Doton's Point at Granite Bay of Folsom Lake remains an enigma. This is a fairly small area. You have to use all of it to get in a decent-length Red course, without criss-crossing. The terrain is incredibly densely featured and forested in the eastern and northeastern sections, while the middle is forested with fewer features farther apart. Parts of the western areas are quite open with some scattered, very dense growth.
The map is now quite up to date. Some vegetation boundaries and dark green areas are still confusing. In regard to the numerous features of the terrain, the original mapper(s) have really not left much out. However, the methods of identifying the features may be a little different from what today's runners expect. When is a knoll a knoll and not a boulder, and vice versa? When is a pit a pit and not a small depression? When is a very large boulder a large boulder and not a bare rock? When should separations of boulders be shown, rather than a boulder field? This can sometimes be a matter of mapper's philosophy. Herein lies the rub and the enigma to many runners.
At Doton's Point, there are many instances where one could successfully dispute the mapper's choice of feature designation. But this should not cause too much problem to the secure and focused orienteer. The feature is definitely in the right location, and with a shortest pause for thoughts he/she should quickly realize what has taken place. Yes, when orienteers get to be somewhat fatigued, we have a tendency to go brain-dead, too. (By the way, no control at this meet was located at a possibly controversial feature.)
Yes, one (or two) runner(s) got stuck at a Red/Green control featuring a boulder at the edge of a boulder field. However, they approached the field from the west, failing to notice on the clue sheet the Eastern arrow in column C. Yes, the field was quite overgrown, which was not clearly indicated on the map, and this could have caused some confusion. Nevertheless, there were several nice anchor points to the north and east, and any confusion should have been cleared up in a minute or two. Well, this is orienteering, and what it is all about.
It was nice to see so many BAOC runners participating. We hope they will spread the word about the great GCO meets. We were honored by the presence of USOF president (and past president of BAOC) Gary Kraght, who handily won the Green course still being careful with his sore heel. GCO President Ron Gross came in second, bravely walking the course with a very sore hip. One of GCO's best runners, Dan Clark, dominated the Red course. Team Michaels and Michaels of GCO won a tough Orange course; and team Williams and Williams won the well-attended Yellow course, many of its participants having run the White course first.
Course setters: Jim Michaels, White and Yellow; Tom Jahn, Orange, Green, and Red.
WHITE COURSE 1. Fricano/Dent/Kramer 26.40 2. Melissa Threewit 32.28 3. Livingston/Buffington 34.15 4. Robin Collett 36.00 5. Stephanie Trasher 39.20 6. Mully/Mully/Pagaling 40.30 7.. Kreutzer/Cooper/Perw. 44.50 8. Dobberteen/Brumbach 47.49 9. Davis/Davis 50.04 10. Sivia Gerlach 50.07 11. Rodeo/Rodeo/Rodeo 50.50 12. Ursy/Bergmooser 88.40 13. Fairbanks/Thompson 98.55 YELLOW COURSE 1. Williams/Williams 64.00 2. Robert Bundy 67.20 3. Ed Quartermont 78.58 4. Livingston/Buffington 79.05 5. James Stroup 89.00 6. Mark Looney 89.20 7. Chamberlain/Ivy 92.00 8. Mully/Mully/Pagaling 92.30 9. Fisher/Campbell/Baker 97.10 10. Fricano/Dent/Kramer 100.30 11. Kreutzer/Cooper/Penw. 111.30 12. Uamos/Gillilund/Kramer 113.55 13. Dannenbrg/Bryson/Term 119.10 14. Reese/Fakes 123.55 15. Walter/Walter 137.50 16. Dyson/Dyson/Gour 142.30 17. Georgianos/Gay 143.00 18. Mitchel/Richardson 148.00 Two Teams DNF ORANGE COURSE 1. Michaels/Michaels 80.40 2. Rich Petersen 130.10] 3. Duisenberg/Duisenberg 139.38 4. Brown/Buffington/Hoke 156.33 5. Xiong/Li et al. 172.50 6. Gee/Wang 186.50 7. Roe/Roe 211.40 8. Luther Burbank/Hoorah 232.50 9. Luther Burbank/2-Sexy 235.50 Two Teams DNF GREEN COURSE 1. Gary Kraght 78.27 2. Ron Gross 134.36 3. Mike Gandwin 141.55 4 O-Rers DNF RED COURSE 1. Dan Clark 87.05 2. Penny DeMoss 94.58 3. Pete Olsten 120.12 4. Karl Gerlach 125.02 5. Harold DeMoss 126.32 6. Jeff Thompson 130.40 Andrij Pencifoy DNF