It was a dark and stormy night.

Those who were there won't forget it anytime soon! Heart of Darkness 2002 was going to be a rally that Mother Nature was going to predict! 22 brave souls braved the elements of this all-night TSD event starting in Hope, moving up to Princeton, proceeding through Coalmont and Tulameen. Afterwards, moving to Peachland, Summerland and back to Princeton for a trip home.

 Mother Nature first starting dabbling with the weather right from the word go. The first transit to Princeton saw torrential rain and high winds turning 4 lane highways into 2 lane creeks. After getting to Princeton and out of the rain for the first fuel top ups, it was off to Tulameen for the first stage. A car blocking the road greeted CP crews. As it was, there were 2 washouts on the first stage effectively canceling the first regularity. After re-grouping in Princeton, the competitors were off to Bates Road for the second regularity, which was wet but clear conditions. After the second regularity it was off the third regularity, which also quite high and saw some snow. The normally muddy conditions of the Peachland forestry road were further augmented by the wet weather making the entire stage very slippery and challenging for all the drivers. Slippery enough that the CP crew of Shelley Donaldson and Mike Wiebe required a tow out of a muddy corner. 

After proceeding to Summerland for the 2^nd fuel stop, it was off to the Princeton-Summerland road for the trip home. After a reasonably uneventful stage, and a clear sunny sunrise coming up, it was back to Hope for scoring and breakfast. Alas, Mother Nature still had one more surprise for us! The torrential downpour we had left in Manning Park on the upward transit had turned to snow before stopping! The transit home had become a driving event in itself! As some competitors remarked, it wasn't very often the transit was as exiting as the regularities!

We would like to thank all the check pointers who took the time to come out and help us with this very difficult event! Without them, there is no event! If you see a check pointer, show you gratitude and thank them and maybe shake their hand, they are as vital to the event as the route book. We would also like to thank Rolly's family restaurant for hosting us, Yokohama tires, Driver's Edge, Specialty Subaru, Polaris water and Western Driver for their contributions to us and the sport of rally in B.C. Keep an eye out for the Merritt Rally Challenge coming up on April 26, 2002. For more information on Rally, please see www.Rallybc.com for upcoming events!