2022 US Orienteering Masters Championship, Bigelow Hollow State Park, CT
Day 2.
S-1 - The nice voluneer start people were just getting going (I started at 9:08am) and probably forgot to warn me about needing to go to the start triangle. I just ran up the trail. After messing-up at the start on Day 1, I should have been thinking about being careful, especially on such a short leg. I guess the excitement got me. I did 180 with the map. I climbed instead of cut back towards where we got our maps. I got twice as far away as the control was because I was running towards some green. I got to the ridge in the green, then headed back, realizing what I did. I didn't go back to where I got my map, but left the trail at a bend and found the control almost right away. I lost over 8 minutes. :( Sergey Velichco had also missed and was in the area.
1-2 - After getting #1, I headed straight towards #2, but decided to climb higher to avoid dropping across the reentrant. Sergey Velichco soon passed me as did a junior cadet. I got too high and saw the large reentrant ahead. That prompted me to drop back down to the cliff. I lost about 90 seconds.
2-3 - I started straight but soon cut left to avoid the uncrossable cliffs ahead. Vadim M. and later Alex Jospe passed me but I got to the control pretty quickly near them.
3-4 - I threaded the way through the green using the most of the white forest. I hit the correct knoll and looked around without seeing the control. I then went on to the next knoll and saw the trail there. Looking back to the knoll I'd been on and moving closer, I then eyed the control in the green. Vadim came in behind me. I probably lost about 75 seconds.
4-5 - I got on the trail for a little while, and hit the creek. Stopping, I saw the large boulder behind me. Ioana Fleming had seen the boulder too, but she didn't have to come back like I did.
5-6 - I got on the trail as was having a difficult time seeing because my glasses were all fogged-up. I stopped to clear them but it didn't help much. At the trail intersection, I went east along the edge of the green. Eventually, I cut right across the open marsh and hit the hillside. Some juniors were leaving so I kept going and found it.
6-7 - Since I was having a difficult time seeing, I couldn't see the trail through the green. I might not have taken it anyway since there was still green forest in the way. I took the road heading southeast. I turned north on the jeep track, to climb the ridge. I thought to turn right on the next trail but decided against it realizing that it dropped down, and I'd have to climb again. I cut off in a vague area but quickly got to the west side of a stone wall with white course controls on it. I still couldn't see well due to my foggy glasses and I couldn't read where the stone wall was. I ran along it and got north of the green before cutting right. As I headed east, southeast, I passes some knolls and gained confidence in where I was. The quicker that I ran, the clearer my glasses got. I recognized a slight reentrant ahead and cut right. I stopped at a rock just south of the big boulder that was just south of the control. Recognizing the boulder, I went north to the control. I may have lost 15-20 seconds.
7-8 - I took a straight line that had me climb. I could see the control and the reentrant from 50m away but lost sight of it as I dropped to get closer, and to go around the green.
8-9 - I went straight, but wasn't reading the area well. I had to go further after hesitating past the trail.
9-10 - Over to the trail, then left a bit to go around the green. I passed the boulder on the spur, then threaded my way through the green to come out right at a trail bend. I went to the next bend 50m away, then cut west down ot the marsh. I went a little longer to go around the ridge, then followed the marsh until I could see the green ahead on the left. I went through the green and dropped right into the reentrant.
10-11 - I went straight. Ioana Fleming was in the area. I kept going with her behind me and spiked the control.
11-12 - I went straight again--this is how poorly I was reading the map, I didn't think of the trail options. I was hard to see the one on the left. My straight route eventually went through the green and got me to the formline reentrant SW of the control. I paused to read the map more carefully, again clearing my eyeglasses, then knew to keep going to the control just 15m away.
12-13 - I went north to the smaller trail and turned right. Taking trails I crossed the bridge, then kept straight as I could. I heard my son Max lament his performance on the course behind me, but I didn't look back. He pulled ahead of me just before I got to the control.
13-14 - I chased Max going straight and we spiked the control. Someone else was behind me.
14 - 15 - Max led the way on the trail toward the bridge. I next heard Greg Balter's voice behind asking to pass. He did almost right way as the forest opened before the bridge, and he then passed Max too. We left the trail at a bend and ran quickly. There seemed to be more going on than was on the map and I was losing contact but we reached the control soon enough.
15 - F - I still chased Max, who was chasing Greg Balter. Another person passed me and looked like he might have been in my age group, only I didn't know who he was. We ran along the shore on the trails to the finish. It was nice to finish quickly with people to push me. I hadn't been running quickly much since my right knee started to bother me (it was not hurting today).