Training Log Archive: CleverSky

Harris Center, Red, 6.1 km, 5th. Mediocre performance, bu I found them all. Missed a little on #5, found it on the second attack. Just ran blindly on the long leg #6, figuring correctly that I'd hit the big marsh, and in smoothly from there although when I thought I was about there I saw that there was another hill ahead and I had miscounted. Drifted to the right on #8 and had to scratch my head when I hit a logged area that didn't look like the one I was looking for, and noticed that I was facing in completely the wrong direction. Parallel error on #10, went up the wrong hill but realized it immediatly when things didn't look right. Slight error on #11, went to the wrong rock, but I could see the control when I turned around. And #12 was the biggest goof, I took a pretty aggressive route, soemhow crossed two trails without seeing them, and then found myself on a third trail, not understanding whre I was. I finally went along the trail until I found an intersection, and was able to navigate in from there.

splits
results

Red - Splits

Willard Brook SE, In The... yeah, it was pretty Dark. I was inexplicably depressed on my drive home from work, and I don't think it was because I turned on the radio and caught a few minutes of the Senate Judicial Committee hearing, but that couldn't have helped. I haven't gotten any vigorous exercise since I was sick, and I'm in the lingering cough phase at this point, so I figured maybe a little fresh air and bouncing around would help. My headlamp didn't seem to be particularly well charged, so I stuffed a couple of cheap flashlights in my pocket just in case, but didn't end up using them. I kept the headlamp on low beam to extend the battery, and it was sort of just bright enough to kind of see where I was going.

Old City Road was as wet as I've ever seen it (from the standpoint of water), so instead of running, I was reduced to a walk, sometimes hopping back and forth across the gentle torrent depending on which side had a little dry ground, and sometimes just pushing my way through the laurel off to the side of the trail. After making the turn, my light was inadequate, and I made a wrong turn somewhere. I realized this pretty quickly (when I hit a big patch of bare rock), and I'd been on this trail before at some point, so I kept going, thinking that it would merge back to the trail I intended to be on. Well, I don't know exactly where it went, but after a lot of unfamiliar stuff, I hit a slightly larger trail, and turned right because that was the topologically smart move. And that went to a larger trail, but I didn't know which one. But after cruising down it for a bit, I thought I spied the subtle right-hand turn that's on the main trail, so I checked it out, and it was. It was confirmed a bit later when I got to the sloppy ford, and from there it was straightforward back to the car.

Looking at the GPS track, it appears that I did merge back to the trail that I had intended to be on, but then missed the right-hand turn that I would have needed to take (I was looking for it, but it's hard to see, and I wasn't sure when I shoulc expect it to come up). I should familiarize myself with the trail that I ended up taking. And I should maybe find a way to bypass Old City Road.

A bit of a fiasco, but at least I got out.

Saturday night, after the wedding of Nancy's nephew, I was getting ready to leave really early to head for Pond Mountain, and I noticed that it was already up on Routegadget. Hmm. I guess the meet was Saturday, not Sunday. Well, no need to wake up so early, and less driving required. And instead of catching a ride home with her daughter, Nancy rode with me and we went for a pleasant hike in Vermont on the way back.

And I grabbed an air mattress and spent one last night in my childhood bedroom. After a year and a half of cleaning and renovating, the closing for Mom's house is Tuesday.

C • one last night 1