Left, Right, or Straight: Leg Analysis #17

 

 Left, Right, or Straight: Leg Analysis #17

Today, we're going to explore a few legs from an area near the city of Daugavpils, Latvia. This is where the traditional Latvian multi-day event  Kāpas 3 Days, was recently held on June 28 -30th. Kāpas is organised annually by the Kapa OK club in different parts of Latvia, typically in the middle of summer.

This year, the first day took place in the sand dunes of pine Forest. In such a unique area, you could also meet in Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia. The origin of such a landscape is most likely connected to the movement of a glacier in the distant past.

The visibility in the mature forest is excellent, and the ground is hard (the moss is not very soft). This is evident from the athletes' routes, as they tend to stay as close to the line as possible. Even on those legs where there was a clearing or path near the line, the athletes did not use it. Additionally, some paths and rides can be sandy, which slows down the running speed .

However, when running along the leg line, it's crucial to maintain your direction accurately and monitor the distance clearly. Failing to do so can lead to uncertainty, making it difficult to reestablish your location due to the many similar features and the lack of distinct landforms. It's also important to understand the general structure of the landforms and identify intermediate checkpoints on features that stand out from the surrounding area.

One of the favourite 'traps' of course setters in such terrain are small depressions at the tops of hills. Many competitors then mistakenly look for these features in the larger depressions nearby.

Below are a few legs with marked features for tracking along the route.

In elite groups, there are fewer errors compared to youth groups, where the most difficult controls cause a lot of mistakes. See in the figure below leg 5 from M16L course. 

Next are a few legs from the M21E course.

On Leg 1, it is important to notice the support and then the hill on the power line. It is also crucial to realise that the control is in a small depression on the hill.

The next Contol 4 is located in a small depression on a gentle slope.

And the last one for today is Control 8. Here, it was important to realise that the control is on a gentle hill with three peaks and a depression between them. On the way to this hill, it was possible to use a chain of small hills just to the left or right of the leg line.

Source: Livelox

If you are looking to reduce the number of errors during courses, you may find this book "Confident Orienteering" very helpful.

The book is available in English, French, Ukrainian and Danish.

Very soon also in Polish.

Aleksandr Alekseyonok, July 19, 2024.