The trip to Laguna Hanson was an adventure in itself. The instructions seemed simple, drive to Ensenada, take Highway 3, at Ojos Negros take the dirt road to Laguna Hanson. Well Highway 3 wasn’t easy to find, it took 3 stops in Ensenada, including 1 at a delicious taco shop, to get correct directions. The turnoff to Ojos Negros ended up being 10 miles earlier than the exit we should have taken, so after several miles of offroading and 2 stops by some farms we finally found the right road to Laguna Hanson. At the lake, the wrong choice in a fork in the road took us to a ranch, where we found out we had passed our cabins 4 miles back. We finally got there and felt exhausted from the trip.

My husband Jake and I had planned on racing together as 2 solos. However, right before the race we decided to pick up Juan from the “Cinco Marias” so we could compete as a Coed Team, the most respected category in ARs. Juan had finished less than 1 minute behind us at Baja Seasons, so we figured to have a fast team, maybe top 3 overall.

The first part of the race was biking. It was decided that teams would leave at 1 minute intervals to spread everyone out. We were the 3^rd team to start and put in a strong pace. The trail was a fun mostly single track but also sandy trail. The my chain broke. But wait, it was more, the derailer broke too! The guys quickly grabbed the bike to see if it could be fixed. 15 minutes later they gave up, my race was over. It was my first DNF in ARs. I sent the guys off to finish the race, and walked back to the start line.

Back at the start, I was offered a ride out to the trekking and rappel section by one of the race organizers. At the TA I was told my team had passed through a long time ago. I decided to trek out to the rappel, enjoy the ropes course, and trek back alone anyways. It was a little scary especially after being told that a puma had been spotted earlier. But there were other teams coming through, so off I went. In less than an hour of trekking along dry creek beds, bouldering, and a rock scramble to the rappel peak I was there. I was very surprised to hear that my team had not yet come through. I waited around for a while, then decide to get going before I got cold, and in case I got lost. The rappel was about a 100’ drop into a beautiful canyon. Once at the bottom, I set off through another canyon and boulder field towards the TA. At the TA I got a ride back to the finish. I was a little worried about the guys since they usually don’t get lost and they hadn’t been seen anywhere for a while.

Back at the finish I relaxed, and some food and drinks, and socialized with other racers. My team finally came in after dark, one of the last teams to finish. Juan and his friends cooked up a great carne asada taco feast. We hung out with them until after the awards ceremony when they had to leave. We stayed the night and left first thing in the morning, a much easier drive back now that we knew the way. It was a fun weekend even though I didn’t get to finish the whole race. The Baja Xtreme series is a great introduction to beginners since it is a shorter mostly marked course, but it is also a lot of fun for veteran racers since it is always in remote locations. The race organizers and their staff always do a great job setting up the race and are very friendly to all of us. I am looking forward to next year’s series.