February 17, 2008
By Dick Luckerman
Mother Nature triumphed this time--but she did not get a shutout! Nine
hardy people battled the elements and everyone found all of the controls
on their respective courses. No DNF’s!! Has that happened before?
Heavy rains throughout the preceding night set the stage. The eastern
slopes of Monkey Mountain Nature Reserve were terraced croplands
before the county purchased the land. They were designed to retain
water and they do the job well. By dawn the rain had turned to a wet
snow and a set of cross country skis would have been very handy for the
grassy plains above the southern parking lot. The meet wasn’t scheduled
to start until noon however. By then the snow had pretty much stopped,
the temperature rose slightly and the snow on the ground turned to slush.
All in all, just about the worst mess to experience orienteering in!
Often, thanks are given in the meet report for the efforts of the meet workers.
This time, our thanks go out to the nine people who came out in support of
the course setter, Tom Hanley. The nine are:
Melanie Armstrong and partners Michelle and Sequoia
Jon Jones and Mike Zin
Mike Lewis
Tim Thornton
Kerry Davis
Brian McMenamin
(By 3 PM the snow/slush had all but disappeared from the parking lot
and south facing slope.)