2018 SLOC Meramec Ice Ice O by Alane Wolins

Meramec Orienteering Meet, February, 2018 by Alane Wolins

February weather impacted attendance on this one.  There had been some freezing rain overnight and it was a little dicey getting to the “base camp” shelter, what with the slippery downhill drive.  It helped having David Beattie and daughter along as passengers, as well as my dog Kelly Kapowski, an English Pointer mix (her first orienteering escapade). 

Kelly Kapowski

Kelly Kapowski's animal spirit. Same sassy look.

This time I opted for the orange course, with a total of seven checkpoints.  Starting out was rather strange.  The roads and rocks were all icy, so you had to be very careful where you walked.  Staying in the grass/leaves was the way to go.  Headed out and uphill and next to the road, to begin the quest for CP #1.  

I overshot the path that led towards #1, but back tracked through the woods and got to the power line about the time the Beatties were coming down the cleared area, finding the CP just adjacent to the power line clear cut.  
 

For #2 I had seen on the map that it was just off an old abandoned fence line, and knowing where the fence line was, I decided to go back to it, then follow it downhill to the checkpoint.  I looked and looked, up and down, restarting from the road above to no avail. Then Dave came by and they had already been to the checkpoint, heading on to the third. Turns out #2 was actually not particularly near the fence after all.  Dave pointed me in the right direction and I scrutinized the map to find it.
 

Lesson number one for the day:  don’t trust man-made objects on the map.  Go by terrain first.  If I had navigated by terrain, #2 would have been easy, what with the reentrant it was near.
 

So after that, it’s what I did.  For #3 I contoured around another reentrant and hillside, continually comparing the map to where I thought I was, catching up with the Beatties, coming upon the abandoned road which led to the checkpoint.  All in all, easy peasy.  
 

Then I hoofed it uphill and over the paved road, down the other side to a reentrant for #4, with frequent stops for map consultation. Another easy one!  #5 was further down the reentrant, to the side in a ditch.  Also according to the topo map.

By this time I was feeling pretty confident.  I decided to contour around the hillside, trying to stay at approximately the same elevation and around to what looked like an open-ish area, with the checkpoint on the side.  Which is, of course, not how it turned out.  Back and forth through that open area I went, even so far as to get within sight of a pond which should have helped me to backtrack to the checkpoint.

Hmmm…  cp #7 was right at the edge of said pond, so I decided to go there instead. Around the pond I went through the stickers and brambles and phew, #7 bagged. But then I realized the map was no longer in my hand.  Dang it!  Wearing gloves and having a dog leash made it hard to keep track of what I was holding. I back tracked and looked for it, but couldn’t tell exactly where I had been, so unfortunately I littered in the state park. 
 

Far in the distance I heard the chatter of boys. The Scouts were coming, so I knew at least I could walk out with someone.  It took quite awhile as they were scrambling downhill on very icy/slippery rocks.  One of the gracious leaders gave me his map, and helped me decipher the location of #6.  Which was decidedly not in the green/open area of the map.

So lesson number two for the day, don’t trust the green.  Uphill I went, climbing the slippery rocks to #6.
 

All during this time, Kelly was having great fun. Since it was cold I had put a coat on her because of the possibility of a lot of time spent standing around looking at maps, and she was quite cozy but not overheated.   So much to sniff and see!  Keeping her out of the pond was a bit of an issue.  The thin layer of ice could have cause quite a problem.   It was definitely a better day to be on four legs than two.  She had zero issues with slipperiness.

After #6 it was time to get back to the start/finish.  Fairly straightforward, except for the path on the map which didn’t exist in real life- lesson already learned, so I didn’t look to hard for it.  The fire in the fireplace of the shelter was a welcome sight.

To summarize what I have learned so far in the last two O meets:

1. Don’t count on a trail indicated on a map as actually being there

2. Go by topographical information rather than man-made objects such as fences whenever possible

3. The green/open area isn’t always there

4. You gotta still look around a lot

Something else of note – whenever I have heard veterans discussing various checkpoints in regards to orienteering or adventure racing, they are able to talk about check point this and checkpoint that and I wondered how they kept it all straight in their minds afterwards. Now that I have done the actual navigation by myself I understand it better.  I’m writing this blog a full week after the event and can still trace it back in my mind.  Maybe it amounts to all the consideration and ability to be present in the moment that needs to happen to be successful in such an event.
 

All in all a very enjoyable day, minus the slippery driving.  There’s a big learning curve for me in this new endeavor of Orienteering and I am really intrigued with the challenge.  Can’t wait til the next one!

Alane