Bushtrails analysis

Better late than never...
Most of the Juniors were on the Blue Course. Well done to Brad and Salome for outstanding performances over both courses.

Everyone should have drawn their routes on the their maps and had a think about their mistakes. You can compare your routes to what Nicholas would have done. You can also have a look at his notes to see his thought process. Thanks Nic!

One of the aims of this analysis is to make sure you don't make the same mistakes again. This Sunday you get to put it into practise.

Course 1:
S-1 Navigate your way through the buildings, then take a rough compass bearing from the path junction or nearest bend to the control, taking the easiest line across the river. The river is your attack point (AP).
1-2 Two route choices, follow the river or go for the road. My initial choice would have been to run next to the river, but some felling in the forest meant that the road was probably faster!
2-3 Easy crossing point at the gate, which is also your AP.
3-4 Run parallel to the fence until you find an easy crossing point. Keep an eye on the distance to the end of the forest, as this will give you a relative position to the rootstock.
4-5 With such high grass, get out to the path immediately.
5-6 Straight forward, read your control description and look far ahead of you when you are running for the significant tree.
6-7 The route choice to the W of the out-of-bounds is too long, thus you go along the eastern side. At the fence corner, take a rough compass bearing, also keeping an ensuring that you keep the stony ground on your left side. Running along the edge of this stony ground should lead you into the control area.
7-8 Don't assume that you will find an indistinct path easily! Always have a back-up plan, in this case, using the big cliff as your AP. The catching feature should you miss the control is the green hill immediately above the control.
8-9 Not much detail to go on, so play it safe and get to the cliff edge asap. The follow the top of the cliffs into the control. The first re-entrant is your final AP.
9-10 Find the easiest crossing point over the river, then up the hill trying to identify the open grass area between the bare rock. Look into the distance for the significant tree.
10-11 Short rough bearing. Make sure you stay in the open grass area.
11-12 Aim off by getting onto the top of the ridge early, then run down the ridge into the control.
12-13 Get off the stony ground area asap, then contour across the valley, looking at the hill slope to try and identify where the control is.
13-14 Aim off to the right until you are within sight of the fence, then run parallel down to the control, using the distance to the fence as a gauge.
14-15 Try go for a straight line. As you get to the valley, re-orientate, and try identify exactly where the control should be on the opposite hill. Look for the spur and the vegetation on top of it. 15-16 Get down off the hill onto the indistinct track asap. Stay on the track until you reach the edge of the undergrowth, then follow it into the control.
16-17 Try get a visual on what is the easiest route before leaving the control. This will probably be contouring slightly above the undergrowth.
17-18 It is generally easier to climb up a hill in tough rocky terrain on a ridge line, so arc slightly to the south, making use of the spur to reach the top of the hill.
18-19 Start heading off to the NE, until you get in sight of the fence. Then run parallel to the fence at the distance you feel the control will be at. Make a mental note when you pass the hill on the left and when you cross over the fist bare rock section. Then try and identify the rocky area / bare rock just before the control. Use this as your AP.
19-20 Short leg. Try get your distance judgement right here. A good AP is the boulder stuff between the two controls.
20-21 Get onto the small path immediately, then get down into the valley asap. Attack this control from higher up the valley.
21-22 Get onto the top of the cliffs asap. then take a rough bearing to the contol. Use the white forest area just before it as your main navigation aid.
22-23 Identify the fastest route down the hill. This will probably be down the track starting immediately behind the water feature.

Course 2:
S-1 Down the main track to the junction. Then aim off slightly to the right, so you come past the bend in the river first before entering the marsh area.
1-2 Out onto the road asap, then down the track to the fence corner.
2-3 Road and then following the ditch is probably the fastest.
3-4 Finding an easy crossing point in the fence is very important. There will probably be one where the path crosses it. This will also lead you straight into the control. Use the white forest patch to confirm your exact location if the paths aren't too visible.
4-5 Fastest line across the field and back up the side of the fence. From the fence corner, take another rough bearing, aiming off slightly to the left, so that you can run parallel up the ridge line / cliffs into the shallow re-entrant / cliff.
5-6 Contour along the slope, wherever it is easiest to run, probably on the edge of the bare rock / open grassland. You might not see the indistinct track, so keep an eye on the big track approaching on your right when attacking the control. Try and identify the significant tree just before the control.
6-7 Straight up the hill, running for a short while on the track. Try and identify the re-entrant before leaving the track.
7-8 Not much to go on here. Take a rough bearing, looking forward into the distance for the small hill with vegetation on top of it. The line of open grassland behind it serves as a catching feature.
8-9 When you get to the top of the cliffs, stop for a moment and try and read the detail on the other side of the valley. With a bit of luck, you might even see the control.
9-10 Up the hill wherever it is most runnable. When you get to the top, locate yourself on the circular ruin and line of cliffs if you can't already see the pit.
10-11 Straight down the valley. Use the track bend as your AP into the control. Make note of the ditches.
11-12 Finding the indistinct track will be the fastest route option. Leave the track as late as possible before going into #12.
12-13 Back out the same way and across the path.
13-14 Immediately back onto the path again, as you need it to cross the undergrowth in the valley. Follow the path down the left side of the valley, leaving it when it crosses back over the river, where there should be a break in the cliffs to reach the control.
14-15 Stay on the high ground above the cliffs.
15-16 Stay on the ridge line once again until you hit the path, which will be faster running off the hill.
Thanks Nic!