July 23, 2022 – USA: Week Six started the second half of the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally and some teams were well on their way to completing their Overland Stages while others have just gotten started. The teams that have already finished several Stages have racked up big points totals, but the rally is still anyone’s game with enough time left for teams who got a late start to come back big.
Team 104 Swenson took back the lead with 3,307 points after a busy week completing multiple Overland Stages. Sara Swenson and Dave Hopkins continued with their multi-leg trip, going from California’s Lost Coast to Fort Bragg to Mendocino to Santa Cruz this week. They had some fun driving the Lost Coast Beach Trail and got to check off their “Soft Sand” Driving Activity at Shelter Cove Beach and their “Muddy Terrain” at the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park.
Meanwhile Team 136 Anderson slipped into the 2nd place spot with 3,082 points after a somewhat quiet week.
Team 111 Potter made it into 3rd place with 2,464 points, rebounding after overcoming some mechanical issues. Lisa Potter wasn’t about to let the fact that her Jeep was in the shop waiting on parts stop her from leading the Colorado 4×4 Girls South Fork trip. The run had been scheduled since February, so Lisa called on her old Rav 4, nicknamed “Mighty Mouse,” and led the 17 other club members with only minor modifications to the route. As part of her Stage Five, Lisa made a detour to a nearby Reptile Rescue where rehabbers help an assortment of animals, and she was able to pick up a number of photo quest points in the process. From South Fork, she continued the journey with a Stage Six to Creede, that included the Bachelor Loop trail and a visit to the Last Chance Mine. After a brief photo stop at the Summitville Ghosttown Lisa went on to complete Stage Seven at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, earning a whopping 964 points for this single week.
Team 122 Norton leaped from 18th to 7th place on the Leaderboard after a huge week with six Stages and multiple Activity points. Wendi Norton and her Jeep “Sharkbait” started their adventures in Williams CA along the King Range National Conservation area and Shelter Cove, before setting off for an epic Rubicon Trail trip and exploring California’s Gold Country. Wendi racked up 1,158 points in this one week of adventuring, pushing her towards the top of the Leaderboard — and she is still in the middle of her Overland Stages, so expect to see her points total rising steadily over the next week as well.
Team 114 Simpson had another solid week, slowly but consistently building up points. Danielle Simpson completed Stage Seven exploring with her son around Escalante Canyon in Colorado where they were able to check off the “Water Crossing” and “Scouting a Route” Activities as well. While out on the trail Danielle managed to pick up a number of photo quest items, including the ever-elusive moose.
With four more weeks to go, there is plenty of time for surprises in the rankings. While it appears that some of these very strong teams have staked out the top of the Leaderboard, we have seen how a couple of teams focused their energy and had huge points gains in a one week timeframe — so we should keep an eye on teams that have just started their Overland Stages and may begin to climb over the second half of the event.