Training Log Archive: possum

Having not read a map in a couple of weeks, I thought it was time. I went to Smithville Lake with last week's courses. I did the advanced course, but, not wanting to pay the parking fee, I parked at the Smoke & Davey trailhead. I did controls 7-10, then skipped 11 down on the peninsula (not a lot of navigation anyway) and went from 1-6 and back to parking. The clues were not on the map, but it wasn't difficult to figure out where I was. The frost had come out of the ground, so it was very muddly in places, and I got lots of leg exercise picking my feet up while hauling several pounds of mud on each shoe. It was some slow slogging there and slippery. I encountered some really nasty briars, especially when crossing a creek and having to crawl up the other side. I did just a little bit of running while on the asphalt trail, so that was good. Mostly, it was fun being in the woods on such a nice day with a map in my hand. And I was reading the map well.