GORUCK Bragg Basic (and WS&FB) & GBF Operation Buckwheat

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Monday, Mar 10:

Flow - Day 20 - Inward & Day 24 - Rejuvenate | BREATH Yoga with Adriene

Tuesday, Mar 11:

Glute and pec PT v1 in 31:00, HDT 19.1.2 (core) in 26:32 (good lightweight active recovery after lsat weekend's high activity level)

Thursday, Mar 13:

Day 4 - Flow | MOVE & Rainbow Yoga for all ages with Adriene

In the morning, there was a nice sunrise.

That night, there was a lunar eclipse.  My binos came in handy!  The spotting scope was harder to use because its lower level magnification is so high that it's hard to be on target.  The shooting tripod isn't designed to tilt the scope up at the required angle, and my arca clamp spec for the scope is off, which caused the scope to slide backwards into my eyeball.

GORUCK BRAGG BASIC & WS&FB

There was an HTB again this year, but it started on Thursday, which meant that the Basic would be on Saturday.  I could've made it to the Tough, but I wanted to try another GBF Mountain event and had signed up for Operation Buckwheat on Sunday.  There was also an Operation Scout on Saturday, but the terrain on Operation Buckwheat is friendlier.  My joints and body want something more runnable, so I chose Buckwheat over Scout.  I wanted to earn dog tags, which requires a tougher time standard.  Doing a TB beforehand would've made that impossible, but I felt like I could swing doing the Basic plus Buckwheat.  

The Basic started at 2pm, so I could leave home at a reasonable time and make my way towards Fayetteville.

The parking situation was a little different this year.  Everyone needed to park behind all the buildings, so I parked, and then I helped to direct traffic for the others coming in behind me.

As a warmup activity, Cadre Dan had us go into a flooded field to toss handfuls of water as mortars, into the air, and then we did hydro burpees or hydro pushups.

This year, they made the Basic a series of little competitions.  First, there was a loop ruck for time.  I came in 11th.  1st place got a special patch.  

Next, we were paired up... fortunately, it wasn't that #1 went with #2, and so on... #1 went with #11, #2 went with #12, etc.  In theory, it's your slower person on each team who limits you, and I would be the fastest of the slower people.  Our first loop was ruck only, so we did well there.  Next, we each had to fill a disposable sandbag, up to where no material would show above your fist if you were to ball your fist at the top of the sandbag, after grabbing all the loose material.  That didn't leave much material to tie a knot around.  It makes for an awkward carry, since there are no straps to hold.  We also had to stop a few times to re-tie the knots.  If you came back light, who knows what we'd have to do... a whole makeup loop?  We came back, and one of our sandbags wasn't up to standard, but we just had to walk about 1/4 mile extra to top it off.  Once we were back, it was time to do a KIMS game.  After the first loop, I had realized that the signs posted on top of cones weren't for later events... even though it hadn't been explicitly mentioned (though there were hints about SFAS looking for character, intellect, and physical capabilities), KIMS was a part of this task.  I tried to pay attention to them and memorize them a few cards in, but I hadn't caught all of them, and there's a lot to remember on each one.  We did our rough best on the quiz.  It turned out that we did come in first, though, after taking into account the ruck time and the KIMS game.  We did finish long before some of the other teams.  My partner had done the H and T, but he was still blazing fast.  Others were understandably slower after having done the H and T.

The third and last competition was squad-level.  We had 12/team, and we had to carry a variety of sandbags and a jerry can around the loop.  The cones were still up, so we came up with a strategy for memorizing them along the way, in case we had a re-test.  We wanted to ace it this time.  Not everyone is used to carrying sandbags at a beginner-level event, but you try to coach and encourage everyone that they can do it.  At the end, we actually had a different mini KIMS puzzle to solve on the spot.  We memorized a sequence of colored blocks right then, and then re-created it with physical blocks, while still holding onto all the sandbags. We ended up mid-pack... respectable.

We put away all the gear, then went to War Stories and Free Beer.  The Free Beer was provided by Hatchet Brewing Co this time.  We scarfed down pizza, celebrated the HTBers and everyone else, and listened to the GBs share their wisdom.

GORUCK SCARS had a table and pile of gear to buy stuff from afterwards, too.

