A little more than a month ago, there was a bear attack on Chilhowee Mountain that ended in tragedy with two injured and one fatality. Since that time, much of Chilhowee Mountain and Chilhowee Recreation Area have been closed. My source at the Forest Service aren’t sure when it’s going to reopen either. This weekend, Memorial Day weekend, is often one of the most visited weekends for the Forest Service. Many people would love for it to be open this weekend, but it looks like that isn’t going to happen since no word of its opening has occurred.

What does this have to do with adventure racing? The Adventure24 is June 10-11, 2006 and as of this moment a good portion of the Southern District of Cherokee National Forest is still closed. I’ve been in contact with the Forest Service and I’ve come up with some alternate routes to various sections should any area not be open. This is just another example of how unique adventure racing really is. I can’t recall many sporting events that had to have contingency plans for bears. I sure haven’t heard that about triathlons!