Ian can be quite compelling. Last September he asks me “How would you like to be involved in setting the next Autumn 12 hour rogaine with me? It is in a lovely area, no huge hills, no thick parrot bush and we will have it all set and vetted well before it gets hot.”
I had previously set a couple of rogaines with Ian and had enjoyed them, so this description made it sound like something not to be missed. He was almost right. Dryandra is a lovely area, so a tick for that bit. There were no huge hills, tick again. No thick parrot bush, tick again. Then he lost his credibility.
You might forgive me for thinking that he had found someone else to do this when I heard nothing further in October, November, December... January...?
I entered the upside down rogaine with Ian and it was in the small hours of the morning that he hesitantly broached the subject of “...remember that rogaine you agreed to vet...” I think I fell over a fence at that point.
From there it only got worse! He and some fellow named “Leg end” started the setting on the hot, hot, hot long weekend in March. Perhaps he meant it would be done before the northern summer?
So Steve and I went along to get some of the vetting done on the same weekend. Apparently “Leg end” thought we would not show up because of the heat. I was wondering at this point if his nick name “Leg end” was some odd attempt at humour related to my surname. Evidently not because it seems that it is actually “Legend” although I am still to find out exactly what heroic deed he did to earn the name.
Back to vetting...the heat was quite unpleasant that first weekend and when it got to 40 in the shade we packed it in for the day. Some of the control descriptions made for some very interesting discussion points back at camp. It is simply not possible to convince a pair of rock climbers that a manky pile of sloping rocks is a “cliff”! Ian and Jeff (his real name) graciously allowed us that one but they would not give on a rather odd interpretation of the terms “a” and “the”. Common enough in the English language but given a very unusual slant in rogainespeak. We were assured that any change in use, even to coincide with the common meanings, would cause the end of the world as we know it. Or at least the end of the rogaining world. So we graciously gave in on that one.
Of course there was the usual banter aimed at us “social rogainers”. I did ask how Ian came to be considered a “serious” rogainer? My experience ofrogaining with him is having to constantly stop so he can chat withwhoever is nearby. More the kind of practice I might expect of socialrogainers. Jeff too referred to many social rogaines he had done. I continue to ponder what it is that makes a rogaine an unsocial one and whether the opposite of a serious rogainer is a frivolous one...
But I digress from the setting and vetting of the event. Following our extremely hot weekend the weather did cool down and we were able to finish off in perfect walking weather. We were happy to wander around finding the controls. Other than the one where the plate was on the ground it was quite a pleasure to find a close attack point and easily locate them. We also visited nearby Barna Mia to see the gorgeous nocturnal animals. How very sad that they are so endangered.
The weekend of hanging the controls came along so we headed down again, this time accompanied by Ian, Donna and two of our climbing friends Chloe and Rowena. All went well and we finished it up in a day. It turned out to be quite a weekend for wildlife. In addition to the huge spiders, hopping mice and the campsite possum that heard Ian was in town. We were alerted to the presence of another from a scream in the Congelin campsite toilet. There, comfortably perched on one of the wooden roof beams was a rather large snake looking down at Chloe. We decided not to use that toilet again.
The day before the event arrived along with some serious rain. The weather was kind though and cleared for the start. Patrolling during the event we saw lots of happy faces with some very appreciative comments on the lollies, port and chairs... the chairs... very well utilized indeed. Dryandra is such a great place for a rogaine. The bush is very beautiful and your chances of seeing wildlife is very good. While walking we saw kangaroos, honeyeaters, western rosellas and an echidna. I must admit though that I could have done without the giant spiders that spun webs like badminton nets.
Jeff was happy that by the end of the event we all had nicknames. For those of you who are wondering, Steve earned the name “Thurston” for wearing cravats to keep his neck warm on a bush walking trip, just like Thurston Howell III of Gilligan’s Island fame.
For a walking event there was surprisingly little walking required to set and vet this event. There are so many tracks and decent roads! I once again enjoyed being a part of all this. There is something quite satisfying about wandering around in the bush for a few days looking for small plates.
