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News >> 02.01.08 >> 09.20.07 >> 09.20.07 >> 02.16.07 |
Life after Raid the Rock - Tales of Persistent Triumph Team Might Be Trouble member Princess Pea Pod Sunday, November 7, 2004. Major Tom and I plotted out the course that would take us back out to Section 13 to find that tricky checkpoint #1 (in less than 1.5 hours) AND hopefully locate Princess Pea Pods' favorite silver hoop earring. I must admit I had my doubts since he kept mumbling about the Princess being in charge of navigating. We joined forces at 8AM and loaded up the car with supplies and the Princess' 2 adventure Airedales, Alex and Lady. Perhaps through their keen sense of smell and sight, they would help locate the checkpoint and earring. Besides, if the Princess was navigating, she might need the dogs to go for help. We drove to Section 13 and released the hounds, I mean, the Airedales. Immediately they took off in a direction far from the trail that we initially took to reach checkpoint #1. Perhaps that was the initial reason that it took our adventure team 1.5 hours to locate it! Princess Pea Pod was smiling as she believed that this was going to be easy-no need for the map or compass, just follow the dogs! I jogged across the parking lot, around the bend to see the Airedales, Lady and Alex with their noses close to the ground, circling. The checkpoint wasn't on the ground, no! Instead of finding checkpoint #1 or the lost hoop earring, they had located a lovely pile of horse droppings and part of a deer's leg. Great. Walking back to the parking lot, the Princess spied Major Tom pulling the map holder out of his pocket, waving it in the air as he handed off the compass. "You lead," he said. Before we walked too far off the parking lot, Major Tom shared with the Princess his navigational strategy and quizzed the Princess periodically to see if she was absorbing the information. We would take a different approach to the checkpoint. We reviewed terrain, distance, altitude and landmarks. We would walk up the road to where the land leveled off and fell away from the road and then angle directly to the creek and checkpoint. The Princess' head was swimming but apparently she passed as Major Tom never asked for the compass back. It wasn't far up the road before we made the right angle to the creek. We edged our way under trees and through brush. This time we laughed in the face of the sharp briar as we both were equipped with long pants. The Princess kept her eyes on the compass, "keep the dog in the house," Major Tom kept saying. Dogs!? "Where are the dogs?" Princess Pea Pod asked. We stopped to whistle and yell for those trustee Airedales who wandered away to chase the smells of the forest. What if we don't find the checkpoint, the hoop earring and we lose the Airedales! Princess' eyebrows were furrowed but Major Tom convinced her that they would return. We pushed on down the hill when suddenly the Airedales returned. Alex had a green box turtle in his mouth and chose to carry it along the path instead of eating it. This pleased Princess Pea Pod. Lady was just happy to be part of the action. We reached the creek bed and walked along the edge. The Airedales drank the cool water as Major Tom and the Princess scanned the terrain looking for that blasted white canister with the reflective tape- the infamous checkpoint #1. Suddenly Major Tom made happy noises and said, “look around Princess.” As I did, I spied the canister, checkpoint #1 hanging from the tree. “You found it, “ he said. I laughed with power as I stored away the newfound navigation secrets of Major Tom. Oh yes, I had found it and how did I find it? Major Tom had plotted the strategy, laid out the course, taught this novice how to look at the contour lines on the map and match them up to the terrain, pointed out the landmarks, looked over my shoulder to help guide the compass and located the point himself yet I FOUND THE CHECKPOINT! Yea, right! While we smiled and pounded our chests with pride in the remarkable time we had made locating the illusive checkpoint #1, the Princess looked around and said, “now where do you think my hoop earring is?” Major Tom smiled again and quizzed the Princess about the wee morning hours on Saturday, October 23. Where was the Princess when Major Tom finally called to his team 1.5 hours after the start of the adventure race? Were you near the creek and which side were you on? Which direction were you walking? Were you standing upright or bent over under the brush? The Princess reflected for a moment as she remembered quite clearly where she was when Major Tom yelled for his team to gather around checkpoint #1. She remembered, “it was 6:30AM, pitch black and raining. I remembered milling up and down that same hill, over and over while searching the trees for that canister. I had been in the creek, over the creek, behind the creek, and up the creek. We trudged through mud, rocks, briar, brush and tree branches.” She looked around to reacquaint herself to the terrain. She communicated with confidence to Major Tom; I was South of the checkpoint, along the creek’s edge when the fatal branch took hold of my favorite, silver, hoop earring. The Princess slowly made her way South of the checkpoint; carefully examining the ground and low lying branches for her earring. Major Tom took the higher road, fanning out in case the Princess didn’t clearly recall the location. Suddenly, happy sounds came from Major Tom. “Come here, Princess” he said. “Why?” the Princess asked as her eyes scanned the leaves and mosses. She was sure she would come up with the earring near the water’s edges. The Princess reluctantly followed Major Tom’s request. As she reached him, she looked down and around, searching for the illusive earring but she did not see what he saw. She turned to face Major Tom who was smiling as he opened his hand and there lay the silver, hoop earring! Princess Pea Pod was making happy noises herself now. How did he find the lost earring 2+ weeks later? Well, he was Major Tom the navigator, the leader of Might Be Trouble and that is why Princess Pea Pod and Celia follow his direction, his advise, his suggestions. He is Major Tom! And now, as Princess Pea Pod and Major Tom surveyed the beautiful forest lands, the Princess remembered, “where are the Airedales?” After some serious whistling and calling, both show up with large, green box turtles in their mouths. The Princess directs her trustee Airedales to follow her up the next hill as she walks with the map case and compass in her hand and the navigational expert guide, Major Tom. Perhaps she was pretty good at this navigational thing after all! |
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