Rogaining with Bryn

I don't do many rogaines in Wellington, it is often too hilly, gorsy, roady and random for my liking (yeah harden up aye). Last night Bryn Davies and I managed to get out to Karori though and had a great Wednesday night suffer fest, 26km in just under three hours taking in Johnstones Hill, Otari/Wilton Bush and Wrights Hills on the way.

My main reason for blogging is to record the links to Bryn's GPS data, complete with maps, average speed, resting time, climb, etc. The wonders of technology!

Things Ain't too Bad

We have been stuck somewhat in the throes of work, play and exhaustion. Parenting is hard, even if it is only of a feline variety. Sherpa Tenzing came into this world four months or so ago, he has been with us for a month. He's a cutie...

Today for the first time in a while I saw all the beauty in the world. The tooth I got pulled out yesterday must have done the trick. Sunrise from the deck probably helped as well...

At lunchtime Penny rescued me from work and we went running around the Ataturk memorial at the head of the Wellington harbour. It was such a still, mild day, that it felt great just to be alive , to be running. No pictures today from there, but the words from Ataturk on the memorial inspired me. A perceptive recognition (if unwitting) on the foolishness and universality of the human condition.

"Those heroes that shed their blood
and lost their lives;
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies
and the Mehemets to us where they lie side by side
here in this country of ours.
You, the mothers,
who sent their sons from far away countries,
wipe away your tears;
your sons are now lying in our bosom
and are at peace.
After having lost their lives on this land they have
become our sons as well."

Our sport has been a highlight recently. Grit occasionaly triumphing over fitness. Greig Hamilton and I won the New Zealand 24hr rogaine champs in the Akatarawa forest in April. The highlight being rough and tough bush navigation in this terrific little chunk o country.

While earlier in April we journeyed down to Central Otago: Alexandra, Cromwell sort of way for a long awaited National Orienteering Champs. We ran on the old sluicings of the old timers in Roxburgh, Bannockburn, Earnscleugh and Naseby. A terrific weekend of competition and camaraderie. Here's a couple of maps...

And theres been the odd other trip as well. Chamberlain Creek in the Tararuas was a bit of a blast. Abseils and deep pools discouraged the camera. Its a shame as we would have been a site walking into the Roaring Stag Lodge in our wetsuits. A hut fairly full (30 people in a ten bunk hut) of VUWTC punters.

And before that Caspar and I took on the Carkeek picnic (courtesy of Greg Thurlow hospitality) and were whipped. The Carkeek picnic is is a highly regarded traverse of the Northern Tararuas in a day, via the parks spiritual heart Carkeek Hut, ridge and Park Forks, high up the pristine Waiohine. Caspar took some photos of this trip. He was looking a bit nervous for a start...

But as we got the South Ohau and then Arete under our belts he started to pull through, it was a bit foggy and I got us briefly lost coming off the summit of Lancaster, but by Carkeek ridge the fog began to clear...

And Carkeek hut showed up.

After this it was a wonder down to the lovely Waiohine and a long trudge up thickening regeneration to McGregor and Jumbo. The others met us there and the mission was over bar the pain of the final little walk out!

Apart from that I don't know what is there to blog? Bus and babies? I guess theres the failed trip to the Gardens in February still hovering around. I will have to dig up some good photos of southern rata flowering...,

St Pats Forest Rogaine

Penny is working what we call the "dark shift" at the moment. 8am - 6pm - she never sees the light. But thats not to say she doesn't get any exercise. She bikes backward and forwards to work through the great Mt Victoria MTB tracks, every now and then we get a run in and then occasionally a crazy adventure. The St Pats Forest Rogaine the other night was definitely a crazy adventure.

The rogaines in the Hutt, which is where this is, start at 6.30, so it was quite a rush getting out there, paying during the final stages of the briefing, bagging the maps as they said 30 seconds to go, then sprinting off with the crowd while trying to plan a route for the next few hours! We didn't even know how to cross the river but luckily there were plenty of people to follow. Going under SH2 via the culvert at CP 21 we decided to head straight up the hill via 53 and 42 to 91. I had decided that to complete a good loop around the track linking up 75-76 we needed to get straight out there. A good decision for enjoyment I think but possibly not the most lucrative decision points wise.

Being a little flustered and suddenly alone, the rest of the field without exception (?) and probably wisely choosing to visit 81 and 71 we wasted lots of time searching early for 53 "off dip in track". I knew that we should probably wait for the dip in the track but I we just couldn't make ourselves it seemed so far! The tracks were classic tramping tracks, or even taped possum trapper routes, so it was quite slow going.

We decided to get 54, which involved getting the compass out and heading west from the track bend and 74, dropping down soft needly slopes into a creek. But 82 gave us some grief as we overshot the first junction then struggled to find the control which was just sitting there between us in the middle of the forest. Great practice in hunting for TWALK this weekend! We overshot the junction by 103, but grabbed the four CP's here relatively quickly and headed off for 85 where Penny was onto it enough to stop me going too far again.

