Orienteering warm up/down 12:04 [2] *** 1.2 km (10:03 / km) +45m 8:28 / km
spiked:1/2c
Sprague Brook Map Hike.
Since two of the controls were a reasonable distance from the parking lot, I made a quick loop out of them.
Went to #2, but never read the control description. Searched the reentrant before deciding that maybe the circle was on the spur. Then I found it with no problem.
Then went to #1... Field/trail was mapped a bit odd and I never found the trail down, but the knoll was super easy. Got on top, though and couldn't find the marker until I realized it was about 4 feet away from me!
Orienteering race 1:29:07 [3] *** 6.6 km (13:30 / km) +155m 12:05 / km
spiked:5/9c
Sprague Brook Red Course
Start -> 1: Road to bridge to field, cutting in between the pines and the trail. Spiked the control, but the field was much slower than I hoped. The road would have been better. The only good news is that everyone else seems to have done the same thing. 7:46.
1 -> 2: Edge of field to campground to lake. At end of lake saw a party of three that had started 20 minutes ahead of me. They seemed uncertain about which way to go. As I went past, one said, "See, it's where he's going." Bounced off swamp and went right in. No sign of the group when I climbed back out the same way. 6:39.
2 -> 3: Trail, then cut over to long straight trail to field W of control. Hop on bike trail and then side trail and in. Went to southern root stock first. 9:23.
3 -> 4: Woods to trail halfway along dogleg around reentrant. Crossed reentrant at reasonable spot and cut the corner to the top of next reentrant; cut again to next, then northerly to trail. Took trail last 300 m to control which was visible from trail. 10:25.
4 -> 5: Out to trail, down to stream crossing, up to bend and straight in. 4:04.
5 -> 6: Poor route choice, poorly executed. Decided to take stream to control. Went SE to get around brush and then found the stream bank to be a 10 foot drop. Went along bank through rough stuff for a while before getting down. Stream was good for a while, but then large numbers of blowdowns blocked my way. Ran on NW shore for a while and had more blowdown issues. Finally gave up and crossed again to SE shore coming in to the grown over field halfway to the control. Crossed stream and picked up intermittent trail which was first good running of the leg. Celebrated by missing the control and continuing to the swamp by the stream bend. Knew I was off, relocated off massive slide/earth bank on other shore and went the 100 m back to it. It's bad enough that I had been running slowly due to humidity and general odd feelings of health; now I can't execute either... 14:53. A disaster.
6 -> 7: Decided to get up out of there ASAP. Climbed two steep hills to hit trail just shy of corner due south of #6. Took trail SE to where it meets the ski trail through the fields. Alas, the ski trail is essentially no more in this location. Semi-bushwhacked, semi-trail-ran field. Took main trail past two streams and went right in. While getting water, was caught by Mike Lyons. Non-ideal route choice with a penalty exacted by the absence of a trail through the field. 11:22.
7 -> 8: Veered left leaving the control, particularly compared to Mike. Went down spur just S of the line, crossed stream and just looked for "the path of least resistance" to climb the hill. Went past swamp and boulder N of the line before hitting the plateau where the trail bends away from the edge. Followed the edge to the trail to the control. 14:53. Non-ideal route, but mostly I am just slow. (Should have stayed lower for longer...)
8 -> 9: NNW crossing on trail before hitting the second at the bend. Then trail until inside circle. Sort of running, but not really psyched. 7:39.
9 -> Finish: 2:02.
Not a good run; no legs, no psych, and some goofs of my own augmented by some bad luck.