Orienteering race 1:56:13 [3] 6.0 km (19:22 / km)
shoes: Yellow NB T840
Red course at Lake Pawtuckaway. Early part was on Big Island. I always have trouble there, and always think: this time will be different. Not yet. Generally OK until #6. Thought I had a safe route, but came off edge of marsh and couldn't find it. Maybe the wrong marsh? Probably. Wandered around a bit, then couldn't find the marsh again to see if it was a different one, so headed SE looking for something I could relocate from. Finally found a large boulder that was a control on another course, and only about 150 M SE of #6, so walked carefully back, checked off some more marshes, and off the corner again. No luck. Found a couple of other guys wandering there and wandered some more. Then got the bright idea of heading toward the big hill with #7 and backtracking. Saw a bunch of folks there, including Phil and Peter Goodwin, and came down the spur to the bump at the end. Nothing. Now I'm really pretty distressed and thinking, where else can I go if it's not here. But then my eye caught a streamer, and below the streamer a flag. Off to #7, where I lost patience about 20 M too soon and climbed a line or two, then saw PG below me and realized the cliff was down there, so down again and in from the other side. Up and over the ridge and down the reentrant looking for the knoll and the flag at a water hole beyond. Never saw the knoll, and certainly not the flag. Made it down to the green, and so turned back, seeing the flag tucked around the corner. A good route to #9, but overran it in a maze of little knolls, and saw Adam C-B coming straight in. The rest uneventful. Very wet.
Orienteering 2:01:30 [3] ***
11c shoes: Yellow NB T840
Wicked Hard Night O. Score-O with 14 controls, and I got 11. Route was 2-1-3-5-7-10-13-11-8-9-12 and in, meaning the skips were 4, 6 and 14. Most of the rain over, but lots of deadfall and I walked almost all of it. Fell in with Phil and Peter Goodwin at the start. Over the wall and into the wet reentrant and through the slot. I was a little uncertain at the top and went to the hill just west, but Peter found #2 on the correct hill and I caught back up. Behind Phil running and walking NE down to the trail, then heading up from the trail Jct E of control. Again, Peter found it. Then NNE to the trail and we split up, with Phil going up to the "safer" route to #3 by the stone wall and Peter and I heading more or less straight. He was leading, and I would have liked to be higher to pick up the slot and the big boulder, but we overshot and started milling around. Phil showed up, and finally we saw Barb and Dave and they found it. Then Peter went to #4 and Phil and I headed to 5, picking up B&D again on the way. Pretty successful route past the wall jct and between the marshes, across knoll and up the hill. Got passed by a big crowd coming from 6 right at the end, including PG and Fapos, among others.
Then to #7, Phil and I bearing off left to find the marshes and getting caught up in a lot of green before heading south across the stream and working our way back past the green and in. Barb and Dave there ahead of us.
Aimed for the wall north of the marsh but missed it low and crossed the stream near the wider spot. Then I knew where I was from other years and headed up hill passing the wall end and keeping the hill on my right heading right to it. Good leg, and Phil and I were ahead of Barb and Dave again. Easy leg to 13. Over the hill and down around marsh, up on ridge with cliffs on either side and reading knolls all the way.
To #11, out to the trail and in from trail corner. Got a little off to the right, but not much lost time.
A bit right of line to 8, going to the marsh, then PG passed and was motoring along with his big Tesla X lighting up the surroundings. First time I could see more than six feet away. Followed him to 8 and most of the way to 9, with Phil behind.
Heading south from 9 I thought about running away from Phil and decided that was not cool and I would stick with him. However, when we left 12, I got my face caught by a hemlock branch and it pulled my lamp off, and Phil cheerfully scampered away by 5 seconds.