Rebelle Rally Field Update: Day 2

The Competition Heats Up
October 15, 2017

Sunday marked Day 2 of Rebelle Rally competition, with teams embarking out to the playa - this isn’t Burning Man though. The women of the Rebelle crossed Kibby Dry Lake, one of the numerous dry lake beds that endure as remnants of the Great Basin that once spanned across Nevada all the way to the Great Salt Lake. The course required teams to travel in a large figure eight; stopping to mark checkpoints along the way that they had plotted with their maps and compasses. Not every team did the two loops in the same order, which minimizes the ability to play follow the leader in the rally.

Contrasting with the wide-open playa were several mountain passes and rocky, technical terrain that challenged both competitors and their vehicles. Patience was rewarded in these sections and Team Hoehn Adventures (#109) capitalized with the highest score of the day, earning 168 out of 175 possible points. “Everything was just clicking for Susie and I,” Jo Hannah Hoehn commented at the end of the day. This moved the team up in the standings, however Team Four Corners (#129) and Team Blondetourage (#125) remain tied for first in the overall standings. Team Clearwater Designs (#115) moved up to third place overall, with Canadians Michelle Laframboise and Elise Racette now leading the five teams vying for the International Cup.

Day 2 ramped up the navigation and driving challenges, giving competitors 12 hours to complete the 16 checkpoints (CPs) scattered throughout the Monte Cristo Mountains. The first teams were back to Base Camp in as little as 9 hours, however Team Rebelle Angels (#155) used up their entire allotted time in an effort to reach as many CPs as possible. Melanie Baudin is new to navigation, but

Syndiely Wade is an experienced rally veteran. The two women methodically picked off checkpoints throughout the day and were rewarded with a bump up to fourth place in the overall standings. In the Crossover class, Meli Barrett and Sabrina Howells (#204) maintained their lead over Team Hoehn Adventures teammates, Jaimy Grigsby and Lori Arterburn (#203).

Omada Adventures (#116) will be first off the line on Monday as the course winds south through Silver Peak and Goldfield, Nevada before crossing into California, where the first dune section of the course awaits. Day 3 will also mark the first half of a marathon stage, where the women will be camping on their own without the luxuries of Base Camp. The night will be spent in camaraderie over Mountain House dinners and Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) under the stars before departing deeper into the dunes. Competition will resume at 7 AM, with live tracking at rebellerally.com/live-tracking.

Daily Tech Tip- Is The Rebelle Rally A Race?
The Rebelle Rally is NOT a race, it is a competition. It differs from a traditional race where speed is a priority to finish as quickly as possible. By contrast, the Rebelle Rally is about precision, not speed. Precise navigation and precise driving. There is no GPS, no pre-running, and you don’t need a highly modified vehicle to be successful at the Rebelle Rally. “My vision was to create an event that rewards intelligence, proper planning, and attention to detail,” Rebelle founder Emily Miller explained. Over seven days, teams comprised of two women (one driver, one navigator) use maps and compasses and roadbooks to navigate to multiple checkpoints (CPs) in a prescribed amount of time. Some CPs are visibly marked by a flag and course worker (Green CPs), while others are marked by a small flag or PVC pipe (Blue CPs). Black CPs offer the greatest challenge, with no visible reference on the ground. Teams check in at each CP with their tracker, and the closer they

are to the exact Black CP location the more points they receive.