orienteering 2:25:00 [1]
Picnic at Hanging rock/ Bermuda Triangle type experience. Always expected to find this hard, being aware of my height on a hillside and distance / precise direction is not my strong point. Went carefully therefore with bearing, reading rock features as I could, specially if I could see gullies and spurs underneath, and clearings. This worked reasonably up to 4. Then a long leg 500+m to number 5. Plan was to go up a bit and using clearings, bare rock, heads of creeks, make my way to control circle. Other people doing similar, including another women on my course. After a head of a creek, but sooner than I expected, I saw other people looking for a control, including the other woman on my course . I was having trouble interpreting what was white and what was clearing. Long story short I looked too soon, lost any remaining contact with my original plan, couldn't tell what was little gully, what was head of marked creek. Wasn't even sure of major creek. Found two other controls. Ran out of ideas so went back to start. Followed a creek up from near start and even stuffed that up. Found head of creek with dark green, tried to use that as an attack point but to no avail. Confidence in my ability about zero by now. Decided to give up (rest of family waiting for me) and try and find the next control. On the way, found 2 more controls ( and some water, thank goodness) but not mine. Could not even tell what feature on the map any of these 4 controls was on. Found the next control, number 6 over the creek without much trouble, briefly thought about using that as an attack point for number 5 but thought I needed an attack point much closer, the way I was going ( in my parallel universe where number 5 didn't exist for me, only everyone else on that course!). Pretty unsettled and not terribly rationale by now. Then couldn't find number 7 which should've been straightforward and decided to abandon, just doing the last 4 - 5 controls which had mor defining features around them. I think this was the first time Id abandoned a course, not a great feeling! Even later that afternoon, I couldn't work out a plan would've worked for me to get to that control, not without some intensive holding a bearing training! The next day I spoke to the woman who had for a while also been searching for that control, she had decided to give up and walk back, and on the way down the hill (further down than she expected) she had stumbled across the control, and so had continued on. She said we were looking too soon. This was some relief to hear this.
Consoled myself that afternoon by riding to Bendigo Pottery, looking at pottery and art, and having a lemon slice in the cafe.