Adventures in Peter Murrell Reserve

Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Peter Murrell Reserve is a sizeable bit of bushland about a 5 minute drive from our house. Because it has a nice network of tracks I normally run there at least once a week.  However due to a last minute decision to run a night time orienteering training session (so we could all test our headlights ahead of a rogining event in a few weeks) I've been there four times in the last 48 hours.

Firstly I went to check the control sites I'd selected on the map. Many of them did NOT look so good in real life, I even found a control which has clearly been missing for a long time. If no-one has found in 20 years (note the punch attached), it's a pretty good indication that no-one is going to find it in the dark no matter how good their headlights are!

So I moved that control site.  And I adjusted some other ones when I got home.   The next afternoon after printing all the maps it was time to go out and hang the control flags - in order to minimise the chances of them being moved or removed I didn't want to do it too much before sunset, so I started at 6.30, intending to be done by 7.30. And I was, except that along the way I somehow managed to spike myself with a splinter so long and deep that it immediately felt like I'd pulled a muscle, rather than just got a splinter.  Once I stopped to investigate the source of the pain I could see the problem, but no amount of fiddling enabled me to get it out, it just covered my hands and leg in blood. Ugg. I called Jon and asked him to come early with a first aid kit including a scalpel and tweezers, then I made my way back to the car after hanging the remaining flags.

When I met him 20 minutes later he was ready to operate.

Thankfully it came out quite easily but it was quite long, and I think it did actually pierce a muscle or something as it still feels as if the muscle is torn, and it's quite swollen. Ouch. 

Shortly after the minor surgery the participants  rolled up and we sent everyone out into the dark with strict instructions to be back by 9pm.  I was really pleased that everyone returned on time and seemed to really enjoy the opportunity to rollick around the trails in the dark.  Yay.

Then it was time to get the controls in. During this exercise Jon and I could finally test out the various brands of headlights and see which worked the best for us.  As the rogaine is just a week and a half away we really needed to do an online order that very evening to ensure they arrive on time! Between Jon and I we took out Jett's new Petzl, Clare's new Ay-Up, and Niko's Feorei light which was also brand new. It's worth noting that these lights are expensive - they cost around $250 each - so we wanted to make sure we invested in the best ones for us.

 Jon and I headed out together, stopping along the way to compare the reach of the light beams and swap the lights between us.   The Feorei light was actually my least favourite so I stowed it in Jon's backpack right before we split up to get the last few controls  - about a 2k run for each of us.  This was uneventful  and we met up back at the car 15 minutes later. Which is when Jon discovered that his pack (bulging with control flags), had opened itself up and dropped out the only thing of real value - Niko's light.  Aargh!!  By now it was almost 10pm.  It was clear we'd have to retrace our steps (well Jon's steps) over that last 2k. It was a bummer but I figured we'd spot the light  it quite easily because his route was only on tracks.  Which is when Jon revealed he had actually decided to cut across the thickish bushland from one track to another for 500 metres at one point.  Oh dear.  Anyway  I sent Jon back out to look while I returned home to the kids.  He arrived home at 11pm having run a further 5k, and had had no luck despite criss-crossing the bush section 4 times. 

With a sinking feeling I got up before 6 and went back to the car park. I was a bit afraid that if it was lying on a track that it would be spotted by early morning dog walkers, so my first sweep was to re-run the tracks that Jon had taken.  No luck.  Then it was time to retrace his steps through the bush. We had analysed Jon's GPS trail the night before so I had a good idea of where he'd been.   After an hour of searching including 5 trips across the thickish bushland ..

I gave up.  I wandered dejectedly back up the track towards the car thinking about what I was going to say to Niko and his dad, and how I was going to source a new light for them before the rogaine.  Not to mention fretting over the $250 it was going to cost.  Ugg.

That's when I noticed the head torch sitting in bushes beside the track..

Yaaaaaaaaay! 

Somehow Jon and I had run past it already - I'd even run right past it in the daylight and not seen it, but becaue I was walking in the opposite direction, it was finally possible to see it.   Phew. 

So Peter Murrell has delivered a lot of experiences these past few days! Vintage controls, fun night training, a puncutered leg, minor surgery and a lost and found incident!  I think I might give the area a rest for a little while!