If you were a British soldier in World War I, you might have marched to “It's a Long Way to Tipperary”. Saturday a different song came to mind:
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| Photo by Carrie Magnuson |
It’s a long drive, you know.
It’s a long drive down to Oreana,
Where the clean cut contours go
Goodbye Boise morning bustle,
Farewell city’s glare.
It’s a long, long drive to Oreana,
But my map’s right there.
It was a long drive. I know. I drove it in November to vet the terrain. I drove it again to vet the course design and set the controls. And, of course, I drove it again on Saturday. In each case the drive and the work were much easier and more enjoyable than they otherwise would have been without the company, advice, and collaboration of Kirsten. What I heard from several of Saturday's participants was that they also thought the orienteering on this terrain was worth the drive. Notably, Karin and Bob Didisse drove all the way from McCall. Maybe I shouldn't whine so much about the distance.
As much as I enjoyed mapping the Oreana venue and exploring the terrain, I do regret that I never had the chance to run a course there. Oreana Hills is eminently runnable with great visibility. I am gratified that many of you shared my opinion.
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| Photo by Kirsten Severud |
Twenty participants is a large turnout that far away from town. The 3 dogs just seemed to be happy anywhere. It was an unusually savvy group. Everyone was an experienced orienteer. They arrived early, too early in the case of Bill Leahy and Christy Morris. When Kirsten and I arrived at a full 15 minutes before the scheduled start, Bill and Christy had passed by the start location, and having seen no one there went in search of the start. I don't know where they thought it might be other than the location designated in the meet announcement: the intersection of the Oreana Loop Road and Mills Road. I admire their tenacity more than their patience with the meet director. A phone call from the explorers cleared up the mystery of the vanished start location. I can only hope that the additional miles traveled garnered some valuable sightseeing rewards.
As I was saying, it was an unusually savvy array of participants. All were experienced. All had started by 11:02. All had progressed far enough by 1 PM that we were able to begin pickup an hour before the course closed. As a meet director I much appreciate the convenience of an early control pickup.
We had two new CTOC participants: Robert Rich, who moved from and orienteered in Michigan and Jacob Drew, who comes to us from orienteering in the Austin area. Jacob finished first in the Intermediate division. Importantly, he graciously hung around until he could help with pickup. Kirsten picked up the Advanced end of the course. Much appreciated by the meet director.
A further note about Kirsten. She appears in the results as second in the Intermediate division. That's maybe a little misleading. Several factors need to be considered. First, she had the distinct advantage of having set the course as well as having been on the terrain twice before. To make it more interesting she claims she really wasn't in the INT division. Instead, she was in a division of her own creation, the TNI division. That's INT spelled backwards, the same way she ran the course. She also ran the first (last??) 4 controls from memory and other legs without consulting her map.
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| Indian Paintbrush |
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They also found flowers. It's a little early for flowers in the high desert.
I don't know that congratulations for wedding plans belong in a meet report. They are going in anyway. Carol Baumbauer and Peter Auman are getting married next month. You seem to be a great couple. Congratulations. I do question scheduling your
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| Showy Townsendia |
wedding on the same weekend as our annual Rabbit Creek Orienteering and Potluck. I kinda (but not entirely) get your priorities.
For the rest of you, Rabbit Creek will be on Sunday, May 17 directed by the estimable Kirsten Severud.
John Murray (with a lot of Kirsten's help)
Meet Director
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| Kirsten's long distance photo of Bill Leahy |
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