Orienteering (Course setting) 1:45:00 10.0 km (10:30 / km) shoes: 200908 Inov8 X-Talon 212
I woke very early to set streamers for the Cat Rock Park training. Conditions were clear and cold, with a temperature of -4 C; the forest was blanketed in 10-15 cm of snow. I originally planned to set reflective streamer, but I only had about 2m; to be consistent, I used my plentiful yellow CAUTION tape despite its inferior reflective qualities. Because of the snow, I ran to the controls significantly out of order so my footprints wouldn't denote an optimal route. This was largely superfluous, since the first runners would lay tracks.
The forest was surreal at night, with a stillness I have only observed in winter. Snow clung to vegetation, impeding visibility, and the wintry landscape was starkly beautiful. The sun rose while I was setting, and the transformation from night to day was similarly spectacular.
I ended up revising several of my control locations because the vegetation was impassable in some cases, and finding the controls at night would require fortunate circumstances rather than skillful effort.
I did not get much sleep, but I was very glad to finally get some time on a map, even if I was setting and revising.