Hooves and Hurties

May 9,2012..
Cows are dumb, aren't they? They have brains the size of peas ( or is that politicians?), they poo everywhere, they can only say "moooo", and they follow each other around.

However, in some countries they're revered and idolised. I reckon they must be countries that do a lot of rogaining!
I can't tell you the number of times over the last few weeks that Bruce and I have been stumped as to which way to go, when a well worn cow track would suddenly appear like a yellow brick road and show us the way. Cows have an inbuilt spirt level that helps them contour perfectly across spurs, around knolls, over ridges and, most importantly, through steep creek ravines.

After the recent floods, a lot of the water courses shown on the map have quite steep banks, with thick vegetation, and you'll be scratching your head wondering how you'll get across.
Competitor's tip- make like a cow, and look for that well worn track that will lead you through. Just don't get down on all fours, or you'll end up with a nose fill of spear grass, or something more smellier!
Which leads me to the my next point..
I don't want to highlight any negatives, but this IS the Qld 24 hour Championships and , it's not being held around some suburban area. You'll have to put up with a few discomforts, including fields and fields of spear grass.

The seeds have a knack of being able to drill down through layers of clothing and leather and, I reckon, 2 inch steel if given enough time! You really need to wear gaiters,and probably put tape over your shoelaces.
So, big tip here..DO NOT step out onto this map in running shoes and bare socks! You'll spend all your time pulling out prickles, and won't last 5 minutes.
P.S.At this time, the cobblers pegs are also still around, and quite matured, which means they're quite hard.They'll just about go through your finger when you bend down to pull them out without looking at what you're doing.
However, to end on a positive note.. if you get up into the higher country, they're not so bad. And as you look down the valleys, enjoying the picturesque views.. don't think of the million spear grass seeds down there waving sensuously to you, and whispering on the wind..come on down.. come on down!

Creeks and Currents

May 2nd..
Well, I'm officially a "Super Vet" today.I probably should be home in bed with a warm wrap and a cocoa.
Nahh.. much better to be out under the open sky oiling the old knees with a bit of brisk tramping.

Well.. have you heard the hymn... " One more river to Cross"? You'll be humming it in no time. There are plenty to cross on this map.Bruce and I have managed to find spots where we could avoid getting your feet too wet. You just have to ferret them out.

Driving through them has been fun, to say the least. You need to talk to the locals to find the best crossing points.
We crossed at this one spot near one of the properties. No problem driving across the water on the sandy loam. Getting out the other side,however, proved a bit of a problem. We got bogged half way up this slippery black soil bank, and the only way out was to reverse all the way down, and cross the creek in reverse up onto the other bank..still in reverse!Needless to say, we found another spot to cross.
Competitors tip.. plan your course so you minimize your creek crossings.Your feet will appreciate it.

Bruce and I have had fun at a few fences as well,around the middle section of the map.They're electrifed by solar panels, as Bruce kindly found out for us by grabbing hold of a wire.Better than that first cup of coffee, he tells me!
You'll recognise them easily enough,as they'll be made up of 3 plain strands of wire, with plastic insulators on the star pickets.I've included some pictures for you.

 But don't worry.Bruce, using his past experience from the second world war, has devised a good method of getting over them.. by getting under them.. commando style,as the next picture demonstrates.

See.. easy! Just keep your rear end down, or you might get an upwanted thrill.
p.s, I was only joking about the second world war, Bruce!

Another fence that might pull you up is the deer fence, which has extra wire running up it.Again.. we've found that you can sneek under them.Just find where the wallabies have made a trail through.

