Mid-Atlantic Orienteering Meet 2007

The annual Mid-Atlantic Orienteering championship took place on Thanksgiving weekend in a county park near York, Pennsylvania. The event was organized by SVO, and it was open to club members of DVOA, QOC, SVO, and WPOC. Runs offered were White, Yellow, Orange (4.3 km), Green (4.9 km), Red, Blue (8.3 km). Sunny day with mild temperatures, participants could sign-up anytime between 10 AM and 1 PM. A relay was scheduled for 2 PM.

The DVOAers showed up with their uniforms, the SVOers donned their O-suits, but the QOCers looked really really stilish with these modern design uniforms.

Noticed a Honda mini-van in the parking lot with a personalized license place.

Compared to last year, when the event was held in early December, this year there were slightly less participants, probably due to the fact that it was Thanksgiving weekend and would-be participants were probably tied up with family travels.

Nice playground right next to the shelter kept alot of small children busy. Potluck food entrees were on the tables. It was a very nice event, and perfectly located near highways that made it a good stop in-between on my return trip from a long weekend out-of-town.

In blue, 5 was a little difficult to locate, 6 as more difficult to locate due to the mountail laurel bushes, 7 was also difficult due to the laurel bushes. 8 was easy to spot when approaching from the North and following the faint trail as handrail. 10, 11, 12 were all challenging due to the large rocks immersed in thick mountain laurel vegetagion. 13 was very easy to visualize. 16 was difficult to spot, due to the many rocky outcroppings in the same area. Lots of opportunities for route choice. Map of great quality, great detail. Terrain was somewhat rocky, but not too bad. The mountain laurel definitely scratches skin, and the sun rays towards the end of the day in these late fall days are definitely a nuisance when trying to "see the orange" when locating a control.

Here is another writeup on the event.










One control symbol that was new to me was "Charcoal Terrace", a brown triangle inside a circle. Here what it is:

"What are all those brown triangles?" The reply is that each one is a charcoal terrace, also known as a platform, kolbotten, charbonniere, kohlenmeiler or terasse in other corners of the earth. The puzzled expression of the newcomer usually continues. To clarify: charcoal terraces are circular, flat areas, approximately 10 to 12 meters in diameter, excavated on hillsides to provide a level area for the making of charcoal. In fact, scuffing the ground reveals the telltale carbon-black soil, noticeably different from the common red-brown soil of the area. Many of these terraces have small borrow pits nearby, sometimes mapped as a brown "u."
During this past winter (1999-2000), two visiting Russian mappers--Vladimir Zherdev and Alexey Zuev--asked, "Why use a brown triangle to represent a charcoal terrace?" That's a fair question, since the feature is not triangular but round, and other countries use black or brown circles to depict these same features.
There are several reasons, but the simplest is that Steve Templeton, who gets credit for "discovering" this feature at French Creek, chose to symbolize it with the brown triangle, and subsequent mappers have followed suit. Why did Steve use the brown triangle? Steve, being British, was almost certainly familiar with the British tradition of using the brown triangle for terraces.
There is a rationale to this tradition as well. The charcoal terrace is an earthern feature and, therefore, should be brown and not black. Certainly it is a man-made feature but not a man-name material. Many features of all types are man-made, but in orienteering mapping, the material generally dictates the choice of color, e.g. water features are blue, vegetation features green, etc.
The most intuitive symbol would probably have been a brown "O," but such a feature could easily be confused with a small-contour knoll.
Another rationale for the triangle relates to the perfect flatness of the terrace required for charcoal making. In order to establish a level plane, geometrically it's necessary to establish a minimum of three points of the same elevation in a triangular, not linear, relationship.
One more point: The IOF control description (number 6.8, 1990 edition) for the charcoal terrace is a triangle inside a circle.

