Orienteering 2:00:00 [2]
Training at Hilton Falls West. From conversations at the national team training camp in January, I know that top orienteers enjoyed this terrain and didn't find it overly difficult, so it'll be great for a North American Championship. As for me, well... I just can't seem to master it after several practice sessions in this area. I feel that just by stepping on the map, half my IQ gets sucked out of my brain. It seems that whatever unconscious techniques I usually use to simplify the map are totally wrong for this terrain. Perhaps I'm being too defeatist - there were only a couple of controls that gave me problems, but the errors were time-consuming and frustrating because of my poor ability to relocate on this map. Unless there are multiple 2.5 m contour lines or big cliffs, I have a heck of a time seeing the lay of the land, especially with the leaves on the trees, so I tried to use some of the many rock features instead. However, they weren't all mapped on the older part of the map we were using, and even when they were mapped, I have a hard time distinguishing between different rock features. I'm sure there is a lot of judgement required when mapping something like this, and my boulder might be someone else's cliff.
Speaking of rock features, it was my first time back at Hilton Falls since twisting my ankle so badly there in mid-May, and it is a scary place for someone with a gimpy ankle! I didn't go too hard today, which was good for my heavily bandaged, blistered feet. After tomorrow morning's Terry Fox Run, I should be able to take the bandages off and stick to bare feet or backless sandals until Tuesday night - yahoo.
Most times when I drive home from Hilton Falls West, I contemplate taking up a new, easier sport like lawn darts, and today was one of those days.