A beautiful occurrence during a rainstorm can be found in the woods. Take a seemingly temperate ancillary creek bed or the persuasion of a ditch, curious in location but otherwise innocuous. With rain brings them to life, their function suddenly apparent and stunningly simple. The normal still and patience of the woods, the chatter of squirrel activity, replaced with the collective notes of water navigating branches, fallen leaves, and rock-laden passageways known as reentrants. It’s this way with water.

Another occurrence you’ll find in the woods during a rainstorm is orienteering controls that were placed and carefully prepared before the rain. The lovely earth bank holding CP 12 is now a small pond. What of CP 8 you ask? It was placed across a gentle, beautiful, and meandering creek easily crossed by confident leap. Today, however, we find this creek busy ferrying the day’s rain and requiring its visitors to partake in what some would call wading. 

Thank you to the adventurous souls who came to play in the woods today. When they arrived they carried a countenance steeped in thought, clothing choices, and the uncertainty of what lay ahead. When they finished the course, all bore a wide smile, a countenance flushing with “I just did that”, and tales regaling this seldom experienced beauty of a rainstorm in the woods. 

WOW! What a beautiful and fun day in the woods.  Mother nature provided some bonus weather for this year’s Turkey-O but the snow only added to the fun for more than 70 participants.  Adding a 3rd course at the last min also some of the Advanced course racers a couple of extra challenges to deal with. 

Many thanks to Mark Geldmeier for all the logistical support, Chris Heupel for helping check the course and to Ken Debeer and Joe Marincel for helping pick up controls, Thank you gentlemen!

Thanks to all who braved some snowy weather to make this event a huge success.   

After the meet was finished,  I revisited control #15, 90 min course, or #26 on the 3hr course and agree with several racers who commented that the CP was not marked correctly on the map. I have therefore credited all racers with reaching that CP in the results below.  

Thanks to Jeff and Carrie Sona for putting on a great event at Cliff Cave. There was a little rain, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the adventurers that attended. And yes, there were costumes.

Wow!  A big thanks to everyone that came to Jefferson Barracks County Park on Saturday.  We had 121 total participants that enjoyed a warm mid-October day at the park.  It was a little crazy and chaotic, but wonderful to have the park full of so many orienteers.  A good mix of old-timers, new faces, and lots of energetic JROTC cadets.  A big thanks to co-meet director Terri Zuber for everything, Jeff Sona for doing beginner briefings, Lily Munch for computer registration entry, and Brian Rodenbeck for control pickup.

JB is popular. We’re used to seeing frisbee golf, overly tame deer, and large gatherings at the pavilions.  But, we added a wedding to the list this year.  Right in the path of the beginner course!  So, yep, something old, something new, some compasses borrowed, no one was blue.  Ultimately, the wedding proceeded with “I do”, and our participants finished with, “I did it”!

On the Green (advanced) course, CP #11 had been re-located after the maps were printed.  It was noted on the map, but not clear enough for some participants.  Those unfortunate souls scoured the nasty briars, brambles, and underbrush searching the original location in vain before either spending a lot of time or giving up.  This opened the door for others to move up in the results.  For an interesting comparison, the timing for just the first 10 CP’s on the Green course has also been calculated.

Thanks everyone for coming out and making this event a huge success!

Thank you to everyone who made it out. We had a lot of fun remembering David, treasure hunting in the dark and sharing stories. See you next year!

For those that came out, thank you for spending your Tuesday evening with us running around a small lake. Reanna and I are glad we could be a part of this, and hopefully everyone enjoyed themselves, especially those who choose the nettle on the rouge course. Results are below, and thank you again!

Thanks to Eureka CrossFit and Brian and Tammy for helping to make this one a unique event. It’s always a great time to hang out afterwards are share stories among friends of the course and our adventures. Thanks to you all for coming out and sharing the course with me.

The summer series events have seen some interesting weather. This time it was Hurricane Beryl. After making landfall on the Texas cost on Monday, the remnants passed through southeastern Missouri on Tuesday, bringing 3.25″ of rain to Laumeier. The trails became streams, the stream a river, and the normally empty pool ruin was filled to the brim. An event at the sculpture park is always quirky, but the rain made it quirky and mystical.

Those that braved the weather had the choice of an 18 checkpoint score O course (any order) or a 3.1 km point-to-point course. Nice to see both the regulars and several beginners. Thanks for coming out and hope you enjoyed the unusual clues!

Thanks also to Josh Borgmeyer, Nathan Graves, Eric Buckley, Manoj Sood, and Steve Mueller for picking up controls and carrying equipment.

It was a dark and stormy night… Well, actually it wasn’t night (because it was one of the longest days of the year). And it wasn’t that stormy (there were storms all around us but we were lucky). Still, there were gusty winds, occasional showers, and lightning in the distance. And the high power lines directly overhead buzzed loudly – with the sound changing whenever there was a flash of lightning. It was eerie!

The registration and finish table were moved inside the back of a car (to keep the electronics safe from wind and rain). But despite the weather, the turnout was good. The 3.1 km course crisscrossed the Marquette High School campus and included navigation choices, potential creek crossings, and the obligatory climb to the top of the stadium bleachers.

Thanks to Terri Zuber for working the registration/start/finish and Mary Piper for control pickup. And thanks to all the attendees that braved the storm!