Scottish Orienteering

Dave Prentice (Organiser) says:

The map is still really ‘work in progress’.  A lot of work has been done to open up ‘ways through’ and more would have been done except there wasn’t the time.  It was good to read very positive comments about the map.  The next version of the map will show a further improvement.
What did you think about the ‘ways through’?

One issue does need to be addressed, and that is the use of dark green on the map.  It was accepted before the event that much of this was not ‘impassable’, especially after penetrating the outer fringe, and within the green blocks, parts could even be slow run.  But these areas were the less attractive parts of the forest.  Should they be left as they are to dissuade competitors from going in, or should they be more accurately represented.  Looking at Routegadget, quite a few chosen routes went right through large blocks of green, so perhaps it doesn’t have much of a deterrent factor for some?

Roos Eisma (planner) says:

With a single leg through the green it is possible that people go through and regret it afterwards, but this control in the strip connecting the two parts of the map suggests that this area marked as ‘walk’ was maybe not be as unpleasant as the map suggests: 7 on brown/short brown, 8 on black; almost everybody chose to go back out again through the green rather than take the slightly longer route using rides and ways through.

Paul Frost says:

Given that you were required to go through the mid-green to get to the control (7 on brown) why seem surprised that people left via it rather than a longer detour?

I personally felt that I spent a lot of time bent double (I’m 6’2”)with branches pulling at my shirt. So not the most enjoyable area I’ve run on.

Roos Eisma says:

My thinking was that the next control is further S. So when you have run through the green once to get to the control you can then make the decision to head further S through the clearing SE to the more runnable way through (which then takes you out to the W) rather than go back into the green.
But maybe that is based too much on knowing the options and not something to work out while in a hurry and seeing the map and the terrain for the first time.

DaveP says:

I was interested that someone 6’2” should be bent double as I am 6’2”+1/2” and all the improved rides / ways through catered for my height, so I had a look at your route choice. I assume your close examination of the heavily hashed area en route to 3 was done in upright mode? The routes to 12, 13, 15 all went through dark green that should have been avoided for the optimum route. To 17, the long ‘fight’ should have been avoided by the runnable option to the E (though others went through the green).  Your route to 23 and 24 seems to miss lovely runnable rides and ways through (ok, they are not so lovely). Just for a comparison, I looked at Dave Robertson’s route and apart from 14 it was pretty good.
Might not have been necessary to have been bent double?? Next time the runnability will be further improved!

Paul Frost says:

That assumes that I found all the “improved rides” which of course I didn’t.

My exploration on the way to 3 was in the company of 3 others that had gone adrift and was spent climbing over a lot of windblow rather then bent over. A lot of people seem to have lost time in this area so I wasn’t alone in having problems there.

My route to 12 was mainly along a ride that wasn’t mapped.

I missed the ride after 12 but again had a reasonably clear route to 13.

14, was a bit of a lottery and again lots of people lost time here.

15, no other sensible choice here.

17, virtually all the class leaders did the same as me, as the route to the right did not look much more attractive.

23, I got confused with the rides but was on rides all the way.

24, took similar route to others.

The GPS track does not line up perfectly, either due to GPS or map errors, can’t tell which.

I accept that my orienteering skills are lacking, and so the route choice is my fault, but that doesn’t change the fact that I felt I spent a lot of time in the dark pushing through branches.