In keeping with the Hull's Gulch weather tradition (threatening weather preceding the meet, but perfect weather the day-of the meet) the weather dawned sunny and beautiful, with no hint of the predicted thunderstorms. Other than a strong wind later in the day (another Hull's Gulch tradition), it was a truly excellent day, no matter if you were strolling or running like a madman.

Bucking the Hull's Gulch tradition, turnout was heavy on all courses.

The Beginner's course was usual 1.6km classic loop, with navigation mostly on paths (hopefully, by next year adjacent Camelsback Park & lower Hull's Gulch will be mapped, giving more options for the Beginner's course). Most of the controls were on or visible from the trails, but the somewhat steep terrain made this course more physically challenging than the flat stuff in the city parks. A contingent of local Cub and Boy Scouts took up the challenge, with the Cubs giving the older boys a lesson that accuracy beats pure speed.

The Intermediate course was set as an easy step up from the Beginner's course, with most controls still relatively close to trails, but with more map reading required, and some controls having non-trail route choices that were superior to the pure-trail routes (especially control #6). Masha demonstrated her experience by burning through the course in just over 40 minutes, with most of the remaining competitors coming in within ten minutes of that time.

The Advanced course set to be both physically and technically gnarly, with a mix of short, choppy legs, and long legs with numerous route choices. The difficulty of the course was evident in the times with over two hours separating the initial from the final finishers.

Mark your calendars for the next meet, May 13, when we return to the Owyhees and the Rabbit Creek map.

Andy Hill 
Final results:

Beginner:  1.61km, 60m climb, 7 controls
Brandon Busacker &            32:00
Brett Nichols
Chase Busacker,               34:09
Hayden Mabey, &
Adam Ricks
Davis Hilton,                 49:15
Andrew Belnap &
Elijah Hill
Gregory Corlett,              75:20
Samantha Corlett &
Kylee Hedington


Intermediate:  3.72km, 125m climb, 8 controls
Masha Velichko                40:58
Jeff Decker &                 42:33
Donna Goodwin
Mike Bading &                 44:20
Merrill Hayden
Dondi Black & Sage            49:54
Brandon Busacker,             114:00
Chase Busacker &
Adam Ricks
Mike & Caleb Walsh            DNF

Advanced:  7.49km, 440m climb, 13 controls
Sergey Velichko               60:30
Michael Tobin                 66:15
Mike Bading                   89:45
Ole Bergset                   93:05
Lee Scott                     93:40
Kristin Ritzenthaler          94:55
Jeff Black                    97:06
Matt Herring                  105:10
Bill Leahy                    107:12
David Bergset                 118:50
Bill Pilcher                  122:02
Erik Bergset                  194:00
Dirk & Daniel Bodily          200:04
Dan Herring                   DNF