Eerie and Dark at the Vampire-O

There was a little chill in the air, the occasional gentle blow of wind across the back of your neck, making you frequently look over your shoulder behind you. The park was dark, with point-earning controls all around.  A cadre of 13 orienteers started out at the whistle, 6 old-timers and 7 new-comers. Extra points given for heading into the spooky abandoned farm and building areas to the East. Two of the newcomers returned after a short wander, deciding they would prefer a first-hand try at orienteering in the light of day.  Elijah Hill volunteered to start as vampire. John Murray took off for the more complex navigation at the Northwest area of the park, which he knew well. Innes Wright hoofed it out quickly for the high pointers to the East. Andy & Laurie teamed up to knock of points, as did Rachel, Sicily, and Scarlet, and Wendy and Betsy. Katrina bravely ventured out on her own. Somewhere in the dark, Vampires changed hands and maps exchanged. Innes had to give up his high scoring card with bonus points, which eventually made it back into the hands of John, who was then able to run out and add back in a large number of already known points a second time, leaving him with the highest scoring card (18 of 26 possible). Wendy & Betsy arrived with the second highest number of points (14), but had 5 subtracted for returning late.

In the end, it was a tight race. With John bowing out as mapmaker and having a home-team advantage on his training stomping ground, the final order of finishers was:

Place	Team	Score
1	Andy Hill and Laurie Li	12
2	Rachel Steele, Sicily & Scarlet Marquez	11
3	Katrina Wright	10
3	Elijah Hill	10
4	Wendy Christopher & Betsy Hammer	9
Hon. mention	John Murray	18
VAMPIRE!	Innes Wright
Light seekers	KC & Michael