FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — For the son of a Brewer woman, the competition was a strenuous test of endurance, teamwork and skill that took him, and 215 other men and women representing all military services and the U.S. Coast Guard, through more than 50 miles of rugged West Virginia mountains and white-water rapids.
Navy Cmdr. Todd A. Gagnon, son of Joyce Kinney, of North Main Street, Brewer, was one of those service members who traveled to this remote resort area to test his skills in a five-event outdoor competition called “Wilderness Challenge.”
Over a two-day period, competitors mountain-biked over a 13-mile uphill course, paddled seven miles in a two-person combination kayak, canoe and raft called a “duckie,” ran an 8-kilometer mountain trail, hiked 15 miles and raced white-water rafts over 10 miles of rapids.
Gagnon was part of a Navy team from Tampa, Fla., one of 54 teams to compete in this year’s challenge.
“This is my fourth year competing in the Wilderness Challenge,” said Gagnon, an information warfare officer with the U.S. Special Operations Command headquarters at Macdill Air Force Base. “I love the challenge.”
Wilderness Challenge represents mostly physical challenges but forces teams to work together. Each team was required to pass certain checkpoints together, some tying themselves together with bungee cords, and others circling back to the slowest person to make sure they finished together.
The competition is coordinated by the Navy Mid-Atlantic Region, Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. It’s in its ninth year and is a little different each year. However, while the distances and routes change, core events have remained in place, giving teams an idea of training. Some trained together before arriving and others chose their own training regimens.
“I ran a lot to train for the Wilderness Challenge,” said Gagnon.
Fighting cold, wet elements, uphill runs, walks and bicycling, and racing river currents, the competitors and teams highlighted their strong points and shored up their weaknesses to become competitive during the race.
“I ran into problems with the ‘duckie’ event,” said Gagnon, who enlisted in the Navy in 1986 and received his commission in 1993. “There’s a skill requirement there that I just don’t have yet.”
Gagnon and the other competitors in Wilderness Challenge received a special event coin commemorating the competition and walked away with the knowledge they put their endurance and willpower to the test.