World Rogaining Championship Coming To South Dakota, Now Open To All Entrants

This summer, the Black Hills of South Dakota will play host to the 2014 World Rogaining Championship. During that event, the best navigators in the world will descend on what promises to be a tough, but beautiful and fun, course. The Black Hills will make for a stunning backdrop, for this event, which promises to test the skills of even the best rogainers on the planet.

The World Championships will take place on August 16-17 of this year, and will feature a 24-hour long, cross country navigation race, during which competitors will be charged with finding their way through a designated course, using nothing but a compass and map. Along the way, they'll earn points by locating checkpoints, which will be designated by orienteering flags. The object is to find as many of those checkpoints as possible in the allotted time allowed.

So far, there have been more than 400 competitors, from 23 different countries, who have signed up to compete in the event. Registration is still open, and the requirement for having past experience in a 24-hour regaining event has now been waived, opening up the competition to anyone who has the desire to join in on the fun.

Having spent some time in the region where this event will be held, I can promise you that this will be a fantastic event. I was part of the team that organized Primal Quest Badlands back in 2009, and some of that course is being incorporated here. It will be a fantastic setting – one that will probably catch some of the competitors by surprise by it's remote and wild nature. Additionally, our PQ course designer, Rick Emerson, is also organizing the 2014 Rogaining World Championship, and I know he'll deliver a fantastic event. The course will no doubt be tough, but fair, and will provide some unique challenges.

If you think you've got good compass skills, and are looking for a challenge this summer, then check out this event. It is essentially an adventure race on foot, with the toughest element – navigation – brought to the forefront. I think its going to be a really great competition, and I know the folks in South Dakota will welcome the competitors warmly.

Find out more by clicking here.

Video: New Navigational System Ensures You're Never Lost Again

If you're looking for a good chuckle today, you'll definitely want to check out this video. It is in French but the English subtitles still hammer home the point. It introduces a new navigational system that has more features and functionality than any GPS on the market. It is so unbelievable that you'll probably want one for yourself. What is this new high-tech device called? A map!

Adventure Tech: New Options For Hammerhead Bike Navigator

Remember the Hammerhead bike navigation system that I wrote about last week? It's the handlebar-mounted electronic device that when paired with your smartphone via Bluetooth will give visual clues on how to navigate through a route by using integrated LED lights. The system can also be used a rechargeable headlight and it uses route sharing to create a social element to your rides as well. It is certainly a unique and interesting product that has potential, particularly with commuter cyclists.

The Hammerhead Kickstarter campaign is now a couple of weeks from wrapping up and in an effort to jumpstart the fundraising options the designers of the device are now offering some new incentives to draw in potential customers. First, they're offering an "early bird" special for the first 500 people who contribute to the campaign that will allow them to purchase the Hammerhead for $68. Considering the navigator is expected to retail for $100 when it hits production that is a substantial savings for those who want to back the device now.

The other, perhaps more intriguing incentive, is a new limited edition version of the Hammerhead that will be available in translucent slate gray. Only 500 of this model will be available as well and they will come with their own unique serial numbers and will be engraved with the cyclists personal information such as name, address, emergency contact number and so on. The limited edition model is available from the Kickstarter page as well for a price of $78.

The designers of the Hammerhead are looking to raise $145,000 to get their device into production. Right now, with 16 days to go, they're sitting at about $48,000 in funding. If you're interested in this navigation system at all, this is a good opportunity for you to pre-order one before they are built and get it a substantial discount. The limited edition version with the engraving would make a great gift for your favorite cyclist by the way, giving them a cool, high tech navigation tool while showing you care about their safety at the same time.

In case you missed last week's post, here is a video of the Hammerhead in action. It helps explain what it does much better than I can.

Expedition Africa Adventure Race Begins Monday!

On Monday, Expedition Africa – a 500 km (310 mile) long adventure race – will get underway in the Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa. The race will pit coed teams of four against one another in a non-stop, multi-sport AR event that is expected to take a minimum of three days to complete. As usual, the athletes will need to run, mountain bike, paddle and navigate their way through some remote and beautiful locations on their way to the finish line. The race is scheduled to run through May 12.

Fans of adventure racing will be able to follow the event live on the official website once the race commences on Monday. The race organizers will also be posting regular updates to their Facebook page as well. But if you want to read the best coverage available, it is likely to be found on the adventure racing site AR.co.za. The site belongs to my friend Lisa de Speville, who has a long track record of covering expedition length races. She'll be on site in the Drakensbergs next week to cover the race and will post reports to her webpage regularly. Lisa's race reports are always thorough, interesting and insightful, and as a fan of the sport, I'm already looking forward to what she has to say.

