Nomad Overland Rally 2023

Nomad Overland Rally Highlights: Week Two

June 16, 2023 – USA: As Week two of the Nomad Overland Rally came to a close, some Teams had already completed several Overland Stages. Others got started on optional Bonus Missions that will give them the possibility of earning up to an additional 250 points.  The Nomad Teams were busy exploring in California, Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Washington, Utah, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and Minnesota during the second week of the event.

Team 102 Thomas got a huge start racking up 1,071 points over the first two weeks of the event. Faith Thomas completed a whopping eight Overland Stages by the end of Week Two, exploring around Wyoming and Nebraska, before returning to Virgina.  An accomplished wildlife photographer, Thomas added to her lead by capturing several of the “big” animals from the PhotoQuest that are typically hard to get while on Stages that traversed Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Thomas was a bit surprised by the fact that though the NPS warns visitors to keep a distance from the wildlife, apparently no one told the Bison who were wandering around between people’s campsites —  great photos, though! Thomas continued chipping away at the PhotoQuest list once back on the east coast, where she was the first to find the elusive “alligator” while exploring the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.

Team 131 Bower also jumped towards the top of the Leaderboard with 735 points after completing three Overland Stages and a number of Backcountry Activities in California and Utah this week. Charlene Bower started the week off with the Bronco Bash in Big Bear, where she was joined out on the trails by Team 107 Groth and the TreadLightly! Bronco.  Bower got to “guest-drive” the Bronco, with Cindy Groth as her co-driver, while leading trails for the event. Then Bower continued on to Moab where she picked up additional points for Backcountry Activities and focused on capturing PhotoQuests while out enjoying the iconic red rock landscapes.

Team 117 Lucas held on to 3rd place with 652 points by completing their Bonus Mission this week. Lisa and Jeff Lucas were joined by Team 103 Chasse  for Bonus Mission #39, and they were the first teams to complete a Bonus Mission. Despite the blazing heat of the Sonoran desert in summer, they took on the challenge and set out to accomplish as many of the objectives as they could in the remote area of the Kofa National Wildife Refuge in southwestern Arizona. They located the required waypoint and captured points for optional waypoints and activities, while discovering some cool things out in the very hot desert. Did you know that seeds from the Palo Verde pods were edible? Jessica Chasse did, and she shared that information with Team 117 Lucas, as both teams also picked up points for the Gathering Activity.

Team 105 Storey knocked out her first Stage and checked off a lot of PhotoQuest items out on the trail in Northern California. Angela Story used it as an opportunity to scout a few new locations, and check on how others had fared over the winter. She picked up the old Caldor Road but after only 1/4 of a mile found that it had been eroded away by the storms. As she explored other areas Storey discovered many downed trees blocking trails and was herself blocked at one point by high snow that had yet to melt. Still, she managed to capture a number of PhotoQuest items as she scouted and she found beauty in the fire burn area (as well as a few new camp spots). 

Team 128 Dolbow got a solid start on the Overland Stages and PhotoQuest while exploring a 60-mile loop in the Texas backcountry. Sheila Dolbow also checked out two nearby state parks and a historical cemetery in search of PhotoQuest items. One highlight of her Week Two, was at the state park where she had heard that there were red headed woodpeckers — she had only ever barely caught a glimpse of one before, but was able to catch one in a photograph during this outing, earning PhotoQuest points for the “red bird” in the process.

By the end of the week more teams had set out to work on their Stages and a few were planning the details of their Bonus Missions. Some Nomad Teams were in the middle of long multi-day Overland Stages in Washington, California, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. And most all the teams had begun submitting points across the four pillars of the rally: Overland Stages, Activity Tasks, PhotoQuests and Weekly Challenges.

The competition will heat up as more teams submit their proofs, and as we’ve already seen just in these two weeks, it is possible for a team to really jump in rank after completing a block of Stages. We are excited to see where everyone is out exploring over the next few weeks.

More News

Check out these updates, or go to the main news page for more articles and information about what is happening around the 2023 edition of the Nomad Overland Virtual Adventure Rally.

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