I was a bit dubious at first about going out night orienteering while nearly 6 months pregnant but I love being out in the middle of nowhere in the dark and figured that I’d be fine if I stuck to the paths so we headed off to Ocknell on Saturday evening. I’m really glad I went as the going was really good, if not a bit wet, underfoot and it was a beautiful night. The highlight had to be having a herd of about thirty deer stop about ten metres away from me. I could see their eyes reflecting back my torch beam as they stood stock still and hoped I wouldn’t notice them. I think they’d been startled by another orienteer.
Despite the fact that I was going so slowly I managed to make a couple of mistakes as it was hard to distinguish between the rough open and the runnable open in the dark. I only missed out on one ten point control as a consequence so it wasn’t the end of the world. Although no where near Dave, who got all of the controls, I wasn’t last. Thanks to Bill, Roger, Charlie and Kevin who all seemed to be helping in some way on the night.
It won’t be long before excursions like this become a wee bit more difficult so we’re trying to make the most of our last few opportunities for freedom!
Go Girl!
Take it easy and you can carry on for a while.
The deer must have been a superb site.
Start working on the rota for the future.