Training Log Archive: maprunner

Memory #4, Rocks

Early on, I remember being so confused by all the rocks on the West Point/Harriman maps. I could hardly see the contours underneath, and the rocks all looked the same to me. But after a few years, it began to get easier. And then I had a breakthrough. Can't remember the year or the map, but I distinctly recall the leg. A long leg, contouring along a huge hill, and then we had to go up a specific rock/cliff lined reentrant to the marker. For the first time, I recognized the rock-strewn reentrant that I wanted, and I was confident to climb up several lines and pass through the cliffs to my marker. No hesitation this time, or hoping I was right. I was confident.

I was also confused by the rocks, and mapping style, in Laramie. It took several visits before I actually got it. One year, when we were there for a training camp, I approached the vetting tape at my "control" and suddenly knew it was hung in the wrong spot. I had the confidence to acknowledge it and move on through the rest of my course. Later, I felt even better, when I asked Mikell to look at the tape, and he agreed that he had inadvertently hung it on the wrong feature :)

C • I sure haven't figured it out yet 2