Start to Control 1
The start was only 200m off the left of this map, across an open field, so we only had to find the correct trail, then before going too far down the trail, contour across the hillside to #1.

Control 1 to Control 2
On the way down the hill I skirted right of the first of the mountain laurel (ML) “colonies” I would see this weekend. Mud smudge on the map copy obscures it but it pushed me right to the first error of the day. I almost went down the wrong road; losing only a few seconds, but right away making me defensive. I don’t want to go directly toward #2 because of the deep reentrant. See it? I stay as high as possible to the left, go over the spur and allow the edge of the green to lead me, right, into the control.

Control 2 to Control 3
No avoiding this reentrant. Again I minimize climb by looping left but I can pass over the top of the spur via the saddle and drop into the big gully; I deliberately hit the gully high to the left so as to simply turn right to the control.

Control 3 to Control 4
Back up the reentrant to the water stop.

Control 4 to Control 5
Should have been easy: down the trail, left of the dark green blob to the leftmost knoll on the far side of the stream. But visibility was poor. I couldn’t find it. Up & down the stream 3 times. Finally found it, mumbling to no-one in particular that I bet it was upstream outside the circle, but that’s just me not willing to admit I blew one. Probably over 2 minutes lost.

Control 5 to Control 6
By this time I was getting really tired. I’d had some climb and I’d learned light green is scattered ML & Rhododendron (Rh), and I’d learned that dark green is ML & Rh but thicker. The Dawgs told me later “light green is when you crouch & clamber and dark green is when you crawl”. True. So by now I look carefully for white woods. I even climb a contour or two to the ridge line on my left after the vague trail runs out here. Good choice, too, because the ridge spur is distinct and its downhill light green all the way and I nail the rootstock.

Control 6 to Control 7
This is where it got interesting. Excellent course-setting here, Diabolically delightful, but only in retrospect. Rich contour detail. Had just breezed 600 m from 5-6 and now this intricate 250m, starting with a wall of green, through which you can see nothing of terrain beyond. When I break thru the dark green I see another green zone on my left beyond a gully so I know where I am and attempt a rough compass shot. I can’t seem to relate any of the contour detail to the maze of ups & downs around me so after a couple of false loops I just head for the hillside where there should be an edge of green and an earth bank. I hit something like that and am still unsure, eyeballs on wide-area scan, when I spot control 40 m to my left. I figure at least another 2 minutes lost via sheer confusion/hesitation. I should have done precision compass & pace from the gully.

Control 7 to Control 8
I punch in with JJ-Cote (friend of FLO and drafter of first 2 FLO color maps) and he’s going my way, so I allow him to lead, doing the hard work of getting us out of there. We separate though, thrashing through 100m of green approaching the next ridge road. I choose to go right via big out-of-the-way trail & road to again avoid climbing across reentrants. I didn’t even see the short-cut ride down to the spur/knoll. When I try to cut the corner road-to-trail, I misread which trail I hit and go 100m on wrong trail before an intersection that doesn’t look right (this is the intersection I should have been arriving at, had I seent the short-cut). I then bash through ML up to correct trail and follow it until I see the sharp left. Extra climb but better attack point. The broad spur bends nicely rightward just as I’d visualized it. Less than a minute lost on that leg, I think, but later decide more like 3 minutes, having missed an obviously shorter route.

Control 8 to Control 9
This is just a rough compass slog, trying to skirt the left side of the big green on the way up to water. I remember thinking “Man, am I tired”. There is no running or even jogging up slopes any longer; just heavy footed plodding.

Control 9 to Control 10
I see immediately the track to the right of the beeline across the stream. If I can find it I just contour off the end to 10. Wow! It worked! Feeling good.

Control 10 to Control 11
No longer feeling good, when I see the wall of green between 10 & 11. No choice. Wade in. Just minimize distance within the green by shading left, hoping I come out someday. Hands & knees now until I come out of the green. Oops. Didn’t fade left at all. About here I realize I haven’t had freedom to even drink much water, though I’m carrying 20 oz. Legs are rubber. “How long have I been out?” I wonder. I must be way out of contention. Are other’s having this much trouble? The big reentrant is evident to my left but the control is deep in a head-high green gully so dark I couldn’t read the control code. Figured it must be mine; what other course could possibly have a control here!

Control 11 to Control 12
Now we have a Real Decision to make. Again, brilliant course design: Late in the course, when we’re all brain dead. The direct-but-a-little-right mostly white woods route is the High Road (Rule #1 of Route Choice – attack from above whenever possible), but lots of climb and you’re bushed, and it’s along the edge of the map - risky. The fail-safe Low Road route is a round-about to the left, green junky stream valley with nice road for last half but a sharp climb at the end. After about 3 seconds thought I choose the High Road, evidently because all blood is in legs trying to keep them alive and no blood is in brain to think clearly. So up I go, 6 contours in 150m on all fours, regretting it more and more (Too late to change now). Brief saddle, then 6 more contours (I must be crazy – “who said to do this?”) Miraculously, I’m thinking straight at the top, even though I can barely move: around the very-cluttered hilltop, veering off and down to the due-east bulge to nail the saddle AND the end of the trail through the green – always risky to rely on hitting a trail “end-on” – but it worked. Zipped (walked!) through the green on that trail then past two nicely evident hilltops, via seemingly the first really ‘white’ woods of the day, keeping them on my left, then NE to the pit. Nailed it!

Control 12 to Control 13
The simple contour to the trail was not at all the easy white woods shown – very tough, maybe because I can’t lift my feet anymore. I hit the trail and start running downhill – however rough and rocky, out onto the gravel road, downhill on thoroughly rubber legs to final control and finish, trying desperately to simply remain upright ... what with all the people watching.

At the finish line is the grinning , ever cheerful course setter Bill Farrell, with whom I share my suspicion that he has just killed me. Later I learn I’ve turned in the best time of the day on the Green course, 88 minutes, from among all categories, though a mere 2 minutes ahead of the closest M55 with only another minute to the next guy. This translates to about 18 minutes per km pace, probably the slowest pace I have ever turned in. But the conditions were just plain slow, slow, slow. That’s just the best we could do.