Orienteering 11:39:10 [3] 24.21 mi (28:53 / mi) +1660m 23:48 / mi
18c shoes: Speedcross - Black
Part 1.
Spent the week attempting to dodge the wildfire smoke. We were kind of successful. Returned back to Tahoe Saturday morning for the rogaine. Maps were handed out at 9 and we had a few hours to plan before the noon mass start. Kevin advocated for a plan with loops in case he didn't hold up well in the heat/smoke. We settled on 2 loops, each ~10-11 hours, with a stop at the car in between. Our goal was to have fun.
Started off at noon and it was already pretty warm. We were quickly on our own as we made our way up to 36. Came in a little too far S, but it was an easy correction. Went back and forth with Clint and JJ as we continued our climb up to 43. We were on our own for a while after that. A lot of the trails in this area seemed nonexistent, but thankfully this was the only area where that was the case. After hitting 58 we were able to take a lot more trails and move a little faster. Ran into Tori and her partner somewhere in here and went back and forth with them for a while. Kevin and I both ran out of water at 53, but the next control was the water stop so our planning was good!
Adjusted our plan slightly after leaving the water stop. We were both feeling good, so decided to hit 87 instead of 57 and add in 70. The goal was to hit 100 before full dark. Bobble on 70 when I took us in too far E, but it was a quick correction. The boulders/cliffs were cool so we were glad we decided to hit this one. We made it to 100 with just enough light to see. The view was fantastic! The sun had set behind the mountains and there was still an orange glow all along the horizon (pretty sure it was from the sun and not a forest fire...haha). We sat there for a while enjoying the view and putting on our head lamps. Definitely my favorite control - I don't often take the time to enjoy the scenery while racing - I should more often.
We were hoping it would cool off overnight, but it was still really warm. We continued our climb up to 91. There would probably be a great view from here during the day, but we could only see the lights from a few groups of houses in the dark. Hit 71 and then descended back to where we had started. This took forever. We took a mix of ski and bike trails. The bike trails were incredibly dusty - I have no idea how anyone could ride a bike down them. Finally made it back to the car a little behind schedule. Kevin had been wanting real food for a while so we decided to take a break, refuel, sleep, and then head back out.