For those of you who are new to adventure racing or to Expedition Africa, Lisa has set up a page to describe the basics of the event which you can read here. She has also compiled a list of good online resources for keeping current with what is happening while the race is underway, which you'll find here.

Expedition Africa also happens to be part of the Adventure Racing World Series, which means that the 31 teams competing there will be looking to earn a qualifying spot at the AR World Championships to be held in Costa Rica later this year. It is the only adventure race held on the African continent to hold that distinction.

Good luck to all of the racers. Have fun and watch out for the sleep monsters!

Voyage To Rapanui: Sailing The Pacific Without The Help Of Modern Technology

There is absolutely no denying that technology has had a dramatic impact on our way of life, both for good and for ill. Thanks to our ever-growing reliance on gadgets, we now lead lives that keep us constantly connected to friends, family, work and the world at large. Those gadgets have brought a lot of convenience to our everyday lives, but they have also made things so easy that we sometimes forget what life was like without them. That's why this next story is such a compelling one.

Later this week a crew of 24 Māori sailors from New Zealand will set out on a grand adventure. The group will depart from their homeland and attempt to sail 10,000 nautical miles (18,520 km) to Easter Island, one of the most remote places on the planet. That in and of itself has the potential to be a grand adventure, but these men will make that journey without the use of a GPS or any kind of navigational maps or charts. They don't even intend to bring a compass, something unheard of in the days of modern ocean exploration.

For centuries the Polynesian people sailed the South Pacific without those conveniences however and this group will rely on the ancient methods of their forefathers to reach their destination. According to the expedition website, the team will instead use their knowledge of the movement of the stars, the sun and moon and ocean currents to help them locate Easter Island, a tiny speck of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Navigating through traditional means isn't enough of a challenge for these two-dozen individuals however as they'll also be making the journey aboard two double-hulled sailing canoes that are not unlike what their ancestors would have used to explore the islands of the South Pacific. According to the expedition website, there is no record of a voyage like this one ever being undertaken and its success could shed new light on how the Polynesian people spread out across the ocean.

You can follow the expedition through both Twitter and Facebook, as well as Google+. It looks like they are in the final stages of preparation now and should be leaving sometime on Friday.

Thanks to CuChullaine of the Long Riders Guild for sharing this story with me. Simply amazing!

3rd Annual Dakota Rogaining Championship Coming August 18-19

Looking to sharpen your navigational skills? Want to participate in a very cool competition this summer? Then consider adding the 3rd Annual Dakota Rogaining Championship to your list of activities. The event is scheduled to take place on August 18-19 in the amazing Black Hills National Forest and Custer State Park in South Dakota and is guaranteed to be a great time for all who participate.

The event is being organized by my friend Rick Emerson, who designed the awesome course for Primal Quest Badlands a few years back. Rick knows the Badlands better than anyone and I have no doubt that his course for this event will be no less challenging and spectacular. It will feature 50 navigational checkpoints do discover, spread out over new terrain and with revised maps. Additionally, the competition will feature electronic controls this year which will more closely track the teams as they make their way across the course.

For those who aren't familiar with rogaining, or orienteering as it is sometimes called, the competitions involve teams of between two and five members who use maps and compasses to locate as many checkpoints on a course over a given amount of time. In the case of the Dakota Rogaining Championship there is a 24-hour competition, a 12-in-24 hour intermediate race, and a 6-hour short course for those who are looking to try the sport for the first time. Think of it as a bit like adventure racing stripped down to just the trekking and navigational activities, which are often some of the hardest elements of the race.

This event will be perfect for adventure racing teams who are looking to learn how to navigate more efficiently in future events. It allows athletes to concentrate simply on honing their navigational skills without worrying about some of the other demands that come along with an adventure race. But make no mistake, rogaining competitions are tough and demanding as well, and there will no doubt be some excellent teams in taking part in this event.

The field this year is being limited to just 40 teams, so if you're interested in joining in on the fun, you'll want to register soon. For  more information about the competition and to learn more about the fantastic setting in which it will take place, visit PeakAssurance.net.

And for those who are already fans of orienteering competitions, this will be your chance to scope out the territory in which the 2014 World Rogaining Championships will be held. That event will take place in August of that year as well and plans are already in motion to prepare an even more challenging and beautiful course for the international competitors who will descend on South Dakota for that competition.