How to waste a lot of time orienteering - part 1 (control 1-2 Para Wirra)

How did I mess up control 1-2 yesterday? 

Para Wirra-control 1-2

First let me show you the map. We were at Para Wirra based at the north oval.

Start to control 1, 2 and 3

Now let me show you what I did (taking 37 minutes)

My GPS track from my watch (above) shows that on 3 or 4 occasions I must have been sooooo close, but I continued to waste time there. This cost me about 30 minutes (and the win).

So what did I do wrong?

I think there are at least 4 things I could have done better.

I didn't think about the contours.

I was watching the vegetation and watching for the top of the spur, but didn't picture what the other side of the spur should look like.

As I came across the top of the spur I should have been expecting to see a gentle gully on my left and known that the control would be on rocks to the north of that gully.  

I ran across the top of the gentle gully and started searching on the spur next to it (to the south).

I didn't look up.

When I was so close to the control so many times I should have seen it anyway.  If I had looked up I probably would have.

Noticing other orienteers-1

I should have noticed the lack of other orienteers.  If no one else was near me I must be in the wrong area.  I knew that I had started ahead of many others and that they would be coming along.  The fact that I hadn't seen them close by meant I was in the wrong place.

Noticing other orienteers-2

I did see other orienteers a couple of times in the distance. They were all heading away up the hill,  from my left.  Why didn't I think about where they had been (control 2) and where they were going (control 3)?

So that's my lesson for today. The take away message is:

• Think about the contours
• Look up occasionally
• Notice other orienteers

Unfortunately this was not the only control that I didn't do well yesterday, so more analysis to come.