-
Charlie: To answer Sam's question from the other thread: A charcoal terrace looks different on a steep slope from the way it looks in a flattish area. In steep areas, charcoal platforms (or charcoal terraces) appear as flat areas, generally around 10-15 meters across, that have been cut and filled into a slope. That is, they are dug in on the uphill side, so there is a wall there, and the material dug out is piled on the downhill side. They were in active use in the mid-to-late 1800s and early 1900s to make charcoal primarily for the very active steel industry. In the 19th century, all the railroads in the world ran on Salisbury steel wheels, made in Salisbury CT, and the CT steel industry imported charcoal from as far away as Michigan to keep the furnaces going. The general technique was to cut cordwood in four foot lengths and stack it in a sort of tepee arrangement on end. A hole was left in the middle of the stack for a chimney, and the whole stack covered with dirt. Burning logs were thrown in the chimney, and the pile of wood cooked for about two weeks to turn it to charcoal. The size of the charcoal terrace reflects that these stacks were generally about 30 cords of wood, and the flat, level character was required to keep the whole pile from sliding down the hill as it cooked and settled. At the height of the charcoal industry, most of the land in these parts was cleared, and it looked and smelled like hell.
Today, charcoal platforms are discernible by the flattened cut out shape, by the relative lack of vegetation because of remaining charcoal in the soil, and because if you dig down a bit (an inch will do generally), you'll find bits of charcoal. In my terrain, they make awesome campsites, as it would be a major hassle to pitch a tent anyplace else in steep rocky woods.
At Gay City, which is relatively flat, they are built up higher than the surrounding area, and generally recognizable by a little moat around them. I guess they are built up to keep rain from pooling there, but I'm not sure. I think they are harder to see there than they are on a steep slope.
They are often good point features for control locations because of their relatively small size, and because they do stand out in the terrain if they are on a steep enough slope and haven't eroded into the surrounding terrain. Sometimes they are vague enough that they shouldn't be mapped. In my opinion, if you can't decide if something is or is not one, it should be left off the map.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-14 18:56:28.0 PST)
EricW: (from the other thread)
Oh yeah, the Silver Mine "camping platforms". I pulled out an old map. These were actually shown with a brown square, a decision I won't try to defend. At the time ('79), I was obviously not well acquainted with charcoal terraces, although I had probably already learned about the British "terrace" symbol the year before. I learned about Norwegian "kolabanner" shortly afterwards, but these struck me as a "nothing" feature.
At the time of mapping, I thought these Silver Mine features were an abandoned (depression era?) public works project, like many of Harriman's facilities. Given that this was a public works feature, I didn't worry about a rational. :-)
These features might indeed be charcoal terraces, however their occurence here is a bit perplexing. This is the only place I know of, in or near Harriman, with this feature. They occur here in relatively small clusters, unlike other charcoal terrace regions where the networks cover many sq. miles. I think the amount of "charcoal forest" needed to support a forge was very large. Maybe this charcoal was for another purpose?
Also, these terrace clusters are on some of the steepest and rockiest slopes, certainly not a first choice for the operation. Then again maybe this was the only remaining forest at the time.
The local distribution of the terraces looks plausible for charcoal, but the network is denser than what I am used to in PA. Are the networks in "nearby" CT denser?
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-14 21:15:02.0 PST)
Swampfox: They're definitely charcoal terraces; there are some on the West Point maps too (though unmapped). There were a number of forges or "furnaces" in that area during Revolutionary times, including one on the old Turkey Hill map with remnants still visible and marked today.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 02:23:06.0 PST)
Charlie: The ones I have are reasonably spaced out - maybe a dozen or so on 1/2sq km. Many (but by no means all) of them are near roads, which makes sense for the wagons transporting the charcoal away. A surveyor I've used told me that he often finds them near property lines. Making a bunch of them close together might be useful if you wanted to supervise several piles at once. On the other hand, you probably would want to make the charcoal near where you cut the wood. Once you make one, you can use it over and over. I've looked for evidence of a collier's hut, but haven't seen anything.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 04:19:14.0 PST)
cmorse: EricW wrote I think the amount of "charcoal forest" needed to support a forge was very large. Maybe this charcoal was for another purpose?
just an unsupported guess, but charcoal was also a component of gunpowder, could their occurence near west point be for something along these lines rather than stoking forges? Or perhaps smaller specialty forges? I don't know the history of West Point etc, so the dates could be all whacked...
also, these terrace clusters are on some of the steepest and rockiest slopes
