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With summer temperatures in Phoenix still over 100F during the day, we had another nice break in the forest above 7000 feet surrounding Willow Springs Lake. The monsoon was fairly active this year, so the terrain included running streams, wet marshes, great views, and plenty of vegetation. We had a small group join us for this year's event. Five participants started early in the morning for the 4-hour Score-O. Three more joined us later for the two-hour event, but stayed out and enjoyed the scenery for more than the two-hour limit, so we put them into the 4-hour results.
Brian Durrell led the pack with 880 out of 1180 points. Ian Scott was only 10 points behind with 870 points. Erik Ringnes finished with 820. We had some equipment failures with two of the bags falling to the ground in heavy winds. Brian didn't find one of the controls, but others reported the bag was on the ground. While no one visited all the controls, Brian went out later and picked up the bags at the 5 points he didn't visit earlier. Kevin Adams also modified his planned route so he could pick up the most distant controls after 12:00.
The area around the Rim Top Trailhead is one of the nicest areas we use for orienteering. The middle part of the map is a little flat, but visiting the canyons on the edges of the map is more than worth the effort. We hope more people will consider joining us at a future event at Rim Top Trailhead.
Thanks to everyone who helped pick up bags after the event. With all 5 of the 4-hour participants helping, and with the help of Gary Hickey who drove down from Flagstaff just for bag pick-up, we were able to retrieve all the bags before 3:00 PM. We really appreciate your participation and your help after the event.
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