Training Log Archive: GlenT

Curly's Record Run Snowshoe Race in Pittsfield State Forest. One of the tougher races in the series. Uphill start, about 0.5 mi of rolling single track, then climb about 650 feet in under a mile, a little bit of flat, then over 700 feet of descent in about 0.6 mi, then another 1.3 miles of rolling hills and twisty single track to the finish. Trails were mostly well packed snow so it was fast. The temperature at race time was about 30F, making it 25 - 30 degrees warmer than last year.

While the intensity for last weekend's races was about 4.5, this race was truly a 5. I beat last years time by about 50 sec. Finished 27 out of 96 overall.

Another trip to Moreau to check out another possible way down the hill. A bit more snow than on Monday (6 - 12") but not as wet and crunchier. Also colder (upper 20's). On the northeast part of the plateau. This way down is less crappy than where I went Monday (assuming 12" of snow isn't covering up too much) . Some biggish cliffs but they shouldn't be a problem for careful orienteers. Discovered an unblazed but well-used trail part way down the hill.

Also spent some time poking around in a technical area up on the plateau - should offer some interesting orienteering. Lots of rock, most of which is not (yet) on the map. Learned that a snow-covered marsh is not necessarily a frozen marsh.

C • mapping 5

66N, Shaker Museum Rd and back. 30F.

Took advantage of a day off, mild weather (for January), and minimal snow to do some field checking. Looked at another way to get off the plateau at Moreau SP. Kinda steep, pretty rocky, gnarly in places, some logged area for the prickers to grow in this summer - looks good :-) , but maybe not for Brown. 200m downhill run-in to the finish (but that's just the elevation change). Several inches of settled and wet snow with temperature in the upper 30s. Used a map with the contours from the photogrammetry plus some details which Mark D added from aerial photos. There's a lot more detail in the terrain (and several "boulders" on the map are rootstocks in the terrain, or small boulders under rootstocks and snow).