Training Log Archive: bl

Map walk on Surebridge Mt. from Tiorati Circle/Arden Valley Rd. Had circled some features at some time in the past & elected to use these when we could not park near one of the camps for doing a prior course. Found two new streamers that must have been put on features by an orienteer - one was tied to a stick leaning against a 1m boulder, the other at a rock face base - same streamer material & tie style, no numbers though.

Woods still look so early spring (dull greens, browns, grays) and are so very open, grassy in places. Was on AT briefly, thought of Fred P, Tony F and countless others who passed/will pass that very same stretch - and what it might be like to tackle a 2200 mi hike.

Twas a long way back home…West Point, Tiorati to Hanson, MA, with one stop in Cold Spring. Passed right by Gilbert Hills SF on the way to Hanson. Beth made a deposit on a ’04 Volvo softtop convertible with 24k mi on the odometer. Then home on 93, doing well with rush hour traffic.

HSH, 35 or so years of arriving in the drive from O or boat, car a mess & regrouping begins. M had a long drink at the stream.

AT above Tiorati

Brown "long", 3.3k - green was 6.2, would not have been up for that.
Good run except for #7. I was straight on the route but the contours were hard to read due to waist hi veg. Came upon George Hawes and a flag at a boulder and for the life of me, could not figure out where it was. Steve came along (unbeknownst, started 2' behind). I was baffled and not confident - followed him 40m to a reentrant, not the correct one. Meanwhile, George had figured it out. I was third to punch but got to #8 ahead of Steve & did not see him again but was about a minute behind in the end. #9 was not a good feature choice, too vague, almost a bit bingo given vegetation, much or most unmapped. Rest of points were pretty good. Could not run in the chute w/o stopping to walk, however briefly, several times.

Turned out the "boulder" was a red course dot knoll. It looked like a boulder exclusively but was not able to return to see. It is under the downstroke of the 7 in the photo (hard to see). A "dumb" distraction on my part. Reconsidering I like the left-hand route to the point. I went around the north end of the large cliffs.

Nice weekend, excellent weather. Except for the control description problem in the middle, I really had no issues tho there were some.

We had no plans after the meet (except not to drive home & possibly Surebridge tomorrow) and wandered back to the Highland Falls McDonalds. We ended up at a motel in Highland Falls. I drove thru the WP campus, a fine spring day for that kind of thing. A large campus-reservation, I saw parts I'd not seen before (that I could remember anyway). Also saw two control points by the multi-use stadium but no orienteers/runners in sight anywhere.

Long - Brown - Splits

Event: West Point National Meet
 

West Point middle on Deep Hollow map. A B/B- run, 3-3.5' errors. First point was ok and really pretty easy once on the indistinct path. There was a big rs just before and, though warned about not counting on them, it bolstered me for the next point which was a RF on a slope among quite a few, 5-6, depending on how one might choose to map. I did not note the 3 mapped (small, c. 1m) boulders and rs on the slope before for more accuracy - got to the cliffs, went down a contour and then beyond & then saw the damn point around 3 contours up. Missed three by a bit, revisited on the way back to road after finishing & decided it was on an unmapped RF about 40 NW.

#4 continued with ambiguous map feedback - depended on seeing/passing a large boulder, Kadley pointed out it was a buildg (a circle with the tiniest of corners) & Steve noted it was a ruin of a bldg - not much above ground & why I did not note looking for a big bldr? Finally got near, did not cross the wide/deep stream (Steve did) - wandered up stream nearly 50m, noted a bridge (apparently mapped in wrong place). Made my way to my point to see others there confused - I was at the bldr in the circle but the code was not right.

#5 in my circle was a lone bldr - my description on my bib said it was a RS, I think the # was right. Punched and moved on. I think the next three all had codes that did not agree but were what was in the center of my circle. I had 9 points on the clue sheet, only 8 points on the map - so I was quite confused but felt I'd gone to all.

When I finished the cadet did not ask for my map & I could see that the long return offered the option of revisiting #3 then #2. That's when I saw 3 was clearly on the wrong Rf and #2 was not the best site for a point, unless perhaps if coming from above as Ken W did. It never occurred to me to look at the clue sheet on the map - which was correct & obviously quite different from what i was relying on. I haven't relied on a map clue sheets in years...never say never though.

Forest was lovely, courses not particularly challenging, map in need of more detail (and more accuracy) I'd say. Cadets were lucky the weather was reasonable early as they wanted the clothes drop to be at Rte 293. The start was 4-500 m ahead, and as it turned out, was right on the very same road - there were vehicles there. So had it been cold-rainy the solution would have been easy but insight seemed to be lacking. Eventually turned in to a lovely day.

Night at Round Pond. It started raining steadily around 10p and cont'd much of the night. It was warm, dry & cozy in the tent but the rain right above, beating on the rain fly, made for light sleep. Virtually no one there. Jim A and the Bundschuhs - we and the latter being Jim's guests.

C • #2 2

Sprint at Camp Natural Bridge. Good enough run, lost time by not knowing exactly where #12 was - between buildings & in a side niche at that. The rest (16 others) I went straight enough to - a few route choices that could have been better. In talking splits with Steve, after the first few, he was 15" or so seconds faster most legs. Didn't know it then, but that was MVR affecting endurance.

Middle - Brown - Splits

Sprint - Brown - Splits

200s & 8 400s @ BHS, got the HR up, 3-4 effort. Bright, breezy, cool.

The trail description said this stove dates from the early 20th century (so maybe 100 years) - on a 10' by 12' flat surface described as a hunter's or logger's cabin site. It might make another 100 years.

Sorry to see April go.

April lifts her skirts and runs away. Along comes May but she won’t stay. Soon there’ll be June but who knows her tune.

-- the "distaff" months, perhaps the fairest in the year.

200s, 400, one 800 all 3-4 effort at SPS track. The kids came for bball and track, time to go. Stopped at BHS, even busier (was after work). Called it a day.

To SPS track from parking.