Training Log Archive: CleverSky

Western Canadian Champs, Middle Distance, Hog's Back, Spruce Woods Provincial Park, Manitoba

I arrived early enough to take a stroll around the model map before my start time. It was roughly like I expected, although with a higher proportion of white/green than I imagined, which is not a bad thing -- adds to the challenge. Because I knew I'd have a 1:15000 map on Sunday, I didn't mind that they were out of other scales of the model area. (For some odd reason, there were different controls marked on different scales of the model.)

The course went mostly fine. On the second control I went directly to the circle, but missed seeing the flag which was to my left, higher in the reentrant than I expected, and I did something of a double-lobed loop-de-loop before coming back to the same spot. My route to #3 was far from direct, but it was what I intended, staying out of the light geen where I was apt to get lost (very low visibility). On the way to #6 I went somewhat faster than I should have and lost track of where I was, but was able to relocate on the fly and didn't lose any time. Slight bobble on #9, misreading vegetation, and on the way to the last control, I should have stayed right and in the yellow, but instead I went left, intending to cross a little green and pick up the trail that led directly to the control. Never saw the trail and got there entirely via the green.

Not too bad in terms of results, second in M35 (out of five), and also behind the one M-20 (and well ahead of the lone woman). I was well out of first, so the small time losses didn't matter, but only about a minute ahead of third, so I was "economical".

I first got a hankering to orienteer in Manitoba shortly after I joined USOF (and this was my second time doing so, after the "Sisak on the Sava" trip of 1992). One of the first issues of O/NA that I received included a map of Spirit Sands, which is very close to the camping area in the park. Having spare time on Saturday afternoon, and with a late sunset due to the northwesterly location, I went for a hike. The Devil's Punchbowl was highly recommended, so I went all the way out there. The hike was outstanding, the destination underwhelming (more like the Devil's Poison Ivy Garden and Mosquito Hatchery). Billed as a natural wonder, it appears to exist courtesy of a dam. Oh well. After that I went to the sand dunes, an area of live dune activity. I didn't have time to go very deep in, but they are quite tall, and pretty much free of trees, with some grass coverage. There was a kiosk that had a plaque headlined "The Vanishing Dunes". Yeah, yeah, I know, people trampling the fragile ecosystem is harming nature, stay on the trails, blah, blah... But right behind the sign was a big ol' slope that looked too tempting not to climb and run down, so I did that before reading the sign. When I did read it, I learned that the open sand area used to be much, much larger than it is now (hundreds of times?), but that increased rainfall has allowed grass to thrive, and within our lifetimes it's predicted that the dunes will cease moving. Huh. I guess trampling the vegetation is encouraged.

Not realizing how long a hike I was going for, I hadn't bothered to pick up a trail map before heading out. If I had, I could have made a shorter loop of it and seen more scenery as well. I'm optimistic that there will be a "next time". Looking at the 1988 Spirit Sands map back at home, I see that my hike didn't actually go onto it. The Spirit Sands parking area is off the southern edge of the orienteering map, and it looks like the open dune area was pretty much out of bounds for that meet; there is one section that's not hatched off, but the course didn't cross it.

Evening, but not dark enough to present a problem seeing. Dumped my right ankle pretty hard about four minutes in, but I don't think it will be am issue. tricky finding my way through the ferns, Mulpus Brook was quite low. A few FDFs, mostly around the Hickory Hills wet areas, largely in the hair, a few on my shirt (what kind of weird mouth parts do they have that allow them to bite through cloth). Felt like I was working fairly hard and moving pretty well.

Got stung on the back of the ankle while mowing the lawn last night, hurt like hell. I did everything I could come up with to treat it, but it was really painful all evening, still hurt when I woke up, and only now is finally fading to where it's no longer annoying.

Lake Massabesic, me in yellow, Nancy in orange. A decent breeze blowing from the east made the return be harder work. Also starting to sprinkle just a little as we were finishing, which turned into serious rain afterward as we were eating dinner.