A steep gnarly descent in the dark with dull lights to 104 then our first adventure of the evening downstream to 75. Complete with bush bashing, wading through the creek and a series of little pools to skirt. The glow worms down here were amazing even in the rush and the track up the hill to 94 was full of them too. 94 itself was quite hard to find. A very small track deposited us on aforested spur, and it was only Penny noticing that the ridgetop track is broken by a light dotted line (so is broken and confusing on the ground) just north of the control that enabled us to find it in the end.

From here we were really pushing time. 34 was skipped, as was 35, but 76 and 93 seemed worth it. Then came our second great adventure for the evening, bush bashing between the tracks between 93 and 63....ugly...Penny was convinced I chose the wrong way through low scrub and fallen trees, in reflection she may have been right...but who was to know! It ate up time a little but we eventually emerged on the track and promptly failed to find 63. Our plan had been to take a lucrative route back through 83, 102, 62 and 92 but this had been getting less and less likely for the last hour or so and was now completely out of the question. So it was down the nice open spur to 24, then down the track beside SH2 to another culvert at 23.

We were late now. I had to inform Penny that it wasn't polite to verbalise the points we were losing every minute as we were running along. Especially when she wouldn't let me tow her, claiming that her legs couldn't go around fast enough. Marital bliss! But we got there back to the organisers sheltering under the motorway off ramp, (did I mention it was wet and miserable :-))and the pizza. Great event. Interesting navigational and route choice challenges. It would have been fun to do it for six hours.

Seeing something you created flourish.

Events have been on my mind lately. I have been working on a few concepts which are quickly turning into real plans. But aside from that I am keeping the website up to date for the Taylors Mistake Rogaine Series which began last week on the hills above Christchurch.

I have been reflected on how fulfilling and great it feels to see something you have created flourish once you have passed it on. I like trying to create things for others, most of the time the things flop but the Taylors Mistake Rogaine Series at least is an exception!

I created the Taylors Mistake Rogaine Series in 2005 as fundraising for Penny and I to attend the World Orienteering Champs in Japan. I then ran it again in 2006 before passing it on to Matt Scott, Lara Prince and Michael Smithson to organise in 2007. Last year Chris Forne, Emily Wall and I organised an extended series - 5 events from the tip of Godley Head to past the Sign of the Bellbird. This year I have passed it on to Ian Edmond and Nora Audra to organise for as long as they like.

Ian and Nora by all accounts have done a great job so far attracting a near record field of 180 to the first event based high on the Summit Road above Governors Bay. The slideshow below is from their first event held last Wednesday.

The photos just bring back so many good memories of people with smiles on their faces running crazily on the rugged ridges. People just so stoked when returning to the finish after a starry evening high above the city lights. Theres people in those photos who were at the first events and are returning now by the looks of it with new girlfriends and kids. There are people that look exactly the same (and wearing the same clothes) as they did that time ago. The landscapes in the photo are so familiar now, the view over the harbour to Lyttleton, and indeed back the other way. Probably my favourite event ever was the first time we used the Gondola, it was just such a different experience starting way up there with a 360 degree panorama of an oncoming southerly. We didn't make any money when we used the gondola but it was a blast.

I feel like we have made a real difference in introducing people to all the beauty of the Port Hills at different times of day and night. The amazing red cliffs, the groves of forest, the deserted bunkers hidden by flax, the rugged sea shores of Godley Head. I rest easy in the knowledge that Ian and Nora are continuing this, and hopefully it continues for a long time.

The Boohai!

Was just scoping around the net looking for images for a few ideas on topographical map navigation for my OSquad Blog, when I found a write-up and online maps from my own event!

The Boohai 2008 on the East Coast was an event I really enjoyed organising with friends Rachel and Rhys. In my unemployed state I am getting more serious about organising another for later this year! The map of the first day, which included some classic "East Coast" Coastal farmland with beautiful beaches and rugged headlands is included below", as is a little section of the write-up which can be found in its entirety here.

The first event, which was of 8 hours duration was held on the coastal Nuhiti station. Rugged ridges sweeping into the sea, bisected by streams lined with native bush and remnant puriri forest. The craggy coastal feature of Mawhai point home to a former whaling station was visited by most with high pointers located on its tip. A lone hermit sheep eyed competitors curiously as they scrambled over rocks to his gnarly island of grass and bush. There was some honest labour going on, with plenty of hills to keep the competitive ones busy. Neil Jones had brought over a team from Whakatane and beyond, including son Daniel and well-known adventure racer Grant Burke, who were expected to do well, but in the end the first day was taken by Hawkes Bay pair Hamish Goodwin and Chris Howell. There was no mercy being given in this competition, the latter moving fast into the finish.

For Another Take...

Just checked out Chris and Em's blogspot "Silly Billys Roam the World", Em has written of our recent shared adventures, attending a Swedish wedding and kayaking the Stockholm archipelago, as well as some good stuff on the World Mountain Bike orienteering champs and World Rogaine champs recently held.