As EtU stated, a select few yesterday morning. My appearance, brief in the morning as a prelude to my evening entertainment - night orienteering.

Now I'd been doing ok on the street league 'night-o', well except from being a bit late back on Thurs night, losing the points for the extra control I'd thought I'd just manage to get and all the ones for the previous one too. That will teach me! One other thing I'd noticed was that when I'd switched my headtorch on it did a flash on/off a couple of times before staying on. Wondered what it meant and fully intended on checking the instructions.

Come Saturday evening did the same again, of course I'd forgot to check. Anyway seemed bright enough for me to manage to tie my shoelaces. So off I went. About an hour in, and my third go at trying to locate one particular control, it was coming apparent that yes it was indeed a low battery warning. So tactics changed from actively locating controls (especially in the wooded areas), to getting in the vicinity and waiting for someone else to turn up, and following their lights.

So all in all I was out for an hour and 38 mins, the winner zoomed round in 47mins. The plus side to all my fumbling about in the dark was that I managed to locate a few extra controls that I wasn't meant to.

Back I went this morning to see if I could do any better in the daylight. Amazing what a difference being able to see where you're going makes. Obviously the course setter had us doing different routes, but some of the controls were ones I'd visited the night before and managed to avoid making the same mistakes. So on a course that was almost double the length of the previous night, I only took an extra 12mins.

I've got another go next saturday evening, I think new batteries are in order. Not impressed with the length of time they're lasting though. Instructions are suggesting 50 hours on the maximum setting, and there's no way I've used the head torch that much as I've only had it since August and done a couple of Thursday Utups and a couple of hour long night-o's up to last night. Going to get a dear-do if I have to keep replacing the bateries for each event.

So assuming the length of time taken was purely down to lack of visibilty, I should be able to be out for a longer utup next saturday morning.

TF