Orienteering race 6:39:00 [3] ** 27.0 km (14:47 / km) +870m 12:44 / km
ahr:120 max:152 spiked:33/37c rhr:48 slept:7.0 weight:148lbs shoes: Adidas ADZ16
2008 Giant's Rib at Rocky Ridge. Burn - 3200 kcal.Dicey weather with heavy rain the days before suggesting high swamps in the Rocky Ridge terrain. New version of Silence Beckons with stalwart KS and rookie RS with the SI card. Felt good starting in light drizzle. SB takes the east route choice to control bb & cc and readily hits Control 1. Quick cross country to trail, heading to CP 2. I and KS discuss running the west or east trails to CP 2. The decision is to use the west route. See Bash and 'Bent of TH go the other way ahead of us so have a frame of reference. Run up the west trails and hit CP2 readily on the backside of a mound. B & 'B show up just after us, apparently using the road. The group heads up the Bruce Trail after Marianna directs us on our way. I decide to climb a stream bed instead of veering on the trail, turning the lead over to 'Bent. We slow on a road section and head down a drivewa. I have a bite to eat but soon realize we have missed a trail cut off. I am trying to eat better in races but it fails me here. Trail run to CP3 and see TH again.
We have decided to go across the field pass in aerial photo passed CP 15 to hit CP ff before going on to CP4. We see TriHarder go a different way. We get to CP ff but can not see a control at the south east tree in the tree line so start scouting. Hammer takes pictures and says to check the description. Finally, I climb the hill near the end of the tree line and find the control in a ruins near the last tree. I realize that I have made this mistake before. I am in orienteering mode but this is an adventure race. Descriptions do not have to be as accurate in a A/R. On to CP 4, we get close but fine adjustments are a problem. RS goes northeast along a swamp line while south west seems to be correct and is. The team gets a bit strung out but reunites. We meet up with TH again. They says"Oh, you have been lost also" but we shrug that we had a differing strategy. A group of 3 teams traverses the Lasso finding the 3 SI's and returning to CP8. TH and SB have a similar strategy to CP9, heading cross country from a trail bend. After CP 9, SB heads for a trail up the lake side but it is difficult to locate our exact position. We hit a small trail, thinking it is our target trial but it soon proves wrong. TH is seen in the distance. We soon hit the major trail we hoped for and reach CP 10 shortly. Running the trail to the lake end, we follow the trail south breaking off into the woods, using the lake as handrail and reach CP 11 soon. Bearing south, we soon hit the major trail, running to the lower lake crossing and taking the small trail down the lower lake section. Skirting the lake edge , we reach CP 12 taking a bearing from the river draining the swamp to the lake. Fairly straightforward point to point navigation!! Water bodies are somewhat confusing as a distinctive lake on the map does not look that different than a temporary swamp. From CP 12 we head to the knob at the lake bottom to bear towards the trail and stream crossing. We see a stream crossing but realize that the ridge to the west is our best route choice though after considerable team discussion. TH has headed that way already. CP 13 is easy to fnd following the ridge line. Now we are into the verbal instructions for a disguised section. Another CNOC team plays tag with us. We get a little confused with the woods around the golf course, Granite Ridge, but follow the cliff bottom and scale the crevasse as in the instructions. Finished this section, we decide to run the Bruce Trail south to skirt a swamp, then kitty corner to the quarry trail and run it until we see the long ridge with control ii on top. Following the ridge to the end, we bear north to the field in the aerial photo and run across the open field hitting controls hh and gg in ready order. TH is seen taking a different route to hh. Straight north to CP15, the distance seems long. Retracing our route to CP16, we fuel up for the last section towards home.
Running down the road we soon hit an old trail section, leading back over to Hilton Falls. We are all pretty stiff and our running speed is down. Another road run brings us to the trail leading to CP 17 and the start of "Walk the Line". We take our time but it is easy to follow the foot prints in the snow though the crevasses, water and cliffs are quite nasty. We soon find the 3 SI's, 18 to 20. CP 21 is reached using a bearing but there is something wrong on the map in that area or my head. Seems I had trouble here in the 2007 NAOC's. Now we have the same long traverse as in the NAOC's. We decide to try to go through the thin swamp section as in the Hard Rock 2 weeks previously, but make the same mistake, not hitting the narrows and crossing more of the dense green than necessary. Again we end up too far south but find the trail to the river crossing. There is major water flow on the river making for a difficult crossing with a very rocky bottom but no one falls in. KS has had a watery spill earlier. SB runs up the clearing on the opposite side, veering west to hit the trail and retacing our previous route to CP 22/1. Next SB takes a bearing north to hit the trail leading towards CP dd. We used the swamp as a handrail but the trail was very confusing. Coming to an intersection, a control could be seen on a hill. We concluded it most be dd though our route seemed a bit off. Next we use a bearing to ee in the middle of a pond. I walked up to my knees in water as RS is reluctant. Trail and bearing leads us readily to aa and SB heads for home using the major trail ajacent. Once hitting the clearing we take a side trail to the finish. TD was waiting to cheer us home there.
Finishing in 22nd position out of 40 teams not bad. Overall a pretty good day!! My feeling is that our time should have been faster as we spent too much on group discussion and explaining changing strategies. My right knee was pretty sore by the end after this weekend and the preceeding Flying Pig. May have twisted it at the Pig but could do with some strengthening for longer distance races.