GBF OPERATION BUCKWHEAT

After driving home (leaving after it got dark), getting some sleep, and then heading out again bright and early to drive to Asheville, it was time to do the GBF event.

I had reconned it back in January, so I knew where to park, where the trailhead was, and what the route would be like.  It would be good to not have to stop or slow down to check my map all the time.

It was raining that morning.  The tougher the conditions, the more of an advantage I have, though.

We took our "pre" picture under the [still closed] restroom overhang.

Another advantage of having already reconned the route is that I didn't need to stop to enjoy the sights or to take a bunch of pictures.  I just snagged on this time.

I started off at the front of the pack, but a guy named Steve caught up to me near mile 4.  I was surprised.  He was even carrying a rubber ducky, so he was taking the extra hard route.  He had done Operation Scout yesterday and had dog tagged there, too!  As tired as my legs might've been from going max effort during the 3 competitive ruck loops, I'm sure his legs had suffered way more.

I caught back up to him about half a mile later at a turning point for Avery Creek Trail, and he paced off of me for the next 2 or so miles.  He wasn't able to sustain a running-ish pace, so I broke away and kept going.  I had to stop one more time to refill my smaller water bottle with my bigger Platypus, before the last big climb.  From the climb up, you loop back and can see if anyone is coming up behind you.  I could tell that I had a very strong lead then.

The route finishes with a steep downhill, though, and with about 1 mile left, my left knee tweaked going down and forward.  After that happened, it would periodically just shoot with pain and buckle from under me, completely unexpectedly.  I could change my gait a little bit to reduce the chances of it happening, but it would still happen, and it would hurt a lot every time.  It's a little frightening, not knowing when you'd be moving along, and you'd suddenly feel like you were shot in the knee, and you'd have to catch yourself.  I had to slow down a lot, since I couldn't afford to go too fast while this was happening, and I was still going downhill.  At least this was just a mile from the finish, vs a long ways from the finish.

I hobbled to the end, then spent a couple hours stretching, while the others came in.  I ended up in first, but Steve still had an impressive finish.  I finished 11.1 miles in 3:33:44, with 2,802 feet of ascent.

The rain had stopped for a while, but it came back and then poured the hardest that it poured all day.  I could sit under the overhang of the restrooms, though.  Even though it's not a team event, it feels wrong to not hang around and wait until at least the official finisher time ends.

An added benefit of hanging out after GBF events is that Gregg often brings his dogs, so I got to watch them interact.  They are so cute.

Hopefully, the knee thing will get better on its own.  I have lots of events that still need to be done!

Gun Run Night Ops & GBF Operation Contact 1

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Monday, Mar 3:

Yoga for Overthinking & Yoga for Upper Body Strength with Adriene

Tuesday, Mar 4:

Glute and Pec PT v2 in 28:55, Glute and Pec PT v1 in 27:30 because it got sore again today after weeks or months of being fine.  

18A "Dip Abs" in 19:33 afterwards

Thursday, Mar 6:

Day 23 - Dedicate | BREATH & Moon Practice Yoga with Adriene

GUN RUN NIGHT OPS

I hadn't planned on signing up for Gun Run Night Ops, as much as I love the rare opportunities to compete at night shooting events, because I was already signed up for GBF's Operation Contact.

They already worked their way through the waiting list and had a free spot available, though, so when I saw the post on IG, I decided that it was a sign and jumped on the opportunity to double-dip over the weekend.

Before the match, I did try a new approach to zeroing my rifle.  In my house, I used a rifle zeroing target to try to set up a parallel zero.  I made adjustments as best as I could, and then I took it outside to confirm at farther distances... somehow, oddly, what seemed like a parallel zero at closer range made the laser go way high when I tried to confirm at longer ranges.  Maybe that explains why I've had so much trouble at rifle via laser at most matches.  I decided to try to make adjustments based on the far target, more of a converging approach.  When I checked back at close range, the POI actually seems low, which makes no sense, based on the position of the laser.  Typing all this out now, though... I'm realizing that the parallel zero should be relative to my red dot, not the barrel.  That explains it!  Well, whatever I did with the longer distance converging zero ended up working out ok, but now, I'll need to go back and check against a real parallel at close distance.

