Council Crest Urban (do it yourself) Score O (90 min)
I had Sydney plan me a route to hit all of them and try to put a few interesting route choices in. This time I walked from hotel to start (1.3 mi uphill) in part to save some legs and in part to burn off the double brie burger I ate for lunch without puking.
This course was in probably one of the ritzyest neighborhoods in portland, some really amazing houses and views out to Mt Adams and Mt Hood. Undulating hills and sneaky staircases and trails that connect parallel roads, some of which are well hidden.
Started off pretty rough as I bobbled the first CP and then the second CPs answer did not have the correct choice available, making me triple check my location. I made my worst mistake 3 controls later at 11. After trecking up the stairs to count the landings, i decended and took of down the road. Lulckily i checked my compass or I would have ketp going. Turns out I needed to be at hte top of the stairs and going the opposite way, so had tro trek back up. After that it got better, aside for a few that I couldnt find the plaque/sign/bench I was supposed to answer a question about.
I took it easy (re: burger + tired legs from yesterday), but kept up a steady pace. Its hard to juggle a map folded into a sandwhich baggy, A pen + MC sheet, my phone in case i get lost or hurt, and a compass, so answer the questions often took a few seconds longer than punching a flag would. Even without that the nav was trickier than it might appear, because with the hills you cant see more than a block at a time so you need to be very diligent about keeping track of your position.
Once I started getting towards the south of the map it was obvious that I wasnt going to clear it. I took a breif off-the -clock break in Cascade Park to enjoy the view and replan a little better than I had on the fly.
In the end I hit 41/50 CP for 45/58 points in 1:28. My legs are quite sore, but my knees held up which is what I was most worried about.
Can view map here:
http://www.croc.org/council-crest-permanent-courseMy route: 2, 3, 4, 13, 11, 12, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 30, 35, 34, 37, 38, 41, 40, 39, 21, 22, 23, 25, 24, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 28, 27, 19, 20, 18, 16, 15, 14, 1