Race Evaluation
BAOC Local, China Camp: Green
Tundra/Desert
| 1. |
Bad route choice Did not check features en route Followed others +02:20 | (25 m climb) Climb calculated according to my subjectively chosen optimum route (mostly own routes, since I won). I was late and the start unit was already at the registration. I started at the registration; I estimate 1:47 to the mapped start triangle (nice warmup - 210 m, 30 m climb!) and 2:52 to the control. Went through most of the green trying to contour, about 3 contours below the mapped indistinct trail. Best was to drop right off the start to the main reentrant, going through the clearings; a one-contour loss and 5 contours climb after that. I think the going through the green was an about 25 second loss. I also did not notice the reentrant that the control was on until I climbed up to the control's elevation in the main reentrant; that was a 10 second error. | |||||
| 2. | (55 m climb) There were two good routes: climb 35 m up to the major trail, take it SE (20 m climb) to a W-E trail, around the green, then down 75 m to the bag. Or, climb 30 m to the major trail, cross it, drop 65 m to a W-E trail, take it to the correct major reentrant, and climb 20 m. The "straight" option through the green was inferior (see split times). High route: 55 m climb; low route: 50 m climb. I did not see the low route and chose the high route by default. I lingered on the high trail until I was SE of the control, to minimize the steep parts. I was a little upset during my race analysis that I never saw the low route. Route choice is the weakest part of my navigation skills, and I'd like to blame it on the rarity with which we get route-choice leg problems, even in an area as rich for route choice opportunities as the Bay Area. But then, I always blame someone else. | ||||||
| 3. | (50 m climb) Up to the major trail junction directly NE of where the combined major trail becomes paved. Followed the E-directed major trail for 60 m; down the open protrusion, to intermittent stream top, around some logs, then E, SE, ENE to the control. There is no number for climb I can come up with on this leg other than the 50 m it takes to climb from Control 2 to the trail junction. | ||||||
| 4. |
Confused parallel features +00:10 | (10 m climb) There was no net elevation change on this leg; however, to come to the control from the reentrant before it and stay level meant to go too much off the straight line. I climbed one contour while crossing this reentrant, and one contour while getting out of the first reentrant we crossed, hence the 10 m climb. I went towards the S distinct tree first, but saw the bag from ESE; not more than a 10 second loss. | |||||
| 5. |
Bad route choice +00:20 | (65 m climb) The 65 m was the elevation change between Control 4 and Control 5. The best route probably was to aim off to the right and to climb to the desired elevation early, then to go around the upper part of the major reentrant while staying level. I pretty much followed the line, so ended up climbing more by virtue of dropping 3 contours into the major reentrant before climbing up to the control. The upside was that I saw the situation around the control from below (but not the bag), and was very confident climbing up to the control. | |||||
| 6. |
Read map too late Disturbed by others +00:40 | (35 m climb) The best route, without qualifiers, was to go directly S out of Control 5, hit the major trail, climb 20 m past the water tank, shortcut a bit to the SW-going trail, plunge downhill, and take the meandering but level trail to a point directly above the control. The "level" trail actually climbs 15 m as it goes, hence the 35 m climb. I took that route and made an error at the trailhead: I initially took the S-going major trail instead of the correct trail. I did this because I did not have enough time to read the contours as I was plunging from the hill (should have read the map on the climb up the hill). On the trail, there were probably a couple dozen mountain bikers who I had to yield to. Another 25 seconds or so lost. Because of the broken pace along the trail, I slowed down and ended up never regaining the speed I had until this middle of the course - there was no flywheel anymore. The rest of the course was medium-level exertion for me, 25-30 bpm below the max heart rate. On approach, I saw a streamer hung at the upper part of the reentrant from afar, but I also could see clearly that there was no bag. I looked at the description, and it did not have the "upper part", so I contunued down the reentrant and there it was. The stop that I took to read the description seemed like a time loss, but afterwards, I learned about the problems others had at this site, seeing the streamer and getting confused, so the stop was a wise time investment. | |||||
