This was not a technically difficult course, since there was so much trail running, but there was some real orienteering involved in places.

Start to Control 1
Just move as fast as I dare, while looking over the course. We haven’t visited the south end in a while so much may have changed – have to be ready. I can see 7-8-9 will be ‘real’ part. Tried to do a NNW out of the trail junction at the Split Oak. Missed a little low but bounced off the marsh edge and easily saw the control.

Control 1 to 2
Another long trail run. SSW out of control to hit the first trail. Accidentally turned south on a recent fire-cut trail at N end of Big Cypress Swamp. Correction was easy since recent bush-hogging had reduced palmetto to shin height. I expected to leave the trail to go SW to control at the bend about 100m from control. Needn’t have worried – control was visible from trail, again thanks to shin-high bush hogging.

Control 2 to 3
I saw two people trying to bee-line this leg and spoke to another later who tried. I urge all to get used to doing trails. Much easier, usually faster and in this case should be obvious to all. If it wasn’t obvious to you, re-think it and see why it ought to have been. Attack point from trail bend through pretty easy palmetto to the marsh edge and control.

Control 3 to 4
Left 3 to find indistinct trail leaving marsh – never did see it. Went to canal-side trail and followed all the way to the open sand dunes just before 4. A little hesitation to be sure the pond point was not inside the really thick bushes, so could not see control until I was 5 feet away.

Control 4 to 5
Classic route choice. Do I dog-leg all the way back to canal crossing or dive in. Dove. Not bad. Chest deep. Getting out was tricky with fallen brush and limbs poking you back into it. EC John Ide noted in his event report that he thought crossing water was a no-no. Not true. Any route choice is legal except those marked on the map as prohibited. The symbol for ‘uncrossable’ water is advisory. Good advice, usually. But in this case a wise and do-able choice. Besides the edge-of-green after the canal had the usual critter-track border that was easy running. Trail junction was clear. My heart broke when I saw what had become of Platt’s Hideaway from pine bark beetle and hurricanes. It’s nearly gone, so the control hung high was clearly visible from afar.

Control 5 to 6
Another route choice of water crossing or trail around that I did not hesitate on – taking trail. Ron Eaglin said he bee-lined across marsh and found it only ankle deep. He probably beat my time on this leg by 3 or 4 minutes, especially since I got hung up in a tiny patch of palmetto and had to re-try approach to control. This was nicely snuggled away in a corner of a pretty little grassy area. Nice control placement.

Control 6 to 7
No trail help here. Just approach carefully via clearing and distinct tree and hope the wall of green stops me before I go too far. Aimed off right a little just to be safe and sure enough, the control was up against the green-wall about 50’ to my left. Nice control placement.

Control 7 to 8
I thought to follow the green-wall as a handrail keeping it within sight on my right as I pick trough clear woods. But at second rootstock I hit the indistinct trail, so followed it. Met John Ide and several others running the other way on it. Good track. As it entered the northern most clear forest it persisted roughly toward my control so I stayed on it until I could see the green-wall on the north side and, ‘Lo, there was the control 50’ to my left. Nice control placement.

Control 8 to 9
Not ever having tried to bush-whack through this area I hesitated, but barged in anyway. I was shooting for the light green break between the dark green areas. I missed it and found the marsh instead but it was OK, even tho’ I had to use a few rabbit trails. Broke into the big grassy open and just went to the NW corner of it to spot the control. Yet another nice control placement.

Control 9 to 10
Another venture here, to try for the single trail through the green. Saw a couple looking for it, too. Went to a spot 10’ from where they had stood and there it was, big enough for a rabbit maybe, but clear going and brought me right out onto the Big Cut. If I could get through the next piece of green I knew I’d break into the open approach to 10, so I just ducked into the first break in the green that I saw. Not too bad, either. After that it was 400m across the recently burned and open area to the south rampart, visible all the way. Control was nicely tucked beside a thicket just up over the edge.

Control 10 to 11
That 400m run across the burned palmetto took much out of me, since there is a lot of hopping involved. We look more like kangaroos covering that kind of vegetation. So I stayed on the rampart edge to go around the north edge of the burn, keeping to open forest and then trusting I could nail the yellow clearing after the big trail without losing any distance. That worked, so it was just straight into the white woods with eyes on wide-scan, hoping to see a control hanging on something that looked like a thicket. I’m not sure I ever saw the thickets but I did see Derek Bohn punching in, so went to where he had been and sure enough….

Control 11 to Finish
Long slog. Pretty neat to have a 790m run-in. You won’t see that often. At least the causeway was dry.

Final time: 79 minutes even. Exactly 10min/km. I cannot see more than 2 or 3 lost minutes due to either hesitation, inattention or old-man breath-catching, except for not taking Eaglin’s route across the marsh on 5-6. I won’t count that since I still think the trail was a wise route choice.

Bob Putnam