Myrick Center, west of West Chester, 3.7 km, 100m Brown course by Sam K and Lena K. Low to mid 70s but warming up.
It was somewhat difficult to find the start triangle on the map but once I did the first two controls were along trails before we entered the woods. Medium green was passable enough; the dark green was truly difficult and was avoided. Nine of the controls were in the fun white woods to the NE of the center, with legs that criss-crossed each other. I even beat one of the three Suhocki sisters! (Third overall of 15, behind Tom O, who was walking, and another of the Suhocki sisters.)
Navigation was pretty straightforward through 12, then we crossed a green broad spur for a control near a ditch. I hit the ditch farther down the hill than expected to so turned left and climbed the hill to reach it. Once out of the green woods we had a bit of maze-O for 15-16-17 which I did not execute well...I stayed high and looped around from the south, but then turned in on the wrong trail (miscounted) and had to go back. Okay from there to the finish.
Myrick Center Sprint!!! 2.3 km, 80m climb A bit warmer now, probably upper 70s, and sunny.
The first two controls were the same as I had on the Brown course, then we went south for a bit before heading back to the area of my 15-16-17 on the Brown course.
This was fun but hilly. I didn't do the route choice well to 10 and 11. To 10 I got on the wrong trail from the field (should have gone to the jct in the S corner of the field to be sure of trails). Then to 11, even though I knew I should go west around the fenced area I went to the east side anyway to check it out. There was a downed tree making a real mess. I backed put and went around.
Time lost on the two was on the order of several minutes, but would only have moved me up a place or two, I'm sure. I wasn't last, however, even though I had to walk up *all* the hills. But I was able to jog down almost all the downhills! Progress.
3 PM
Hiking21:55 [3] ** 0.54 mi (40:35 / mi) +3m39:57 / mi ahr:114 max:164
Picked up three controls near the finish, plus the pinflags from the finish "chute", in sandals.
Forgot to stop my watch, but have adjusted the distance and time.
After I finished it started to threaten rain, and then did rain a bit, so some of the others on control pickup got a bit wet. No thunder, though Tstorms had been forecast.
Biking (gravel/singletrack) 51:53* 3.48 mi (14:54 / mi) +62m14:08 / mi ahr:124 max:147 slept:7.0 shoes: Trek DS 3 hybrid
Gravel and bike trails at Moon Lake SF Recreation Area, part of Pinchot SF west of Wilkes-Barre, on the north/west side of the Susquehanna in Luzerne Co. First bike outing (of any kind) since my crash in September. Low 70s when we arrived just before noon; mid 70s when we left...and a bit humid. (HR strap used today)
We'd been here once before and the trails I biked then were a bit above my skill level/bike capabilities. Glen recommended taking the park road up to the upper parts of Moonshine* and biking back down. After I left the park road near the campground I missed a turn for Moonshine and rode/walked a bit of Edge (not Ledge) until I figured out I was headed the wrong way and went back.
On the way down Moonshine I managed pretty well, though conservatively, trying to make sure I wasn't using my front brake too much. I walked through the hairpin turns (I needed the breaks anyway). I passed a hiker headed the other way, who had parked next to us in the lot, and pulled over for a few other mtb-ers headed up the trail, in the lower parts.
When I got near the parking area I didn't see/missed a turn and rode a bit more in a flattish area near a stream, before riding the slatted bridge across the stream back to the road. I then rode a bit on the flattish gravel trail around part of the lake before returning (I took a side trail to see whether it connected with Peekaboo*, but it didn't; it did go past a ruin/chimney a short distance from the lake, however). I saw Glen on Peekaboo as I was headed back on the path along the lake. We both returned to the car after that and ate sandwiches we had brought.
*Trail names per Trailforks, but no signs for them in the park.
1 PM
Hiking52:33* 1.43 mi (36:45 / mi) +21m35:07 / mi ahr:94 max:118 shoes: 2015 Altra LP2.0-9 lime
Walking, with some stops to observe/photograph birds, while Glen went out for more mtb trails. I walked on Peekaboo and came back the ride/trail that passed the ruin/chimney I had seen earlier. The connection between Peekaboo and the park road had been "obliterated" (trees put down as deterrents); at the lower end it joined the wider gravel trail along the lake. Mid 70s. I took along the Trailforks map I'd referenced earlier, on my ride.
When I got back to the car the hiker I'd seen on Moonshine was just returning. She had missed a turn and hiked longer than she had expected to. She was not carrying a map.
After some sun yesterday, it's back to gray skies.
3 PM
Walking59:26 3.56 mi (16:42 / mi) +38m16:10 / mi ahr:98 max:115 shoes: 2019 Sauc Echelon7 8.5D
Neighborhoods and park, partially following the course of last weekend's fundraiser 5K that the local firehouse organized (we didn't run it), or at least following the paint markings on the roads and sidewalks. :-( Upper 60s, still overcast.
Walking1:10:19 3.6 mi (19:32 / mi) +19m19:13 / mi ahr:93 max:126 shoes: 2019 Sauc Echelon7 8.5D
Earned 12 streets in Allentown on CityStrides today. Also being noted for the D&L Trail Challenge again this year (it's a good cause). Overcast, mid 60s.
Saw a kingfisher (and a number of ducks and geese) at the pond in Trexler Park.
Orienteering race 2:00:53**** 6.95 km (17:23 / km) +131m15:53 / km ahr:117 max:154 spiked:11/16c shoes: 2019 VJ Falcon 6.5 scot
DNF/MP (skipped two).
DVOA event at Hibernia County Park on an 6-year-old map (1:10000, 10' contours) with only vaguely updated vegetation and trails, nominally 4.9 km, 117m climb. It had showered overnight but was barely drizzling most of the time we were there; I didn't get as wet as I thought I would. About 60F.
The course designer tried to take us to the more-light and less-medium green areas through #12 but then threw in a couple of controls involving climbing a hill, with plenty of medium green and unmapped rocky ground, for two controls, just to come back down and up another hill on a simple trail route for the last couple of controls (one of which was hung wrong...not that it cost me anything because it was in the wide open, but was an additional data point against coming here again with the same course designer/s).
A number of us were headed to #1 at the same time. The flag was not at the edge of the field but in by where the darker green veg boundary is, and it appeared the stand might have been broken so others were fiddling with it and trying to stand it up, while I waited to punch. My route to #2 was the wrong one, but I managed okay on the rest in that NW loop (#3-4-5-6). Then a long slog back across the field to 7 which I did okay on. I missed #8, counting on the mapped but non-existent teail to catch me, and ended up closer to the field (North, or NE of it?) and headed back to the stream to relocate off the bend. [Cutting the line from 6-7, where it overlaps the trail S of #2 would have been nice (though even that trail is hard to find), and cutting the circle for #8 where it overlaps the stream bend would help too.]
Okay to #9 and 10, but missed on the approach to 11 and had to circle back for it. Two options to #12; I took the right-most one with roads vs trails going left. Then a long boring trail run to the road and an attempt to attack #13 from behind the house, where it was mapped a lighter green. There's some serious rocky ground mapped but it was everywhere on the slope of the hill. I never found #13, so I didn't bother going to #14 knowing I'd be coming back to the road for the hill climb to 15.