As for Ian and Jeff, they were an absolute pleasure to work with as was my vetting partner Steve. I must give thanks to Jill and Peter Elderfield for stepping in and giving us 2 days to help with the vetting when it was looking very tight for time.
Thank you too to all of you who volunteered to collect controls and did it so quickly. It is so good to be part of a sport where people so willingly help out.
And the next time Ian asks “how would you like to set a rogaine with me?” I will make sure I get him to commit to dates. Either that or he has to present my proposed amendment to the committee about a clause that could be used to allow late rogaine entries.
Live long and prosper
... Sheryl Foot
From the Setters:
When Jim and I as the setters selected the area for this event we were looking for a venue close to Perth to entice newcomers, a challenging terrain both suitable for novices and experienced rogainers, beautiful scenery, while including the lights of Perth in the evening and of course the most important criteria, the area had to be right in our backyard. Both the setters and vetter are local and are familiar with the area.
We also tried to make it more interesting by including camel rides, wine tasting at the Darlington Estate winery and abseiling down Strathams quarry. Unfortunately in the end we removed the controls near the camel farm because it was too far away from the HH site. I do not think anybody stopped at the winery and even though Strathams quarry was very popular no one had any abseiling gear.
Because of the difficult terrain our biggest fear was that many of the teams could not get back in time. To our surprise no one was late. By all accounts, everyone we spoke to had an enjoyable time and it was very memorable to walk back to the hash house after dark with the city lights in the distance. We admired the teams who climbed all the steep hills in this area to gain the maximum number of controls, but my biggest admiration was for the two mums who walked with their babies (6 months and 9 months). They shared a pram and walked mainly along the pipeline track. They did not get back until after dark. They and their babies had a marvellous time. This proves that you can never be too young to do a Rogaine event.
We were able to confirm our vetter only 5-6 weeks before the event. David Symons jumped in and kindly offered his services as a vetter doing a brilliant job speedily in only 3 mornings on weekends, ensuring that the locations and descriptions of the controls were spot on. We were able to confirm our GPS tracks crossed at the right places to give us extra confidence for the controls and perspective on the terrain. Ian Thomsett was kind enough to contact CALM to get the necessary approval, and assisted us with the map production. Also thanks to John Tanner for his fresh eyes looking over the map and assistance on the weekend with water drops and patrolling. We also thank all the other helpers for their valuable contribution to make this a memorable and unique event.
Peter Beyer and Jim Klinge on behalf of the setting and vetting team
From Competitors:
Thanks for a challenging and fun event. We were pretty confident it was possible to get them all but ended up falling about 500 points short! It was tough going but a fun way to get some hills under the legs and lots of fun having a team of three with closely spaced controls even if the bush was (expectedly) mostly rough.
..o0o..
Had a great time. Started off with a nice sit down team lunch at home before a short drive to the hash house. Lots of friendly faces at the start. Walked with two entertaining gentlemen and met and walked and talked with lots of other teams along the way including Billy & Geoff, Dick & Frank, Aaron & his mates and Emma & Chris. Saw lots of other teams out there from time to time as well including the forever cheerful Rod and Chip. Sunset was fantastic as we walked along the road back towards the hash.
Stopped in at Alfred's kitchen on the way home for one of their awesome burgers before relaxing at home with 2711 and enjoyed being able to sleep in my own bed. What an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon and evening. More please! Distance - no idea and don't really care.
I decided it was time to set another event as I had been out of the Rogaine scene for a year due to an Achilles tendon problem and it was time to test it out. I talked Frank Coning into setting the 2012 upside down event and so we got started in mid-October.
We picked the Wandering area for two reasons: it was farmland and we had set in this area before and knew most of the major landowners. After visiting Wandering for a day in mid-October, we had permission from these major landowners and had fixed the Hash House site, so the event was a goer.