There was good weather.  No rain.  54 degrees.  I hung out in my car after the 6:30 safety brief, waiting for my 8:42 turn to go.

Stage 1:

There was no rope climb this time.  It is much harder to do with a helmet and NODS on.  Instead, you started the course by running around the pond, which had a low crawl on the far side.  Manage your gear well!  

They did have us bag 8 loose pistol and 8 loose rifle rounds, along with empty mags, for use in the first stage.

- On the clock, with no white light, load 8 rounds R and 8 rounds P.

- Shoot back and forth at 2 rifle targets until you hit each one 4x... if you run out due to any misses, you can reload with fresh mags as needed.

- Do the same on 2 pistol targets.

Learnings/Outcomes: FAIL (5/30 pass)

- I used ambient light to load, which was fine, looking out of the corner of my eye outside the NODS... I've had experience doing this before, when I've needed to look at my watch or do other things during practice.

- I tried to brace off of the table to shoot rifle (the first one to try that, per the RO), but there was vegetation in the way, and that whited out anything behind it.

- I switched to standing afterwards

- I missed rifle about 2x, so I did have to reload

- I ejected the rifle round to make it safe before switching to pistol, out of habit

- I got through 2 pistol hits before timing out... the RO said that I made it further than most... oh well.

- I cleared my pistol at first, after the stage, out of habit... it has been a while since I've done a gun run.  I ended up re-chambering afterwards.

Stage 2:

I ended up having 3:26 of wait time, after catching up to whoever was in front of me... they weren't having a good stage, from the sounds and look sof it.

- carry a large empty ammo can to the first chem light and shoot a hard-to-see shot-up speckled pistol torso, 2x

- move forward with the can to the next chem light and repeat

- come back to the VTAC with the can, and from 1) steps, 2) higher square port, 3) lower square port, shoot 2 rifle hits per position 

Learnings/Outcomes: PASS in 86:05 (18/30 pass)... I'm 18th among those who passed

- I went on safe between rifle positions, which felt like the safe thing to do, even if it ate up a tiny bit of time

- I decided not to turn off my pistol light in between the two positions, even though it's tactically better to do so... but when every second counts and I'm borderline on passing some stages, it's the smart gaming move

- I built decent positions

- I liked how my zero worked out

Stage 3:

I had a 3 minute wait time again, and a guy who I had passed along the way came in just afeter me.  He said he had gotten lost and had no NODS.  I'm not sure what that means... if it ran out of batteries or broke.

- run up to and open an ammo can with a brief inside

- pistol only: there are 4 bad guys advancing.  Shoot each 2x from behind the caution tape

Learnings/Outcomes: FAIL (13/30 pass)

- I lost a good bit of time finding the button that puts the NODS back down after I had moved them up to read (which we could do with an admin light)

- I need to be 100% familiar with my gear when working with such short PAR times

- The trick on this stage was that there were three sides of caution tape.  I had only noticed two.  It was hard to tell under NODS.

- I found 3 targets on two of the sides but didn't look on the third side

- Anyone who did this stage again under white light (or under white light for the first time) would probably do much better, knowing about or seeing all the sides

Stage 4:

- no WMLs allowed, to mimic gear failure

- run to the first crate and shoot 2 targets with pistol, 2 hits each

- repeat from the next crate

- run further up to the log and shoot from 1) standing, 2) kneeling, 3) prone, with 2 hits per position with rifle

Learnings/Outcomes: FAIL (14/30 pass)

- on pistol, my reticle was so bright that it washed own the dim target.  When I kept both eyes open, my left eye helepd me see the target ok... I hadn't tried to add the kiji, but it was ok.

- I had tried to reduce the red dot brightness on the clock, but I'm not sure that my clicks did anything

- I ate up a lot of time trying to reholster my pistol.  I discovered afterwards that this commonly occurring issue is a result of my WML's screw backing out a little bit... I'll have to intentionally retighten it more often

- I timed out when trying to figure out prone... it would've been tough, under NODS.  

- I may need to bring a separate white light handheld or headlamp as a backup light next time, in case this kind of stage barring WMLs comes up again.  I guess I'm not 100% sure if you'd be allowed to use a white light handheld in this NODS event, though.

