Training Log Archive: danfoster

It was a balmy 43 degrees out, and sunny, so Jess and I headed out on the Stumpjumper. After all winter on the fat bike, it felt strange to be on skinny tires again!

Event: Crooked Compass Adventure Trek
 

This turned out to be two races in one for me - a race to get the passport, and then a race to recover. Things were going well for the first half of the bushwhack to M1. Was planning to cross the Tower/Jackson trail at 2080', but GPS plot shows I crossed at 2180' There was a trail junction just below, with a trail heading down to the SW. On the map that would be the intersection at 2230'. I wish I had written down what my altimeter showed, but this was the first time I glanced at it during the race (after setting it at the start) and the elevation shown was nowhere near 2230'. I think it was >300' lower. I left that green blaze with two new beliefs: that I was much higher on the map than I expected to be, and that my altimeter couldn't be trusted. Both of those turned out to be wrong, and pretty fatal.

I plotted a new bearing to M1 from the topo trail junction, and followed that for a ways before the GPS plot shows me veering steadily downslope to the left. I think I may have found a hunting stand and a game trail through the mountain laurel, and let that pull me off course. In any case, I came down to a reentrant with some water in it, and since I'd been coming in from too high, I was pretty sure I was in the V of the stream confluence. After searching with some other teams for a bit, I headed south to re-attack from the confluence, and found myself at a confluence below C. Followed the west side of the stream up a ways, and sure enough, there was an obvious "Indian Cave" with teams exiting. In my haste, I never confirmed the right leg of the confluence, but headed into the caves and started looking for the container with the passport. I spent 25 minutes searching here, and was really starting to worry that everyone else had punched and moved on, and that I was truly alone in the woods. Finally another team ran down the far bank and helpfully sent me further north to a boulder field with the elusive flag. Finally got my passport right around the 2 hour mark.

From there, things went a lot smoother. I skillfully navigated back to C, which was still right where I'd left it an hour before. :) Having wasted an hour finding M1, I immediately skipped A,D and F, and spent the next hour climbing 2000' vertical from B to M2, and then immediately dropped down to M3 at 12:15. So, with half the day over, I'd gotten 3 optional points and skipped 3, and walked up and down a big hill.

Maybe it was the coffee and peeps at M3, but things turned around for the second half of the day. Picked off the points on the NE side, and almost decided to make a run for Q down in the gap. But, took the safer choice, and headed from O to P, foolishly trying to find the old trail directly to P on the topo. Had a nice bushwhack instead. Got lured off my line and missed P to the south, and had to run back along the ridge to get it. Raced back to the finish with about 5 minutes to spare.

I believe I finished with 17/21 points, having skipped A,D, F and Q. But I punched C twice, and discovered my own set of Indian Caves, so it turned out to be a pretty good day in the woods after all. Thanks, Rootstock!

C • descending towards M1 from the bushy hillside 2

5K and warmdown

Finally rode the full loop without stopping for any fallen trees!

Magazu's Landing to Ice House ahead of the afternoon rain.

Rode the full loop as an inch of snow fell around us. Found two big blowdowns on the final stretch of trail. The mowing crew was out chipping trees in the field.