although I suspect eric's suggestion that the easier to access forest might have already been cleared, it could also be that there were different tree species on the steeper slopes which may have resulted in a different quality of charcoal - perhaps certain applications of charcoal required different 'grades'?
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 07:23:58.0 PST)
Charlie: I understand that american chestnut was the preferred wood: better quality charcoal, and faster sprouting and re-growing, so you can do it again. Charcoal was generally cooked in mixed hardwood batches and separately in chestnut-only batches. Softwoods were not generally used. Hemlock was used for tanning.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 07:29:42.0 PST)
Swampfox: One thing for sure: you never saw Tangerine trees used for charcoal making, not even near West Point, which does, incidentally, sit in Orange County, just like Disneyland and Disneyworld.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 08:55:14.0 PST)
cmorse: so are you saying those that come out of West Point have something in common with Mickey Mouse?
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 12:08:41.0 PST)
eddie: Here is a photo of an Italian charcoal platform from the Italy WC page. This particular one looks very much like a French Creek style terrace.
Interestingly, it appears that Janos Soter has done the updates on all the Italy WC maps. Janos made SVO's Rocky Ridge map (York, PA) and lived with Brad Whitmore while he was working on it. He's from Hungary, I believe. Here's a link to the Italy WC map and course-length page. Check the 1:4000 scale for the sprints, and the "non-decimal" expected winning times of all the races.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 14:09:13.0 PST)
j-man: Does this imply that they are mapped with brown Xs? (What's with that map inset?)
Anyway, since this is like the Italian FCE, you and Randy better do really well at this WC or I'll beat on you.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 14:29:22.0 PST)
dness: Brown Xs -- hmm. I was going to suggest brown discs with a black X (man-made circular topographical features)
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 15:00:47.0 PST)
jjcote: Janos has also done other mapping in the US, including work on the WOC93 maps (Rockhouse, and part of Surebridge). Very nice fellow, I commuted with him in the fall of 1991. Doesn't speak English very well, though... :-)
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 15:03:17.0 PST)
eddie: From the "other" charcoal discussion in the mega thread before it split off here:
QOC's Mont Alto (in PA) also uses black circles for Kolbottens, but thats the only other place I've seen that symbol used. I was expecting a Cairn on arrival, but there's no dot in the middle of the black circle. It was a strong platform as platforms go. One of the maps (Monte Livata) for the upcoming WC in Italy uses brown X's on the map for Kolbottens. There are millions of them. Like French Creek times 3. "piazzola per carbonaia"
Yeah, brown X for platforms in Italy. The forest even looks a little like FC, but its mucho steeper. Livata is the long and relay map.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 15:05:39.0 PST)
eddie: :) Brad said the same thing about Janos. Apparently he'd come home from mapping at Rocky Ridge, spread his arms wide and say "BIIIIGGGG rocks"
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 15:18:19.0 PST)
j-man: Steeper, schmeeper. You got the legs ready for that out at Lake George. This, along with honed charcoal platform hunting prowrress will make Italy a breeze. And when you're all done, you will have truly earned a pizza - with or without citrus fruit.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-15 17:14:12.0 PST)
cedarcreek: I was on map in the Czech Republic that a special symbol defined for little terraces---I don't know if they were charcoal platforms or just little terraces. They mapped them with Symbol 115, "Small Depression", except they rotated it to point up the slope. I assumed it would point downhill, like the contour just below the platform, but they did the opposite: They mapped the contour above the platform, which was U shaped as if someone dug out a little reentrant to make the terrace. There are only a couple of instances of it on the map---I can't figure out why they bothered with the special symbol. It's called a Plosinka, which means "little platform." I do like it as a representative shape (rather than an X, especially), but I do favor having it point downhill rather than up. It wouldn't be representative on flat areas, though.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-16 05:13:55.0 PST)
cjross: I came across charcoal platforms this summer at both the O-ringen and Switzerland. They were a bit more obvious in Switzerland, as they were flat spots in a slope. At O-ringen, however, they were flat spots in generally flat areas. Most of the Canadians thought they were imaginary, although we were assured by a Swede that there is some vegetation difference on them, and besides, if you dug, you would find charcoal. Nonetheless, I would never use them to navigate. It was far easier to find to control on them than to actually find the feature.
From a mapping point of view, in Switzerland charcoal platforms were a brown x, and in Sweden they were a black circle. I thought the black circle was a bit misleading as I kept expecting to see some obvious rock feature, when in reality there was nothing.
Re: Charcoal platforms (2005-09-16 12:58:27.0 PST)
JimBaker: Of course, black doesn't necessarily mean rock feature, it can mean man-made features (which charcoal platforms are, if not imaginary). (Or even if imaginary I guess.)

