Not only was it the AFL Grand final (more on that later) but it was ours as well – the week culminating in the Australian Long Distance Champs today.  We were back at Hill End, in the gold mining and erosion gullies of last weekend.  I was quietly hoping for another good result, but as soon as I turned over my map, I realised it wasn’t going to happen.  The first control was close, but in a complicated area of small erosion gullies, and it took an extra couple of minutes to find.  Leg 2 was a long way away, and I just couldn’t see any route choice other than following a long watercourse for about 500 metres, and hoping I found the control.  It more or less worked, but because there was no attack point or catching feature, I was very cautious to make sure I didn’t overshoot.

Leg 3 was another long one, which involved crossing some low spur gully terrain.  It seemed to take a long time and I found myself climbing, which threw up a flag – I’d drifted to the right. Another few minutes wasted correcting.  I found the control with no problem, and the next appeared where it should, but I knew the terrain had already slowed me down too much.  I went past no 5, not looking properly into the small side gully where it was hiding.  Another couple of minutes blown – no big errors but they were cumulating.  I thought I had a good approach for no 6, but wasted several minutes hunting in the wrong watercourses.

Then it all went seriously wrong.  No 7 was on a mound, at the top of two contours.  I made my way in and out of erosion gullies, then decided I needed to climb up higher.  Once I got up there, with much huffing and puffing, I convinced myself that the control was back below me, so down I went.  Further head scratching, then I noticed a small rocky cairn which was on the map, but if I was there, then where was my control? Damn! Back up the cliff for a second time, stop for a good look and figure it out.  The mound was sitting there innocuously.  Ten minutes down the drain.  Luckily I found no 8 easily, then into the last control and up the finish chute with relief.  The outcome was a less than stellar 9^th – without the big error I would have been about 5^th.

We headed home quick smart to watch the Big Game.  Everyone knows the outcome – the Tigers played like men possessed, and thrashed the Crows by 48 points!  Melbourne will be a sea of yellow and black for days to come.  And I have seen at least one more Richmond premiership in my lifetime (the previous ones being so long ago they seem like a myth, although I do remember 1980 clear as a bell, because we had a record winning margin over my most detested team, Collingwood.  Champagne was quaffed and we toasted the Tigers, who certainly performed much better than me today.

Tomorrow – home.