Discussion: Faint tracks

I tried to minimise their use and only added those couple of controls in after I realised there were no short legs on your course and yet the standard says something like '2-4 short legs' for a long distance event. That section up there was the only place "complex" enough to have anything short although up until around May or June of this year, none of those dotted tracks were drawn in. They hadn't been there on any of my previous trips last year and were total crap so I put the controls within view of the main tracks so you could at least see them, if coming from the right side, without necessarily having to find the track ;-)

You may also notice I hand drew a track just north of #101, which we found when placing the control. It wasn't all that accurate at the SE end so apologies if you took it. I also put a big pink streamer across is because I had intended leaving it off and meant for it to be non-existent but then later realised it could be seen as a continuation of the mapped track because the mapped one was not overly visible (I also taped that).

I have a photo of Lois finding #120 (after she initially overshot the junction by about 3m).

129 would have been easy from the south but the track out to the north was not really there. Carolyn J has the same problem. Not a big deal for me I just can't ride as fast as the East Coast guys, they were quick.

I went straight to 120, Rob West overshot, must be a family thing, and was coming back as I got there.

Yep, in the bulletin I did say the dotted tracks were very indistinct. It is easier to see them when you are mapping and not riding as fast! Mind you, I didn't find the NW end on the first go, only when I was putting the tape out a few weeks ago did I realise the track went all the way through (originally the CP was at a 'track end'). I thought Duncan's 'slow' tracks from yesterday were a bit ambitious too but as soon as I saw the first one I had, I knew what to look out for.

The second log would have been the giveaway for #129 that you were getting close although Boltboi looked out for that and also overshot. According to his trace, he also overshot #122 (not on your course) at the bottom end of the dotted track west of your #120. The giveaway from the direction he approached was the white (or the cliff)! There were more than your average number of trees for that hillside in that cluster. Plus it was only about 3m off the main track and easily visible... if you were approaching from the north ;-)

Richard, my apologies. I've looked at your trace and it seems you tried to use my hand drawn track from where I drew it to on the loop track but it wasn't accurate. I mainly drew it for reference because it was obvious from the west side and I didn't want people riding off down it if approaching #101 from the north (hence the pink tape) but I didn't imagine people would approach from the east, which both you and Angus have done but now I see it has cost you a bit of time :-(

It's corrected in the TBT version. I did attempt to get it correct on Saturday night by trying to access the course file from Dropbox and overlaying my Nanga Challenge trace (that I knew was accurate) but the Dropbox file was going to take 17 minutes to download, not good data usage for Tash's phone! So I gave up and went for 'best fit'.

No worries, I don't think I lost enough time to make a difference. It was a last minute decision to try the track from the East side of the control as Andy Kemp was just in front of me on the major track and though if I approached from the East and might see him at the control, if he had that one and otherwise it looked a bit shorter. I go to the end of the dead end track and it did dead end and could not see the other one so cut my loses and went back out to the main track.

Had more trouble at 129 where I did not see the track but worked out the logs were a barrier so went back and Craig S and I found it together, it is amazing my trace follows the track we did not see it on the ground!

Yeah those tracks were basically 'follow the trail of bulldozed trees'!