Nun cemeteries

Recently, have been touring several nun cemeteries, with directions generously provided by the Pittsburgh Hash House Harriers. Here is a sample of them:

Sisters of Charity


Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth


Mount Averna

Sisters of S. Francis in Millvale


Sisters of the Divine Providence


...These nuns live long lives...

Sister Juliana Palya

Sister of Charity

Sister M. Juliana Palya, 101, a member of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity of North Hills, died Nov. 10, 2006.

Sister Juliana was in the 86th year of her religious life and entered the Vincentian Sisters of Charity from St. Mary Parish, Uniontown. She earned a bachelor's degree in education from Duquesne University and was a primary teacher for 53 years in the dioceses of Greensburg, Pittsburgh and Youngstown. She then spent eight years at the Vincentian Child Care Center, before retiring from the host department at the motherhouse.

She was one of 11 children and is survived by brother, Frank Palya of Uniontown; niece, Donna Marie Palya, also a Vincentian Sister of Charity, and many other nieces and nephews.

Friends will be received 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. today (Wednesday) at the motherhouse, 8200 McKnight Road. Mass will be in the motherhouse chapel following Wednesday's visitation. Interment will be in the sisters' cemetery on the motherhouse grounds. Donations may be made to the Vincentian Sisters of Charity or their charity of choice. Arrangements were by English Bertucci Funeral Home in Oakmont.


--
Sister M. Gerard Hurka
Vincentian

Sister M. Gerard Hurka, 90, a member of Vincentian Sisters of Charity of North Hills, died Feb. 28, 2006, in UPMC Passavant hospital, North Hills.

She was in the 76th year of her religious life.

Sister Hurka entered Vincentian Sisters of Charity from St. Matthew Parish, South Side. She attended Duquesne University, earning a bachelor's degree in elementary education, and also attended Carlow College for two summers, studying guidance and leadership training in religion.

Sister Hurka taught in elementary schools for 35 years in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Greensburg and Altoona-Johnstown and for one year in Welland, Ontario, Canada. She then served in social services in Montgomery, Ala., for 16 years before returning to Pittsburgh to serve as a pastoral minister at Vincentian Home for eight years. She retired to the Motherhouse in 1995 and became a member of the prayer ministry group.

Surviving are her sisters, Mary Kowalski, Betty Wesolowski of Pittsburgh and Irene Chervinka of California; brothers, John and George Hurka, both of Pittsburgh, and Joseph Hurka of California; and nieces and nephews.

Arrangements were handled by English-Bertucci Funeral Home Inc. Friends will be received at the Motherhouse on McKnight Road, Pittsburgh, from 1 to 8 p.m. this Friday, March 3, and from 11 a.m. this Saturday, March 4, until celebration of Mass in the Motherhouse Chapel. Interment will be at Sisters' cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds.

Memorial contributions are suggested to Vincentian Sisters of Charity.

---
Sister of Charity

Sister M. Germaine Molnar, 94, a member of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity of North Hills, died April 19, 2005, in the Motherhouse infirmary.

The sister was in the 75th year of her religious life, she had entered the Vincentian Sisters of Charity from Holy Name Parish in Monessen.

She attended Duquesne University and earned a bachelor's degree in business education.

She then attended Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., graduating with a master of arts in the school of social science.

Sister Germaine also took post-graduate courses at Dayton University in Ohio and Scranton University in Pennsylvania.

She taught at St. Matthew School in South Side Pittsburgh for three years and at St. Matthias School in Youngstown, Ohio.

