The M65 course. Some very steep stuff, but more down than up. The usual for this meet for me - some very fine orienteering punctuated by one small lapse that turns into a panic and a big loss. Map to be posted later.
1. Along trail from the start, across large field, not seeing stone enclosures that were mapped, fumbled a bit at the top of the steep drop off, then slid down it on my butt in several segments where I could catch myself at terraces. Picked out the likeliest looking thicket and found the control right off.
2. Across some yellow and some white, lots of stone retaining walls supporting terraces, had to climb a few to the lone tree, easy to find.
3. Down some steep and scary stuff, again on my butt mostly, down to the road, and a fairly long road run, picking the right spot and angling across a spur to a trail, along the trail for a bit until a reentrant on my right, up and in. Spike.
4. Shorter leg, back across the trail, keeping compass, across a couple of reentrants up onto a broader spur, across the spur to the small steep reentrant on the other side. Spike.
5. Long leg. Uphill across a trail and keeping compass hitting a road at its corner. Left 25 M or so to pick up another trail heading N for a long way, then along the side of a stream for a bit and uphill to the north, skirting a clearing to the boulder on the other side of the green. Spike.
6. Back down to the stream, trying to find reasonable footing. It looked like the stream went right to the control, but it was awfully hard to see on the map. Anyway, control was at the end of a clearing, between a cliff and a boulder.
Came to the clearing, but something about it didn't look right. I was expecting grass and this was just tall marsh plants. So I didn't press on and look in the nasty green on the side of the cliff there, but looked up and saw another clearing a line up the hill to my left. No, that's not it. Another line up I saw a flag. Not mine. But from there another line up another clearing that looked interesting. Nope. OK. What's going on here? By now I am well above the stream, and in enough direct sunlight that I can confirm that the control is on the stream, so a long and difficult descent, right back to where I was. Lost 10 minutes!
7. Easy leg, through fields mostly, although the buildings near the town didn't look quite right.
8. Easier, to a pair of trees right by the road and the manned crossing to the finish.
Here is the
map. 13th out of 34 in M65. Could easily have made top 10 if I had picked off #6 when I went by it the first time. This was my best day and the most enjoyable terrain of the three forest days I went to.