Our October meet at Stewart Gulch opened with glorious fall weather - bright sunshine and crisp air designed to muster full enthusiasm from the participants. It succeeded. Three classic-O levels were offered up, and there were eager takers for each.

Kathy Parker opted for the beginners course, having never seen or tried orienteering before. She was first back, and eager to know how she might practice in advance of the next meet. Intermediate levels await her return!

Intermediate garnered the most attention, with a wide range of experience levels. Joe and Joann Novak, along with Dwight, had fond memories of Hull's Gulch and were the first to arrive just before 11 and start their hike. They returned after having found them all, speaking admirably of the stretch to get #6 and the beautiful weather. A crew of Gary, Travel, Clinton Peter and Russell Carpenter split into two teams intially. They opted for the straight line route whenever possible, to practice holding a firm bearing across hilly terrain (of which there was plenty), and got a handful of good dirt in their shoes from scrambling downhill to #7. They also had the sharpest eyes to spot fox and birds of prey following their own internal compasses. Steve Cox, a member but unable to attend meets for several months, came and also savored the long haul for #6. Pat, Karen, and Megan Doherty, a pair of engineers (civil and electrical) with their daughter in backpack, came with some prior experience in college and easily enjoyed the course and day. Andy Hill, fresh from his run in Barber to Boise, came and blitzed the course but skipped the infamous #6 in his eagerness to have lunch with his wife. He gets triple credit - for two races in a single day and keeping his wife happy.

The advanced course had only one more control than the intermediate, but was carefully designed to make for interesting route choices and to make controls a bit more technical. Not counting the extra climb. Kris and John Stone, experienced adventure racers who set up their own O course in McCall just before the club's HHH meet, came to sharpen their skills at a calm pace. They found them all except for #4, which was carefully placed on a small pit in a subtle reentrant designed to test. Dave Bergset turned in a very respectable time (and happened to leverage his prior experience on this map to hit #4.) Sergey came and performed admirably at world class level as per his reputation, pleased with the variety of route choices (the meet director is getting better over time.) He also did the intermediate shortly after for practice. Ole Bergset arrived later, another dual racer who completed Barber to Boise, and collected controls as he went to round up a very decent time. He confessed later to looking high for the knoll control (#7) which was discreetly located in a depression...but this didn't hinder his enthusiasm.

The numbers:

Beginner:  5 controls, 2.1k, 45m climb
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Kathy Parker                          37:00

Intermediate:  8 controls, 4.1k, 305m climb
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Steve Cox                           1:45:40
Doherty family                      1:48:42
Novak crew                          1:55:00
Gary and Travis Peter               2:10:00
Clinton Peter and Russell Carpenter 2:12:30
Andy Hill                             49:34  (missed #6)

Advanced: 9 controls, 5k, 430m climb
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Sergey Velichko                       46:05
Ole Bergset                         1:07:00
David Bergset                       1:14:19
Kris and John Stone                 2:15:00  (missed #4)
A great meet on a great day. We are returning to the flats for the winter, although Sergey is extending and improving the Veteran's Park map for November. Hope to see you then!

Jeff Black