How do you spend your Saturday nights?
For a long time I had been thinking that I’d really like to take part in a night orienteering event. So when I noticed an event in Deeside on a Saturday night followed by an event on the Sunday, I decided to make a weekend of it. What could be better than a lovely autumn weekend in Deeside running through the golden birches and mighty Scots pine. Well, that was the theory!
A 4 ¼ hour drive from Oban took me to a wee village hall tucked away in rural Deeside. Head-torches bobbing around the carpark in the dark indicated I had arrived at the right place. I had entered the event online and without too much thought, had entered my normal age category- M21. I had looked for a short course, but could only find a long course, so entered that.
At registration I was slightly apprehensive when I noticed that the course was 7.7km long with 23 controls. Mmmm, it was going to be a long night!
As I made my way to the start with my wee hillwalking head-torch strapped to my forehead I was periodically blinded by the car headlamp strength floodlights strapped to many of my fellow competitors heads. I thought this was a night event, some of their torches made it like broad day light!
With some nerves I set off on my course. Talk about a steep learning curve- I was 10m from the start, jogging along trying to read the map, when, bang. I was lying face down in the mud with a throbbing shin. Within seconds the head-torches of those at the start searched out where the thud, splash and yelp had come from and were lighting me up for all to see! So this was going to be different from a day event!
I soon lost count of the number of times I fell flat on my face. It was so difficult to see rocks, tree stumps, branches and the like. Fortunately the controls were reflective posts rather than the normal orange and white kites, so I could see them.
At one point I began to get very confused. Through the trees I could see someone’s head-torch high up on a hill. The only problem was, according to the map there was no hill there. Oh no, I had made a big navigational error. Where was I? It was only as I walked on a bit further that I realised the head-torch was in actual fact the moon twinkling through the trees!
As the time marched on, the other head-torches all disappeared and I soon had the forest to myself- a bit disconcerting in the pitch black! Around two thirds of the way round the course, just after my shin had bounced off another rock, my mind began to wonder to thoughts of being in a nice warm snug house with the lights on! Suddenly I was brought back to reality when from under my foot a pheasant launched itself vertically into the air squawking loudly as it’s wing hit my face. I thought the world had ended. Shear terror coursed through my veins! In hindsight I reckon the pheasant was probably pretty scared as well!
So there it was, the finish line. I had made it. As I punched the finish control the person manning the finish said, “You must be Niall Urquhart”. It was at that moment that I realised that not only had I completed my first night event, but I had the honour of being the last person out of the forest!
2 ½ hours out in the dark was quite an experience. Looking back on it, I did enjoy it and would definitely do a night event again. Maybe I would do a shorter course next time though!
So if you’ve never taken part in a night event, give it a go. Try something new! It’ll be an experience you’ll never forget. Maybe we could make a mini night event part of the EckO fixtures?
Niall Urquhart
