okansas.blogspot.com

okansas.blogspot.com
Occassional thoughts about orienteering

Sunday, December 29, 2002

Last winter's ice storm

Last winter we had an ice storm.

Gene and I ran at Wyandotte and the snapshot gives you an idea of how thick the ice got. You can see a good bit of ice on the branches in the foreground. What looks like snow on the ground is actually ice. Wyandotte was one of the areas with relatively little ice. Wyandotte was one of the forests with the least damage to the trees.

Today, Mary and I ran at Blue and Grey -- one of the areas with the most ice damage.

Even 11 months after the storm, there is still a lot of damage to the forest.

Throughout the forest, there are downed trees and limbs. It makes for tough going. In some areas, you really can't get through. In some areas it is just a bit tough, a bit rough.

The trails are in good shape. The park gets a lot of use from horse riders and they must have put in a lot of work clearing deadfall.

Orienteering in a forest like we were in today is a challenge. It is tough physically -- lots of stuff to fight through or go over (or under). It is tough mentally -- you feel like you're not making much progress. It is tough technically, too. Because the forest is so rough, you can go a long way off the straight line and make good time. Taking a careful look at different route choices paid off today. A long route that kept you to the trails and fields saved time and made for much more pleasant running.

Sometimes when I'm running in really awful weather I like to think my competitors wouldn't be out training. Today I was struggling through some really crappy forest and wondered if anyone else (other than Mary!) was running in rougher woods.

posted by Michael | 7:41 PM

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