Race Evaluation
WCOC Trout Brook A-Event: Green
pkturner
| 1. | Seems like a White control. It is! | ||||||
| 2. | +00:30 | Checked the map about 40m out from the control. Not very clear about where I was. Looked up and there was a control just 10m to my right, but it was on a knoll and not Green. Relocated by identifying on the map the only mapped knoll in the vicinity. | |||||
| 3. | +01:00 | Headed down to the trail, and went too far left. Small extra time spent keeping track of where I was on the trail. | |||||
| 4. | Straightish, following the lower trail for a bit. Travelled right of the ridge then up over and spiked it. | ||||||
| 5. | Straight, checking off the bunch of rock piles along the way. | ||||||
| 6. | +00:50 | Checked off features along the straight route, with a little contouring around a spur. Arriving at the stream just under the control, I scanned the ridge for the ledge and control. Nothing. Just a couple of other orienteers going in random directions. Still without much idea where I was, I headed directly up the side of the small ridge with the idea that the ledge might be hidden higher up. Then a flash of orange! The control and the entire ledge had been hidden behind a cluster of trees from where I had paused. | |||||
| 7. | Thought of going up to the trail on the ridge leading to the control, but as I approached it, the form of the hill became easy to interpret and I shortcut left, and in. | ||||||
| 8. | Went right of the line, low, not as far down as the marsh. Crossing the marsh's inlet stream I headed east around a knoll then contoured to below the control. Turning right up the hill, the ridge top had the appearance of several knolls. I continued toward the leftmost knoll even though its companions to the right appeared higher. Spiked it, but now wonder why the apparently lower knoll had the control. | ||||||
| 9. | +01:40 | From the saddle just SE of the control, tried to head south-southeast, but glances at my compass kept saying I was going south. Reentrants and spurs were not making sense. When pace count ran out I was at a spur/knoll but the laurel seemed too thick for the correct spur. Proceeded a little farther and there was a big drop-off. Knew where I was and dashed SW to the control. After the race Joanne Sankus and I compared notes on this control. She had gone past the saddle, then a little right of the line, with the big features all making perfect sense to her. Funny how the experiences of the same terrain can be opposite. | |||||
| 10. | +00:20 | To the trail down by the stream, then up. Got a little too high too soon, reaching the stone wall above the control, but it made a good attack point. | |||||
| 11. | +00:30 | After going up the first hill, went a bit right of the line around a knoll then to the trail. Went left (east) of another knoll beyond the trail and then south, planning to cross the between the marshes NW of the control. Instead, got feet wet and had to crawl among the laurel. | |||||
| 12. | Went south on the first trail to avoid the uphill fight through laurel of the direct route. Found pretty good running, then followed trails to the left gap in the fence. | ||||||
| 13. | +02:30 | The map was telling me that the control was west of the fence. I was too excited as I approached the finish to bother with the fact that I could see a second fence on the terrain. So I crossed back west of the first fence. The map showed a trail, and I began to wonder, "Why was there only an elephant track along the fence?" Oops. | |||||
| F. |
Total Time Lost - 00:07:20