Training Log Archive: PG

Event: NEOC: Wachusett Mtn.
 

NEOC meet at Wachusett. Green course, 5.2 km, 210 m.

I wouldn't have thought about this event if Phil hadn't had it on his schedule, and if Julia hadn't also said she'd be interested in going. Phil then decided that Kansas City was where he preferred to be this weekend, the lure of visiting a sister and running the Possum Trot (though perhaps not in that order) too strong to resist.

I was still somewhat interested in Wachusett, as my outing last Saturday had been very satisfying, though not really keen on a trip by myself. But Julia was still interested, so I swung by Amherst to pick her up, and an hour later we were there.

Wachusett was first used for orienteering 25 years ago, September of 1994, and then the Billygoat in April, 1996. Then a little more, but I think the map went into hibernation for many years until summoned forth by Jon Campbell for a local meet a year ago. An interesting place to orienteer. The map is almost all light green, but the vegetation is actually not bad, didn't encounter any thorns, just a little bit of mountain laurel easily avoided. Mainly just a little scruffy.

And the map has held up well over the years. Don't think there are any new trails (especially of the mountain bike sort), no dense thickets of young white pine. Seemed perfectly fine today. And an interesting course by Jon with good variety.

And my orienteering? Mostly good but a couple of times shaky, recovered once quickly (#8), the other time a little less quickly (#3). And though it has been years since it I have thought about such things, I do seem to have claimed a scalp today, that of my traveling companion. :-)

Very glad I went. Good company, for sure. A bit of socializing at the event, though it was a bit cold for that, chatted some with Jonas Martner, visiting this fall from Sweden with his wife and two kids, tried to interest him in Ratlum Mountain in December.

I was running a little more than last Saturday though still very cautiously. And definitely enjoyed the orienteering. That last is not a trivial statement given recent years.

C • Scalp - he's back... :) 3

Green - Splits

Conway Road in West Whately, last bit on Williamsburg Road.

Tolerable. Which is progress.

And then afterwards a hike with Gail up South Sugarloaf.

South Sugarloaf, trail up, road down. Lots of leaves.

Old roads north of Quabbin. Getting cold -- mid-20s, NW 10-20 mph but much less when away from the water. Usual routing out there, lots of stops. Face got chilly, toes a little chilly towards the end, rest was fine. Sure helped having hand warmers in my mittens.

Adventures (up to a point) are usually a good thing. So, today, time for another adventure. A culinary adventure. Surprise!

Picked out a recipe from the Jerusalem that seemed like it was worth a try -- Braised quail with apricots, currants, and tamarind. On this venture, rather than the master (Gail) / slave (me) relationship on our last venture in the kitchen, it was a little more equal. Me still the novice, but not quite a total idiot.

Anyway, it got done in not too much time and without any crises and it was delicious. :-)

C • quail 4

Jeep road on Mt. Toby.

On the old "roads" on the north side of Quabbin again, lots of stops again. A nice day. No sun, but generally benign, mid 40s and no wind. Sightings included three otters, a porcupine, an osprey (should already be heading south), and a flock of snow buntings (harbinger of what's coming).

But for sheer entertainment, none matched the sighting on Friday. I hadn't been going very long when some movement in the brush by the side of the road caught my eye. A ruffed grouse. You hear them much more often than see them, so normally this guy would have already skedaddled, but it seemed quite happy hanging about 5 yards from me, looking for snacks in the brush.



I stayed a few minutes, pretty cool.

About an hour and a half later I was passing back through the same area. I saw a thrush, stopped, caught glimpses of it as it moved a couple of times, then lost it. As I was still looking, I heard a noise, looked down, and there was the grouse about 2 feet from my front wheel.

Was it lonely? Or just an extrovert? Or psychotic? It certainly wasn't leaving. Well, might as well take advantage of the situation. First a video --



Then tried for a selfie, successfully so in the sense that bird, bike, and me are all in the same photo, but not really up to my usual high standard. Just need more practice.

Second training for the day. Phil wanted to do another summit, Horse Mountain in Hatfield, and it seemed tame enough and short enough that I might be able to manage it. So off we went.

Just perfect. Didn't get shot at or yelled at, even passed a sign that said hikers were welcome. Didn't get lost. Didn't fall. Ran in bits and pieces and it wasn't awful. We made it to the top despite the fact that we had forgotten to bring crampons, ice axes, ropes, oxygen bottles, or (for Phil at least) a map.

And then we made it back too. A little more running because it was now downhill. No video, because two old guys doing something that is sort of like running is not worth spending a bunch of electrons on. But still, some running.

The only problem is that Phil thinks I am now on the way back. He already thinks he is on the way back. So pretty soon we will be tearing through the woods again, just like we used. Hmmm, nope, not gonna happen.

But, for one day at least, it was really fun getting out with him for this bit of an adventure. It's been a while.