getting beat up by nav

while i know a decent bit about navigation, i am by no means in any position to be self-sufficient with it (although i would like to be). so what i need is practice and lots of it...and not the tagging along sort of stuff i've been doing. today's georgia orienteering meet was a great opportunity for me to go out alone for a few hours and see what i could do. the courses are labeled by color, with red being the most advanced - based on difficulty of location of markers, length and amount of elevation change involved. i chose this because afterall, adventure races are usually more difficult.

i got my map, checked out, and off i went. the first 2 were relatively easy, but of course this precision wouldn't last. i ended up getting only half the points in the time allowed (so there is a big fat DNF by name on the results page). it was a good reality check that will hopefully get me out there more. it was also a rainy weekend, which made the terrain (piled high with lots of leaves, fallen trees and rocks) quite slick. i ate it several times and am nursing many aches this evening. still, a great day, although i think next time i might try a less difficult course so that i start getting my confidence up.