Nadim's comments - by leg
| 1. | I wasn't sure how to minimize climb so I headed out and just started reading. After the curved "Golf" field I took the trail across Deep Run. Going left up the wide reentrant on the right side, I crossed the saddle and loosely went down the next reentrant on the left side. I got to feeling I was too far left so I straightened out, crossedWhiteford Branch and headed up. I used the change in steepness and memory that I was left of the line to identify about where I was. Coming right a bit I saw the stony ground west of the control and went in. | |
| 2. | Time Lost: 03:30 | I feared dropping too far if I missed the control and didn't notice the trail catching feature as I left #1. I stayed high crossing the reentrant and tried to hug the green going down to the control. I got a bit too much into the green and was forced to go left at one point, but still thinking I was staying on the ridge as well as I could. I was too far left. I hit the trail and cut right. Not definitely finding what looked to be a trail intersection (grey dashed lines crossing the trail), I used the trail curvature to attack from. Combined with the vegetation this worked. |
| 3. | Time Lost: 03:30 | I moved well passing under #1 on the flatish area, crossed Whitefield Branch by contouring a little, then climbed into the field until I hit the road. Cutting right because of the course note warning, I cut left in the next field and got confused thinking I was seeing the field the course notes said to avoid. I kept in the field almost until it ended just south of #4. Finally realizing the error, I cut into the green ducking and crawling until I could run. I was surprised by how sudden the drop was as I neared #3. The 25ft. contours really made a difference but I was able to hit the control well enough. |
| 4. | I ran fairly confidently until the reentrants. Again the 25ft. contours didn't convey what I expected. I slowed, made sure I was crossing the first reentrant then climbing up the past the next. I had't fully read the control description for ruined fence and was expecting to see a stone wall. | |
| 5. | Time Lost: 01:00 | I ran N to Finney Rd. I started to take it N then decided to go the shorter route becuase much of this was on trails too. I also thought the big fence would make the navigation unmistakeable. When I got to the barn area, seeing the newly plowed ground, I thought the road had been wiped-out. I cut left across the dirt but only found dead-ends. Coming back to the barn after some head scratching, I saw the road bent left after the barn. The rest was easy. |
| 6. | After a drink, I headed out straight. This took me through more green than I needed to as cutting back toward the fence would have given me better running the rest of the way. Eventually I did cut right into the clearer woods. Dropping down along the green this time. I saw Mihai Siribu (on Red) and someone else probably hunting for what was my #2. I cut left when I thought I had dropped enough and just before the steepness changed--the map didn't show this but it worked. | |
| 7. | It was fun running down the long reentrant on the right side. I kept my stride crossing Whiteford Branch for the last time and turned left going down. The type on the map for Whiteford Branch outpost hid some detail of where the two reentrants met. I was a little tentative going down but coming across the obvious two sided cliff indicated the right reentrant to climb up. | |
| 8. | Time Lost: 01:00 | Coming out of #8, I contoured around the first ridge. I tried to correct but kept feeling like I was getting pushed right by the slope. It was a long way getting to the trail and saddle too. Once there I saw Mihai again. He appeared headed for the same control. I got in front but failed to read the vegetation well. I passed under the control, hit another ditch and went down. When it was obvious the ditch kept going, I climbed back up it toward the control only to see that Mihai had done a similar thing. However, he was actually headed to a different control. |
| 9. | Seeing this leg I wanted to hug the lake but I was concerned about the course notes saying the lake trail was unpassable. I crossed Deep Run on the bridge and kept going up the trail through the parking and across the field. I kept going down and up the next ridge past the field near #15 like this and rationalized that I could get around whatever obstacle lay there or behind. I dropped to the lake just in-time to reach the unpassable area, just some downed trees. A parallel trail went up around it anyway. I dropped again to the lake and followed trails up the reentrant. A big kink in Peach Orchard Branch let me know I was near. I thought it'd be a little higher up away from the stream because of the form line which on the run I read as a full contour. Having set the Wheaton course recently, I remembered that control 152 was more redish than the other controls. Seing it ahead I was confident. | |
| 10. | A bit of a zig-zag jogging and walking up the hill ignoring trails and then across the field. It seemed too easy. | |
| 11. | Back to the field and up the road. I actually had time on the run to properly read the control code description while running up the road and knew which side of the water tower it'd be on. It looked too easy like there must be some trick but there was none. | |
| 12. | I ran where the running was good. I half followed the orange slashes on the trees--once a trail or boundary? I saw control 9 and passed on the right side of it after crossing the creek. Down the trail I ran up going to #9 until the kink in the stream, I cut left up the reentrant and to the zip-line. At the field at the top I ignored trails and ran on bearing all the way to the control. As I approached I saw Peggy just before she punched coming from another direction. | |
| 13. | I crossed the stream and must have ran past the trail. Not seeing it and not willing to hunt, I just climbed going perpendicular to the slope instead of following my compass. This drew me further left than I wanted but it worked to my advantage. Trails were vague due to leaves so I just ran to the field missing the Blue Trail altogether. I followed clearing down the next reentrant and was a bit surprised to see the pond below to my right. I went around it on the left then on trails, through the parking lot and down the road. Avoiding a loss of altitude I cut left into the woods instead of going down to the trail. I cut over to fields, coming to the control off the "Golf" field and on the trail. | |
| 14. | I hugged the ridge following a rough trail part of the time. | |
| 15. | Time Lost: 02:00 | Up the reentrant, down toward the lake. I paused to make sure I hit the right trail up to the field east of the control. I climbed the field and left it too close to the corner. I wasn't sure of the control code description and passed just above the root stock cutting right. Not seeing anything I kept going to the power line. I didn't think I had gotten that far over so I didn't even see it on the map. To relocate I climbed the hill to the road. I attacked from the bend and felt silly for missing so easy a control. |
| 16. | I was dragging... |
Total Time Lost - 00:11:00
| Suggested Exercises |
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