Corrals Meet September 22

On Saturday, September 22, I counted 4039 people running cross country. Unfortunately, only six participated in the CTOC Corrals Meet. The other 4033 were middle, junior high, and high school students running in the annual Bob Firman Invitational Cross Country Meet at Eagle Island. That's where we will be on Saturday, October 20 for our annual Vampire-O Meet.

Although the Corrals Trail and its associated trails are well known to hikers and mountain bikers, only the occasional hunter and sheepherder explore terrain in between the trails. Parts of the trails traverse private land and are closed to off-trail hikers. Other parts are on BLM land and open to the public. Our event was located entirely on BLM property. A couple of our orienteers remarked that they had always wondered what was out there and that they appreciated the opportunity to explore.

Because the Corrals terrain does not lend itself to either a beginner or intermediate course design, I originally scheduled a Sunday event for intermediate orienteers. However, the only orienteers who RSVPed for Sunday's intermediate course ran the advanced course on Saturday, so I canceled the Sunday event with their permission.

Shoelaces Invisible Under Embedded Grass Seeds

That's probably just as well. I'm not convinced that everyone could have picked all of the cheat, squirrel tail and medusa grass seeds out of their socks and shoes in time for a Sunday meet. Bill Leahy's friend, Lorie, did not get the memo about the situation, and consequently came without proper protection from the grasses. After the first control she realized that she would be spending more time cleaning her socks and shoes than orienteering. She wisely opted out and went for a trail run that must have been more enjoyable.

There must be some applause for Melanie Wright. She turned in a strong performance to win a second place finish behind Sergey. I am also grateful for her assistance picking up all of the most distant controls.

We hope to see you at the Vampire-O for the incomparable fun in the dark.

John Murray