Training Log Archive: wwk

Event: EMPO - Cole Hill
 

Green Course at Cole Hill State Forest, local EMPO meet set by the indomitable Phil H-T. The day started off rainy, but a fine day for orienteering by the time I started. Cole Hill has a lot of different features and nice open woods to make for all the orienteering fun you could want in one course.

No major errors --
1 Likely a suboptimal route to #1, maybe lost a minute.
2 Almost right on, hit the stream about 20m to the right of the control
3 Intended to go straight on the line but got off too far east and saw the intermittent streams, maybe a lost minute
4 Went straight for it and did pretty well though I tripped face first over a bit of ruined wire fence (it was mapped...), which simultaneously took off my right shoe and made me drop all the accoutrements strapped to my hands and head. Lost a minute. Saw Janet F (on Red) headed up the hill as I recovered
5 Followed the stone walls all the way, easy.
6 Followed the trail then attacked from the trail/stream crossing (big bridge there) -- I remembered from last year that this is a nice little trail to run down. Got there a bit before Janet F
7 Long leg -- went right, intending to stay south around around the marsh end by the park boundary, hesitated a bit since the marsh was larger than mapped and I wasn't sure if I could get through (veg a bit thick, etc). Janet F led the way, about 50m of water walking and then followed the bottom of the hill side till I could see rock features, then compass shot right too it.
8 Pretty much went straight for it, but stayed along the edge of the long marsh towards the end and attacked from the corner.
9 Just went around the marsh tip, no problem
10 Followed the indistinct trail (I think there a few more meanders unmapped around there) to the large trail by the park boundary
11 Had fun cutting down the slope

Picked up 11 controls, mostly white and yellow. Amusingly Sue H-T was still out on green when I left, and one of green's last controls was one I was supposed to pick up. Luckily I saw Sue not far before that control and saw her run off down the trail towards it. I eventually caught up with her and saw her running down the trail away from the control, just as I had done when I ran the course. So I tuck into the woods to get the control, pick it up and start walking out. Sue runs in and needs to punch it; she had overshot! So like a true sportsman I ran back to the stone wall and replaced the control.

C • premature pickup 1

Green - Splits

At Cicotti Center -- 1/2 hour on elliptical, then some laps on the indoor track and weights.

Event: EMPO - Dwaas Kill
 

Local meet at Kinns Road -- first time I'd ever been there. Zoe had the day off school (Columbus Day) so we went and did the 90 minute score-o. She did a good job scaling the steep hillsides by the creek and walking all over the place (crossing streams, etc.), her good attitude didn't falter much at all. She even spotted a few controls before I did and ran off to them! Her favorite part was petting all the dogs.

Route (no misses) 6-4-3-14-17-19-20-12-13-8-9-7-1-2

Nice park and a lovely fall day!

Only two errors. Accidentally scaled the wrong hillside (one too early) while walking east along the stream and trying to get to 20--prob a waste of 5 minutes, it was steep and muddy. Later, going from 13 to 8, mistakenly took the trail below 8 instead of above, wasted a minute inspecting the wrong section of the reentrant, but then figured it out.


(32 points on the score-o)

Had Max for an hour again while Stacey was at a class. Pushed him in the stroller around a loop at the Crossings, then let him play at the playground. GPS track shows the wonders of toddlers climbing and sliding. (Well its not that good, I was using my phone's GPS) Definitely going to set a leg in the hedge maze for the totally unannounced, unofficial, unasked-for summer EMPO event.