So,there you are.. lots of good tips!
As we get around the map, Bruce and I keep thinking what an enjoyable event it will be to compete in.So, start getting your entries in!
Rob

Bogs and Bulls

Never volunteer to run one of these things unless you have a 4WD at your disposal... because I guarantee that it will rain, or you'll have to get across some creek without sinking into the abyss.
After our initial visit to landowners on April 20th, Bruce and I were keen to get out to look at the map the following week.Well.. we got an inch of rain the previous two days, plus a steady drizzle on the 27th. .
"Let's try this road" Bruce innocently quipped,"It looks Okay.We'll drive to the end of it and go by foot from there around this bit of the map."
We trundled along as it got greasier and greasier until , about half way,we hit this hill that looked like it was used in the Dakar rally after floods.I engaged the 4WD.
 "Gun it!" Bruce instructed.We got about three quarters of the way up, with the car swerving from left to right, before my tyres gave up the ghost and just wined on the spot. Only way way to go then...an embarrassing slide back down to the bottom.
Note to future organisers.. make sure you've got fair dinkum 4WD tyres!
Somehow, I turned around and we made our way back to the main road without further bogging. Phew!
We decided we'd try a smaller landholding on the other side of the map.
Christine,the landowner, was very helpful and showed us some hidden entrances to parts of her property.
Lots of long grass, and quite drive able.We managed to get to a point where we could spend a few hours walking around and tagging control sites.We were happily walking along a ridge towards where flag 82 should be hung.It was just ahead in that saddle.easy!
 There was one minor problem, There was this whopping great bull between us and it, and he wasn't moving.
This was his paddock.
He glared at us derisively. Bruce and I both had on our bright fluoro yellow rain jackets, so not much chance of stealthily going around unnoticed.  My theory was that if we kept on our approach along the ridge, showing no signs of fear, the bull would gracefully withdraw and allow us through.
Yeah..right! We hoofed it down the hill into the long spear grass and had to climb back up well past where our friend still stood watching us.
Tip to competitors.. If you're around control 82 at night and hear this snorting and bellowing behind you..run!

Forward to the Past

For those rogainers long of tooth and grey of head ( e.g Richard Robinson and Phil Scott), this rogaine will be a stroll down memory lane. The area was used in 1998 for the Australian 24 hour Champs. We've managed to retain most of the same map for this event, with 7 landowners allowing us entry.One bottom section has become an estate.
So, first tip... if you've still got a copy from back then, dust it off , put on your reading glasses and have a look. It's great rogaining country! I'm posting pics on the website to wet your apetite.
Back in 1998, the mappers and organisers were Eric Andrews and Gordon Howitt. I visited Eric at Easter to see if we could recreate the map from some DERM data that I had and, lo and behold, he still had the original map on Ocad! That saved a lot of time!
Eric is course setter again, and has set a challenging event,using ancient Aztec means beyond Bruce's and my feeble understaning.It's based on km rates over defined elevations under specified light availabilities across  terrain runnability around what people ar likely to have for lunch.Anyway,botom line... If you want to get around all 68 control sites,you'll need to be prepared to cover 90 odd kms in 24 hours.Doable!?
Second tip for the Elite's...start training! Most of the terrain is open and runnable.
For the rest of you.. there are lots of control sites and lots of loops that you can choose to have an enjoyable event.

So it begins...

Hello fellow rogainers...
I thought I'd keep a blog of the trails and tribulations of organising the 24 hour Qld Championship event  at Eskdale over the coming month.
Why, you ask? Well.. it saves me  having to write a report later on. Also, if I'm foolish enough to volunteer again next year, some kind soul will direct me back to my own words written in blood! Only kidding..I'm sure it will be lots of fun.
If you intend competing, be sure to check my blog every now and then.. I'll include some tips for you.
If you're not competing and would like to help hang some controls around May 26,or help run the admin tent.. let me know. We're still well short of  warm bodies.
Luckily I have my rogaining partner, Bruce Jones,as my right hand man.Dave Firman is going to run the navlight sytem for me, and ,so far, Mike McMahon and partner have volunteered to hang flags.I've also talked Richard Nottle and Kevin McDougall to help with the admin set up. Thanks Guys!
Stay tuned..