Training Log Archive: JanetT

Junior camp coaching at Double Duck Flats, working with 2 youngsters (8 and 9 years old) on skills they need. The 9 year old, Isaac, was pretty conversant with most skills at the beginner level and even some compassing as well; the 8 year old, Alison, still needs to work on some areas like keeping the map oriented, folding the map along the line of travel, etc. (and spend more time focusing, but it's difficult at her age -- she was very chatty, and entertained the 9 year old most of the time). :-)

This was the morning session; then we stopped for lunch before doing a course (one level above where they normally compete).

Shadowing Alison (and keeping an eye on Isaac who was working well on his own) on the advanced beginner course, reminding her to plan her route, look for catching features (though I didn't call them that) so she didn't go flying past the control, and coaching her through a little bit of relocating. They were fascinated with a small chipmunk near one of the "control" points, a couple of wrecked cars.

Did a review of IOF symbols with Alison afterwards, including explaining what a spur is.

More tomorrow.

NA sprint at College of the Rockies in Cranbrook; start and finish on the track. Eighth again; a minute out of 2nd place and a second behind 7th.

Except for the middle I've been pretty happy with my results this weekend. Decent per k times, too, largely due to nice footing, no significant climbs, and open woods for the most part; I don't move that fast in Harriman!

EDIT: added track... FR=1.93 km

Sprint - Course 2 - Splits

NA Champs Long at Double Duck Flats East, Cranbrook, BC

Earlier start than yesterday; still cool but not as showery at the start and the sun peeked out a few times while we were hanging around the finish.

Much better run than yesterday, though still a bobble halfway through the course at 5, a vegetation edge. I stopped at the right distance when things weren't matching up, and went back (S) towards a trail. Relocated off a cliff on the end of a narrow steep hill. Lost about 2 min or so (Debbie N. was 1:58; I was 4:14). Some sloppiness near the end but I was trying to race Linda Kohn who had a 4 min error on 5 (she had started 4 min ahed of me and was coming in to punch 5 as I left it). We were pretty evenly matched for the subsequent legs, but I outran her to the finish.

Winning time in W55 was 41:22 min by Natalia D.! PG (M65, same course) ran about 40 min. After Natalia there was an Australian (5th overall) and several Canadians ahead of me. EDITED: With no errors, I think I would only have moved up one place; 8th overall, 7th NA.

FR - 5.787 km, 146 m climb

C • I count 3

Long - Course 5 - Splits

Event: North American Orienteering Championships
 

Glacier Nat'l Park note (6/30): Forgot to mention the grizzly bear we could watch (from a good distance!) from the lounge at the hotel before dinner, on the hillside well across the road! Some folks in cars stopped along the road but I'm glad I wasn't that close!

NA Middle at Double Duck Flats near Cranbrook, BC
W55/M65, course 5 (2.7 km, 95 m climb, 11 controls)

Started off okay (correct bearing, etc. to 1, questioning myself just at the end but found it fine), then headed off to the trail that took me towards 3.... 2 was on the line from 1 to 3 and in an area of detail, and I suppose I was going too fast to notice until I got 150 m past it. Lost about 1:30 there.

Some others have noted that the purple used for "overprinting" the courses is close to the color of the brown contour lines. It certainly doesn't stand out as much as it could.

I definitely should have been more careful on the next leg. Need to add "estimate distance/time" to my list of skills to call on, as I ran WAY past my attackpoint down an indistinct trail, and ended up at the more major trail, a good 350 m NW of my control. A good 8 minute error, estimated from others' splits and my GPS track.

To 4 and 5 were fine (though again, 4 was on the line to 5), then I left 5 (water control at which a "lost" woman wanted to know where she was) and again wasn't careful in the rock detail. Good decision was to bail back out towards the trail I'd crossed rather than waste time searching cliffs. Hit the corner of the ditch/dirt pile feature and reattacked; lost 2 minutes on 6. Last 5 were easy along linear features, though I was a bit hesitant going to the last control as description was "distinct tree" and a blob of white was circled; finally decided it was the one I'd seen everyone else punch at before looping to the finish. Fast but careful on the run-in because I'd seen people fall. A clean run would have put me in the top 6, I think (though not top 3).

To do better: distance estimating. Skipped the glasses (cool and rainy) and only used magnifier today.

FR distance: 4.43 km (ugh), 118 m climb

C • Last control 2

Middle - Course 5 - Splits

Glacier National Park, MT

Hiked as far as we could on the Grinnell Glacier overlook trail from Many Glacier Hotel, where we stayed 2 nights. Could only go as far a a snowfield covering a rushing stream, not a good combination in the spring/early summer, so we sat down and ate sandwiches we'd brought. Saw a half-dozen bighorn sheep from this vantage point, above us on the hillside. Even better, as we hiked on the flatter part of the trail before heading uphill, we encountered 2 moose -- a calf and sow! -- and spent the better part of 10 minutes or so waiting for them to move off the trail. :-) Baby seemed interested in the resin oozing from a pine tree (so I checked it out and it smelled sweet but I don't know how tasty). Both were browsing on short shrubs along the trail.

The day had started off windy, cool and cloudy, but we never got rain and the sun even came out later.

Back down Grinnell Glacier trail, then turned to head to Grinnell Lake. Parts of the trail near the lake were being reconstructed. Apparently, snowmelt chooses a different path each year in the flat areas. :-)

GNP. From Grinnell Lake back to the Hotel.

Glacier National Park, MT

After driving on Going to the Sun road from Kallispell, making some stops along the way (including a couple of construction required stops), we decided against hiking over snow to the Hidden Lake overlook (from Logan Pass) and went on to St. Mary's Lake. We hiked in to St. Mary's Falls and then on to Virginia Falls, hearing rumblings of thunder along the way. On the way back the show got really close and we jogged some on the way down, getting wetter than we intended. The shower was over after about 15 minutes, though. We also got a brief thundershower on another short out and back (not recorded).

Just before we reached Logan Pass we were entertained by a trio of mountain goats alongside the highway, right up close to the cars. And we saw an eagle over the river on the drive up from Kallispell. It has been a good wildlife-spotting vacation so far.