By Scott Aster
We had a beautiful day for our National Orienteering Day event this month in Sonoma county.
81 participants came out to try orienteering at this very fun, scenic venue. Lots of wildlife was to be seen, including a flock of turkeys, jack rabbits, deer, and more squirrels than you could count. The weather was sunny and warm, and best of all, the poison oak was bright red, making it easy to spot (and avoid).
The meet ran flawlessly, thanks in large part to the excellent crew BAOC had at this event. Gary Kraght ran the start area, Judy Koehler handled beginner clinics (which included just about everyone who came to this event), my parents, George and Pat Aster smoothly handled the registration chores, and I relaxed at the finish line, with a cooler of cold drinks and a bag of pretzels!
We had a BAOC first on the Yellow course, when the winning team consisted of Dippy & Nemo, two large, friendly goats, shadowed by Robert & Jenny Thille. The goats expertly found the controls, and showed great willpower and thoughtfulness for their fellow competitors, by not eating the controls as they went. They obviously did build up a great appetite on the course though, as I noticed when they crossed the finish line and immediately began to chew on anything they could get to. Dippy and Nemo had perhaps an unfair advantage, having competed with Rob & Jenny on the Yellow course here last March. Emboldened by their win here, they are seriously considering coming down to compete in the club championships in November! Two-legged competitors get ready!
I also want to thank participant Aaron Shreve, for two things. First, he "encouraged" his school class (he is the teacher) to come out and try orienteering, and a lot of them did come out — having a great time while they learned navigation. Secondly, I want to thank Aaron for going out on the Phantom course, which I made particularly difficult by not listing how many of the controls were phantom, and how many were real. Aaron got all the "real" controls, and was the only successful finisher on the course. Great job!