- Standing and kneeling were fine, even with the small and hard-to-see target

Stage 5:

- go into the house with disco lights and shoot 3 dummies with 2 hits each 

- go into the courtyard and do the same on 3 more dummies

- from the tire (optional use) shoot 4 (turned into 3 and repeat 1 due to a downed target) steel targets up the hill, 2x through (at least I did it as through...)

Learnings/Outcomes: PASS in 65:03 (17/30 pass)... I'm in 10th

- the ROs have to help me find the rifle targets, especially the third one on the bottom of the hill... target finding is always challenging up the hill in this bay, with the vegetation and wide area

- this was so much fun and a great way to end the match on a cleanable, burn-it-down stage

- I am surprised that more people didn't pass, though

Overall - 20th shooting, 11th running, 16th overall

- know your gear, like with the NODS up/down button

- zero worked well, though I now know how I need to confirm it

- bring a WL handheld next time

- search all sides of the shooting area, especially under NODS where it's harder to see

- tighten the pistol WML to avoid holstering issues

- continue changing to fresh mags on the run

- continue using 17 rounders

- would've done well at white light at this match (with the prone rifle stage too)

I covered 2.63 miles in about 75 minutes including 6 minutes of wait time, with 629 feet of ascent.  I felt like I was trying pretty hard to move fast, even if it wasn't super fast in reality.

I love gun runs!

GBF OPERATION CONTACT 1

Saturday, Mar 8:

After the Gun Run prize table, I started my drive out to the Sawmill.  When I arrived, the wind was howling.  I brushed my teeth then slept in the car.  The brief was at 8am.  There wasn't a Friday night start, like there was at the original Operation Contact.

We started in a small bay, verifying that everyone who showed up knew how to do administrative mag changes for rifle.  It was quite taxing to change levels and move with rucks, PCs, and belts on.  It's not always easy stuffing mags back into pouches, either.  Not a quick process.

We practiced bounding at the 100yd range, in pairs, 5x, using mags of 3x30... lots of ammo.

We then bounded in fire teams at the UKD range, down to schoolbus.  We started dry with 2 runs, before doing it live for 2 runs.  

We added in "peel left" break in contact drills, 2x dry.

We combined it all with bounding forward, then peeling left, 4x.

We did some pistol work for fun, on plate racks and a dueling tree.  There was a TX star, too, but one of its paddles broke before I got a turn on it.

This event was more chill, and more about learning, than the original one.  We ended the day at a reasonable time and got some good rest.  No 1am wake-up call.

Sunday, Mar 9:

We did more fire team drills in the morning, but in a different part of the Sawmill Training Complex.  It's cool to have diverse terrains to work with.  We were now by a creek, with a hill on one side.  We had contact left, and ran through that about 4x.

We then leveled up into section drills, doing contact front and peeling left, 3x.  We did have trouble curving with the road that we wanted to progress down.  Instead, our natural rangeism tendency was to follow the 180 rule, so we stayed flat against the other shooters and would end up bee-lining right into the creek.

We then learned how to do a linear and L-shaped ambush up a hill.  

To end the day, we had a mini-stage shooting at 200yd targets.  My comp practice helped, as did the red dot, since the targets were pretty big, and it helped with target acquisition, vs someone who used an LPVO.

Over the course of the weekend, I ended up using about 100 rounds of pistol and 1,100 rounds of rifle... that's a lot!  I should've taken all those reps to practice my rifle trigger reset.  I'm glad I used my beater rifle!

By the end of the weekend, my body felt pretty beat up.  Moving around with kit on will do that!  My right shoulder, especially, which was odd.  

TPG @ Clinton House & O-course DNF

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Tuesday, Feb 25:

Went to see Paddington in Peru with my mom.  We had the whole theater to ourselves, since it was a weekday, and the movie had been out for a while already.  They kept the lights on the whole time for some reason.  That's my only complaint.

Wednesday, Feb 26:

HDT-KB 10 - 25 min BW Showdown AMRAP tiebreaker with 5 rounds and 64 reps, then HDT-KB 10 Kettledoom 15 min AMRAP with 25#KB - challenging and solid

Thursday, Feb 27:

Tried out a new 2011-style pistol, with iron sights.  It's accurate, but the windage is off, unfortunately, and rear sights aren't easy to adjust.