Unfortunately, both Frank and I suffered some health scares in November, but after tests and spending considerable dollars, we both were pronounced to be OK. Let’s hope we don’t get too many future scares. Jim Langford organised Ann Smithson and Sandra Papenfus to help with the event, Frank roped in Dick Blom, and I got Chris Reid involved. Ann, Sandra and Dick were new chums to the setting and vetting game but their help was greatly appreciated and I think they had a good time and \learned a great deal about the other side of rogaining. Ann also says that she has learned a great deal, both about setting and vetting and also about rogaining generally. From the vetting side, control 100 was a bastard to find, but if she had to find it in the dark, she would now think like a setter and approach it from a different direction.
The name Mooterdine comes from a pool of that name in the Hotham river but I do not know the history of it. Unfortunately, during mid November, Ann’s father passed away in England. She had to make an urgent flight home and did not know when she would be back. Fortunately for us all, she arrived back in mid–December, and we were most grateful for her huge help in the vetting process. Frank, Chris and Dick did the first field set in mid December we had a great time trying to agree on the armchair control positions. As per normal, several alterations were made to these control positions in the field and suffice to say that a couple of major changes were required after Ann and Sandra’s vetting.
The Wandering tavern supplied a few good meals and refreshments to the team and in Ann’s case, even an amorous local admirer, who wanted to stay with her until breakfast time with his bottle of Bailey’s. Ann cannot remember breakfast????
There had been a lot of unseasonal rain in the Wandering area during November and December, which affected the harvesting of the crops and also played havoc with some roads, tracks and fences in some areas. Frank even managed to bog his van in one near control 45, and had to be towed out by an obliging landowner. This unseasonal rain also made us alter a couple of control positions from the east side of the Hotham river to the western side, so that no competitors would have to cross the swollen river at the floodways if there happened to be more unseasonal rain close to the event date, as these floodway’s could be impassable. As a collective group, with a vast difference in experience in rogaining, and in setting and vetting, we tried to organise a course that would be a challenge to both social and experienced teams. From feedback received so far, this seems to have been achieved.
After a few more minor hiccups, and vetting in the heat with the flies, we finalised the map and were ready to hang the controls the weekend before the event. You may recall that the week had been extremely hot and humid, with temps reaching the forties. In order not to get “fried” while hanging the controls, we decided to hang the majority at night. This task was commenced at around 5:00 pm on Saturday 28 Jan and we went until 3:00 am Sunday morning. The things we do for an event! Even a landowner, Brian Cornish, helped us out by giving us a lift in his four wheel drive to hang controls 79 and 105 in the late arvo, which is way above and beyond expectations, but was greatly appreciated. After dusk we had to put up with a plague of small flying insects, millions of them in your eyes, ears, nose, etc, not pleasant, but fortunately these pests disappeared about 9:00pm when a very welcome cool breeze arrived. It was a tremendous relief. Just think that it could easily have been the event Saturday and you were all lined up to take off amongst these flying pests. It would not have been a good look or start. Did not have too many problems hanging the controls at night except that I could not find the marker for control 60, I had not visited this position before, and I said to Sandra, it should be here but I could not see the marker. Sandra then said in a very polite voice, Excuse me, excuse me, and pointed to a tree two metres from where I was standing, which had the marker on. Maybe spec savers are the go for me??? Completed the control hanging on the Sunday morning, a very pleasant morning it was too, and were home by 12:30 pm.
Then it was event day. The toilet truck was early, and I soon put him in the right paddock. The weather was excellent, even on the cool side for February, but was very welcome after the week before. The event seemed to run very well on DMT (Dave Muir Time). The association has bought a beautiful clock, to be used for event timing, in memory of the late David Muir and it performed admirably. Warren wished to try out his new GPS gadget with the Rogaining map, which will improve safety at events, so I went with him in his ute on the first patrol run. All was well in the first half, GPS unit running slightly off in the E/W direction but spot on in the N/S and screen going blank every now and again but a small tap on the screen brought the map back again. On the road near control 103 we had to pick up an injured competitor, who had hurt her ankle. Her other two team mates decided to continue on as an unofficial team. It was a very entertaining trip from here to the water drop at control 75 then back to the hash house, with the young lady (no names) having trouble sitting between the two of us squeezed between the two way radio and the console in the ute. She kept mentioning that her pants were sliding down and her bum was getting sore, so when we reached the water drop Warren found some padding for her posterior, to ease the pain for the rest of the journey. There were other spicy bits, but enough said, and we all arrived safely back at hash house. The event went very well with no other injuries that I know of, and all teams arriving back safely and on time. How many found the lolly jar at control 93???
