-less this week she still managed to add 285 points to her score with a hike to the Dinosaur Ridge National Natural Landmark. Located in Morrison, CO off C470 Highway near Red Rocks Amphitheater and Park, Dinosaur Ridge is a National Park Service administered area that preserves fossils and dinosaur footprints from hundreds of millions of years ago.
Team 121 Hentz made their way out to the Rubicon Trail this week, where they were able to complete three more Overland Stages and check off many of the Activity Tasks and Photo Quest items as well. Cheryl and Joe Hentz planned this Rubicon trip as a test of their capabilities to drive the iconic trail on their own, and designed their route as a series of day trips rather than one continuous straight through journey. They successfully completed their route, and had no trouble driving the trail’s challenging obstacles, though they found navigating the way through the Granite Bowl alone to be a bit tricky.
Team 116 Tembreull hit the trails in Michigan for a multi-stage route starting in Skanee, Michigan. Amber and Dave Tembreull added an impressive 594 points to their score this week combining their Overland Stages through the Ottawa National Forest with Driving and Backcountry activities while continuing to check off Photo Quest items.
There are a number of teams out on Overland Stages who will be submitting points next week, intensifying the competition as the Rally approaches the halfway point. Other teams are taking a slow and steady approach methodically working away at the Photo Quest and Weekly Challenges to build up their totals.