THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 17, 1997 TAG: 9702150060
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: 78 lines
SO, JOHN AND JULIA BARKLOW of Ocean View in Norfolk didn't conquer the wilderness of British Columbia in the Discovery Channel Eco-Challenge. Let's give them an ``A'' for effort and a great big round of applause for running, hiking, biking, canoeing, white-water rafting and climbing over a rugged 300-mile course.
Ooops. I forgot horseback riding.
To win the Eco-Challenge, you must ride horseback for 22 miles - two team members on horses, three others running alongside. And you go mountain biking for 45 miles up steep climbs. And you do 50 miles of canoeing in strong currents.
And there's a little exercise called the mountaineering and glacier trek over ice fields with deep crevasses. A storm trapped 16 teams on the ice for 30 hours until helicopters rescued them.
That's where it all ended for the Norfolk couple - on the face of a glacier thousands of feet above sea level about halfway through the Eco-Challenge. It took a year of training for them to get that far.
Tonight at 10, the Eco-Challenge unfolds on Discovery. It will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday night at the same hour.
``We underestimated what it would take, physically,'' said Julia Barklow, 42. Her husband is a Navy petty officer, a boatswain mate and a diver. They competed in a five-person team along with William Davis, who lived in Virginia Beach last summer when the Eco-Challenge was mounted.
Other locals did better.
A team of Navy adventurers consisting of Arthur Toehlke, Joseph Burns, Jody McIntyre, John Hoffman and Pamela Kunze started and finished - only one of 14 teams to survive the challenge. Anchors aweigh!
``It was the experience of a lifetime. I'd do it again,'' said Julia Barklow the other day in Norfolk, many miles and many days removed from the glacier-covered mountains, dense forests, alpine meadows, frigid lakes, white-water rapids and steep volcanic peaks of British Columbia.
It's a competition they call fire and ice - bushwhacking in the heat of the Canadian summer early in the race, then trekking across glacier rock in freezing temperatures, then negotiating rapids fed by glacier melt. Is it any wonder that 11 teams were out of competition after the third day? Twenty-four after the fourth day?
The Eco-Challenge is a TV special featuring about 70 teams from around the world competing in adventuresome sports while keeping the environment tidy. The teams race across a broad sweep of wilderness using only a map, compass and their wits.
``It's about the human adventure,'' said Mark Burnett, a former paratrooper who brought the Eco-Challenge idea to the Discovery Channel. ``This is about health and fitness, ecology and the search for unconventional experiences all rolled into one.''
Call it adventure racing.
This year, teams will compete in the Australian outback.
If the Barklows of Norfolk participate in 1997, they'll be better prepared.
``We learned it's not necessary to carry water because water is abundant. Water is heavy,'' said Julia Barklow. ``We also learned the value of bringing ultra-light gear. Some teams carried axes that weighed less than an empty soda can. We learned quickly that this is not simple back-packing. British Columbia is awesome.''
Before the teams begin, they are warned of these dangers: Cuts and bruises, dehydration, blisters, hypothermia, intestinal disorders, loss of sleep, even hallucinations. Discovery reports that competitors as old as 74 took part.
The most serious injury was a broken ankle. There were many bruised egos. On the Discovery Channel, you'll hear a team member from Illinois admit she was humbled by nature.
All but 14 teams in the Discovery Channel Eco-Challenge could say the same. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Discovery Channel
"Eco-Challenge" airs tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 on
Discovery.
Photo by MICHAEL MEDFORD/DISCOVERY
A team begins the 3,500-foot ascent to Lone Goat Peak in British
Colombia in the ``Discovery Channel Eco-Challenge'' series.