2020 Catamount Adventure Summary and Photos

This was the first year of this event, a bite-sized approach to bringing outdoor adventure to families and friends that would let them participate in whatever way they preferred, on their own schedule. With not even two weeks notice, we had more than twenty teams of all ages and abilities signed up and ready to have an adventure.

It turns out fall in Vermont is every bit as beautiful as we remember; it was wonderful to explore the trails (and off-trails!) in the Catamount Community Forest. You can see the photos teams shared, as well as their result sheets, in the photo gallery.

Teams received their instructions and two maps before the nine-day drop-in-whenever-you-like window began. The maps included the Catamount trail network and a topo map with the checkpoints. There were ten on-trail points to get via bike and then ten off-trail to get via foot. The first challenge was determining where on the trail network the checkpoints actually were!

It was fun to see the varied approaches, ranging from teams dropping by on multiple days to grab a few more points each time, to experienced teams pushing to do everything as quickly as they could. Some people combined the bike and trek together. For one team the biking leg consisted of pushing a jogging stroller. Some teams went on truly gorgeous days and others braved the rain.

We’re glad you all made the event your own!

With people participating separately, there was no way for them to know how well they did compared to the others. The teams pushing for the top time had no idea if someone was figuratively hot on their heels. It turned out that the top two teams finished within forty-one seconds of each other!

Team Sterling Facts finished in 1:59:25 and team If Found, Saran Wrap to Tree finished in 2:00:06. The latter team has already informed their father that he cost them the win when he made them stop for a photo as they crossed paths in the woods. Excuses, excuses…

Congratulations to everyone that participated. Who knows, this may just be your first step to a bigger adventure. If so, GMARA is here to help with that!