Sister Germaine taught business courses at Vincentian High School for 30 years. She served as congregational secretary for 16 years.

During that period, she served on the general council for four years and was elected vicar, a position she held for four years.

Surviving are nieces and nephews.

Friends were received at the Motherhouse on McKnight Road, Pittsburgh.

Mass will be offered in the Motherhouse Chapel.

Interment was at the sister's cemetery on the grounds.

Donations are suggested to the Vincentian Sisters of Charity.

Arrangements were by English-Bertucci Funeral Home.

---
Sister M. Gerard Hurka
Duquesne graduate

Sister M. Gerard Hurka, 90, a member of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity of North Hills, died Feb. 28, 2006, in UPMC Passavant hospital, North Hills.

She was in the 76th year of her religious life. Sister Hurka entered the Vincentian Sisters of Charity from St. Matthew Parish, Southside. She attended Duquesne University and earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She also attended Carlow College for two summers, studying guidance and leadership training in religion.

Sister Hurka taught in elementary schools for 35 years in the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Greensburg and Altoona-Johnstown and for one year in Welland, Ontario, Canada. She then served in social services in Montgomery, Ala., for 16 years before returning to Pittsburgh to serve as a pastoral minister at the Vincentian Home for eight years. She retired to the Motherhouse in 1995 and became a member of the Prayer Ministry Group.

Surviving are sisters, Mary Kowalski, Betty Wesolowski of Pittsburgh and Irene Chervinka of California; brothers, John and George Hurka, both of Pittsburgh, and Joseph Hurka of California; and nieces and nephews.

Arrangements were handled by English-Bertucci Funeral Home Inc. Friends will be received at the Motherhouse on McKnight Road, Pittsburgh, on Friday from 1 to 8 p.m. and Saturday until 11 a.m. Mass will follow in the Motherhouse Chapel. Interment will be at Sisters' cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds.


Memorial contributions are suggested to Vincentian Sisters of Charity.
--
Sister Carmelita Alvero
64 years of service
Sister M. Carmelita Alvero, 89, a member of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity of North Hills, died June 21, 2007, in the Vincentian Home.

She entered the Vincentian Sisters of Charity from Sacred Heart Parish, Quincy, Mass., and was in the 64th year of her religious life. Sister Alvero attended Braddock Hospital School of Nursing, became a registered nurse in 1951 and graduated from St. John Hospital School of Anesthesia in Springfield, Ill.

Before serving as an anesthetist, she was a social worker at Mother Mary Mission, Phenix, Ala., and in Savannah, Ga., for nine years. Sister Alvero worked as a registered nurse and an anesthetist throughout the country, including in local nursing homes in the region.

Surviving are a sister, Kathleen Malley of North Easton, Mass., and nieces and nephews.

Friends were received and a Mass held at the motherhouse in the North Hills. Interment was at the sisters' cemetery on the motherhouse grounds. Donations may be made to the Vincentian Sisters of Charity.

Arrangements were by English Funeral Home & Cremation Services Inc., Oakmont.

--
Sister M. Germaine Molnar

Taught business

Sister M. Germaine Molnar, 94, a member of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity of North Hills, died April 19, 2005, in the Motherhouse infirmary.

The sister was in the 75th year of her religious life. She entered the Vincentian Sisters of Charity from Holy Name Parish in Monessen.

She attended Duquesne University and earned a bachelor's degree in business education, then attended Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., graduating with a master of arts in the school of social science.

Sister Germaine also took post-graduate courses at Dayton University in Ohio and Scranton University in Pennsylvania. She taught at St. Matthew School on Pittsburgh's South Side for three years and at St. Matthias School in Youngstown, Ohio.

She taught business courses at Vincentian High School for 30 years and served as congregational secretary for 16 years. During that period, she served on the general council for four years and was elected vicar, a position she held for four years.

Surviving are nieces and nephews.

Friends were received at the Motherhouse on McKnight Road, Pittsburgh. Mass will be offered in the Motherhouse Chapel. Interment was at the sisters' cemetery on the grounds. Arrangements were by English-Bertucci Funeral Home.

Donations are suggested to Vincentian Sisters of Charity.

