Race Evaluation
US Champs: Green X
Charlie
| 1. |
Bad route choice +03:00 | Didn't see the narrow trail left of the line, and went 50 m. up the big trail and dove into the manzanita. Yuck! Took a while to get out, ran around on the trail to just N of the control. Description said N side of thicket, and I was sure I was at the right thicket, but not there! Instead it was in the center of the thicket. An omen! | |||||
| 2. |
Disturbed by others +03:00 | NE to the trail, then on the narrow trail network L of line through open area and up to saddle. On pace and compass, then saw a flag in a pit a bit right and further than I thought. Wrong one! Took a while to relocate. | |||||
| 3. | +20:00 | A bit right of the line, but not worrying about it. Got to the big trail that runs NE of the control and caught Dennis Wildfogel, who had started 8 minutes ahead. Up the purported yellow directly N in the direction of the control. There were about 20 people combing the hillside. Decided I was a bit NW, and looked for the little reentrant, but got in the reentrant to the E. At one point I thought I saw streamer tape, but I guess it was manzanita branches. Resolved to go S up to the cliffs and pace count back down, when I heard someone shout. Turned back and thrashed through the manzanita to where he was standing by a very small rock in a very big thicket, with a bag on its side on the ground. This was one of the two worst control placements I have seen, but then I've only been doing this 25 years. | |||||
| 4. | Too scary to go straight. Down to the trail, pretty easy. | ||||||
| 5. | +20:00 | Should be easy, right? To the trail and by the group of two boulders and the group of 3 boulders. Pace and compass and try to follow the mis-mapped yellow. Nothing there. Back up to the boulders and pace and compass, walking. Got to an area with burned trees and slash, but no flag. Did it again, same place. Went to the trail juncition NNW of the control and paced in along the yellow. Got to the same place I was before. Still no flag. Ran into a guy who was also looking, who had given up on #3. After a while I gave up and headed to #6. Saw the guy there and asked him if he had skipped #5. He said he found it under a bush. So I went back and started turning over bushes until I found it. This was the other worst control placement I've seen. | |||||
| 6. | +01:00 | Seemed like there was more yellow in places on the way to this, and definitely less yellow in the vicinity of the flag. I was looking up in the air for the monster 5 meter rootstock, but I guess it shrank. It was only 2 meters by the time I got there. | |||||
| 7. | OK | ||||||
| 8. | +02:00 | Along the trail to the N-S ridge, along that through the saddle, then pace and compass. Found a giant snag and assumed I was therefore 70 m S of the control, but not the case. That snag was unmapped. Milled around for a bit, then found Beatrice and followed her into the Green Y control at the mapped snag, and then it was easy. | |||||
| 9. |
Bad route choice Bad map reading Tired +10:00 | Exhausted and really pissed off, I went way around to the right on the trail and then up the power line. Crashed around in the manzanita for a long time, finding boulders and looking for controls just N of them. Finally realized I wasn't at the top of the hill and went up, then found it easily. My own mistake there. | |||||
| 10. | +01:30 | Hustled the 100 m NNW, but nothing. Saw Louise Madrid standing around looking perplexed and asked her if she was looking for a pit. She said she was, but she was looking for #135. I told her it was 100 m back to the South, and she then told me there was another pit right there, and so there was, right next to us! | |||||
| 11. | First nice leg of the course. Saw the two knolls and around to the right to the boulder. | ||||||
| 12. | OK | ||||||
| 13. | Walking, because I'm so scared of missing another one. | ||||||
| F. | Really terrible course design. |
Total Time Lost - 01:00:30