WILDWOOD, MO — A sell-out field of 80 teams gathered in Wildwood, Missouri for the 12th Annual Osprey Packs Castlewood Adventure Race on Saturday, December 2, 2017. The course was revealed on Friday night and many teams were excited to see the race returning to its namesake, Castlewood State Park, for paddling and mountain biking. The starting line was at Ridge Meadows Elementary School, perfectly perched on the north end of the rapidly expanding Rock Hollow/Zombie trail system. After staging their bikes at Castlewood State Park, teams gathered at Ridge Meadows School for a pre-race meeting and socializing before the start at 8:00 AM. Teams began their day of adventure with a 6 mile trek on foot through the Rock Hollow/Zombie, Bluff View, and Al Foster trail systems in Wildwood. They arrived at the Al Foster River Access to the sight of 125 Bass’ River Resort canoes, and started paddling downstream on the Meramec River. After approximately 6.5 miles of paddling, teams arrived at Castlewood State Park, collected their bikes, and rode the signature trails of Grotpeter and Roller Coaster. Then they had to climb two significant hills on St. Paul Road before descending down to Sherman Beach. At Sherman Beach, teams had to pass a gear check, and were then given a bonus map of 4 additional biking checkpoints. Teams flew through the Stinging Nettle trail system on their bikes, collecting the bonus checkpoints and then setting their sights back to the Rock Hollow/Zombie trail system and the finish line. After riding the western side of Rock Hollow/Zombie, teams climbed the final, brutal hill of the course to arrive back at Ridge Meadows School for the finish.
The event was supported by Osprey Packs, SmartWool, The North Face, and Missouri-based Kuat Racks, Optimal Performance Center, Extreme Electrical Contractors, and Bass River Resorts. Thanks to the City of Wildwood, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Missouri State Highway & Water Patrol, and Rockwood School District for granting event permits. Thanks to Team River Runner – STL for providing safety boaters.
RESULTS & SPLITS
PHOTOS
Janice Slover – Meramec River
Bill Langton – Rock Hollow/Zombie
Alex Kuntzman – Finish Line & Awards
Brad Kuntzman – Trek and Paddle
David Frei – various Transition Areas
Randy Norris – Start and TA 1
Team BOR – Race Album
SPECIAL FEATURES
RACE REPORTS – send them in to ekorsch@alpineshop.com!
MAPS
Clue Sheet (with corrected UTMs)
Map 1 (Course Overview 1:15,000 USGS printed by MyTopo)
Map 2 (Course Detail 1:10,000 USGS)
Map 3 (Bonus Map Course Detail 1:10,000 USGS)
WANT MORE?
Check out the USARA‘s list of regional races for 2018! Don’t be scared by the category of “regional qualifier”…these are races that host teams of all abilities just like the Osprey Packs Castlewood AR. A lot of them are in really cool locations, and you get to explore off the beaten tourist path. If you have any questions about particular races, please get in touch with Emily or Erl (Race Directors) since we’ve done most of these events and can help you pick one or three 🙂