1. | +01:00 | (Skip) Turned the map over and could not find the first control. Ted raced off down the road and the pack (and I) followed. Found (1) on the map. Long run thru green and then long run to (2). Looked like a good one to skip. Slowed down and Tom Strat and I discussed skipping. Could not see anything else which looked nearly as good. (I realized later that I had forgotten to turn the map over and check the 2nd half of the course.) Tom and I turned SW at parking. Others went on. | |||||
2. | Thru the clearing and downhill along side of reentrant to stream. Crossed without getting feet wet. Trail by stream. Once we got clear of the cliffs it was very nice. Randy Hall caught up with us, having gone a little farther toward (1) before deciding to skip. | ||||||
3. | N on road to around bend then cut into the woods and skirted the left edge of the green. (except Tom who cut it to close and got stuck a bit. Over the spur and in. I got there first, Randy right behind and Tom in sight. | ||||||
4. | +00:30 | (Left) I had seen this was a fork and made sure Randy knew. He chose R to save 2 contours, I went L because I liked the approach to 5 better. Tom went my way. Randy won but probably because I ran right by the control. It was the first of many faded orange-brown leaf colored bags. Tom caught up. | |||||
5. | Over spur staying to right of green stuff. Hit 2nd trail higher than expected but Tom was there to immediately turn downhill. Cut in at stream. No Randy in sight. | ||||||
6. | Straight, only we dropped a little low and had to curve in. Saw Randy running away. | ||||||
7. | Back SW to trail. Crossed stream to try and cut off the corner but hit some vegetation and just paralleled stream. Tom initially went down E side of stream. Together up the trail. Two people pass us going the other way taking the same route Tom and I used to (5). Across road, on indistinct trail then in on a bearing. | ||||||
8. | Straight line up to cabins, then trails around the reentrant stuff. Randy must have taken the lower trail the whole way because as we ran down the spur to get back to the lower trail he appeared right behind us as we reached the small stream. With Randy there we sped up again. Trail to road to bridge. | ||||||
9. | Road to bend then straight. Got a little R clearing the green but aimed back for reentrant since I assumed it would lead to a good place to cross the power line as well as the control. Randy, Tom and I still all together. | ||||||
10. | Think I should have run down the power line and probably would have if alone. Randy went SW up trail and into woods. I followed. Tom was dropped. Aimed for cabins and then took the trail to (10). Randy is pulling away a bit. | ||||||
11. | Down road. Halfway time 44:13, 2nd overall. Do not know where they got the 44:28 they recorded unless it was after I drank some Gatorade. | ||||||
12. | Randy is still in sight ahead. Up road but cut in a little to early. Saw ditches 150m W of control and realized error. Thought Randy was gone but saw he was low and had overshot as I was leaving. | ||||||
13. | +02:00 | Out to road as fast as I could go trying to get a break on Randy. Pretty sure he had seen me, but maybe he would go straight and get hung up in the green. He did go straight but apparently with no mishaps. From the road jct. I went in a bearing but got to high and then messed up in the slash and crossed the spur. Saw the stream to W and recovered but Randy was long gone by the time I got to the control. Leaves were disturbed so I was pretty sure he had been there. | |||||
14. | High to get to white woods along top of spur. Attacked from stone piles. Control was practically invisible, good think I hit the correct ditch. | ||||||
15. | A little concerned about being alone. Have to be careful and avoid another screwup. Straight and used the reentrant NW of control to aim for correct part of trail. Could see control before I hit the trail. Thought (15) and (16) were a little to easy and should have been farther from the trail. | ||||||
16. | +00:20 | Trail run. Lost some time when I could not see the bag from the trail so went all the way to bend to be sure of location before heading into reentrant. | |||||
17. | +01:00 | Think the lower route on trail by stream would have been better. I went straight and then followed the indistinct trail E. Not much of a trail, it was visible but not very runnable and I ran in the woods parallel to it. At the jct I spent a lot of time deciding on the best final approach. Up the trail and down the spur? Down the trail and around? or straight and take a chance on the green. Finally tried the green and made very poor time getting through. Followed the dry trickle until things flattened and I saw the hill. Saw the rockpile also but very worried when I could not see the control. Took a closer look and there is was. Another faded bag. | |||||
18. | Around green to L, then up the reentrant. Should have aimed straight for trail. Pretty slow on the uphill. | ||||||
19. | Up reentrant to trail but did not see the jct so just cut off at the bend. Straight on bearing trying to use the green and the contour bends to lead me in. Must have worked since I spiked it. The giant boulder helped also. | ||||||
20. | +00:40 | Do not see a good way here. Trail around is safe but looks really long. Along far side of stream looks promising but looks hard to get to. (Think this was probably the best way) I am thinking of straight and start out W to avoid some of the up and down in the middle and keep he road run as option while I ponder. See someone coming up from below so try to give the impression I am still looking for (19) then take off NNW. Get through the green any way I can just planning to hit the road W of the start/finish. A little to far west and I hit (12) when I am expecting the SE parking area. Road then in. | |||||
F. | Run hard in case Randy has messed up somewhere and I am first. He is standing there already changed. I am third anyway. Someone has skippped (19) and slipped by without me seeing them. |
Total Time Lost - 00:05:30