I'd also get failures to feed on the last round of each mag, for some reason.  

Interestingly, the gun feels heavy in the hand, but light when it comes to its ability to manage recoil.

At night, I did 2.5 miles of rucking in 37:06, with 50# in the v2 rucker, strict rucking in MACV1s.  I craved rucking after not having done it in a while.  My legs and arms were sore from yesterday, so the active recovery felt good.

Friday, Feb 28:

I rucked 2.5 miles in 1:09:26 around uptown with my mom, wearing a 30#RPC and Ballistic trainers, plus sweatpants that kept falling down.  You get to see a lot when you ruck in the city.  I asked my mom afterwards how far she thinks we had walked.  I think she guessed something like 7 miles, haha.

TPG @ CLINTON HOUSE

I had only recently done TPG Team Match, and another one was already here!  Yay for great matches!

Stage 4: Quicksilver

- empty guns to start

- grab a jerry can and go to the modified VTAC.  

> from any step position, shoot right to left (near to far) 1 hit each with rifle, on 5 steel

> from any port position, shoot right to left (near to far) 1 hit each with rifle, on 5 steel

- clear and leave the rifle, return the jerry can, and bring back an empty keg

- from inside the station wagon, shooting out the back,

> shoot the same 5 targets, right to left, 2x through

- clear and stage the rifle outside the car

- return the keg, and bring a tire to the right side of the car

- shoot 5 pistol steel near to far, 2x through

Learnings/Outcomes: 4/8W, 42/77 O

- used 14P, 32R

- used pint-sized GC for the first time at a TPG... it sucked up a little time building the position, and who knows how much it helped with wobble, vs not having it

- the rifle targets went from 150-250yd

- I held low at 150yd, and it worked

- choosing the low VTAC positions felt good

- I held a bit of left for wind, but I probably didn't need to

- I did pretty well on pistol, though they weren't that far

- I switched to a fresh rifle mag when transitioning into the car, which was smart

- 3x power was good for the close rifle targets, but more on the far ones wouldn't have hurt

- I used transition Roka sunglasses, since the red lens Rokas were too dark this early in the morning

Stage 5: Hydroman

- Run with empty guns down a path, into the woods, and down to the pond onto a jet ski

- Shoot 5 rifle steel left to right with 1 hit each, 2x through

- Go up the path to the pistol position between the trees and shoot left to right, 1 hit each, and repeat from the left side of the left tree

- Go further down to rifle tree 1 and shoot 4 steel left to right, 2x through, then go to the next tree and repeat

- Run back and shoot the stop plate

Learnings/Outcomes: 2/8W, 44/77 O

- used 51R, 13P

- My rifle was messy... it was an ugly stage, even if I did finish under PAR.  

> from the jet ski, I have no idea why I was missing initially... I didn't feel like I had that much wobble.  Once I did start hitting stuff, the rest was decent.

> For the close rifle target from the tree, I had to go off-hand due to obstructions from trees between me and the target.  I kept missing... it turns out I was hitting a close branch and throwing off the trajectory... it took me waaaay too long to realize what was happening.

Stage 5: Speed

- with empty guns, run from the box to the tank trap

- shoot 4 rifle steel left to right, 1 hit each from the tank trap

> for each miss, with 4 misses max, run to the box and back with a 1/2 cinder block... after 4 misses, you can shoot as much as you want

- repeat from the low wall, with the penalty resetting

- repeat from the top of the saw horse, with the penalty resetting

- clear rifle

- load pistol and shoot 4 card suits left to right 1 hit each, with no penalty for misses (use of props optional)

> from the saw horse

> from the low wall

> from the tank trap 

Learnings/Outcomes: 2/8W, 19/77 O

- I had only 1 miss on R, thankfully, while holding the lower third

- the cinder block wasn't really heavy, so I hand-carried it

- I used the GC, which probably helped me... I took my time

- I held nothing for wind, even though there was wind, since it was straight on, and it died down a bit before I went

- I had to go first by random order, even though I had just gone on the previous stage.  My adrenaline was still amped up, but at least my mags were already prepped

