Jerangle Bound, Circuitously

Digital devices, including cameras, were on the list of prohibited items for Inward Bound. Disposable or film would have been ok, but it also seemed unlikely that in an ultra running race there would be time or appreciation for "Smile!" moments. But oh, if I'd had one, I could show you pictures of mist rising off a clear river in the first blue notes of dawn, isolated by miles and miles of Australian bush; sun hitting the tops of eucalyptus forest-covered mountains (the variety of bird screeches, much more grating than the calls I'm used to in the US, would have to be imagined), across a valley from the small range we were crossing; a strange moment oddly reminiscent of the opening credits of Sound of Music, with green rolling hills of pasture land opening suddenly, darker mountains in the distance to either side, and our lanky Scottish navigator considering an alpaca, their hair colors and eye level perfectly matched.

Let's just say that while IB could be called an adventure race, mine tilted drastically toward "adventure" more than "race." Such is an alternate way of saying that because of ambiguities regarding resticted areas surrounding the Division 4 drop, things went terribly wrong for the div 4 B&G squad. After about 12 hours and 75 kilometers of running, hiking, and bush-bashing, we arrived at endpoint. Needless to say, it was frustrating to have trained for essentially a full-on running event and end up having to walk so much (while trying to navigate off trails and once the distance had so exceeded expectations), but I really couldn't have asked for more of an outdoor experience. Too bad IB is only at Australian National; I'd do it again in a heartbeat. While I don't have pictures from the event, here's one of the whole team in our snazzy red shirts (the backs have a silly quote from Troy):I should clarify the title-- the endpoint ended up being in the small town of Jerangle. I just Google mapped it and discovered it's near the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, which explains why at the 2 am drop point I was wearing a fleece and still shivering.
Anyway, now it's on to class work, lab work (highlights from my first day without supervision: snapping the head of a screw, being shown the "power" button when I didn't understand why the cryostat hadn't been cooling for an hour, becoming frustrated over laser alignment before being kindly told that the component coming off the sample wouldn't be very visible and that I'd been chasing irrelevant reflections), and getting ready for the next adventure-- New Zealand in less than a week! Cheers!