| 7. | (20 m climb) Down to the intermittent stream junction, down the NNW-directed intermittent trail on the other side of the major reentrant. Left the trail one contour below the fat contour and followed the fat contour into the next major reentrant. Up along the major reentrant, 4 contours to the bag. Since one would have to drop down to the intermittent stream junction from Control 6, and it is 4 contours below Control 7, the minimum climb on this leg is 20 m. | ||||||
| 8. |
Confused parallel features +00:40 | (25 m climb) Followed the main reentrant out of #7 to the NE for about 30 m, then contoured directly N. Gradually turned to the NW and dropped as I went around the major spur. Hit the next major reentrant 30-40 m below the major (rocky) stream junction but did not figure it out. Went up the reentrant but was hesitant; saw the major junction and thought it was the junction just past the control. Went back down the major reentrant system, to a mapped clearing /shallow reentrant just short/W of the dark green. Relocated as I saw the clearing and the green, turned around, went up the reentrant, climbed up to the bag. This was probably a 40-second error. As far as climb on this leg goes, the best would have been to contour out of Control 7 and drop to the major stream junction. One wouldn't want to come into the major reentrant much below the junction (extra climb), or at all above it (extra reentrants to cross). It is 25 m to climb from the rocky junction to the control. | |||||
| 9. | (55 m climb) The fastest route is to utilize the trail on top of the hill to the max, since the hillsides were overgrown with manzanita, steep, and slow. It is a 55 m climb up the hill and the trail to the bend in the trail that is 160 m E and just a touch S of the control. Then attack from there. I almost did just that but chickened out of the climb as I hit the trail, and contoured on the far side of the hill, at an elevation halfway between the fat contours, to a point just above the many cliffs in the major reentrant before the control. I then came down. As I came down, I saw a boulder where I thought the control should have been, surrounded by elephant paths coming in and out, and a streamer tied to a stick low on the ground. It was well past 2 pm. Until this point, all of the controls were still there, but I was specifically warned that many would walk out of the woods come closer to 3 pm. I thought this one already exited the scene, so I collected the streamer as proof of my visitation and went on. At the finish, I was told that the control was not where the streamer was, but one or two contours lower. Evan gave me credit for the control, since I was quite justified in my assumption that the control walked away on me; besides, the consensus was that I and the streamer were indeed in the correct place, and the bag wasn't. | ||||||
| 10. | (30 m climb) If this leg went to Control 11 directly, there would have been a beautiful route possibility to go around the mountain, through the campground; an almost 2x length but very little climb. Sadly, for the way to #10, this was not a good option. The best was probably to contour and try to hit the meandering W-shaped trail at the SW corner of the W; take it to the NE end of the W; and drop down the white spur. One would end up climbing about one contour for each of the two major reentrants crossed before the W; about 2 contours across a spur to get to the W; and the W itself climbs 2 contours, hence 30 m climb. Lesser- or slightly greater-climb routes are probably almost as fast. I actually thought of climbing alI the way back to the trail I should have taken on the way from #8 to #9 in order to avoid a slow hillside crawl. But I was too tired after the Billygoat and a plane flight, and wasn't moving too fast anyway. I contoured out of #9, staying 1-2 contours above the fat contour; found (I thought I did) the N-directed indistinct trail on the spur, NW of the X; it took me away from the W. From the junction at the top of the spur, I went directly NE across the major reentrant to the trail crossing at the saddle, then followed the E-directed trail for 20 m, and down the NE-directed reentrant. As it merged with the E-directed one, there were many logs and manzanita at the bottom, so I bailed out, following some elephant tracks, into the green with clearings on the N bank of the reentrant system. I took intermittent trails through the green into the control. My climb was 45 m. | ||||||
| 11. | (15 m climb) The straight line climbs three contours. | ||||||
| 12. |
Bad compass work +00:15 | (0 m climb) I actually got confused and stopped as I crossed the N-S trail after leaving #11, because I thought it was the E-W trail. | |||||
| F. | (5 m climb) The chute, as shown, does cross one contour. |
Total Time Lost - 00:04:25