Nationals Day 2

Day 2 was all about timing. I was early on the grid, and we have about 15 miles to fly from the drop zone to the start gate. So if you are last on the grid it can be impossible to get to the start gate before the window opens. Heavy cirrus was pushing in from the west, and forecast to get heavier, so although it was a blue day I decided it was a good idea to head off straight away. My first leg was south along the high mountains shaded by the cirrus - so I was low in and out of the crags. There was some jaw-droppingly beautiful scenery - crystal blue lakes still surrounded by snow and razor back ridges - but I was too busy to get out the camera right then. Climbs were weak but went to about 10,000 (not that far above terrain). The second leg was further east, backtracking north but on the opposite side of the valley. By this stage the cirrus had moved across and was now shading leg #2. Doh! I took a big detour and went back along the original side of the valley, then cut across. Meanwhile all the late starters were zooming along with great cus to guide them. At TP3 the main gaggle caught up with me and the rest of the day was fast if frustrating. Being a MAT task we had to make up our own turnpoints at the end. I ended up 5th for the day and dropped from 1st to 4th overall. Still, it is a 10-day comp so it's still early days.