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Hudson Valley and West Point

Lucky (for Eric) our visit to New York fitted in nicely with the 40th annual West Point National Orienteering Meet, organised by a team of West Point Cadets in the Academy Orienteering Club.  The event was near the host area for the World Orienteering Championships back in 1993 and features some of the toughest and most complex terrain in the US.  Three races over the weekend certainly kept us busy.


Located on the banks of the Hudson River, West Point is probably the most famous Military School in the world.  The area around West Point is also a famous historical location where the US and her allies fought the British during the American War of Independence.  

Hudson River near West Point

As foreigners in these security conscious times, it was a particular privilege to be allowed on base to compete - the Sprint race was around the Academy grounds and buildings which allowed us to see the campus which looked like a movie set.  The town was immaculate from the houses, the academy buildings, sportsfields, parade ground and even the cemetery. We also got to meet and chat with the Colonel in charge of the Cadet orienteers (Not surprisingly he was also Professor in charge of Environmental Engineering and Geography).

Part of the Campus

The forest was nice in the springtime, somewhat cold but with the new growth just starting to appear on the trees.  We spotted a deer or two who (apparently) do a good job at keeping the low growth down.


We also had our first ride(s) in that American icon, the yellow school bus.  The busses were used to transport us competitors around the base and to/from the start and finish.

The long race on Sunday was one of the best areas Eric had run in for a long time (map is at the end of this post if anyone is interested).

The only downer to the event was the cold and showery weather which was a rude shock following our recent weeks in the Galapagos and Florida!

Samuel (pictured with the winner) was 3rd overall in mens 10

Eric's map for the long day with his Garmin track overlayed



Comments

  1. UnknownMay 10, 2019 at 5:33 PM

    Congratulations Samuel. Glad to hear Eric got to run in such an amazing and challenging area.

    ReplyDelete

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