- I braced and took my time on pistol... slow squeeze back

- I still struggled on the clubs shape and still went too fast sometimes, pushing with overconfidence

- the 3rd rifle target was hard to see because it was spotted from all the shots... I had to search and increase magnification from 2-2.5 to 4.5 to see it.... they ended up repainting the targets a couple people after I went, which was a big advantage for them

- the clear Roka transition lenses worked really well even in the bright sun

- going first did give me a long time to relax afterwards

Stage 1: Thor's Tower

- start in the chair without your kit

- on the beep, kit up

- run to the balance beam and shoot 4 pistol steel left to right, 2x through

- run to the windows on the lower level of the platform and shoot 3 animals left to right from the left window, then again from the right window

- run up the stairs to the second level and shoot 5 animals with rifle, left to right, from the left half, then again from the right half, of the rail

- run back and hit the gong with the hammer

Learnings/Outcomes: 3/8W, 30/77 O

- used 25R, 18P

- did a preemptive mag change on pistol after the balance beam, which had gone pretty well

- I had a malfunction mid-window 1, but tap rack bang worked... it was odd, since I rarely have malfunctions

- a couple of rifle targets were harder than the others... I just kept shooting

- it was hard to judge the distance on some of the shot up speckled farther targets that were mixed in with vegetation 

- the RO also said that it was possible that some people might be hitting a closer bush, if you experienced misses

- 4.5 power felt good

- the balance beam wasn't that bad, and the targets were close

- it was windy, but straight on, so no hold was needed

- the GC worked well, although unclipping it from my belt took a little time

- my right ear pro came out, and I almost lost it while kitting up, but I took the time to find it, instead of trying to do the stage without it and having an even harder time finding it later

Stage 2: A Stark Reminder

- start empty and run to the first box

- load and shoot 3 pistol steel left to right, 2x through.  hot holster

- drag the tire to the second pistol box and shoot 3 pistol steel left to right, 2x through.  hot holster

- drag the tire to the third pistol box and shoot 2 circles, then spin the spinner.  clear.

- go down and up a creek trench to the other side (sans tire)

- from the hood of the car, shoot 5 steel with rifle near to far (LRLRC), 2x through, with the farthest target at 330yd

- run back, with the tire, and shoot the stop plate

- retain your mags, or else there's a 30s penalty

Learnings/Outcomes: 1/8W, 29/77 O

- used 32P, 15R

- could've gone slightly cleaner on the spinner, but I was pretty efficient 

- rifle was pretty good

- I took my time to gather my mags and to unclip and reclip the game changer, with all the movement... it made me slower going up and down the trench... I should've not worried about getting my feet muddy, since we'd get wet feet at the next stage, anyway

Stage 3: Neptune

- start mag in, bolt forward, empty chamber, seated

- run to the berm and shoot 6 rifle steel L->R 1 hit each, 2x through, then clear

- run to the first pistol box and shoot 4 steel L->R, 1 hit each, 2x through

- run to the second pistol box and shoot 4 steel L->R, 1 hit each, 2x through

- run to the third pistol box and shoot 2 steel L->R, 1 hit each, 2x through

- go up the creek, grab a flag, and return it to box #1 then shoot any steel to end time

Learnings/Outcomes: 1/8W, 34/77 O

- I used 27P, 15R

- not terrible, given the time of day

- on video, my legs actually turn over pretty fast.

Overall: 1/8W, 33/77O

- Did 63% of the overall winner and was 9% over the 2nd female

- There was some good competition out there

- I didn't put stress on myself... just do my best

- It was interesting that I did better relative to the others in my division as the day went on... 4, 2, 2, 3, 1, 1

- the GC was probably a "gamechanger"

- I may want to remove eyes and ears on future stages where I have to don gear

- good use of preemptive mag changes and 17 rounders

KINGS MOUNTAIN NMP - RED O-COURSE

This was the first time I've DNFed a pure O-course.  I did have a close call on my first attempt at a red course, but the second one had gone better.  I guess it does show that it is hard.  There's not a ton of margin for error.  If you're not sometimes failing, though, you may not be pushing your limits far enough (at least for non-physical stuff... I am more risk-averse when it comes to pushing myself towards limits that might induce injuries).

