Day 8 Rain?

We started the day early due to a rainy weather forecast for the day since David was hell bent on ensuring we stayed out of the rain. This prediction turned out to be irrelevant when the forest we were training in was to far away from Lenzerheide to receive rain and received a mere 3 drops. Our first training session was on a map called Trin Digg. It was composed of 3 separate loops using the different sections of the map and planned by David. The first loop started with a super steep albeit manageable climb to the first control but luckily it was downhill from there. The terrain had some detailed contour features which were a blur at speed but by reading the larger features we could start moving a bit faster.

For lunch we decided to go find a lake to picnic at. We were successful and managed to find the most beautiful lake ever. The water was varying shades of turquoise and was so clear you could see rocks in the depth's of the lake. Unfortunately we were not able to go swim or sit by it as it cost a rather ludicrous 7 francs per person (R120). In the end we all crowded around the fence to take photo's. We then decided to drive to the start of the second session for lunch and proceeded to have an absolutely neccesary 30 minute nap.





The second session was in the very   ominous sounding Bermuda Triangle. People have gotten lost in it and have never returned... Not really. It just has a reputation for confusing people and at one event the planner put out a control and when time for control collecting he couldn't find it... The terrain was technical with many knolls, depressions, hills and cliffs. Luckily everyone managed to return from the triangle intact. Michael, Tim and Roark managed to conquer the Bermuda Triangle, finishing the whole course without getting lost. The massive rocks actually made navigation easier when the contours or vegetation got a little to crazy. As soon as we were all back at the car we crammed ourselves in and got moving on the relatively long journey home.





Compass escapades:  The Americans decided to go look for Karen's compass as soon as we got back, whilst everyone else got dinner ready. After two hours they were still out which lead to the much asked question "where are the Americans". Eventually after we had all finished supper and it was starting to get dark (which only happens once it's pretty late), they returned with glum faces to announce that they hadn't been able to find the compass. Although as part of their attempt to find the compass they did  manage to do some comprehensive research into 1) how compasses land by repeatedly dropping it on the side of the path to see how far it would bounce (conclusion: they all stayed exactly where they were dropped, 2) how far a compass rolls down a hill (conclusion: not very far). Useful research if you ever find yourself in their position but unfortunately not enough to help them find the compass. Austin also managed to get shocked by the electric cattle fence, something that Roark knows all to much about.



After the Michael and Austin had had dinner we took another trip to get WiFi before going to bed. Michael revealed his inner nerdiness by fiddling with IP address's amongst other things to connect Roark's phone to WiFi.

Karen gave training a skip today and instead went up the Gondola to the Rothorn for some awesome views of the alps.

Moment of the day: Tim actually having the excuse: the dog ate my work (well, map if you're being technical). While trying to pet a dog, it stole his map from his grasp and ran away with it. Initially there had been a bit of tug of war but Tim pulled out in fear of ripping the map to shreds. He then had to sprint after the dog which yielded the map after a short skirmish.


Another moment of the day: Michael disowning the US team by taking his jacket off before going into a bar to get half francs for the washing. His excuse being that he didn't want to confuse the person by wearing US clothes while speaking German (we're not so sure...)



Illegal moments:

Driving on the forestry roads (which according to a hiker and a sign we would only see afterwards) we were not allowed to do.


Hoopla of the day:

Our washing had got stuck in the washing machine as we didn't realise you had to pay for the electricity after the washing was done. It only accepted half franc coins and unfortunately, it being the first couple of days we didn't have any. Michael whipped out his swiss-army knife and tried unsuccessfully to open the washing machine door while a Swiss couple stood nearby, observing in a shocked silence.



Quote of the Day:

A South African show came on Swiss television and naturally  Austin asked: "Do you go to witch doctors"?