Orienteering2:41:52*** 6.9 km (23:28 / km) +190m20:37 / km spiked:10/16c
Hunters Creek Map Hike
The experience began poorly when I couldn't find the map. This meant a trip to Hyatt's adding over an hour to the travel time and subtracting an hour from my time that I could spend in the woods. Arrived to a completely empty parking lot - the first I've ever seen at Hunters Creek.
S -> 8: Down the road and in the high trail to the field. Going upstream was tricky and I had to get on hands and knees to pass through at points. Saw two random hikers near the control and overshot, hitting the hunter stand before turning around. 8:23
8 -> 9: Even now, I think that there is no good way to do this leg. I went upstream to the reentrant by the corner of the field and then tried to move northerly through the brush/fields. Eventually made my way to the white woods and found the stream. Could see the brush upstream and found the trail/stream junction, but no marker. Made sure that trails matched and then went to the east end of the junk looking for a misplaced marker. No go. Back to the right spot, but still could find nothing. Wanted to get out of the sun to plan and eventually found the marker in the woods a decent distance from the junction, but at least facing the junction. 24:52
9 -> 10: No confidence, but this should be easy and the woods were great. A bit slow, but I found the stream and the hunter stand. Went all around it looking for the marker before noticing it on a nearby tree. 4:23
10 -> 16: North, skirting the green slash and hitting the stream just downstream of the marker. Turned upstream and found it easily. 3:31
16 -> 17: Compass towards it, aiming off and seeing property boundaries. 3:44
17 -> 22: Trail around with a bit of gnarly stuff as I crossed the power line. 7:24
22 -> 24: Tried to follow the stream downstream, but had trouble with the green slash and then much later with a brand new bike trail that was quite distinct. Alas, I didn't realize that it was new until I connected with the trail just NW of the marker and heading downhill. Headed back up, passing triangular junction and root stock. Used the latter to attack and found stream, but it had no distinct end and I struck out. I tried again with no luck. Then I went back to the trail and attacked off its crossing of the stream with the deep gorge. This worked. 22:30
24 -> 25: Time is now weighing on me as I think about getting to UB. Crossed both of the deep streams just before the "canyons" began. Followed path of NW one downhill until it crossed, then I attacked on a bearing. Got to trail and saw clearing and hill. Marker was actually visible from 40 m. 7:13.
25 -> 23: Out to trail, up to junction, up hill to root stock followed by the entry of a trail from the left. Thought it was too soon, but decided that having run the hill had paid off. Nope, it was too soon and I wasted a crazy attack in the slash. Then uphill and I found the real junction. Moving the right distance up the trail from there made the root stock (and the marker) trivial to find. 18:34
23 -> 21: Uphill to trail along park boundary. Down the first batch of yellow through first dry stream and up the hill. Then into the woods and to the second dry stream. Confused for a moment and then I saw the root stock (and the marker). 5:00
21 -> 20: Out to southern line of yellow, down to the creek, and then up the hill in the woods just east of the control. Up hill and up a very steep spur that "had to be" the right one. No marker. Up to the trail. Very confused. Headed south and saw another candidate spur just south of the one I had ascended. It had the marker. 11:29
20 -> 19: Down hill and across both bands of yellow. Up the second one a bit to come in on the plateau. Everything matched and I actually saw the marker from about 80 m away - a new record. 4:40
19 -> 18: Across stream and angled down to the trail on the spur. Cut the corner, but got held up by a new rootstock a bit down the hill. 4:04.
18 -> 15: Down to the stream almost immediately and then along the stream until the trail appeared. Overshot the marker slightly, but made a very quick recovery. 4:14
15 -> 11: Along trail till it died a bit and then up the steep stuff to the second trail. Found the trail junction just north of the control, but couldn't find "the right hill". Circled a lot and eventually saw the marker from the trail above it. 10:44
11 -> 7 -> Car: Time is now a problem, but I dove to the trail and followed it to the junction. Found a steep stream and went down, but it had no noticeable end and I never saw a marker. I proceeded south through the flat area, but saw nothing and eventually had to go up to the trail, south to the road and back to the car. At some point, I noticed that the funny feeling in my right foot plant was the sole of my shoe detaching along one tread.
Eventually made it to my meeting at UB only four minutes late and at that I was the fourth of eight folks to get there and the last showed up fifteen minutes after me, so...
Two laps of the Allegany River Trail with the gas line option and one with the Francis Hall option. Time was a bit slow due to construction traffic as we crossed State Street and because Theresa followed me on the options - including a full force wipeout on the turn onto the berm by Francis Hall. No harm, just a bit more excitement than planned.