Congratulations to all the category winners, and a special congratulations to Ricky and his team for an outstanding effort for completing the course. Well done! A great effort by the second and third teams also, in almost completing the course. I hope that you all enjoyed the event and that you had a good time in the unusually cool night air, and all arrived home safely. Thanks to all the control collectors, your efforts were most appreciated, and to all who helped pack up and clean the site, a job well done. A big, big thank you to all the landowners, a tremendous bunch of special people, who gave us permission to traverse their land and to Maurice and Vivienne Sewell whose land we were camped on. I must also thank my fellow setters and vetters who have done a mighty job, in sometimes very hot and trying conditions, and special mention must be made to Frank for producing a great map after many minor setbacks. Your combined efforts all helped to make this event another memorable one. Ann also adds that from her perspective, she appreciated everyone’s efforts, from my total and absolute attention to detail, Sandra’s feedback on the controls from her more relaxed approach to rogaining, (despite Ann’s enthusiasm for dragging her off to more controls) for Frank’s dedication to getting the controls out in the field, Dick’s willingness to keep us all company and getting those controls out there with Frank, and for Chris’ enthusiasm for visiting yet more far distant controls with Ann leading the way.
John and Ann - On behalf of the team
Once upon a time…no, try again… in a galaxy far, far away .. no, try again.. it was a dark and stormy night … no, but you get the idea. Bryan H. and Brian A. thought that it would be a good idea, following our participation in the Freo and Midland suburban jaunts, to set a Metro March-type novelty event. Various ideas were tossed around and we concluded that somewhere like Mandurah would be a good idea as it is bit closer for our fellow rogainers from Bunbury and other places south. So Mandurah it was.
Having selected a general area Bryan H took a quick reconnaissance trip, found a park for the Hash House location and set some rough boundaries. We then took a look at the road directory, made a scatter of approximate locations to look for things to make life interesting, and sent Bryan off to do some detailed investigations. A few freebie trips on the train as a senior’s card holder and some further reconnaissance in search of geocaches (some errant side tracking activity) with Jane to keep him on track and we had a range of control features selected. Photos were carefully taken of every feature - even though some mug did remove the sign for the muffin shop after the photo was taken.
Brian A. then headed south with packed lunch and waterbag and did some vetting and made a couple of minor changes. A map was carefully drafted and sent to Paul D. of Juffy Maps who so ably assisted us to get the map into production We intended this to be a family friendly event with enough for a group of large and smaller people to collect a few controls and have a good time and, at the same time, to set a few challenges for those who might be in it for the long run.
Controls were positioned on historical and hysterical features from south of the estuary to way up the north, overlooking the ocean, the canals, the estuary, suburbia, the railway station, and the chip shop. Coffee shops were also included - we had to resist marking them with a “C” on the map. The overall thought was “This should be a hoot”.
And a hoot it was. The day was specially selected for the weather. It was warm enough for the ice cream shop to be a temptation and sunny enough to enable all to enjoy the delights of wandering around the town. Three of the controls scooped the pool of all 74 teams while some of the more isolated only managed to be visited by four teams. The controls were sometimes fairly obvious if you went to the right place, but some required a little more looking about. On cycling around to check progress, Brian A. was rewarded by the sight of a group of about four teams standing around scratching their heads, looking at their maps, and gazing about. A few not so subtle coughs were made to suggest that the short post less than a metre high that a few were almost tripping over might be worth looking at for some Cathode Protection.
It’s always pleasing to see smaller competitors out and about and enjoying themselves with Mum and Dad and this event had a goodly share of family groups. Coming across a group a bit further north than Brian A. would have expected he was pleased to find that this was their first event and they were having a great time. Rogaining really is fun, Vince.
