June 13, 2022 – USA: Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally teams were out exploring in Michigan, North Carolina, California, Utah and Arizona during the first week of the event.
Team 104 Swenson took the top spot on the Leaderboard with 393 points after completing their first Overland Stage in California, going from Corralitos to Santa Cruz via the Buzzard Lagoon Road. The stage was intended to be a “Shake Down” for their GX, which hadn’t been offroad for a few months. The vehicle did great, but the brand new tent was a bit of a “fail” — the tent stakes wouldn’t hold in 12 MPH winds (they are getting better stakes before heading out for Stage Two). While they were out on the trail, they did some scouting using the onX Offroad app to find one of the few dirt roads nearby and they were also able to check off over a dozen Quest items, giving them a solid start on their rally.
Team 116 Tembreull finished the week in 2nd place with 334 points by focusing their energy on searching for Quest items around Michigan. Their travels this week took them along the 41-mile Bill Nicholls Trail through the Upper Peninsula’s scenic Copper Country and to the Adventure Mine, a Keweenaw Heritage Site, where copper mining occurred from 1850 to 1920.
Team 121 Hentz earned 3rd place with 295 points combining their first Overland Stage with a Trail Scouting in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest. Their Stage One was a loop beginning and ending in Fountain Hills, and following FR 1562 and other Forest Roads as they explored an area remembered from childhood family hunting trips. They found the area transformed, with different roads and a lot of inconsistencies between what was on the map and what was actually there. But they did manage to find the area where the family used to hunt deer and turkeys and even found an old blind that is still in use. They also checked off a number of Quest items while they were exploring.
Team 132 Kienlen, in 4th place with 230 points, was out on the trails around Moab, Utah, enjoying Fins N Things and exploring the ghost town of Sego and the nearby petroglyphs as part of Stage One this week.
Team 135 Carter began their rally by checking out North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest and exploring around the Blue Ridge Parkway.
These teams have all gotten off to a great start, but it is only Week 1, and many of the competitors are still in the planning phases. We are looking forward to seeing more teams out exploring over the next few weeks.