Just because we had left West Point yesterday in early afternoon didn't mean that our orienteering was done for the day.
We were heading for my mom's in Litchfield (CT), and there was no rush to get there, and it was a nice day, so I planned to take a few back roads I'd never been on. Lacking any road maps, I spent a few minutes in the morning looking at Google Maps, picking out a route, and doing my best to commit it to memory.
Here is what the
planned route was. Get off I-84 at the exit for 311, take it to 22, a short bit north on 22, right on Quaker Hill Rd., to 37, to 7, cross the Housatonic, and then back streets on the north side of New Milford to miss the usual traffic snarls on the south side of town. I did my best to commit it to memory. Supposed to be 41 minutes, not quite 20 miles, just about as fast as going around via 84 and 7.
Here is
what we did. 71 minutes, 33 miles. In the process I --
-- slept right through the exit for 311.
-- got off at the next exit, happened to be route 312, maybe Google just had it wrong?
-- got over to 22 as planned, a quick jog north, the next right, looking good but the street name was wrong.
-- still trying to head generally northeast, eventually came out on a bigger road, but no signs indicating it's name.
-- gut feeling, turned right on it, not a good move.
-- Eventually got to some civilization, a road sign that said we were on the desired road (37), and a gas station. Went in to ask.
-- Clerk said they had no maps of any kind, and she had no idea where any roads went.
-- Another customer started giving me a lengthy set of instructions, starting with head back the way we'd just come on 37, and then going on and on, only confirming how different our minds work.
-- And we did the rest of the route perfectly (I really did remember a bunch of turns correctly).
Orienteering lesson I took away from this.
1. Having a map is a good thing.
2. Looking at a map, assuming you have one, is a good thing too. I've never been a great fan of map memory exercises or map memory courses. That stuff can get you into trouble. Just learn to read the map a lot better, and a lot faster.
3. And don't daydream, which is what got me into trouble in the first place.