Kiski River footbridge

Post-Gazette article

Mentioned in Waymarking

Sidaway Suspension Bridge in Cleveland

Sidaway Suspension Bridge in Cleveland, off Sidaway Ave, about 4 miles South East of downtown, is a pedestrian footbridge connecting two neighborhoods of cleveland, separated by a ravine. Built in 1930 and closed in 1966 after vandalism, it is now being considered for rennovation.

Homeless Memorial Geocache

For Thanksgiving, will place a micro geocache in this location,

N 40° 26.174
W 079° 59.955

It's a tree and there is a hole on the trunk big enough to stick a 35mm canister or similar container, big enough to include a small roll of paper as log. The underpass right next to the tree has plaques of names of homeless people that died. Sort of a memorial. It is maintained by Operation Safety Net.

National Homeless Memorial Day

north side geocaches

two new geocaches:

Germans Love a View

Why Y

Harriers

Orienteering at Quail Hollow State Park, Ohio

On the return trip from a weekend in Cleveland, stopped in a Ohio state park about 20 miles east of Akron, where the North East Ohio Orienteering Club had their final meet of the year, and where it was the inaugural event for a new map. As we drove south from Cleveland towards the rendez-vous, it started raining, and we were wondering if the cleveland orienteerers were going to show up in great numbers for this map inaugual event. As we rounded the final turn, and saw the parking lot completely full, and had to park in the overflow lot, we then knew that, yes, the clevelanders are not sissy people that shy away because of a few raindrops. With only 10 minutes late from the 1 PM mass-start, changed clothes into my cheap-o clothing that I've accumulated from my flea-market foraging outings, and ran to the cabin where registration was going on. Luckily, the map had the controls pre-printed, and so marking the controls by hand with pen was not necessary. Showed up at the gazebo, recognized a few familiar faces, apparently this was going to be the second mass-start of the day, as there was another one half-hour earlier, and two minutes later, a small number of us were off. I intended to go North and from there, sort of go anti-clockwise. From the first seconds into the run, noticed that two others were going on the same direction, so I figured we were thinking alike. Control 2 was easy right on trail. The next control, 32, was a different story. With two other veteran orienteers, we combed the woods looking for the white and orange retina-flash, but it just didn't seem to pop up. I then extended the radius and sort of went South towards the trail, and saw it. Didn't really stop to verify the accuracy of the control position, and went on back on the nearby trail. Route to 31 was mostly on trail in coniferous woods. For 30, got to the trail junction, and used that as attack point. Returned to my steps back to the trail junction, and continued North and used another trail junction as attackpoint and found 29. Then towards nearby trail to get to 28, slowed down a bit because I was fearful of overshooting it, and went bushwacking in the woods. Found it without problems. Next was 27. Routed towards the trail South of 28, then to trail junction, crossed stream and used the faint streambed as attackpoint to go to 27. Got somewhat confused by lack of features, and wasn't always sure I was on the right streambed, but somehow found the control. Then, decided to go to 18. Went South to find the faint trail, and followed it. After turning South near the open field, apparently I must have followed a trail that is not mapped, and took me on a slightly downhill route that bottomed at a faint stream. I assumed that was the stream I was looking for that was near 18. I found one marsh, then a second marsh. All seemed confirmed by the map and compass. But no control. There was another orienteerer looking for it. He said he has been looking for it for 20 minutes, and was ready to give up. I must have spent 12 minutes on it, criss-crossing the land, getting as far as the open fields. After a third and futile pass, decided to abbandon. Was bummed. Decided to route on a small trail to get to 26 and 13. Saw a house in the nearby woods. Seemed really big. Could figure out where that house was, since it just didn't match my mental model. Kept on going, and literally stumpled on a control. It was control 18, about 300 meters away from where I thought it was. The location of the nearby trail and small wooden bridge confirmed its position. So where did I end up ? how did I end up there ? good questions, will later analyze, I am saying to myself. And in the meantime, I am saying L-U-C-K-Y. I am back in a good mood. After trail intersection, found 26 easily, then 13, ran straight trail to intersection near 23, got to 23, but got the exit strategy wrong, and went East when I should have gone North or West (lost a minute here). Got to 11, then decided to sacrifice 14, and go straight to 22. Then, running on the paved road, got to the trail intersection to go to 15, then backtracked, crossed