2022 Smoke ‘n’ Fire 400: Event Recap

Words and photos by Edyn Teitge (@edynteitge)

I’ve only started to get into bikepacking in the last couple of years. This spring, I started to wonder what it would be like to race. So, as any 13-year-old would do, I researched races near my local area. I found the Smoke ‘n’ Fire and jokingly said I was going to do it. But, as the year kept going, I started to do more research, and I sent in my letter of intent to Norb, the race director. I still wasn’t quite sure if I was going to do the race itself, but my dad and I rode the route in the early summer just to see what it was like. I enjoyed the course, and when Norb sent the email for the Trackleaders sign-up, I connected my spot tracking device immediately.

Only a few days from the start, the Ross Fork fire near Alturas Lake had a big flare-up, crossing the original route. I had no idea if I would be able to do the race because of the fire, and when the reroute was posted, I was still concerned about smoke. I was looking at wind maps and trying to predict where the smoke would go, and as far as I could tell it, would not be a problem. The reroute was made as an out-and-back to Redfish Lake, meaning we followed the route backward, then turned around and did the same thing in reverse. The one other problem with the reroute was that we would not be riding through the town of Ketchum, one of the biggest resupply points. This complicated my food packing and made it so I would need to carry all my breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. But, after all the uncertainties, I finally made it to Boise to spend the night and get up early for the race.

At 4 a.m., we started riding. I was near the head of the pack but didn’t know if I could maintain my position. Only a couple of miles in, there was a rattlesnake curled up on the trail, but it was still a cooler temperature and it had no intention of harming us. Around 50 miles in was the town of Placerville, where I’d expected to eat a little food. However, the store opened at 10 a.m. and I didn’t want to wait an hour for that. On my first day, I expected to go around 90 miles, but I was going a lot faster than I’d anticipated and was able to go 121 miles. It rained a little bit the first night, so I camped in an outhouse at the Deer Flat campground. I got about four hours of sleep and woke up at 2:45 a.m., then rode into the morning.

I was able to get to Stanley at 11 a.m., where I took a quick stop at the bakery to get two croissants a scone and a cup of coffee. I saw the women’s leader Lauren at the bakery as well, but she had already turned around and was heading back. After the bakery, I went on the singletrack to Redfish, where I did a pretty quick turnaround. I stopped in Stanley one more time on my way back to get an energy drink, then I kept on riding. As it was getting later, it started to get a little smoky, but I didn’t think much of it. I camped at the same campground the second night, riding a total of 135 miles that day.

I got up at the same time, 2:45 a.m., getting another four hours of sleep, but when I woke up I could feel that it had gotten very smoky overnight. Before the race, I had bought an N95 mask just for that reason. It had been buried in my frame bag until then, so I dug it out and started riding. It started to get light as reached the summit of Scott Mountain, and I could see how bad the air quality was. I hated riding with a mask on and wanted to give up in Garden Valley, but I told myself that I would be at the end soon. So, I kept on riding and got an energy drink and ate lunch in Placerville. After food and a drink, I was feeling great and was able to get from Placerville to Bogus Basin in just a few hours.

After taking a little trail magic at the top of Bogus, I started my descent into Boise and was able to get to the city around 7:30 p.m. I finished the race in sixth place with a time of 2 days, 15 hours, and 31 minutes, one day ahead of my schedule. I was only about eight hours behind the winner, Jay Petervery, and three hours behind the second-place finisher, who was also the first female, Lauren Brownlee. I want to continue to do endurance races like this one and hope to continue to meet such kind and encouraging people.

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