Nomad Overland Rally 2024

Nomad Overland Rally Highlights: Week Eight

July 28, 2024 – USA: As Week 8 of the Nomad Overland Rally came to a close, the competition was really heating up. Six teams passed the 4,000 point-level,  and the gaps have really narrowed. Only 22 points separate the first- and third-place teams! 

Team 117 Lucas reclaimed the First Place slot with 4,925 points. Lisa and Jeff Lucas contined to strategically go after every point, focusing on some of the more challenging Navigation tasks this week. 

The harder map and compass activities have intimidated Lisa in previous years, and she had skipped them, but this year she and Jeff are playing for the win, so she got her maps and compass and set out to conquer those points. The Advanced Map and Compass task requires teams to mark three points on the map and then “find” them on the trail by using compass headings in reference to terrain features on the map. 

Lisa’s first location was easy enough, but her attempt to find the second location morphed into a learning moment. “When we arrived, we couldn’t see the feature I had chosen to sight to. I selected the highest point in the area but did not realize the road itself was much lower than everything else around it so we couldn’t see over the smaller hills right next to the road to see the larger hill,” she explained. 

After choosing a new location, and a terrain feature closer to the road, that she felt sure she would be able to see, she tried again and completed the entire exercise, gaining some new found confidence in her skills in addition to the points for the activity.

Team 101 Mercer moved into Second Place with 4,905 point this week after completing the Falken Tire Precision Challenge as well as some training and sponsored events.  Tonya and Chris Mercer had a very busy week,  starting with a “Stop the Bleed” training where they learned how to pack a wound and put on a tourniquet.

The Mercers also took some time to check off some of the map and compass navigation activities before heading to Thermopolis, Wyoming for the 4th Annual Wagonhound Offroad Park Trail Event. They decided to take their buggy to play on the rocks there, and used it for the Falken Tire Precision Challenge as well.

Both Tonya and Chris took a turn at driving the Challenge course.  “Even though the buggy is right hand drive, we still did the standard tire placement. We walked and reset the course 3 times, then someone in the area ran over my cone 2 before we got to drive it,” explained Tonya.

The crushed cone was still usable, and they completed the Challenge with full points.

And one final “victory”for the Mercers this week — the beaver in their local pond came out of hiding and Tonya was able to get a photo of the elusive critter (one of the hardest of the PhotoQuest wildlife to capture).

Team 121 Rojas (aka DOGRNR) dropped back into Third Place with 4,903 points, but had a very strong week that included participation in a pilot Trail TREAD training program with Barlow Adventures. Dulcy Rojas joined a select group chosen by Barlow Adventures to take part in this free full-day class that combined training in TreadLightly principles with on-trail driving instruction.  “This was a great class, really glad that it was in person and a very mixed group of vehicles and skill levels,” said Dulcy.

The group met up at the Cinders OHV area near Flagstaff, and got started with a review of some of the gear that drivers should have when traveling responsibly out in the backcountry. Dulcy made note to start carrying an orange tarp that you can put over the hood or on the roof if you require assistance and Search and Rescue may be looking from the air. Then the group got started with some of the on-trail segments of the training with I4WDTA Master Trainer Nena Barlow.

“My “Uh Oh moment” was when Nena had me purposely get my 4Runner stuck so we could figure out various ways to get it unstuck without damaging the trail too much — using features the vehicle has and thinking a bit before panicking and reacting badly,” explained Dulcy.

The training day culminated with some fun driving through the hauntingly beautiful landscape of volcanic ash that gives Cinders it’s name.

Team 124 E. Stevens completed the Falken Tire Precision Challenge this week and continued exploring around Virginia. Erica Stevens was out on the trails looking for wildlife and finding quite a lot of PhotoQuests while she explored. Not only did she find some of the wild horses out on the Atlantic coast’s barrier islands, but she was able to observe and photograph them in stunning action.

Team 125 Schleppi continued exploring around Arizona and also participated in the Trail TREAD training this week. Ann Schleppi has been steadily building up points each week, sometimes working with Nomad Team 106 DiCaprio, and other times on her own. This week Ann and Wendy DiCaprio joined the Barlow training group at the Cinders and learned a lot. “It was great the way the trainers integrated Tread Lightly principles with offroad driving techniques for maneuvering in sand/ash. We are better prepared to be ambassadors for the Tread Lightly principles when we encounter others on the trails,” she explained.

With only two weeks left to the competition, the Teams near the top of the Leaderboard were running out of available points to capture. And some Teams who were still finishing up their Overland Stages could shoot up in the Rankings significantly, so the contest remains wide open. Nomad Teams were out exploring  in California, Oregon, Minnesota, Idaho, North Carolina, Virginia, Arizona, Texas and Arkansas this week.

The Week 8 Challenge, “Plotting with Headings,” proved “challenging” for the teams, and only a few of them had attempted it by week’s end. They still have one more week to complete it. Meanwhile Challenge #9 was released and it’s a fun one — “Wildlife Observation.”

Check out the Leaderboard to see where all the Teams ranked at the end of Week 8.

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