the paved road, and went to 17, an easy find for 40 points. On route to 24, followed a trail thinking it was the bigger trail. When I saw it turned South, I just bushwacked North for 20 meters and found the major trail I initally intended in following. Then got to the powerline, and at the second pole, saw the control. Continued on the powerline, then followed a trail to a nearby hill, atop which found control 25. Then went for 16, following small trails. From 16, wanted to go to 10, but got afraid of choosing among a maze of small trails, so I just went for the easy route and went along the big clearing. Saw Randy running from the woods towards me, so I guessed he was coming from a control. Atop the hill saw the cemetery and the control. Followed the route Randy was going, East, and crossed the clearing of late-fall tall grasses and two-meter tall thorny dry plants. Need kevlar pants for this vegetagion. Found a trail, and took it downhill going South, with intention of going to 19 and finding it from the clearing south of it. Saw a mountain biker through the woods, and thought that is the trail I wanted to get to in approach towards the control, and bushwacked 20 meters and short-cutted to it. Turned out it was a different trail than the one I inteded to follow. Afraid of not recognizing an attack point for 19, went North to follow the parallel trail, and at its 90-degree turn, returned to the small trail I was running on earlier, so I could at least have a clearer idea of the nearby attackpoints. Saw the bolders mapped as features, and saw the rootstock. Then went South towards the clearing, and found that small protuberance of the clearing into the woods. Didn't see the control, so I checked the clue sheet. That is when I noticed it was crossed out. It was the control that was not placed. I made the mistake of not crossing it out on the map when I was at the registration table, and totally forgot about it. Geez, I say, some lost time here, definitely. But still in high spirits, I set my intention on 20. On the first pass, didn't find it. Returned South back to the trail, and carefully checked every turn after the rootstock. Then, at a point I just call "felt right", set the compass to North, and went. Saw the hill top I was on earlier in my first pass, still no control, saw on the map there was a second hill, and kept on going, and then, magic, saw the control. Got back on the trail, somehow forgot to leave that trail for 12 after the creek crossing, so lost some time, and after finding 12, wanted to get to 5, but went up North too much and after bushwacking and crossing creek, ended up on a trail that instead of taking me to 5 as I mentally thought I was doing, I instead ended up finding 1. Now I was totally confused. Still had 6 minutes left, went for 21, and from the paved road turn, initially thought of following the short trail but stopped when I saw the barrage of thick thorny vegetation, and said "this is bad", and backtracked back to the paved road, and from the nearby parking lot, got to 21, then back to the parking lot, followed trail to 7 and then to 5. As I got closer to 5, saw Randy running across the clearing of tall grasses for 5. I got there 20 seconds later, and followed Randy to the gazebo, probably with a minute late penalty. By the time the meet ended, it was raining lightly, temperature seemed to have dropped a bit, hands felt cold. Talking to the others, it seemed many could not find control 32. Olga said it probably was a bit south from where it was mapped. Could be. Talking to an other participant who came with a young woman and a dog, he said he had the advantage of living in a house with the back into the park. He showed me on the map which house, and I immediately recognized the house as the one I saw through the woods near the control I couldn't find for 12 minutes. I told him of my mis-route, and he said that indeed there is a brand new trail where I was pointing. The group congratulated Bob "Lighting" Boltz for his mapping, and everyone seemed content and in this last meet of the Year 2007, exchanged words of "see you in the Spring".

Orienteering at Pine Ridge, November 2007

The last orienteering meet of the 2007 season of the Western Pennsylvania Orienteering Club occurred at Pine Ridge park, of the Indiana County parks system. It was a slightly overcast autumn day, with temperature at around 50 F.

Orange was relatively fast, fairly easy running. Small mistake on approach to 10, at the bottom of the creek, wanted to take the trail between the two creeks, and instead went after second creek and then turned east. Much bigger mistake on approach to 12, should have stayed on the trail that would have easily led me to the paved road, and instead got sucked into a more direct route in difficult vegetagion and steep slopes. On a small grassy field next to the paved road, hit my face on a volleyball net, with some friction burn marks. Final approach to 12 was marred by the confusion of seeing too many creeks, and finally figured out that I had to climb up a spur between two creeks.