It was actually quite special that I got to do this at all... normally, Carolina Orienteering Klubb holds its meets on Saturdays.  Because Kings Mountain National Military Park has stricter limits on numbers, they offered up the course on both Saturday and Sunday.  Normally, I'd have chosen TPG over an O-Meet and would've had to skip the O-Meet.  This time, I had a rare opportunity to do both events!

We did also get a special email before the event, warning us about many downed trees caused by the hurricane.

It started easy enough... hit the trail, then go off-trail once the trail starts to turn west, also using pace count as a guide.

I hopped back on the trail, crossed a creek on a bridge, then kept handrailing the water, expecting to see the trail turn left and cross the creek that I was handrailing.  I somehow missed the turn and found myself on hardball, but at least I knew exactly where I was, and I hadn't added a ton of extra distance.  Hardball makes for faster travel anyways, especially if you don't have to deal with extra downed trees.  I looked for landmarks of the creek intersecting again as my cue to cut back into the woods and go uphill until I could find point #2.  A little hiccup, but corrected course.

For point 3, it seemed more efficient distance-wise to stay in the woods and follow the bearing, so I tried to do that, but I ended up being so close to the road that I should've just taken the road the whole time.  I saw others doing that, and they were going faster.  The main road had a side road coming off of it, and that was going to take us back towards the point.  I guesstimated where I'd need to go off-trail and into the forest, and it turned out to be a good guess.  It was pretty open land, it felt like, but there were enough hidden ups and downs for stuff to hide in.  You had to be a good looker.

I decided to get creative with my approach for point 4.  The direct route went through a creek, and it went through some somewhat confusing terrain where one might get lost easily.  I opted to go a longer route with a known midway point, which happened to be the very top of a hill, which meant that I was also doing a lot of excessive climbing and descent.  It felt like the safer bet, though, and I was OK with the physical challenge.  From there, I shot a bearing to head back down the hill, bypassing the creek.  The land there still ended up being confusing.  I only happened to see the CP one hill over, by chance, and scrambled down my hill and back up the hill with the CP, to grab it.  At least I knew where I was now!

I decided to handrail a creek to find point 5... not too bad.

Finding point 6 ended up in disaster for me.  It shouldn't have been too far... 480m.  Unfortunatley, I made a parallel error along the way.  It wasn't even easy ground to make an error on, with the steep creek bed I was following, with steep banks on both sides and many downed trees that forced me to have to keep going around them by either gaining or dropping elevation on bank, repeatedly.  It turns out I had gone on a northern track around a hill that I actually needed a southern track around.  Both looked like valleys.  The bearing felt like it was in the right direction, but it wasn't.  

Not only did I go the wrong way... I did for a while.  I ended up at a spot that was distinctive... I tried figuring out where I was.  I saw signs of an unmapped trail.  I decided to follow it, hoping it would take me somewhere that I could recognize on the map and help me figure out where it was.  I kept following it... for way too long.  I was actually off-map by this point.  It was a good thing that I eventually made the hard decision to try to backtrack to a known point and re-attack, because if I had kept following that trail (which had downed trees, too, so it's not like following it was even that easy), who knows how many miles away I would've ended up.

I retraced my steps back to recognizable buildings, re-found point 5, and re-attacked.  I figured out where I went wrong and realized how close distance-wise point 6 had been all along... it was easy.  I hadn't read the saddles quite right.  I learned through experience then, though!

I found my way back to point 4, which doubled as point 7 at this meet... I don't remember seeing a point doubling before.  Interesting.  

It had taken me nearly 70 minutes to find point 6, so I burned a lot of valuable time.  If I was going to make it in time for the 3 hour cutoff, it was going to be very close.

Point 8 wasn't super easy, though, so my chances were lost then.  It had looked straightforward... find the one re-entrant... but it wasn't at the first one.  I think I ended up having to go farther?  I was kind of demoralized at that time, so I don't remember as much.

My feet were starting to feel it, and although I could've finished the route, it would've been over the 3 hour limit, and I didn't want the organizer to worry about having to find me, so I headed back to base on the easiest track.

It was a good learning opportunity, even if it didn't go the way that I wanted.  I do think I'm more appreciative of what a saddle looks like now, though.