Måsenstafetten (2009-03-29)

A satisfactory run, much better than last year. Time was 58:40 for 6km.

#1 - not sure about route choice at first, but think it was the right one. Had a good image of what to expect and things went well in the control circle.
#2 - read features as I saw them, went ok.
#3 - Stupid. Left the control without having a proper idea of what the control circle should look like, then stopped to figure things out but I didn't know which hill was which on the map. I knew I was close, but wasn't sure which direction to go in, so checked out all the nearby hilltops.
#4 - A scary control because of all the small, flat features, but I read the details along the way and it was fine.
#5 - Planned route and executed it, but decided at the end to go around the steep-looking short hilltop and approach the reentrant from the bottom instead of climbing over and down into the reentrant. Should have gone straighter, but this is a minor point.
#6 - Legs like this are so difficult! It's a long leg, but the concentration level must be high all the time because it is so technical. I read details along the way, but got really tired of falling through the marshes and climbing up short, but steep hills (big rocks, really) so I wasn't doing a good job of it. In the second half of the leg, I stopped every 30-50 meters to check the map and try to determine exactly where I was. It didn't work, but at least I kept in general contact with the map (within a 50-meter radius) and knew to look for the yellow marsh southeast of the control. Once I saw that, I identified features precisely and found the control just fine. The best route choice was to go right of the line along the white flattish section and then curve around the hills and straight for the control.
#7 - had a plan and executed it perfectly.
#8 - followed some tracks down out of the control, but knew from the compass that I should cut north, so I did that at the first opportunity and came to the wrong hill. Realized immediately and corrected.
#9 - I was tired of fighting the forest, so hesitated a bit and then cut out to the field. The route looks stupid with that sharp turn into the forest, but the woods really didn't look nice there, so I don't think I lost much time (if any). And I spiked the control from there. :)
#10 - Very smart plan and execution went great except for slight hesitation at the end.
#11 - A bit too far to the right of the line, but ok.
#12 - Lots of muddy tracks and people leading to the last control.