30 years @ Pond Mt., 1 day A meet, brown. Cool, early fall day. First 5 points were good, never found the 6th and then was OK with the rest. The right hamstring got wrenched before 6 and when I gave up on 6, adrenaline ebbed away and negative hamstring feedback was stronger. Pushed about as hard as I could for the final points, though, as I was interested in comparison splits. Energy-wise and valve and right leg-wise I felt OK but for the next issue, that of an ailing hamstring.
Turned the map over & thought something like "Oh, my, work right from the start". Off into the really nice woods with a pledge to keep map contact.
Leg detail
1. Straight, read everything, kept in contact tho at very end was wondering - the wall faced away
2. Also straight, below rocky stuff, could see the knoll then stone pile/flag
3. Long leg - I chose straight tho one might have followed the blue drainage a good bit. Contoured around the first reentrant, contouring out of it after the intermittent stream was tiring. Then across the path & down to the ruined wall. Didn’t see the wall split off to the N. Was a bit confused but stuck with the WSW wall, noted it climbing, & finally got back in confident contact when I came to the path. Straight from there, in control with map reading.
4. Pretty much straight, read everything
5. Same
6. Never found it! Shortest leg, too. Gave up after some 15+’ - had no more ideas, was annoyed and that was that. Passed by the boulder maybe 1.5 contours above about 1/3 rd of the way. Saw the 4-5 cliffs <100m before the flag. Went below them & then angled up. Got on stoney ground field and went up. Expected to see a cliff (2m) or maybe even a flag before the cliff. Just saw jumbled gray rock. Went up & up and then thought “stop, you’ll go too high”. There was a cadet there also looking but no dice immediately. I started back toward the previous point. Went almost to where I could see the boulder then returned above the cliffs this time. This route took me higher. I could again see what appeared to be larger cliffs still higher and made my way toward them. No flag. After some more circling, I’d had it. There was another runner there as well (again). No more ides to act upon. In retrospect, one misread was likely the cliff with 2 boulder triangles 2 contours up. I now think I mistook this for the lower ones. Still I canvassed the rocky ground area several contours up & down.
7. Went back to compass course from the vicinity of 6. Hard to get down the rocky stuff. When I got to the big reentrant and started up the other side, I could see the biggish cliff on the knoll for a place check & then read to the flag.
8. Straight, and thru the cliffs which was work. Flag visible when I got thru
9. Paralleled the field edge in woods Tired and hamstring wanted out!
10. Got more to R than I realized with the green on the spur. Crossed a low wall covered in green…oh, this wall. Went up some to hill top and the point was finally visible. Along field’s edge and in. Right leg had had it but it was not the claudication issue of before.
Disappointing for the DNF, inability to find 6 and then intensify the hamstring issue which goes back to 2011 but w/o any issues til a month ago on BHS track. I should learn from Charlie & Glen's perseverence.
Hadn't planned on a second day but spending time in WCOC land is its own reward.
Course