After the walking came our mini-hash house barbecue and it is here that we should express a huge thanks to Ronelle and Amanda who buttered, sliced and cooked all those buns, onions and sausages. We must also thank the pre-event packers at the shed, the truck driving crew, Barrie T. who assisted with the admin, those who helped with the packing up, and those stalwarts who helped unpack the truck. It is always appreciated that we have people to help and we would encourage all who have not put themselves down to volunteer for something to do your bit.
The setters had a good time, and from the feedback on the day, we think all who entered had a good time too. While not the same as a bush event urban rogaines are fun too and we look forward to seeing where the next one will be held.
Brian Austin, Bryan Hardy and Jane
Hardy, the setters, vetters and general layabouts extraordinaire.
I got a phone call from Jim Langford in May asking me if I would like to set a Rogaine in October. I agreed immediately and was looking forward to enjoy setting up this rogaine from start to finish. Since I am retired and had plenty of time, I volunteered to print the pre-event maps, get permission from the farmers and CALM and organise and coordinate all other aspects of this rogaine.
However, I had no previous experience in organising and coordinating a rogaine and therefore had to rely on some help from other, more experienced rogainers. Jim Langford suggested an area southwest of York and also provided me with the Club's printer, the OCAD software and the digital data required to create the necessary maps. Ricky Thackray was my “setting” partner. He is an experienced setter and provided helpful advice in setting up the controls. The vetters were Bruce Makin and Sandra Batley. They ensured that the locations and descriptions of the controls were spot-on. They also suggested safer alternative locations, such as moving a control away from a large bull ant nest and moving a control from the top of a 5 metre high boulder.
I initially drew a new map of the area and added the controls and the HH site during an armchair setting session. The next step was to inspect the area and contact the farmers. The area contained an interesting mixture of farmland, open bush, a bit of parrot bush and two large swamps. All the farmers were friendly and all but one gave permission to use their property. The only change I had to make was to shift the map further to the west to exclude the farm for which access permission was not granted.
The next step was to get permission from CALM to access the catchment area. Ian Thomsett was kind enough to contact CALM to get the necessary approval. The fieldwork of setting and vetting the controls was a wonderful experience. I have never seen so many wild flowers in a rogaine. Near the swamps there was a carpet of flowers and orchids could be seen throughout the area. Bruce Makin was in his element taking many photos of the orchids. Some of these photos were displayed during the event. The wild life was abundant, plenty of kangaroos, snakes and wild boars. I nearly jumped out of my skin when a wild boar jumped out of the bushes only about 20 metres from me.
There was plenty of rain when we were setting the controls, resulting in a lot of flooding, especially near the swamps. Access on tracks near the swamps was impossible and we bogged our vehicle once. This is one on the reasons why this rogaine was called the Dark Swamp Rogaine. Luckily, by the time of the event, there was only a 70 metre flooded track to wade through.
The main setback we had was a controlled burn a few weeks before the event. Some alternative controls were created to replace to ones in the burned area. However, an inspection just before the event indicated that this area was safe and the burned controls were re-instated. However some of the participants still noticed a few smouldering logs on the day of the event.
The NO SHOOTING signs were essential in this area. One of our controls was shot to pieces, including the sapling it was hanging from. This occurred a few weeks before the event.
When I volunteered it was my intention to be there during the actual event. However, soon after I volunteered, I was informed that my niece was getting married on the same day. Warren Smith kindly offered to his services to take my place during the event. I also thank Warren for his valuable advice and for holding the post-event barbecue at his place. Thanks also to Paul Szijarto for his advice and organising the printing of the participant's maps.
Saturday turned out to be a fine day, 28º C, maybe a bit too warm for some of the participants. An amazing 470 people participated in the rogaine. I hope everybody enjoyed the rogaine and took time off to admire the wild flowers, There were no snake bites or attacks by roaming wild boars although I am sure that some of you may have been attacked by kangaroo ticks or bull ants. No one stepped on the smouldering remains from the fire and no one got mired in the mud at the swamps. I admire the team who crossed the entire Swamp from East to West. Maybe they were carrying a canoe. I also hope you enjoyed the roaring hash house fire and the delicious food.
Jim Klinge, on behalf of the setting and vetting team