Red was a long running event, with several long legs that were very runnable. Followed a strange "S" shape route to get to 1, but it seemed easiest, following open land rathern than fighting briar thorns in the woods. For route to 2, choose to go direct, going uphill in thorny vegetation, but I had the clothing to protect me. At final trail, wasn't sure wether to go left or right, and at the end, chose to go right and guessed correctly, as the control wasn't far. The final approach to 3 was a little difficult, as the foliage vegetation really made reatures difficult to recognize, and zig-zagged a bit, and then, voila', got lucky, saw the control at my side at 40 meters distance and zoomed to it. Final approach to 4 was also problematic. Left the straight road right when it started going downhill, and wanted to keep the elevation instead of having to go down and then up again. Stayed at same elevation thinking I would bump right into the control, but instead found a big boulder, and then descended a bit and went closer to the road, and that is when I finally saw the control. For the approach to 5, choose to get to the straight wide trail, follow it to the creek, all downhill, and from there, take a trail that paralleled the creek until close enough to bushwack and bag the control. For 6, chose to find a trail that lead north straight to the small pond. Never found that trail and kept on walking uphill, and at the very end, almost 5 meters before the clearing, saw the side trail. How sarcastic, it probably was right next to me all that time, and I got all cut up by the thorny briar. Nice little pond at 6. For 7, chose the panoramic and aerobic long run. This is were the Solomon SA 3D XCR really shined, with their cushioning back heel, really feels like a traditional running shoe. For 8, saw another runner leaving the powerline trail and cued into the side woods right after him. For 9, the route was fairly fast, most on wide trails, some with crushed gravel. Remembered seeing this control while running Orange trail earlier that day, so knew exactly how to get there. For 10, chose to get down quickly and cross the creek, and then reach the open grassy area and start hiking up the steep hillside. Got into the bushes to spot the boulders easily, saw the first, then the second, a large boulder. I was thinking the control was there (didn't read the clue sheet until a minute later). Saw Mark Malagodi and I thought he was also looking for the control. Went uphill a bit, then looked back, then stopped, then read the clue sheet, and saw it was not on a boulder, so read the map more closely and noticed it was about 15 meters behind the bolder, semi-hidden in the foliage. The course setter, Byron, later explained that he did not expect all this foliage still on the branches at this time of the year, so that control was more difficult than expected. I liked that difficulty. It punished me for not reading the clue sheet. For 11, bushwacked into somewhat thick vegetation, went looking for a faint trail, found it a bit below elevation, then ran it until reaching a couple of creeks that intersected the trail. Did not see the control, and got suspicious, and hesitated a bit, then went forward another 30 meters, and on my side, saw it at 40 meters. For 11, I didn't trust my ankles to bushwack in the rocky terrain and my fatigue was showing, so I chose to go safe, and ran downhill through difficult woods to the paved road below, and after the parking lot and the easy trail, took a faint side trail to gain some elevation, then off into runnable flat-sy woods, and saw the control 20 meters on my side. For 13, nothing remarkable. For 14, I definitely doubted several times if I was in the right location, not seeing the open light of the clearing marked on the straight-line wide trail. Here, the terrain is pretty flat, and nearby the top of the hill the vegetation was still with alot of foliage. For 15, straight run downhill on an easy grassy trail. For 16, ran down the rest of the hill, then took a bearing South a couple of times, and reached the vicinity of the control, but could not see it. I thought it was on the "second" of creeks, and I just could not see it. Then, after studying the map closely, noticed that the purple control circle was covering the blue of a stream, so I understood then that the control was on the "third" creek. The foliage appropriately camouflaged the spring where the control was located. The On-In was long, on a beautiful fall foliage wide trail. Stopped once on trail for 30 seconds of walking, was definitely pretty exhausted, and then again on the last approach on the paved road leading to the lodge parking lot.

Orienteering Merit Badge